It’s the start of the school year! Need Volunteers?
How to Get the Rights Ones, Manage Them and Keep Them
Volunteers stay with organizations where they feel needed, valued and supported. "Involvement leads to Investment."
What is the motivation for people to take their time, money and talent to become involved? Understanding "why" people volunteer is key to getting the right volunteers for your school and keeping them.
There are three levels of motivation:
- Basic level - Self-serving drive: Helping others boosts self-esteem and fosters a sense of self-worth. Inviting an alum to speak at Career Day or a young alum to join the Alumni Board strengthens their resume and keeps them connected to your school.
- Secondary level - Relational drive: Volunteering encourages both new and current parents or alums to actively engage with the school community. This fosters a sense of ownership and connection, contributing to increased support and involvement.
- Highest Level—Belief Drive/Mission—The top motivation for volunteering is a strong desire to support your school and belief in its mission. Board members, alumni, and parent leaders are driven by their deep commitment to your mission.
Recruit at all three levels – we can use each kind of motivation to enlist volunteers.
Six Deadly Sins of Recruiting Volunteers
- Expect announcements to get volunteers. People want to be asked.
- Go it alone. Get a team involved to brainstorm possible people to fill positions and identify the best person to contact the volunteer.
- Recruit life-time volunteers.
- Volunteers are more likely to say yes to a short-term commitment with an end date.
- Volunteers will have the opportunity to catch the "vision" and "mission" of your school.
- Leaders become mentors for future passion-driven teams.
- Assuming that "no" means never - timing is everything.
- Fall into the "filling the spot" trap.Most times, the spot is better left empty than filled with the wrong person who does nothing, does not have the skills for the position, or is high maintenance.
- Be people driven rather than position driven.
- Think "position."
- Ask "what positions do I need to accomplish this mission? What do I want the team members to do?"
- Look for people who can fill the positions.
Keys to Success - the 21st Century Volunteer
- Develop a list of volunteer positions.
- Be Flexible.
- Develop position descriptions for each position.
- Interview each potential candidate individually.
- If you have a person in mind who would be a great "volunteer," don't hesitate to reach out to them and ask them.
Support, Supervision and Retention
- Identify one or more staff members to manage volunteers.
- Ensure that the volunteers have the resources they need for success – direct supervision may be needed for complex projects.
- Provide support during challenging times.
- Listen and affirm.
- Communicate.
Study after study has shown that volunteers stay with an organization where they feel needed, valued, and supported.
Motivation and Recognition
- Motivation: Knowing what motivates a person to get involved in the first place helps determine how to keep them involved.
- Recognition: Everyone likes to be thanked. Volunteers give their invaluable time!
Ask volunteers how they would like to be recognized – that way, everyone is thanked in a way that is meaningful to them. Some people like to remain anonymous and never want to be acknowledged in front of a big group where others enjoy being part of a big thank you event.