Volunteers serve as the lifeblood of an organization. When getting the most out of your resources, it is important to attend to the needs of your human component. Healthcare workers, social workers, and those in non-profit sectors need the assistance of volunteers to attend to all of the details that keeps an organization running smoothly.
Then why is it that volunteers are often overlooked and undervalued? It’s not like new and capable volunteers walk through the door on a daily basis. It takes more than a week of honoring volunteers and their contributions to retain valuable volunteers year-round.
Volunteers help make organizations more productive. People may come in with unique skill sets and abilities that are not easily replaced. It may take time and effort to ramp up a new volunteer when a seasoned one leaves. Make the best use of your current volunteers and show you care throughout the year with the following tips. In this way, organizations can spend more time moving forward and serving those that need it the most.
Retain Your Volunteers
Understand their motives. Many volunteers do the work done because they believe strongly in a cause. Additional reasons people volunteer may be to develop specific skills, get credit for an internship or meet individuals involved in a cause. Setting aside time to speak with volunteers individually can help with creating valuable opportunities to satisfy multiple needs and keep them engaged month after month.
Be crystal clear. Some level of training and check-in will be necessary to keep volunteers on task and enthusiastic. Take the time to talk about the importance of their contribution to the organization and how sometimes mundane tasks support the overall goals that need to be achieved. Having leveled projects that volunteers may take on in due course after showing consistently good work can help them to stay the course. An in-house volunteer manual, initial training and periodic reviews can help make for a smoother and more fulfilling experience for the volunteers you have on staff today and those you hope to recruit in the future.
Keep them connected. Solutions like FAMCare can be customized to the needs of individuals within an organization. Dynamic calendars, security configuration and specialized tasks can be made available to volunteers. Your volunteers can be included in the security clearance for custom pathways of all-inclusive events and tasks. In this way you can keep everyone connected and there is no guesswork involved when it comes to completing upcoming projects and getting prepared for special events.
Show your appreciation. Notice the good work and commitment of your volunteers throughout the year. Easy ways to do this include saying thinking you, planning volunteer-appreciation activities spread over the year, inviting volunteers to lectures, annual dinners, holiday parties and other special events, and rewarding volunteers at special events with certificates, small plaques or awards. Be aware of the need of your volunteers to be acknowledged in ways both small and large. By this approach, you show that you see their efforts and value their participation.
Serve Each Other and Accomplish More
What you give is what you get in return. While your volunteers help you get work done, you are also there to serve their needs, guide their expectations, and reward them for their contributions. The web-based case management platform available through FAMCare helps caseworkers, foster care parents and healthcare providers manage their data and achieve their goals with a solution that can be customized to any end-user. Our unique solutions, your dedicated employees and the thoughtful management of your volunteers can help to better address the needs of children and families around the world.
Source:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/nonprofit-volunteers-top-five-tips-30075.html
