My first “AHA” moment came about a year into my volunteer coordinator role. After multiple one-on-one interviews and several background checks, I placed a newly onboarded volunteer in a care center setting. It wasn’t the shock that he’d misled me, nor the crushing disappointment that I’d put my trust in someone who had an ulterior motive that had me reeling. It was the realization that I had underestimated how much I knew about engaging volunteers.
I’d gone in with the naive notion that “managing” volunteers was fairly simple. Recruit, train, place, praise, rinse and repeat. After all, how complicated could it be? And so, the next 30-odd years taught me that complexity doesn’t even scratch the surface. Engaging volunteers is like walking into the Louvre. Sure, you can go see the Mona Lisa and call it a day, but what about all the world treasures down every hallway that give you a glimpse into the vast interconnectedness of our world?
As I navigated volunteerism’s layers that never stopped showing themselves, I struggled to keep all this newfound knowledge organized and accessible. Notes, scraps of paper, voicemails to myself from the office phone, conversations with anyone willing to listen became my norm. Gathering ideas and realizations into a usable system was daunting. What about my unexpected conversation with a volunteer who shared her struggles because her father had just been diagnosed with cancer? Suddenly I understood that during volunteer onboarding I needed to cover how personal circumstances might impact sensitive situations.
And then, when the first volunteer quit on my watch, I went into guilt mode. How could I have let this happen? It took some time and more experience before I stopped blaming myself and looked at volunteers leaving in a logical and naturally occurring way. What would help me understand why volunteers quit? How could I encourage them to stay?
Engaging volunteers is sort of like solving a Rubik’s Cube. You twist and turn all these squares back and forth until they line up. Does the volunteer have what they need? Is their role worthy of their time? Is staff on board with the volunteer’s help? Are the steps in place to meet any challenges that arise? Will their skills be put to use? How will this role enhance their lives and be enough to make them want to come back?
Years later, I wished I’d had a workbook. Sure, I attended every conference I could within the budget I had, read every blog and article on volunteer management available, listened to podcasts and webinars, and took advantage of any opportunity afforded me. This education was invaluable.
But I also learned by “the seat of my pants.” And so, a couple of years ago, I asked myself, “What tool would have helped me sort through all these complexities living in my head and on paper?” Over the next 2 years, I created the Volunteer Engagement, Impact and Value workbook for myself, the person who wished for more organization thirty years ago. Much of what I’ve included came from all my learning experiences, both good and bad, curated with the expert advice that made sense.
This is a working person’s workbook. In journal format, it gives you space to capture your ideas, experiences, and ultimately your vision for a vibrant volunteer program that works for you, your organization, the community, and the volunteers you engage. Drawing from personal experience, I’ve included duplicate pages for those subjects that consistently overflowed with notes.
Within each volunteer engagement professional, there lies a genuine leader, one who learns from each situation, each unique volunteer, and each circumstance that challenges, uplifts, and instructs. By interweaving all the expert advice you’ve encountered with your own hands-on knowledge, I know your vision will guide volunteering into a promising future.
Each workbook prompt is meant to stimulate, not instruct.
Each section is meant for contemplation, not rules.
Each question is meant to drive volunteerism forward, not hold it hostage to the way I did things. You are the expert here.
The workbook is available in paperback form on Amazon. It does not come with a pen or pencil, so the choice is yours. Please use it to put your personal stamp on your work.
A few section examples include:
- Determining the qualities to look for in a volunteer
- Creating ads for today’s volunteers
- Interview questions
- Volunteer motivations
- Capturing social proof
- Onboarding, which includes outlining the contents for a volunteer handbook
- Training and role descriptions
- Retention
- Ethics and difficult conversations
- Reports that capture impact and value
- and more
I sincerely hope this workbook is a valuable tool as you uncover your volunteer engagement, impact and value vision.
I’d love to hear from you. Please let me know what you think.
-Meridian
volunteerplaintalk 