Feature Article

A Happy Volunteer is a Productive Volunteer
For many organizations, especially membership-based ones, finding volunteers is often not the problem – keeping them motivated and interested is.  The simple fact is that people today are busier than ever, so they have to feel that the time they spend volunteering is worthwhile.  Not only do your volunteers need to feel as if they are making a meaningful contribution, they also need to know that their efforts are recognized and appreciated.

Matching Skill Sets to Responsibilities
Most experts in the field agree that the place to start is by matching the right volunteer to the right task.  That means you have to learn to recognize skills – strong writing ability, a good phone manner, organizational experience or Web proficiency.  By keeping volunteers doing what they do best and what they enjoy, you will have a better chance of retaining their services over the long term.

Building a Community of Volunteers 
One of the things an organization can do to really solidify volunteer relationships is to treat them as a critical part of the whole.  The first step in making your volunteers a part of your community is training – a step that is often overlooked. Training, in this sense, is not necessarily showing your volunteers how to do things, but orienting them as to what your vision is.  This type of dialogue, whether in a group or one-on-one, simply helps you gain the trust of your volunteers. And if it is possible to bring volunteers together, you can even begin building a camaraderie that will help solidify their commitment to you and the goals of your organization. At the same time, it’s important to set expectations for your volunteers and give them the tools they need to succeed in meeting them.  Whether planning events, managing communications or overseeing a Web presence your volunteers need both boundaries to ensure they stay within your brand guidelines and systems that make it easy for them to do that.  Training and best practices on messaging helps set the boundaries, as do easy-to-use applications that provide templates for broadcast email, posting and managing events and creating Web content.  And since it’s often more cost effective for organizations to look for outside partners to provide these applications, you should consider those providers that offer a wide range of services and that also have a proven track record of innovation to ensure your volunteers will always have access to the latest technology.

Reward and Recognition 
The bottom line, however, is that volunteers need to know that what they are doing counts.  That’s why recognizing your volunteers is more critical than almost anything else.  A regular thank you, by email or via handwritten note, goes a long way.  And by giving volunteers increasingly more responsibility and decision-making authority, they will know they’ve earned your trust and that you consider them a part of the team.  Beyond that, if you have a good base of volunteers you may even consider creating a more formal program that rewards a volunteer of the month, quarter or year for outstanding contributions. Alternatively, you might consider hosting an annual luncheon or cocktail hour to show your appreciation and bring volunteers together.

Making It Work 
Probably the most important thing you can do for your volunteers is to listen to them and respect their ideas.  It is also worth your while to get to know them on a personal level.  Life and work is all about relationships, and the more you are able to show your volunteers that you care about and respect them – the more committed they will be to following through for you.