Check
out this sampling of articles from recent
issues of The Volunteer Management Report Newsletter...
--------------------Seeking
Volunteer Input-------------------
Give Volunteers a Voice
in Decisions
To better serve your
volunteers, go straight to the source:
Ask the volunteers themselves how you can
do better.
Cheryl Swartz, volunteer coordinator
for Waycross Community Media (Forest Park,
OH), was surprised when a recent volunteer
assessment came back stating that
volunteers didn’t feel involved in the decisions affecting their volunteer
work. After some consideration, Swartz has decided to get volunteers more involved
in this process.
“We want them to feel
involved and take ownership and pride in
our mission, so we have formed several committees
to plan and cause more involvement in up
coming events,” says Swartz. “I also have asked the staff to look
for ways to include our volunteers in all phases of their assignments.”
Consider
asking your volunteers how they feel about their involvement in decision-making
processes — you may be surprised at your findings.
Source: Cheryl Swartz, Volunteer Coordinator,
Waycross Community Media, Forest Park, OH.
--------------------Targeted
Retention--------------------
How to Recruit and
Retain Volunteer Tutors
In 2008, nearly 400 trained
tutors volunteered 9,700 hours to help teach
persons to read through Literacy Volunteers
of Buffalo and Erie County (Buffalo, NY).
Cheryl Lueke, volunteer services
coordinator, answers questions about recruiting
and retaining
these vital volunteer tutors:
What is your best advice for recruiting
tutoring volunteers?
“Be informative, polite, don’t
be too pushy and have all of the information
about your program readily available. Try
to get potential volunteers committed the
day they ask about the program and have them
sign up for orientation on the spot.”
Where are the best places to find tutors?
“Participate at tabling events, canvas
schools, place ads in local newspapers and
radio stations and ask current volunteers
to spread the word. These may not be innovative,
but they work.”
What are the top qualities of an exceptional
volunteer tutor?
“Volunteer tutors need to be dedicated,
timely, caring, compassionate and understanding
of diverse cultures and backgrounds.”
What are the critical steps in training
volunteer tutors?
“Keep volunteer tutors excited and
involved during the training with activities
and training exercises, be clear about the
message that you are sending, make sure they
understand the materials and what is expected
of them as a volunteer and insist that they
ask questions if unclear about a topic or
what they need to do.”
Should volunteer tutors
be required to pass a test to ensure their
ability to tutor — if
yes, what testing does your organization
employ?
“Although our organization does not
require our tutors to be tested at this moment,
it is something that we are open to trying
in the future.”
How do you evaluate volunteer progress and
reward volunteer tutors?
“We pretest and post-test our students
to monitor the tutor and student’s
progress. We understand that not all of our
students gain levels in reading or speaking
but they may gain in other areas. For example,
they may gain citizenship skills, employability
skills, get their GED or driver’s license.
We require our tutors to turn in goal accomplishment
sheets which can measure progress from the
pair along with monthly time sheets.”
Source: Cheryl Lueke, Volunteer
Services Coordinator, Literacy Volunteers
of Buffalo
and Erie County, Inc., Buffalo, NY.
--------------------Filling
Challenging Roles--------------------
Retaining Volunteer
in Intense Situations Takes Finesse
Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children
(CASA) of Jefferson and Gilpin Counties
(Golden, CO) are trained community volunteers
who speak in the best interest of abused
and neglected children. Melissa Hellmuth,
recruitment and training coordinator, manages
a pool of more than 200 volunteers. Due
to the nature of the volunteer work and
training involved for each volunteer, it
is crucial that CASA retain volunteers.
Hellmuth shares her top three
volunteer retention tips:
1. Always respect your
volunteer’s
time and talents by offering detailed job
descriptions in writing. These save time
by allowing the volunteer to immediately
evaluate the organization’s needs and
whether he/she is a good fit to fill a position.
Descriptions should also include any benefits
volunteers will receive.
2. Deliver clear, concise
expectations. Never sugarcoat your mission. Be clear about
what volunteers will do and what the organization
will do for them. “CASA volunteers
are working with kids who have been through
severe abuse and neglect and the organization
needs our volunteers to know what to do in
intense situations,” says Hellmuth. “We
make sure to evaluate each volunteer in the
interview and at training to make sure they
will be able to handle situations that come
up in our case work.”
3. Pay volunteers with
recognition. Always
be grateful of volunteers’ time and
talents by thanking them and offering appreciation
activities. “Make it known that the
organization would not be as successful as
it is without their help,” says Hellmuth. “We
send volunteers a six-month congratulations/thank-you
letter and give them a CASA pin when they
finish their first case and when they complete
their 12-hour continuing education. When
volunteers come and help at conventions or
help spread the word, we make sure to send
them a thank-you note. We highlight volunteers
who have done an outstanding job on their
casework in our newsletter.”
Source: Melissa Hellmuth, Recruitment and
Training Coordinator, CASA of Jefferson and
Gilpin Counties, Golden, CO.
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