Volunteer Management 101

The Basics of Volunteer Management

Cabinet for Health and Family Services

Etymology of the Word

• volunteer (n.)c.1600, "one who offers himself for military service," Non-military sense is first recorded 1638. The verb is first recorded 1755, from the noun.

volunteer. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved February 12, 2007, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/volunteer

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/volunteer




Step 1. Create a Plan

Using the Logic Model for Planning


Logic Model

A logic model is a planning tool. It summarizes and visually presents the

relationships between the key elements of a plan, such as goals, needs, inputs, outputs

and results.


Logic Model for Volunteer Management

Needs

Goal

Outputs Inputs

Intermediate Outcomes

End Outcomes


Needs

What tasks, events, etc. need to be accomplished?

Example –AmeriCorps members will recruit volunteers to read with students.


Goal

What is the goal, or expected result, that will come from completed task?

Example – Students will gain the benefits of having a caring adult in their lives and improve their reading skills.


Inputs

What resources will you need to meet the identified need?

Examples – Volunteer recruitment plan, volunteers, books, a way to record progress, means to track numbers of volunteers, means to track hours volunteers read to students.


Outputs

What and how many products and services will be provided?

Example – Each AmeriCorps member will recruit 20 volunteers.


Intermediate Outcomes

What is the short term benefit of the task?

Example – There will be more volunteers in the schools reading to students.


End Outcome

What is the longer term benefit of completing the task?

Example – Students will increase reading levels and benefit from the relationship formed with their volunteer.


Why the Logic Model

The Logic Model can be used for planning AND evaluation/reporting.


Position Descriptions

Once you have completed the logic model writing a position description should be

relatively easy. You already know how many volunteers you might need and the types of

activities they will be doing. Think of the position description as the who, what, where and how. These are all important things to

have in place prior to recruiting any volunteer.


Step 2. Recruit and Place Volunteers

• Plan a recruitment strategy– We have to be creative about recruiting these

days. One of the benefits of having completed the position description and used the logic model to plan is having all the information necessary to launch a recruitment campaign.


Screening Applicants

• Screen applicantsAfter you have recruited potential volunteers, you will want to

do some sort of screening. Screening can include review of written application, face to face interview, reference checking, police record check, FBI screening, etc.

My suggestion is to follow the agencies screening process for new hires for any volunteer that will be with you long term or

who will have any interaction with children or vulnerable populations such as children, people with disabilities or the

elderly.


Placing Volunteers

• Place in appropriate positions– It is easiest to place appropriately if you have

done good screening and gotten to know the potential applicant during the process.


Step 3. Orient and Train Volunteers

• Orientation covers topics like a volunteers schedule, dress code, what door to use, “clocking” in and out, and information about the culture of the agency.

• Training is providing volunteers with the skills they need to complete their assignment.


Step 4. Supervise and Recognize

• Volunteers need to know who to report to, who to go to when they have questions and who will be evaluating their performance. This person should be able to tell them details about their task and assist if needed. Each volunteer should have a time to meet with their supervisor to go over their service and talk about impact, performance, etc.


Evaluations

• Evaluations of performance is as important to volunteers as it is paid employees. Volunteers need to know their efforts are making a difference for the organization.


Step 5. Evaluate the Entire Program

• In most non profits we have to justify what we are doing to some funder or “higher up”. We have to be able to provide data about the success of the volunteer program. Evaluations make this possible.


Evaluations

• The volunteer coordinator should be able to tell what has been accomplished through the use of volunteer resources. Evaluations will help answer questions like how many hours have been served, how many volunteers have been recruited and how many clients have been helped.


Motivation

Why do people volunteer?


Basic Motivators

• Praise

• Accomplishment

• Affiliation

• Influence


Motivators

Praise• Praise is one of the most common

motivators yet one of the hardest to admit to because of our fear of appearing immodest or dependent on others’ opinions of us. One can tell if one is praise-motivated by checking to see if a compliment, an award, or some other type of approval from another person or persons is what makes one feel successful. Praise motivated people need feedback, need to hear your opinion of how they’re doing, or they cannot feel successful. One should evaluate all volunteers, but it is especially important with praise-motivated people who need feedback to know if their on the right track.


Motivators

Accomplishment• On the other hand,

accomplishment motivated people, while appreciating a compliment, only need their own senses to tell if they are successful. These are people who must have physical evidence of completion to feel successful; a full “out” box, boxes stacked neatly in rows, ten dozen cookies baked, etc. In fact, if your compliment is overly warm and doesn’t match their own assessment of their success, they won’t believe you. These volunteers can only feel effective with projects with tangible results.


Motivators

Affiliation• Affiliate people identify with a team or

group, whether a partner or friend, a family group, a company, school or organization, or even a nation. What matters to them is that their team is successful: they draw their sense of their own success from association with the team. If their college team wins the Bowl game, they themselves fell victorious. These volunteers need to be proud of the organization itself, but also are happiest working within a team setting or with others they respect and like. Hearing their team praised means more to them than individual praise.


Motivators

Influence/Power• This motivator is often called just

“power”, but that word has negative connotations of control. While there are controlling volunteers, they are not the majority of individuals with this motivator. Far more simply want to feel their ideas are respected and valued enough to be taken seriously, so we call them influence-motivated. They are unhappy as “cogs in a wheel” – much happier as part of the steering mechanism of the metaphorical vehicle. They want their suggestions and examples to instruct and inspire others to make positive changes, whether it’s putting an at-risk youth on the path to better choices or helping a whole organization get better contacts in a new community.


Recognition

Recognition is an important step in retaining a quality volunteer. Knowing a volunteer’s

motivator will help in planning a meaningful recognition.


My Contact Information

Melissa Newton, Training Officer

KCCVS

275 E. Main St. 3W-F

Frankfort, KY 40621

1-800-239-7404

[email protected]

www.volunteerky.ky.gov

Volunteer Management 101

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