Short answer, yes. Blog over!

Just kidding.

But it’s a silly question right? Anyone in the industry knows the answer is a resounding yes. But still, some people don’t realise the true impact of volunteering and volunteer management.

All organisations should ask themselves what would happen if all their volunteers left.

It would make things pretty hard, right?

Try impossible.

Some organisations would almost certainly cease to exist without volunteers. This highlights the incredible importance of volunteer management.

What are the benefits of good volunteer management?

From speaking to volunteers directly, it is absolutely vital that they are made to feel appreciated. When people are appreciated they are more likely to give 100% and be positive about what they’re doing. They need to feel like people not only want them there, but need them.

If volunteer managers can work out what it is that makes volunteers feel appreciated they will have a much higher chance of boosting their volunteer recruitment. For example, if you receive positive feedback from current volunteers and publicise it, you could see a boost in recruitment.

Keeping recruited volunteers happy is also key to the success of any volunteering project. Happy volunteers are motivated volunteers. They are also much more likely to help out on a long-term basis. Great volunteer management is a significant contributing factor to long-term satisfaction. Remember to check in with your volunteers regularly and build lasting relationships with them.

It can help you as well as them…

Furthermore, practising good volunteer management can help you, as a volunteer manager, gain a better reputation. This one is very much from a career development standpoint. If you’re able to show real feedback from the volunteers you’ve managed, it can help you take that next step in your career at a later date.

However, you must facilitate a way to receive this feedback. This can only be done through good volunteer management. How are you currently managing your volunteers? Is there a way to incorporate feedback? If not, is it time to look elsewhere and make your life a bit easier?

An example of feedback left by volunteers within TeamKinetic’s volunteer management system

How can volunteer management be made simpler?

Volunteer Management Software

Are you using volunteer management software? If not, this can be a great place to start. It can help you save countless hours of admin and make your job so much easier. Good volunteer management is far from a ‘one size fits all scenario’, so it’s all about finding the right system for you.

For instance, at TeamKinetic our approach to volunteer management is allowing volunteers to self-serve. This means they take control. They are given their own profile, and they can browse opportunities and join/apply for the ones that suit them. This saves admin time manually adding volunteers to opportunities and gets them more involved in their volunteer work. But fear not – if you have volunteers who don’t want to/can’t engage digitally, admin or provider users can manage everything on their behalf.

A volunteer’s achievement page within TeamKinetic

Another main feature is the ability to track the volunteer journey. From their registration date to logging their 100th hour, everything is recorded within TeamKinetic.

What’s your goal?

Working towards a goal can be a great motivator for any worker, paid or volunteer. But this goal should be made clear to all.

Does this goal reflect your organisation’s values? And does it reflect the values of those who come to volunteer for you?

Incentivisation

It can also help to add incentives based on your goal(s). Now, we know volunteers are selfless. Yet it can never hurt to reward these people for their hard work.

Tailoring your incentives to the demographics of your volunteer cohort is important. That’s why we offer a range of recognition features within TeamKinetic. This includes:

  • Tempo Time Credits: a new integration that allows volunteers to earn Tempo Time Credits based on how many hours they have logged. These credits can be exchanged for real-world experiences.
  • HourTrades: similar to Tempo, but totally internal to TeamKinetic. You can allow volunteers to redeem HourTrade vouchers for logged hours. What the HourTrade vouchers equate to is totally up to you!
  • Achievement Badges: based on how many hours a volunteer has logged, shown within their profile.
  • Feedback: good old-fashioned feedback. When a volunteer has logged some volunteering time, you can leave feedback for them to say thanks!

Other incentives could include certificates, thank you cards, LinkedIn endorsements, and more.

Knowing your target audience is the most vital part of making sure the volunteers are happy. The best way to find out what the volunteers want from an opportunity is to simply ask them!

Once this part of the research is nailed you could perhaps bring in one-off major incentives. For instance, instead of just a LinkedIn endorsement for a young volunteer, you could dedicate a whole post to them. This type of exposure is important for them and will make them want to do a better job for you.

So, is volunteer management important to you?

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