It is important to use volunteer-friendly language when addressing and discussing volunteers. As volunteers are not paid workers, subtle differences in vocabulary can make people think volunteers are unpaid employees, this would mean they can have the same legal rights as paid employees which isn’t the case as volunteers aren’t included in employment legislation.
Rethinking Your Vocabulary
Karen Knight, a Volunteer Management strategist and mentor, recently posted a blog post discussing the language of volunteering and made some interesting points. In the blog, Karen proposed some problematic words in the volunteer world. These included referring to volunteers as “yours” and also referring to “using” volunteers. Both of these words could be objectifying and imply ownership of the volunteers.
Perhaps using words like “involving” and “engaging” may be more volunteer-friendly words. Karen suggests if you are unsure about if a word is problematic, have others in your organisation give their opinions on it. The more feedback you can get the better.
NCVO and Volunteering England put together a document with volunteer-friendly words. The document gives tips such as don’t borrow vocabulary from employment, human resources or work experience policies without making sure it applies to your volunteer programme and ensure you re-read what you have written from the perspective of your volunteers. Using volunteer-friendly vocabulary can give people a clearer idea of their legal rights or responsibilities.
Ensure you’re using volunteer-friendly language
To ensure you are using volunteer-friendly language, avoid using the word ‘contract’ when discussing the volunteer’s agreements. Referring to the agreement as a volunteer contract can mean the volunteer may be entitled to claim workers’ rights. When providing the volunteers with information about what they will be doing, it would be better to use the term “volunteer role” rather than “job description”. The definition of a job description is a “written description of the exact work and responsibilities of a job”. Volunteers may think that the role is formal employment.
Try using the phrase “informal chat” instead of an interview during the recruitment process. “Informal chat” is a more suitable word than “interview”, which is used when applying for paid work. The phrase “informal chat” can also put the volunteer at ease.
Share these tips with other volunteer managers and people in your organisation so that we can make a change in the world of volunteering.
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