Volunteer Management
Alison Randle • 16 May 2020
There are attempts to quantify the value of volunteering in the UK, but with their focus on formal volunteer programmes and charity shops, these figures can only ever be an under estimate. Even so, nearly three-quarters of volunteers are de-motivated because they haven’t been asked how they want to help, and they feel their skills, experience or interests are being underutilised.
Good volunteer management is simply a question of working out who wants to do what, when, making sure they feel that what they’re doing is meaningful and then thanking them for it. Achieving elegant simplicity takes diligent work, but it really can be that simple, all it needs is planning, good admin systems and clear communication. It’s an area that brings great rewards – happy volunteers can achieve so much for the work of the organisation and for the beneficiaries of the organisation (the ‘of and through’ set out in ‘community development’). Plus there are metta benefits, with the volunteers themselves being the beneficiaries both of their work and the work of the organisation. I work with organisations to improve admin processes and communications, including skills audits, as well as to help them define role descriptions and volunteer specifications, plus any training that’s required to help bed in the principles.
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