At a recent seminar I attended, Shari Pash led a discussion on volunteer development that I wanted to discuss on my blog.
If you have a diverse membership, it is important to have diverse volunteers!
Tap into their expertise, skill-set, influence, availability to commit, industry segment
Do you have the right people doing the right things? Set-up an excel sheet to identify and track the different attributes above.
Opportunities for volunteers - do you have a brochure that describes the different opportunities? You should create a profile for each opportunity:
- Name of opportunity (i.e. workforce, GR, Women’s Group);
- Purpose and goals of this opportunity - outcomes which are measurable; and
- Number of volunteers needed - long term, or short term (two weeks, in person or virtual).
Job Descriptions - what goes into a good job description?
- Expectations;
- Summary of position;
- Term of service;
- Attendance requirements;
- Qualifications; and
- Relation to staff and budget to get you started.
Recruitment of volunteers - you want to be strategic, relevant, sustainable.
Understand the volunteers motivation to serve as a volunteer - is it recognition, giving back, believes in your chamber?
What’s the DNA of a great volunteer? Next Generation Volunteer - they want to be asked, make a difference. Young professionals are digital, is your volunteerism analog or digital. They process information quickly - they have been doing this their whole life.
In my opinion, one of the most critical aspects of onboarding new volunteers starts with a solid orientation - you need to formalize the orientation process whether it be in-person or a webinar.
How are you recognizing your volunteers? It’s important to thank them in a way that works for you and will showcase your volunteers.
Good luck with your volunteer management!
