It can be challenging to retain volunteers, as they may have other commitments or lose interest over time. In this blog post, we will share some top tips for volunteer retainment, which can help you keep your volunteers engaged and committed.

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate 

Be responsive and easy to get hold of if a volunteer needs you. If it’s hard for them to communicate with you online or in person, it won’t keep volunteers engaged and might put them off from volunteering for your organisation in the future. 

If consistent communication with your volunteers is currently something you struggle with then why not opt for a volunteer management system like ours? With our volunteer management system, you can keep in close contact with your volunteers at all times. Within our system, there are a range of customisable automatic emails and you can use system notifications, and SMS texts to remind volunteers about their shifts. 

2. Show your appreciation 

Volunteers want to feel that their work is making a difference. Recognise their contributions publicly, and show appreciation for their efforts. This could be as simple as a thank-you email, a shoutout on social media, or a small party. It’s important to celebrate your volunteers all year round but with Volunteers Week just around the corner, this would be the perfect time to show them some appreciation. We have some ideas for how to celebrate your volunteers here.

3. Always ask for feedback

Seek feedback from volunteers about their experiences and use this feedback to continuously improve your volunteer program. This could include making changes to the volunteer onboarding process, offering new opportunities or roles, or addressing any concerns.

Within our volunteer management system, you can receive volunteer and opportunity feedback. This way you can regularly be informed if there are any problems with your volunteer programme and improve these issues. 

4. Create a community 

Create a community of volunteers. Volunteers are going to be more inclined to continue volunteering for your organisation if they have made new friends. Within our volunteer management system, we have opportunity chat rooms that help volunteers maintain strong relationships.

5. Provide opportunities for growth 

Offering opportunities for growth and development can help retain volunteers in the long run. This could include external training courses or leadership roles within the organisation. Proposing these opportunities to volunteers will mean they will be more likely to continue to volunteer for your organisation as they are gaining new skills and experience which might be their motive for volunteering. 

Interested in speeding up your volunteer registrations and reducing administrative burden? Why not start with a volunteer management system? With TeamKinetic you can start a FREE trial today over on our website or book a demo!

Ensure you follow us on our social media pages to receive regular updates about the voluntary sector and learn more about the TeamKinetic system. 

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