Recruiting Volunteers: How to do it well

There are numerous ways we can include volunteers in our organizations; on our official boards and committees, our programs and services often rely heavily on volunteers as providers, and many non-profits I have worked for had office admin volunteers on a daily basis.  Depending on your organizational structure and available staff, sometimes social media and communications are also managed by volunteers. 

There are also volunteer management and development issues, as well as legal issues to consider. 

• Do we have/need a screening tool?
• What training and onboarding does your organization provide?
• What will the relationship between staff and volunteers be, particularly board volunteers?
• How will you recognize your volunteers to keep them motivated and coming back?

There are many things to consider when you are looking to utilize volunteers. 

Include Volunteers in Your Annual Plan 

The best way to ensure volunteer engagement happens is to include it in your planning.  You need to be specific about what you want them to do and how many you will need for each strategy you want to involve them in. 

For example, if you do a community outreach event, you should plan how many committee/sub-committee members and event day volunteers you will need.  Events and conferences are probably one of the most volunteer reliant strategies you can engage in. 

It is a great opportunity to invite people to their first volunteer experience when it’s a one-day commitment at a fun event or tournament. 

Your annual plan and volunteer strategy should at minimum, address how volunteers will be:

• Recruited
• Trained
• Supervised
• Evaluated
• Recognized
• Rewarded

Recruitment

Even when organizations believe that it is important to build a strong base of volunteers, they often ask, “Where are we going to find these people?” That question generally reflects the difficulty organizations have in recruiting people to serve. 

This is of course exacerbated partially due to the fact that many volunteer appointments tend to be life-time appointments, particularly in the church right? In fact, it is not unusual for some volunteers often times doing double and triple duty. 

Another common problem in recruitment is not preparing adequately prior to the ask. Being prepared shows the person you are asking that this is important to you and you have thoughtfully considered them particularly for that role. 

In addition, the ask is often little more than grabbing people by the arm after a game and saying, “oh incidentally…”  If you are not willing to invest some time in asking someone to volunteer…why should they give you the time of day. 

The ability to recruit is directly related to the process used. When people are given adequate information as to the task and if the process of asking them to be involved is direct and personal, getting volunteers is usually not an issue. 

The Big Four 

The key to recruitment success really comes down to the ability to answer four questions:

1. Is there a plan?
2. Is there a job description?
3. Will there be training provided?
4. What is the time frame of the commitment?

When you can sufficiently answer these four questions for people, it will make volunteer recruitment much easier. 

Question One: What is the plan?

Those who have been involved in recruitment over the years know that the first question asked is, “how are we going to do this” or “what is involved” or “what is the plan?”  A good plan you can share easily with people is vital in recruiting. 

Question Two: Is there a job description?

Make sure the requires tasks involved are clear.  This is crucial to the recruitment success. Giving the prospect a clear job description of the task required accomplishes two things:

• First, it communicates to the prospect that the overall plan is well thought through.
• Secondly it enables the prospect to see the details of the task involved and allows them to determine whether in fact they are capable of performing the task required.

Question Three: Is there training?

The training of all volunteers is crucial to the delivery of any program or campaign to ensure that tasks are done as required. 

Think about some of your own volunteer experiences?  How were you recruited?  Were you given training?  Did you feel prepared and confident in your role?  Or did you fake it till you made it? 

Don’t ask your volunteers to fake it till they make it…most of them won’t last and they will leave.   

Question Four: What is the time frame? 

Most individuals have active lifestyles, between their own interests and those of their children. A better word to describe it may be hectic for some. So, how can you get busy people involved?

Busy people find time to do the things they find they feel are important to do.

That bears repeating…busy people will find the time to help you if you can convince them the program or role is important. 

Why is it that 20% of the people do 80% of the work? Because the 20% represent the committed core that are convinced that the overall purpose of the program is important to accomplish. 

The second point is that it is important to be able to specify the time frame for the required task.  If the task is seen to be a chewable bite even busy people will say, “I can do that.”  If you also give them a “term of service” with an evaluation at the end, it further enforces that there is a possible out at the end.       

Volunteer burnout is a real thing. 

This is the plague of the small non-profits where there are often not enough hands to do what needs to be done…so we ask more of those who are already doing…and they say yes, because they know you need help and they care.

The Recruitment Process

In addition to the ability to answer the four questions dealt with earlier, the process used in recruitment itself is equally important.

Circle of Influence

Who are your best prospects? Your best prospects are people that you have some connection to people in your circle of influence. These are friends, colleagues, and people in their social circle. It is very easy to say no to a stranger, but it is much more difficult however to say no to a friend.

Recruit face-to-face

Another important principle in the process of recruiting is to recruit face to face. There is no substitute to looking people in the eye and asking, ‘can you help’? It is very easy to say no to a stranger particularly if the approach is by telephone. It is more difficult to say no to a close friend especially if there is a face to face ask.

Training & Onboarding

I have already touched on this and the importance of providing training and some sort of onboarding process to your volunteers. This process does not need to be complicated, but it does need to cover some basics about your organization and the expectations of the job.

Volunteers will feel more competent and confident in their roles if you provide them the skills and tools they need to be successful.

Supervision & Accountability

All volunteers should be accountable to someone in your organization. We outlined above the importance of providing a job description in the recruitment process where the required expectations are outlined.

This is something I have seen very few non-profits actually do, even if they have a good training and onboarding process, very few have volunteer job descriptions.

The problem is, if you do not have clearly understood expectations it is hard to hold people accountable.

Evaluation

Just like staff members, volunteers need feedback, encouragement and regular ‘check-ins’. This is advantageous for both you and the volunteer.

It should provide useful feedback for both the organization and the volunteer in a number of areas. The evaluation process for volunteers should be utilized as a tool to elevate your volunteers higher and provide coaching to be even better.

An evaluation or formal check-in can also provide an opportunity to part ways for you and your volunteer. Not all volunteers end up in the right role the first time. Sometimes it takes some ‘shopping around’ before you find the right fit…and that’s ok.

A point of evaluation each year can provide that opportunity and perhaps even some useful feedback to improve your volunteer program.

On the flip-side, if volunteers are loving their role, ask them if they know of anyone else that might be interested in coming on board. People who love what they are doing, can’t wait to share that experience with others.

Recognition & Rewards

Volunteers want to feel like your organization appreciates them for their efforts. Seems reasonable right.

Yet again, this is one of the areas a lot of organizations fall down on.

Most charities these days do something to recognize and thank their volunteers, even if it is something simple, like a dinner or small gift once a year. Other charities recognize the power of volunteer recognition and have very elaborate banquets or retreats with awards and guest speakers.

One way is not necessarily better than the other, the point is you need to do something, and that something needs to fit your organizational values.

The truth is some volunteers get offended of you do too much. Some volunteers would just like to see all the resources go into serving the cause. So, you need to do what works for your organization and what will be appreciated by your volunteers.

But do something.

If it’s something a little special and maybe exclusive however, it also serves as a recruitment tool and encouragement to others to get involved and volunteer.

Do not underestimate the power of a genuine thank you.

Authentic appreciation goes a long way.

Benefits of Volunteering for the Volunteer

There are other benefits garnered by volunteers beside the sheer joy of being involved with your organization and its mission delivery. It is helpful to have a basic understanding of what volunteers are looking for in their volunteer experiences because it will help you provide meaningful opportunities that will attract quality volunteers.

So, what are volunteers looking for?

You can break these benefits down a number of different ways, but basically the benefits fall into 5 general categories; making connections, feeling accomplished, improved health (mental and physical), a sense of purpose (this is extremely high for many people of faith) and career/skill building.

Making Connections

Volunteering is an important and easy way to meet new people and connects you to people who have common interests and passions, who could go on to become great friends.

Feeling Accomplished

Volunteering feels good. How could it not. You are helping someone (or something) get to a better place. How could this not feel good. Doing good for others and the community helps to create a natural sense of accomplishment. It helps raise self-esteem and gives people a sense of confidence and achievement.

Improved Mental and Physical Health

There have been a number of studies done over the years that offer a lot of evidence that volunteering can have positive effects on both our mental and physical health. It has also been found that people who volunteer suffer less depression and loneliness and that volunteering counteracts the effects of stress through regular contact and increased support systems.

A Sense of Purpose

Seniors are great volunteers. When their families are grown and gone, they are retired from their jobs, the opportunity to feel connected and valuable becomes more and more of a challenge for many seniors. Volunteering can provide that connection and volunteers in this group tend to give the highest number of volunteer hours overall.

The work people do as a volunteer is purposeful and probably helps others in some way. Purpose is often found in becoming a part of something greater than ourselves.

Career and Skill Building

Adding volunteer experience to a resume could set candidates apart in a competitive job market. Showing employers that you spend your free time on a worthy cause shows them you have initiative, are selfless, a team player, a passionate go-getter and compassionate. All things employers are looking for these days.

Volunteering helps expand networks which comes in handy when looking for a job and people who volunteer often tend to develop a lot of connections in the community.

Volunteering also gives people the opportunity to build and hone skills used in the workplace, such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, planning and organization.

Volunteer Portals and Opportunities

Charity Village is one of Canada’s best resources when it comes to the non-profit sector and they have one such volunteer portal at a national level. Another one is Volunteer Match. There are provincial portals, and often local community portals through local organizations, community colleges, and universities.

If you take the time to ask well, they might just say yes.