Getting The Right Volunteers And Enough of Them

Last month, a community shoreline clean-up required a masse of hard-working and spirited volunteers. With no specific skills or time-commitment required, the organization’s broad-based recruitment campaign reached out to the entire community through radio announcements, brochures and posters, notices in the local paper and community business affiliations.

While I fell into this masse of garbage surfing grubbers, a few more committed volunteers were required to serve as site coordinators who would assess and recommend sites, stand as the contact person for volunteers and the organization, coordinate the removal of garbage and submit data to the organization. To recruit these volunteers, the recruitment effort sent out a more focused message to resource management students at the local university.

When a high level of expertise is required to fill your volunteer roles, your search will narrow in on a much smaller target group. You’ll want to appeal to these prospective volunteers with a unique and distinct recruitment message.

In contrast, broad-based recruitment reaches out to the masses and is the best and simplest approach when you need a large number of volunteers with no specific experience. Assume that everyone is alike in their motivation to volunteer and use a variety of means to get your message out to as many people as possible.

Consider some of the below methods and resources the next time you are trying to fill volunteer positions.

Tips for successful recruitment and happy volunteers:

Fill positions with the right people. You’ve already identified the available jobs, so fill these positions with the people that are best suited to the role. If you find out what people want to do, you will create roles that mutually benefit the organization and the volunteer and that keep the volunteer happy.

Make it easy. Let people choose how much or little time they would like to invest. At the outset, people are generally more willing to make a short-term commitment that has an end date or is flexible. Make the sign-up process as simple as possible and have somebody available to answer questions and concerns.

Do not recruit more volunteers than needed. People volunteer because they want to make a difference. If there is not adequate work available, people will quickly lose interest.

Recognize the work and efforts. Boost morale and increase the desire to stay by demonstrating to your volunteers that their contribution is important.

Tags:

Comments: 0

Getting The Right Volunteers And Enough of Them

Reply

Search

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Word of mouth Why aren’t people volunteering? Because they want to be asked! Not so surprisingly, while word of mouth is the simplest approach it remains the most effective as well as cost-effective. It’s a good idea to hand out a card or flyer so that potential volunteers can contact you or your organization.
  • Advocacy groups Linking with advocacy groups that support your cause provides you with a focused and motivated group of prospective volunteers.
  • Print Materials Think of exciting ways to evoke interest in your organization and/or your cause. If your brochure says “Volunteer” at the top then it’s not too likely that it will be picked up. Instead, “Become Part of the Solution” may draw more intrigue.
  • Local businesses Many companies are becoming more community aware and are encouraging employees to volunteer. A relationship with a local business has the benefit of providing you with a consistent and multi-skilled pool of volunteers.
  • Media Using the media generally requires a bigger budget and doesn’t usually generate firm commitments but it does keep your organization in the mind’s eye. However, consider opportunities to generate press releases which have no associated cost. Free media in the local paper or on the radio may also be available if you’re supporting a cause or are not-for-profit.
  • Schools Many high-schools now incorporate volunteer work into the curriculum. Contact university and college campus offices to find out how to get in touch with volunteers, student organizations, clubs, etc.
  • Own list of past volunteers If you have been doing everything right, then your list of past volunteers should want to come back for more!
  • Existing Network Don’t overlook your most readily available volunteers: your co-workers, clients, organizations that you work with regularly, etc.
  • Service organizations Knowing and building relationships with service groups in your area can be to your advantage if you regularly draw on volunteer support.
  • Volunteer referral services and directories Registering your opportunities with community referral services and directories is simple yet effective.
  • Internet Post your volunteer opportunity on your website. Many online volunteer directories also exist and you may want to find a regional or even national or international directory depending on the positions.

Dec 1st, 2010

Scroll to Top