Who is in charge of managing volunteers? Is there a process in place for handling new volunteers? Ensuring that volunteers are appropriately assigned and supported is a collective responsibility, and everyone understands how their piece relates to the whole.

A role for everyone.

Just as it is everyone’s job to respect the limits of the financial resources, it is also critical for everyone to understand how they contribute to effective volunteer resources management. Volunteer resources management is connected to strategic planning, IT, fund development, and evaluation, and personnel. Responsibility is jointly owned and translates into concrete, collaborative actions that lead to expansion and strengthening of volunteer involvement.

Focused and integrated.

Share management of volunteers with staff that has a vested interest in the
success of volunteer placements. When tasks related to planning, budgeting, data management, and evaluation are spread out among many units of the organization, the sense of leadership increases among all staff, and the amount of creative energy surrounding the utilization of volunteers is multiplied.

Barrier busting.

While issues related to liability, confidentiality, geographical location, and scheduling are real in most organizations, they can also become false barriers that mask more deeply rooted resistance to volunteer involvement. Proactively look for ways to reduce or eliminate barriers in order to maximize the benefit of their volunteer resources so they can most effectively contribute to upholding the mission.