Making the Most of Volunteers
Once you’ve managed to recruit a volunteer, you are still faced with the often daunting task of keeping them. Because volunteers volunteer by choice, with no monetary incentive, they are apt to leave an organization if they feel they are wasting their time or not meeting the expectations they had when they first arrived. NGOs need to anticipate the causes for dissatisfaction and think about ways to address the root of the problem before they lose volunteers they have worked very hard to recruit and train. Here is a list of common causes of volunteer discontent:
- Unclear Expectations
While the description of a project may seem exciting, the realities of the project may be less so, leading to volunteer dissatisfaction. When volunteers travel long distances for one reason and suddenly find themselves doing something totally different, it causes some discontent in the volunteer.
- Lack of Support
Everyone knows that directors of NGOs often have a many things to worry about, but this is no excuse to neglect the people who help your organization run, volunteers. No matter what NGO directors or employees may have planned it is important that they make time to sit and talk with their volunteers. The volunteers will see this as opportunity to share their thoughts on their project and the organization.
- Too much free time
Generally, the decision for volunteers to travel half-way across the world to work with an organization is not taken lightly. When they finally commit to an organization they expect a degree of accountability and fulfillment from their work. Volunteers with excessive free time or those whose mission is not quite clear are much more prone to exhibit dissatisfaction, which reflects in a poor quality of work. Possible Solution: Encourage ways for the volunteer to manage their time. Find out what the main cause of free time is, if they have too little to do, give them other significant projects to work on, if it has to do with time management, encourage them to map out their time better.
- Lack of Accountability
When volunteers first begin working for an organization it is not unusual to have them constantly asking superiors whether what they are working on is what they were looking for. Being a newcomer in an organization is never easy, which is why lack of feedback from superiors can lead to frustrations and wasted time of volunteers and employees because the work will often have to be redone.
- Feeling Unappreciated
Volunteers are often given the less glamorous tasks when they first sign on with an organization. While the work they do may be critical to the organization, volunteers may think otherwise, feeling they are not valued and their skills are not being fully utilized.
Now that you know have a better idea of the problems to expect when working with a volunteer, here are a few suggestions to help you retain and keep a volunteer coming back:
- Opportunities for Career Enhancement
By helping volunteers acquire new skills and relating these skills to the marketplace, you enable them to add value and feel like they are improving with the project.
- Recognition
Find creative ways to show your volunteer that you appreciate all the hard work they put in. You could do anything from invite them for dinner or a family outing. Spending time outside the office will also allow you to get to know the volunteer on a personal level making the volunteer feel more at home. Try to have the volunteer feel included in the community activities. If there are few other volunteers around, they can get bored in the evenings. It is important for the general contentment of the volunteer to have a variety of activities to participate in outside work.
- Meaningful Work
If the work wasn’t meaningful, then you probably wouldn’t have the volunteer there in the first place. Nonetheless, it is important to constantly reaffirm the importance of the work and the organization. Allow volunteers to sit in on planning and general staff meetings. Include them in as much of the overall planning of activities as possible. Provide them ample opportunities to voice their opinions and feelings.
- Personal Growth
Provide suggestions on ways the volunteer can improve their skills. If their writing is not as strong try giving them suggestions on ways to improve it. You can also encourage them to develop skills they express interest in, like computers or management. If volunteers are interested in hobbies that are non-work related, help them find quality instructors that can guide them. Remember, volunteer don’t go to foreign countries to do work they can often do at home; they also come to experience the countries’ culture and lifestyle.
- Respect
Treat volunteers as staff by inviting them to attend staff meetings instead of manning the phone. Try placing a volunteer on your management team and giving them a voice within the organization. By giving them responsibility they feel that they have a vested interest in the organizations success and will most often provide much greater quality work.
- Keep them Connected
Volunteers can be valuable resources after they have left India. By keeping them connected to the organization either through online networks or having them champion your cause overseas, you can create life-long connections with the volunteer that could be beneficial in the future.