When recruiting volunteers, quality may be better than quantity. Volunteers that are a better fit for your heritage organisation will be more effective than lots of volunteers that don’t have qualities that suit the organisation. To be an effective and impactful volunteer, certain qualities are essential in helping the success of the organisation. 

A passion for heritage

A suitable heritage volunteer is passionate about history, heritage, and cultural preservation. They should understand the importance of preserving and promoting cultural heritage.

They are likely to be very knowledgeable about the subject and share their understanding with others encouraging people to get involved. If your volunteers have a strong interest in what your organisation does they are more likely to be productive and efficient in their work as they are enthusiastic about the organisation’s goals.

Reliability 

Reliability is crucial when recruiting volunteers. If your volunteers don’t show up on time or cancel with no warning then it will have a big impact on your organisation. 

Heritage volunteering requires a significant commitment of time and effort. A reliable volunteer is someone who shows up on time, is responsible and follows through on commitments. This is particularly important in the heritage sector, where volunteers may be tasked with valuable artefacts.

Ensure when recruiting the volunteers you clearly state the hours they will need to commit to. 

Flexibility 

Heritage volunteering often involves working in dynamic and changing environments, and volunteers need to be adaptable to changes in plans or unexpected situations.

An adequate heritage volunteer is open-minded and willing to learn. They understand that cultural heritage is constantly evolving and changing, and are open to new ideas and approaches. They are also willing to take on new roles and responsibilities to fill in for others if necessary. 

Interpersonal skills

A sufficient heritage volunteer has strong interpersonal skills and is able to communicate effectively with a diverse range of people, including other volunteers, staff, and visitors. This also means they will be able to share their knowledge and expertise with others. 

Organisational skills

Volunteers need to be organised so they arrive for shifts on time without needing a reminder. However, if you do want to give your volunteers an extra prompt to ensure they remember their shifts TeamKinetic allows you to keep in close contact with your volunteers at all times. There are a range of customisable automatic emails and other ways you can contact them using system notifications, or SMS texts. You can read more about communication with volunteers here. 

Overall, volunteers with sufficient qualities can bring significant benefits to your heritage organisation. Therefore, it is important for organisations to recognise and value the qualities that volunteers bring and provide them with opportunities to grow and develop these skills.

 

If you’re looking for a volunteer management system, why not take a look at us? You can start a FREE trial over on our website or book a demo! 

 

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on G2, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.