Practice area 3
Volunteer support, leadership and management
Principles
- Volunteering activities are supported by appropriate leadership and resourcing
- Volunteer programmes are managed by supported and resourced volunteer managers.
- People with responsibility for volunteers have sufficient resources and training to effectively do their job.
Why this practice is important
Good leadership creates a motivating environment and great volunteer experience so volunteers are able and willing to do their best work. These all keep volunteers connected with their organisation.
Volunteers provide their time in exchange for the opportunity to make a difference within their community. Volunteers are not a free resource; they need support, leadership, and management to contribute effectively to an organisation. Volunteer managers should make the process of volunteering as easy as possible, by removing barriers to access, enabling organisations to deliver services to their communities and fulfil their purpose or kaupapa.
What volunteers need
- To have their needs and preferences understood
- To be supported to fulfil and grow in their roles
- To be kept engaged and feel part of the organisation
- To have the support of knowledgeable, skillful, and confident volunteer managers
- To know they are making a meaningful contribution
What good practice looks like
Understand the volunteer’s preferences
- Determine whether the volunteer wants social interaction as part of a group or is happy working alone or with a partner
- Understand what they want to gain from volunteering early in their role
- Find out what they want to learn and the skills they want to develop
- Maintain regular contact to find out how they are getting on
Support volunteers to be fulfilled and grow in their roles
- Create an environment which ensures volunteer’s wellbeing is supported
- Check-in with them to ensure the volunteering is working for them and whether there are changes to expectations – has anything changed since they started?
- Identify and deliver pastoral care needs e.g. provide emotional support
- Ensure cultural and emotional wellbeing of volunteers e.g. address the fear of fitting in culturally
- Involve volunteers wherever possible in decisions that affect them – seek their input and suggestions
- Keep engaging with volunteers, ensuring they are happy, coping and adding value – addressing any issues on performance and coaching them on how to perform their role
- Understand and communicate the volunteer role. How it will begin, progress and how and when it will finish?
- Empower volunteers to be proactive in areas relevant to their work
- Address any big concerns about the role at the start e.g. who will I hand over to? What will happen with the work I’ve contributed so much to?
- Address behaviour that is unacceptable or when tasks are not being completed as agreed
- Have systems in place so that volunteers can raise concerns they may have.
Organisational leaders should ensure volunteer managers have the knowledge, skills, and support to manage volunteers well
- Ensure volunteer managers are trained and skilled in supporting and mentoring new volunteers
- Ensure volunteer leaders know what the existing volunteer management processes are
- Manaakitanga! Everyone plays a part in nurturing and growing volunteers
- Ensure the organisation’s staff value volunteers, know about volunteer’s needs, and understand and are knowledgeable about the volunteer roles and what’s involved/ expected
Managing volunteers remotely
- Communicate regularly and frequently, matching communication to the volunteer and situation
- Provide speedy responses
- Ensure that volunteers are kept informed of what is happening across the organisation and of any changes