So many nonprofit organizations face challenges turning members into active volunteers. Here are ten steps for effective volunteer engagement.
1. Member needs
The first and most important step is to identify your members’ needs, including those of the volunteers in general and those of individual volunteers. However, executives and boards must not only identify these needs, they must document them and be seen to be acting upon them. This clarity of purpose will help prospective volunteers to see the connection between the work being done and what matters most to the people the organization exists to serve.
2. Mission-focused
Leadership is all about establishing and communicating a dream. Some call it the organization’s “willed future”. This is the work of leaders: defining values, setting direction, articulating goals. This work is important in engaging your members and volunteers, and helps to develop and confirm the organization’s vision and mission.
3. Match needs to opportunities
Match the individual member’s aspirations to volunteer opportunities. Show you understand that association goals must be consistent with the volunteer’s personal and professional interests by presenting an opportunity for the member to achieve his or her goals.
4. Job descriptions
Written job descriptions, terms of reference, and committee work plans are all essential. Harriet Naylor, who wrote for the National Volunteer Centre in the US, said: “I need to know in some clear detail what is expected of me…I need to see progress is being made toward the goals we have set.”
5. Communicate
A major conference on voluntarism published the following conclusion: “What delegates agreed was that the current paralysis of will [to transform society and affect positive change] reflects a lack of communication, an absence of coordination, muddled information, and too few participants.”
Tell volunteers how their work fits into the big picture. Publish news (email or print) exclusively for your volunteers that highlights plans and achievements, explains new policies, and shows volunteers how their contribution has meaning across the organization.
6. Overcome barriers through innovation
Determine the barriers (time, for example) which inhibit participation and be innovative in creating solutions. No time to volunteer? Hold fewer meetings; meet online or post issues in e-forums for comment; adopt a consent agenda to dispense with process-oriented items; and use a balanced scorecard to help governors quickly assess how work is progressing. Learning how to overcome objections.
7. Orientation
Orientation must take place at a specific time and be a formal process with tangible materials. Be clear about the time commitment, scope of the task, expectations, outcomes, and available resources. Orientation helps the volunteer to get comfortable by providing a complete overview of the organization, what is expected, and how their contribution is making a difference.
8. Efficiency
Results-oriented people will be frustrated with inane discussions or meetings that focus more on process than results. Volunteers should focus on policy recommendations (committees and task forces) and decisions (boards of directors). Find methods to enhance the efficient use of time (for example, post the pre-meeting information in a password-protected special area of your website for review by volunteers at a time convenient for them).
9. Recognize and reward
There is nothing more fulfilling than public recognition and praise from one’s community and peers. Create a program to recognize and reward your volunteers. It’s okay to make a big fuss!
10. Care
People don’t respond if they know you do not care. There is truth in the saying people really don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Care for individuals, their dreams, and their needs. If a prospective volunteer feels that you will genuinely listen to and act upon his or her ideas and needs, you will have created a significant incentive to become involved.
Content is © Jack Shand and is reprinted with permission.
Jack Shand, CMC, CAE, is president of Leader Quest, a management consulting firm providing expert advice to not-for-profit organizations since 1997. Leader Quest specializes in executive search/staff recruitment, strategic planning, governance, and organizational reviews. Jack can be reached at 905-842-3845 and 1-877-929-4473, or jack-at-leaderquest-dot-com.
