1. Recruitment
Word-of-mouth continues to be the primary gateway into service. Effective recruitment strategies offer variety, flexibility and meaningful experiences.
2. Supervision
Volunteers who are supported, coordinated and well managed are likely to feel positive about their volunteer experience and stay.
3. Role Clarification
Written position descriptions equip volunteers with the tools they need to deliver maximum impact and receive a sense of personal fulfillment.
4. Development
Training and development is important to nourishing strong volunteer leadership and extending the volunteer life cycle.
5. Resource Procurement
While volunteers are unpaid by definition, they are not cost free. Resources are needed to deliver effective volunteer management programs.
6. Balancing Skilled & Unskilled
Volunteers bring a wide array of skill sets to the table. Assessing the required skills for specific tasks enables the best use of volunteer man power and minimizes resource expenditure.
7. Appreciation
While volunteers do not participate for the sole purpose of reward or recognition, it is important to acknowledge and thank volunteers to promote an ongoing culture of service.
8. Retention
Engaging volunteers is only the first step. Incorporating the seven aforementioned volunteer management behaviors helps to avoid the costly cycle of recruiting and training new volunteers.
These ideas originally appeared as a sidebar in IBM’s Service Jam White Paper and were contributed by The Department of Communities, Queensland — Australia’s lead government agency addressing issues in service and volunteerism, managing volunteers requires time and resources. We loved the list and wanted to share it. You can download the full Service Jam white paper here. 
