Developing and Managing Volunteer Programs

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2008.
Adapted from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff.

The Library topic is called "Managing Volunteer Programs" to emphasize that, for the organization and its volunteers to benefit the most from each other, volunteers should be managed as part of an overall, systematic program, somewhat similar to the systematic approach that should be used to managing employees. Certainly there are differences between how employees and volunteers are managed, but the differences are probably much less than most people realize.

The following links are to sections in this overall topic and the sections are organized in the order in which they might be needed in an organization that is starting a volunteer management program -- the order of the links themselves suggest the systematic nature of a well designed volunteer management program. Organizations that already have established programs can use this overall topic by going directly to the sections that are relevant to current priorities in their current program. The links below present a wide variety of perspectives and materials about volunteer management programs/systems.

Sections of This Topic Include:

Considerations in Establishing or Modifying Volunteer Management Systems
Online Tutorial About Volunteer Management Programs
Role of Volunteer Managers
Staffing Analysis (Deciding Whether Volunteers Are Needed)
Legal and Risk Considerations
Policies and Procedures
Volunteer Job/Task Descriptions
Volunteer Recruitment
Screening Volunteers
Selecting ("Hiring") Volunteers
Orienting and Training Volunteers
Supervising (delegating, evaluating, addressing issues, rewarding, etc.)
Volunteer and Staff Relations
Assessing Your Volunteer Management Practices

Additional Information:

Virtual Volunteering
General Resources

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Designing and Operating Your Volunteer Management System

Considerations in Establishing or Modifying Volunteer Management Systems

Note that the extent to which an organization develops and implements a volunteer management system depends on the nature of the activities to be conducted by the volunteers. For example, an organization that uses many volunteers, some of whom directly serve people, will probably use a very comprehensive system. In contrast, an organization that occasionally uses volunteers to stuff envelopes, might do a brief solicitation to recruit any volunteers that the organization can get and then do a very brief training, afterwards leaving the volunteers alone to perform their task.
What is the legal definition of 'volunteer'?
Definition of Volunteer
Volunteer Management Theory
Essential Volunteer Management
setting up an all-volunteer program
Where can I find information on volunteer program management?
Considerations in setting up an all-volunteer program?
Setting up a volunteer management system: initial assessment
What's a good program development strategy?
Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement
Rethinking Volunteer Involvement
Volunteer Connections: Creating an accessible and inclusive environment
A Matter of Design: Job Design theory and application to the voluntary sector
Managing Volunteer Boundaries
Hands For Nature: A Volunteer Management Handbook
Best Practices for Developing a Volunteer Management Program

Online Tutorial about Volunteer Management

Volunteer Program Management Mini-University Volunteer Program Management Mini-University

Role of Volunteer Managers

The primary role of the volunteer manager is to establish and operate the volunteer management system.
Susan Ellis' resources for volunteer managers
Volunteer Managers and the Time Management Trap
Volunteer Manager Skills

Staffing Analysis (Deciding Whether Volunteers Are Needed)

Staffing analysis includes the activities to examine what expertise is needed to achieve the business and/or strategic goals of the organization. Then the types of needed expertise are further examined in order to discern which types might be provided by paid employees and by volunteers.
Planning a Volunteer Position
How Will We Know What Volunteers Can Do For Our Organization?
Should we keep volunteer and staff roles clearly different?
Also consider the topic for employees: Workforce planning (including succession planning)

Legal and Risk Considerations

There are a variety of types of legal and risk considerations when using volunteers in an organization, eg, what insurance is needed, what rights to volunteers have in the workplace, what employment laws also apply to volunteers, and how can you ensure that volunteers act ethically, etc. The reader will get a more clear understanding of legal and risk considerations by reading the topics in the following section about management policies and procedures.
Answers to numerous questions about volunteer programs
Federal Law Protects Nonprofit Volunteers
How can we get insurance for volunteers?
Myths of Risk Management: Part 1
Myths of Risk Management: Part 2
Myths of Risk Management: Part 3
Where can we get insurance for our volunteers?
How much information should be provided to volunteers?
Insuring Volunteers

Policies

Policies are general guidelines that personnel can reference in order to make decisions and get guidance on how to act in certain situations, eg, a policy about dress codes. Procedures are specific step-by-step directions regarding completion of a specific task, eg, powering up a computer. Policies help ensure that volunteers are supervised and that they act according to a legal, ethical and organizationally-preferred manner in the workplace. Policies are often in regard to, eg, definition of volunteer, rights and responsibilities, confidentiality, background checks, safety, record keeping, conflict-of-interest, dress codes, orientation, training, supervision, evaluations, corrective actions, etc. The astute reader will recognize that the policies in regard to volunteers are very similar in nature to the policies for employees.
Benefits of Policies
Sample Volunteer Management Policies
Volunteer Management Procedure
Policies and Procedures for Volunteer Programs
Volunteer Policies
The Volunteer Policy

Volunteer Job/Task Descriptions

You should be clear about what you expect from each of your volunteers. Volunteers deserve to know what you expect from them, as well. To recruit volunteers for a specific role or job, you will need a clear job description from which to develop the advertisements and to show to any potential candidates. Therefore, each volunteer should have a job, or task, description. The description should specify at least whom the volunteer reports to, any general duties and responsibilities, and any specific tasks to perform. Job descriptions might include additional information, eg, level of expertise and education needed for the job, minimum requirements of expertise, etc.
Planning and Volunteer Position
How do I develop creative volunteer roles?
sample job descriptions another sample
Also consider the topic for employees: Specifying Jobs and Roles (analysis, description and competencies)
Also consider the topic for employees: Job Descriptions

Volunteer Recruitment

Recruitment usually involves identifying the most likely sources of suitable candidates for volunteer positions, how to approach those sources, and then approaching each source. Sources might include, eg, advertisements in the newspaper, word-of-mouth of employees, recommendations from clients, online (or virtual) sources, professional placement advisors ("headhunters"), volunteer fairs (events in which many organizations that need volunteers attend to recruit volunteers), etc. Candidates who are interested in certain positions often complete an application form, including providing a resume.

General Guidelines

What should we do before we start to recruit volunteers?
Recruitment Techniques
How to Recruit and Keep Volunteers
Canadian Heritage on recruiting volunteers
Recruitment and Selection
Recruitment

Advertising

Characteristics of Good Recruitment Message
How do we advertise our volunteer opportunities?
Where should we place our volunteer ads?

Online Recruitment

Can we recruit volunteers via the Internet?
Virtual Volunteering Project
Also consider the topic for employees: Recruiting (sourcing and advertising)

Screening Volunteers

Each potential candidate for a volunteer position is usually screened. The extent of screening for each position depends on the nature of the tasks to be performed by the volunteer, eg, whether the volunteer will be working directly with people in a health facility, etc. Screening often involves carefully examining each application, conducting background checks (eg, to verify information in the resume, identify any legal problems, etc.), and interviewing the most suitable candidates.

General Guidelines

Guide to Screening Volunteers
Why screen volunteers at all?
Volunteer Canada's Safe Steps screening program
Methods of Screening Potential Volunteers
Also consider the topic for employees: Screening Applicants

Application forms

What should go into a volunteer application form?
What should not be on an application?

Background Checks

Criminal Background Checks
Must we do criminal background checks on our volunteers?
Do we have background checks for long-term volunteers?
Reference Checking Do's and Don'ts

Interviewing

Interviewing
Effective Volunteer Interviewing
Is it important to interview volunteers?
What should we ask when interviewing a volunteer?
Also consider the topic for employees: Interviews

Selecting ("Hiring") Volunteers

After candidates have been screened, ideally there is one candidate that seems to be the most suitable for each unfilled volunteer position. Each suitable candidate should be formally (or officially) approached with an offer letter that describes the terms that the organization is offering and the activities that the organization wants the volunteer to conduct. The offer might include any benefits, eg, free trainings, use of facilities for private use, etc.
Sample Volunteer Agency Agreement
Volunteer Contract Can Define Commitments
How to Identify Great Volunteers
Also consider the topic for employees: Selecting (Hiring) New Employees

Orienting and Training Volunteers

If the nature of the volunteer's work is very basic and routine, then a volunteer might require only a very basic and general introduction to the organization and task they are to complete. In contrast, if the nature of the volunteer's work is rather complex, eg, supervising patients in a particular setting in a health facility, then the volunteer will likely require a complex orientation to the organization and also training about, eg, policies and procedures, how to respond to particular situations, when to ask for help, how to use certain facilities, etc.
Volunteer Training and Development
How do we know what training our volunteers need?
How do we develop effective training for our volunteers?
How can we be sure training is meeting volunteers' needs?
Also consider the topic for employees: Employee Orientation Programs
Also consider the topic for employees: Training Basics for Supervisors and Learners

Supervising Volunteers (Retaining, Feedback and Motivation, Evaluating, Rewarding, and Firing Volunteers)

Supervision includes a variety of activities, eg, establishing goals with the volunteer, observing the volunteer's activities to achieve the goals, providing guidance so the volunteer achieves the goals effectively and efficiently (ie, has strong "performance"), evaluates the volunteer's performance, rewards strong performance, addresses any performance issues, and fires the volunteer, if necessary. Some supervisors are also closely involved in staffing analysis, development of job descriptions, recruiting, selecting, and orienting and training, as well. The activities to establish goals and provide guidance are usually considered to be the activities of delegation. If the goals are specifically assigned to the volunteer, with little or no involvement from the volunteer, and the supervisor closely watches the volunteer (rather than generally guides them) and provides specific directions, then those activities might more aptly be described as work directing, rather than delegating.

Supervision and Delegation

Supervision
Supervision and Evaluation
What supervision styles work best for volunteers?
Supporting, Recognizing and Supporting Volunteers
Seven Steps to Effective Volunteer Support
Involve Volunteers in Decision Making
How to Get the Best from Your Volunteer Workforce
Planning and Managing a Project with Volunteers in Mind
Essential Volunteer Management
Volunteer Management Mistakes to Avoid
Management and Supervision
Also consider the topic for employees: Delegating
Also consider the topic for employees: Establishing Performance Goals

Retaining Volunteers

Retaining Volunteers
Also consider the topic for employees: Retaining Employees

Giving Feedback and Motivating

Also consider the topic for employees: Observation and Feedback
Also consider the topic for employees: Coaching
Also consider the topic for employees: Morale (Boosting)
Also consider the topic for employees: Motivating

Evaluating

It seems rude to evaluate volunteers. Do we really have to?
Also consider the topic for employees: Evaluating Performance

Rewarding

Volunteer Support and Recognition
Recognition Principles
What are some ways to thank volunteers?
Why is it important to recognize volunteer contributions?
Matching the "Thank You" to the Volunteer
Twenty Great Ways to Reward Volunteers
Also consider the topic for employees: Rewarding Performance

Addressing Performance Issues

When is a Volunteer Burnt Out?
Also consider the topic for employees: Performance Plans
Also consider the topic for employees: Recognizing Performance Problems ("Performance Gaps")
Also consider the topic for employees: Performance Improvement / Development Plans

Firing

How to Fire a Volunteer
Also consider the topic for employees: Firing Employees

Volunteer and Staff Relations

Sometimes employees and volunteers can perceive themselves to be so different from each other that they spend little time together, don't communicate between each other, and eventually experience conflict between each other.
How to Deal With Conflict
Conflict Between Paid Staff and Volunteers
How can we avoid staff-volunteer conflicts

Assessing Volunteer Management Programs

To ensure that the volunteer management system remains high-quality, including that the organization and its volunteers are benefiting a great deal from their relationship, it's necessary to regularly assess the quality of each activity (eg, developing job descriptions, recruiting, training, supervising, etc.) to conclude if the activity is being conducted effectively and efficiently. Results of this overall evaluation should be used to adjust activities. Thus, the cycle of the volunteer management system starts over again.
Volunteer - HR Management system audit
Volunteer Management Audit: Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement
Checklist to assess your organisation's management of its volunteer program

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Virtual Volunteering

Virtual volunteering is when the volunteer provides their donated services entirely over the Internet or from a home computer. Information about virtual volunteering can be about the entire range of activities in a volunteer management system.
Virtual Volunteering: Planning and Benefits
Virtual Volunteering
Virtual Volunteering
Virtual Volunteering

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General Resources

Susan Ellis' comprehensive Volunteer Management Library
Ellis' extensive list of general resources
The New Volunteerism Project (stunning amount of information, including broad, philosophical background)
Nonprofit FAQ
CompassPoint (use the pulldown menu)
Service Leader
Long list of resources from Volunteer Canada
Charity Village's extensive list of miscellaneous articles
Allaahuakbar.net list of resources
International Center for Volunteer Effort
TechSoup on Volunteers
Volunteer Today Volunteer Resources
SK CAP VI
VolResource
CASAnet
Volunteers of America
Points of Light Foundation

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For the Category of Human Resources:

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books

For-Profit

Nonprofit

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For-Profit

The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.

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Nonprofit

The following books are recommended because of their highly practical nature and often because they include a wide range of information about this Library topic. To get more information about each book, just hover your cursor over the image of the book. A "bubble" of information will be displayed. You can click on the title of the book in that bubble to get more information, too.

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Also See

Personal Development -- Recommended Books

Personal Productivity -- Recommended Books

Personal Wellness -- Recommended Books

Supervision -- Recommended Books

Training and Development -- Recommended Books

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