The Real Lives of Volunteer Coordinators
A Blog for us to Learn from Each Other
Volunteer Coordinator Resource Community Recap February 16 - February 23
There were many great topics and questions brought up this week in the Volunteer Coordinator Resource Community that got a lot of attention, or at least should get some more engagement!
To start, the topics of recruiting volunteers, the volunteer application, and the onboarding process were brought up in different ways this week. Let’s dive in!
Volunteer Onboarding
Volunteer Orientation and Info Sessions are an essential part of the volunteer onboarding experience, but sometimes it is the extra little bits of effort and detail that really make volunteers feel welcome and excited!
With coronavirus, volunteers might not know their limits, so onboarding is a great way to explore the options with them of what might occur when COVID is less prevalent, and how they will handle activities until then.
Here’s what the comments had to say:
“We moved from monthly in-person orientations to online orientation with an in-person Shelter Tour.’
“We had in person orientation until covid. Then we moved it all online and just recently started requiring online scheduling for visits. Waldenhumane.org.”
“We stopped on boarding thru the pandemic, we are only allowing a few volunteers in at this time. But getting everything together for when we do reopen”
If you find yourself in a similar boat as the above volunteer coordinators, or you have any advice on volunteer onboarding throughout COVID, comment here!
Volunteer Application And Role Matching
The way that different volunteer organizations decide to accept volunteers is completely up to them, but those that decide to do a volunteer application system should have a system in place so that all applicants are treated fairly, and know how their application is processed! It should be made clear if they are applying for a specific volunteer position, or if one is being chosen for them.
Here are some of the comments from the post!
“I work for a wildlife park. We have specific departments that our volunteers can work with, e.g. Animals, gardens, enrichment etc. If someone applys, I usually send them an application form, which gives me information such as what it is they are looking to do with us, when they are avaliable, previous experience (if any). This helps me to break down what I may or may not be able to offer. “
“I work for my local animal shelter and we have the volunteers sign up where I learn about their experience and interest and whatnot and they then attend an info session, and I email them the liability forms and the handbooks and all that and then they complete 3 one hour a day training sessions and then they are able to volunteer with the section they want (i.e. dogs, cats, surgery, etc.)”
“We have a Volunteer Interest Form on our website (simple Google Form that triggers an email to me) that helps them gauge volunteer opportunities. I follow-up with everyone's interest and its up to them to schedule a meeting with me. I have a 'You Can Book Me' account and have ample times on when we can virtually meet (links to Zoom account). From there I do 1:1 Volunteer Information Sessions where we talk about the organization, services we provide, volunteer opportunities, and next steps. I do an informal interview with everyone and gauge interests in specific volunteer roles. Afterwards, if I deem them fit for the volunteer role I send them the formal volunteer application/background check. Its the best way for us to make sure we are getting the best volunteers. I do prewarn that it takes about 2-3 weeks to become a volunteer with us. “
“We advertise specific roles just like a job. They apply for specific roles if interviewed I gauge not only suitable for that role but the 5 others I have available for alternate matching.”
If you have anything you would like to comment on with your process for volunteer application and roles, comment here!
Resources For Volunteer Applications & Onboarding:
Opening Your Volunteer Program with COVID-19 Guidelines - A Volunteer Guide
All of the Best Volunteer Handbooks from the Internet Compiled in One Spot
Volunteer Management / Paid Staff Work Loads
Many people in a volunteer management role have experienced burnout or feeling overwhelmed. It is natural, but sometimes there is something that you can do to avoid burnout, or not put too much on your plate.
Advice From The Comments About Volunteer Management
“I think it really depends on each unique organization. I volunteer with an organization that spends about 5 minutes on boarding new volunteers (which is not good, but it's outside of my control). Another one spends about 10 hours doing a formal training and certification. Can you track your own experiences and come up with an average based on your own organizational culture and expectations?”
“I have not seen anything for ratios for paid support but have seen recommendations about building out your own volunteer team to support you in volunteer management. I think you are barking up the right tree with quantifying the “cost” of a new volunteer at your organization but would also challenge you to start outlining job descriptions to identify how the work would be split if you got your dream team hired. It always helps me to split out tasks as I can better picture how many people (paid and unpaid) it will take and then work the numbers to advocate for that.”
“When I felt very, very overwhelmed I hired an AmeriCorps member and it helped tremendously. Has your organization looked into that for?”
“Also one thing that helped me is to remembee that volunteer coordinators also need volunteers. I was so busy supplying them for everyone else I forgot to recruit some to help me.”
“1. Work 40-45 hours a week and see what happens. Keep track of what doesn’t get done and ask for help with that. 2 Do you have volunteers helping you run the vol program? Can they help onboard and train? Can they run info sessions? Are you still doing filing/data entry or do you have volunteers doing it? 3. Figure out how many full time equivalents (fte) your volunteers equal and compare to what other staff are managing?”
Resources On Volunteer Management
Volunteer Background Checks
We have discussed volunteer background checks before in this group, but it is an important topic to bring up. And, specifically, the questions of who is paying for volunteer background checks, and are volunteers ever reimbursed if they pay?
The comments about Volunteer Background Checks:
“Our volunteer are in the public school system and yes they have to pay for their background check and we don't reimburse.”
“We cover our county volunteer background checks but did require our affiliate groups ( coaches) to pay for theirs.”
“We background check and have historically asked volunteers to cover the cost. For equity and not wanting ability to pay to be a barrier, I advocated for a fund to pay for checks if anyone would like. In the description I send, it says to reach out if they would like us to cover the costs. It has worked well!”
If you would like to add on this topic, or propose a new idea - comment here!
We have written a great resource on Track It Forward about Volunteer Background checks - take a look!
Feeling Zoomed Out?
You know what we mean, you are trying to do so many at-home opportunities, but most people are getting pretty annoyed with the whole zoom meetings, zoom games, or breakout sessions.
So, what’s next? How do you keep entertaining and retaining volunteers without video chats?
We are hoping to start a working forum of ideas for creative volunteer coordinators and managers to help each other by creating a creative list of non-zoom-related ways to recognize, interact with, and engage volunteers!