Volunteer management isn’t easy, it takes a passion for people, commitment to your cause and bags and bags of organisational skill.
To have an effective and engaging volunteer programme, it is key to know your volunteers and understand what drives them to volunteer.
So can your volunteers be categorised and can that help you understand them better?
NCVO definition
Oxford dictionary definition
“A person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.”
Those definitions are pretty broad and all volunteer managers understand the danger of pigeonholing your volunteers, definitions can be problematic! The term Volunteer holds very different meanings to each individual.
Every volunteer has their own reason, motivation or story to volunteer, and no volunteer is the same. What the data we have collected here at TeamKinetic has demonstrated is that there are some general volunteer categories and themes that we can use to gain a deeper understanding of the types of volunteers you may have within your organisation:
One-time volunteer and Event Volunteers
One-time volunteers are individuals who volunteer as a one-off and move on to the next opportunity/event or are never seen again! These types of individuals can still be regular volunteers, but will only volunteer when they have the time to do so or do so at events or roles that excite them specifically.
They are often quite self-contained roles that are well-defined and associated with a high-profile and exciting event. That in itself generates excitement for the volunteer to say ‘I was there.’ These are often one-time positions that require minimal training and experience but are fun days out for the individual.
Some of you reading this might think; why would I want to invest in a volunteer that isn’t committed to helping me regularly?
Research from Glasgow 2014 and London 2012 suggests many of the volunteers who applied were new to volunteering, and sadly many who did volunteer did not go on to do more volunteering after the event, even though the levels of satisfaction from being involved were high.
The sense of community, enjoyment and empowerment of being part of the event can quite quickly fade post-event, but on occasion, it can prove the catalyst some people need to start them on a journey to much greater community involvement.
Micro-volunteer
Research conducted by the NCVO suggests that micro-volunteering is on the rise and has the power to make a difference to organisations. In order to be impactful organisations must engage and appeal to these types of volunteers by providing quality volunteering opportunities that suit their aspirations and lifestyles. These types of opportunities are often possible via technology, such as phones, tablets or computers. Others have referred to them as ‘Armchair Activism.’
These opportunities are attractive to individuals who often have limited time, but still, want to have the feeling that they are making a difference. Opportunities vary from, the ice-bucket challenge to tweeting your MP. This type of volunteering can also act as a gateway to individuals, and if their experience is positive and they feel they are making an impact, you can look to engage them in further work.
Skills-Based Volunteers
Skills-based volunteers are individuals who often assist with tasks that require additional and specialist knowledge, or they develop this type of knowledge through their volunteer experience. Skills can be varied, examples include updating website data, running the social media accounts, taking phone calls, and providing accountancy or legal advice.
Volunteers often have the desired set of skills that many organisations need. These individuals who possess these professional skills and offer them pro bono may have many reasons for their desire to be involved. There is always a high demand for these types of Volunteers. As an organisation, it’s important to know why these volunteers want to be involved. It’s also important to make them aware of the impact they have on the organisation. This can make the volunteer feel appreciated and that their skills are bringing value to the organisation.
Lifelong / Regular volunteers
Lifelong or regular volunteers are often people who volunteer for an organisation that they feel a significant emotional connection to. Regular volunteers are happy to help meet an organisation’s expectations and the individual’s commitment to the role can be significant. Roles can vary but include positions such as a charity shop assistant or a coach within a sports club.
Organisations depend on these volunteers as they are core members of the organisation’s community. Regular volunteers usually take on positions that require a higher level of responsibility and therefore need regular training and appropriate support to ensure that they can fulfil what is expected of them.
These types of volunteers are so important to the long-term survival of many organisations, they feel especially close to the cause and their work. They are often overworked and if not managed correctly they can make others nervous to get involved, as the levels of commitment they show are superhuman and this scares off other volunteers from getting involved.
Does Age Matter?
Research has shown that both the 16-24 and 65+-year-olds are the most likely groups to volunteer. This makes sense as many universities provide students with opportunities to develop skills and experience for the world of work, whilst helping great causes. Likewise, many older volunteers provide support to organisations due to being retired but still wanting to stay active and part of the community.
Age will certainly play a role in how you incentivise and communicate with volunteers. As well as the length/type of role, and level of commitment required from them!
An appreciation of your volunteer audience will impact your roles on offer. So it is important to be aware of how you advertise, the language you use and the types of rewards and recognition you may wish to offer.
Good volunteer management!
The best and most effective way to understand your volunteer is the initial first part of their volunteer experience. By having a well-thought-out recruitment process, volunteer managers can make sure that volunteers are well selected and given roles they can excel at but also enjoy. This also ensures that volunteers are aware of the variety of opportunities available to them.
TeamKinetic’s volunteer management system allows all volunteers to create their own profile. This allows them to search and find opportunities that providers are advertising. Volunteers can also upload supporting documents to showcase experiences they have had in the past making the volunteer management process that much easier.
Volunteer managers are able to review volunteer profiles, run inductions, record data and get an insight into the individual and which roles they would benefit from. This is a key feature in allowing volunteer managers to distinguish between a one-off volunteer for an event, a volunteer with the desired skill set or someone that is able to commit to a regular role and who will form a long-term commitment with the organisation.
Additionally, the system allows volunteer managers to receive and provide feedback to volunteers. A perfect way to evaluate the effectiveness of roles and making sure volunteers are content with the tasks they undertake. TeamKinetic is centralised around helping voluntary organisations achieve their goals, which is why also offer a FREE version of our volunteer management system.
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