I love volunteers. They help me set up decorations and signage, greet and check-in guests, and clean-up and bring supplies back to my office. Volunteers are like my extra set of arms carefully helping me execute multiple event tasks expertly.
In this economy, volunteers are highly desirable; therefore, we need to treat them well. It's taken me time to understand how to effectively communicate and treat volunteers in order to best manage them. Below are some tricks of the trade compiled from both my experiences and from the Donor Relations Guru Blog that I follow.
1. Have realistic expectations of your volunteers. Volunteers are donating their time; therefore, don't overload them with several projects or tasks.
2. Clearly define a volunteer's role. Manage their expectations along with your own. Define what the role's tasks are from the beginning and talk to the volunteer prior to your event to make sure they understand of what's being asked of them.
3. Appreciate your volunteers. I understand - we're all busy, but taking some time to write a personal note of appreciation and thanks to your volunteers goes a long way and helps to develop a relationship. Remember - a happy volunteer = a repeat volunteer.
To learn more volunteer tricks, go to www.donorrelationsguru.com/.
Have any volunteer horror stories or best practices (either your own volunteer experiences or managing volunteers)? If so, let us know.
Great tips of the trade, especially #2!
ReplyDeleteI think it can be a fine line to define a volunteer's role without overwhelming them or making them feel like a paid employee rather than a volunteer.