How to run a Volunteer Program | Single Parent Support Australia

How to run a Volunteer Program

To follow are tips you may want to consider when introducing volunteers into your program. This article is aimed at those who are newbies to the field of volunteer management.

Many organisations today are aiming to add value to what they do by utilising volunteer resources. Attracting volunteers in the new millennium may seem easy, but keeping them is the trick - let's face it there are so many options for people to choose from now days.

Let us examine a few of the possible reasons why some organisations are saying that they can�t attract new people while others seem to have an endless stream coming through their programs.

Online Resources

Reference Books

VOLUNTEERS ARE BUSY PEOPLE

Firstly, the concept that volunteers are people with little else to do is a false one. Many volunteers are employed in paid work, have family commitments or are trying to fit in leisure activities. Volunteering is often something that is needing to be scheduled into rather busy life styles.

To meet these changes, agencies who are wanting to attract volunteers will need to be more flexible in the kind of roles they are asking volunteers to undertake.

Think about the kind of training you are asking volunteers to participate in, the hours you are asking volunteers to work, and the length of time that volunteers are expected to stay with the organisation.

For example the older generation of volunteers that many organisations aim to attract - because they believe that they are more stable and reliable - may in the near future find that this group, like may of the others, will want more short term roles with a clear start and finish date. This group may be busy travelling, looking after ageing parents or caring for grand children while their adult children go to work. They may also be going back to undertake further education, so think about these points as a starter in your recruitment strategies.

VOLUNTEERS CAN AFFORD TO BE FUSSY

There are definite trends emerging out of the US and Canada that indicate that volunteers of the very near future are going to be much more choosy about where they go and what they get involved in.

Many of the volunteers that are coming to us now are people who have worked in professional roles and who are highly educated. These volunteers want meaningful roles that utilise their existing skills and enable them to develop new ones. In the near future there are going to be fewer people willing to do the jobs that no one in the organisation wants to do like stuffing envelopes and filing.

Volunteers are wanting to work in an organisation where they are seen as part of the team, where they are consulted and their options are ask for and listened to, where their efforts are acknowledge and appreciated and where there are clear processes and policies. They will be looking for organisations where the service that is provided (both to the consumer of the service and the volunteers) is professional and well organised.

SOME RELATIVELY NEW TRENDS

...... are you prepared to be creative and think outside the square?

How about considering these emerging trends for your organisation:

Family Volunteering -

This concept recognises that people are busy and often volunteering is yet another thing that takes parents away from their families. Family volunteering is something that can be done together. Some ideal roles that spring to mind are door to door collecting, letter box dropping, visiting the elderly in nursing homes or taking a disabled person on outings. I am sure that you can come up with some of your own ideas where families who wish to volunteer together can be utilised.

Corporate Volunteer Involvement -

Many corporations are now looking at alternate ways of contributing to the broader communities than just simply donating money. Many are interested in investing in their local community by providing 'in kind' support by contributing their expertise or person hours. It may be that you can approach a corporation with similar values to your organisation or program that could for example, share their skills by developing a database for you or by having them train some of your staff in computing.

Corporations may release their Human Resource Officer for a few hours a week to come and assist you with developing volunteer appraisal processes or have their publicity department assist you to develop a recruitment campaign. They may also release a worker from their training division to assist you in running an occupational health and safety course. The opportunities are endless!

Youth Volunteering -

I get a little tired of hearing that youth aren�t interested in being involved! Younger people are often quite clear about what they want to get out of their involvement. To get youth involved it has to be a fun place to work, where meaningful roles are offered and where there is a possibility of obtaining a reference. Young people may require the hours to be more flexible and volunteer work offered out of regular hours may have a greater appeal to this group. Younger volunteers need to receive recognition and appropriate feed back, and they seem more attracted to episodic short term volunteering roles.

SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER

If you are considering introducing volunteers to your organisation may I suggest you consider the following;

� Why do you really want to involve volunteers?

� Is this really the best solution to meet your organisations needs?

� Who will be responsible for managing the team?

� Who will recruit, train and provide ongoing support to them?

� Do you have a reasonable budget allocated to run a volunteer program?

Your state or regional volunteer centre will be able to assist you with information and advice on the following:

You will need:

Clear volunteer job descriptions for each role volunteers undertake

A space for them where they can put their bags, get a drink, sign in (I suspect for some organisations this is a given, however you�d be surprised how many agencies don�t consider this and volunteers can�t get past the coded door in the front entrance!)

To be included as part of the team, this can be as simple as paid staff remembering the volunteers names, being included in meetings and functions, being given the information they need to do their role. (I also get annoyed when I hear people say that you can�t give volunteers appropriate information because they can�t be trusted to maintain confidentiality�.. I think that is nonsense and I am happy for you to debate this with me!)

Policies and guidelines which could include;

� Code of Conduct

� Code of Ethics

� Media contact

� Processes for dealing with unsatisfactory conduct

� Changes to work conditions (eg; guidelines around taking on extra tasks or shifts)

� Out of pocket expenses claims (eg what can be claimed, how much, what process will be use)

� Occupational Health and Safety

� Accepting gifts

� Complaints process

To provide appropriate out of pocket expenses suitable for the role being undertaken

To maintain a duty of care

To supply any relevant protective clothing or equipment

Have appropriate insurance cover for volunteers

To provide orientation which may include:

� Giving volunteers information about the agency

� Who the key people are and who they report to when on shift

� What the boundaries of their role are

� Rights and responsibilities

� A visit to the area of work and it maybe useful to mentor a new volunteer with a more experienced one

To provide appropriate training

Many volunteers today come with a range of experiences, skills, and training. You might consider giving people recognition of prior learning when asking them to participate in your training program.

Some generic topics may include:

� Occupational Health and safety

� Confidentiality

� Customer Service

� Effective communication

� Being non judgemental and accepting and values skills session

� To provide ongoing supervision that may include;

� Team meetings

� Quarterly evaluations of how the volunteer is finding the role �

v Are they being provided with adequate support?

v Are they enjoying the role?

v Are they satisfied with the training they have been provided with?

v Is there anything they need from you at the moment?

v How has the volunteer been going in the role?

v Are the key people who work with them satisfied with their work and supportive?

� On-going opportunities to provide feedback, which may include catching up with volunteers when they come in for shift or at a social function or morning tea.

� Recognition opportunities such as presentations of certificates or service bars and social events such as a BBQ during National Volunteers Week or Christmas lunch subsidised by the agency. To have the paid staff, director or CEO attend functions to show appreciation and say a few words of thanks to the volunteers.

RECRUITMENT TIPS

Recruitment is huge topic and it may be that your local volunteer centre may run sessions about some recruitment strategies. There are also some good books on the topic that I have listed in the resource list at the end of this article.

For the purpose of this article I have included just a few things to consider:

Currently there are a range of papers coming out particularly from the US that tells us when we are writing recruitment advertisements that we need to highlight how the person will benefit from becoming involved with your program. What�s in it for them?

So rather than putting out a desperate plea saying �we need�.� The advertisement wording has a focus on �we offer you�..�. At this stage I have found that in the northern area of Adelaide where I work, it seems to work best to let people know they will be of help to others. This possibly reflects the local culture here and it may be of use to you to ask around your local networks about what has and has not worked in your area.

I have listed some great books in the reading list where you can get some good ideas about the �how to � of recruitment.

SELECTION

Be specific about the kind of person you would like to have involved to undertake your volunteer tasks. I know from personal experience that at times it is tempting to take on anyone and everyone that enquires, however it could end up becoming a nightmare having unsuitable people in your program, making your job a much harder one and possibly damaging the reputation of your agency or program.

Once you have decided who you want, it is useful to consider where you might find this kind of person so you can target your publicity.

When you are recruiting, make sure that you are organised and ready to take calls, to send out information and meet with people for an interview - first impressions are very important.

Have a comprehensive application form that outlines medical details, asks for previous paid and unpaid work experience, training and education, next of kin and a professional person who maybe contacted for a reference.

Follow up on referees (perhaps prepare a check list of suitable questions you would like to ask) and decide if the role you are asking volunteers to undertake warrants you undertaking a police record check

CONCLUSION:

At times it is tempting to try to take short cuts in our work, however in my experience it is far more beneficial to develop things the way we would like them to remain than it is to try to change poor behaviour or entrenched work practices some time later.

Although there is quite a bit of work involved in developing a sound volunteer program, it is well worth the effort to have a good foundation on which to build, and I believe that through reputation and word of month your organisation will be able to attract some great volunteers!

Good Luck!

Bio

Rosie Williams has managed volunteers in a range of sectors for the past eleven years. She is currently employed as a Manager of Volunteer Programs with the Adelaide's Lyell McEwin Regional Volunteer Association - one of Australia's largest and broadest serving health based volunteer programs - where she has worked since 1998.

In 2000, Rosie worked as the Director of Volunteer Resources with the Chinook Health Region in Alberta, Canada

One of her strengths has been to provide peer support and assist smaller agencies with the development of successful programs in a range of ways - from coordinating and leading training to assisting organisation to lay the foundations of a new program.

She can be contacted by e-mail

Online Resources:

Go Volunteer

Australian Volunteer Search

Volunteering Australia

Noble, Joy & Rogers, L. (1998) Volunteer Management: An essential guide.

South Australia: Volunteering SA.

Ellis, Susan J. (1996). The Volunteer Recruitment and Member Development Book. (2^nd edition). Philadelphia: Energize.

Fischer, Lucy Rose & Schaffer, Kay Banister. (1993). Older Volunteers: A guide to research and practice. California: Sage Publications.

Gaskin, Katharine. (1998). What young people want from volunteering. London: National Centre for Volunteering UK.

Macduff, Nancy. (1991). Episodic Volunteering: Building the short-term volunteer program. Walla Walla: MBA Publishing.

Reynolds, Kate (20010, Take Your Partner for the Corporate Tango; A Guide to Developing Successful Business and Community Partnerships; Published by Volunteering SA Inc.

Esmond, Judy Ph.D. (2001) Count Me In: 501 Ideas On Recruiting Volunteers; Newseason Publications, Western Australia

McCurley, Steve & Vineyard, Sue. (1998). 101 Tips for Volunteer Recruitment: Illinpois: Heritage Arts Publishing.

Henderson, Robyn & McAlister, Marg. (1998). Be seen, Get Known, Move Ahead: A Beginner�s Guide to Self Promotion. NSW: Networking to Win