24Feb
How to Manage Volunteers at a Community Project
Posted by Jessica Kirkwood | Category: Equip, Get HandsOn, Service, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment
You want to make your community volunteer project such a great experience that volunteers return again and again.
To make your project one that volunteers will love, think about your project from their perspective.
- What made your volunteers want to sign up for this project?
- What information did they receive in advance? Was it accurate? Did they understand what they would be doing? What they should wear? What they should bring?
- Did they know ahead of time if refreshments would be provided or if they should bring them for themselves?
- If they had questions was it easy to get accurate and complete answers?
- Did they feel like their participation was enthusiastically received?
- When they arrived, what did they see?
- Did they know where to go when they arrived? Were they greeted?
- After arriving at the project site, did they receive clear directions on what to do?
- Did they understand why this work was important to the agency/school?
- Is what’s being asked of them reasonable? Is it safe and do they have the capability to do it?
- Was the project well organized?
- Did the volunteers feel like they accomplished something? Contributed in a meaningful way?
- Was it fun?
- Did someone check on them after they started working? Was there someone readily available to answer questions?
- Was there enough work to do and adequate materials and supplies to complete the work?
- Was there a place the volunteers could go to take a break, get something to drink, warm up, or cool down?
- If the volunteers didn’t enjoy what they were doing or felt ineffective, were there opportunities for them to be reassigned to a new task?
- After the work was finished, did someone thank the volunteers and let them know that what they did was important and effective?
- Were they thanked for their time and contributions?
- If they had ideas or complaints, was there an avenue for them to provide input or to make a suggestion?
- Do they know how to get involved again? Did you ask them to come back?
One Comments to “How to Manage Volunteers at a Community Project”