Introduction
Volunteer managers can often end up on a recruitment treadmill, constantly looking for more volunteers and better ways to recruit. This means that it can be very easy to ignore the other end of the process – the fact that volunteers are leaving. Although it’s not always possible (or desirable) to keep the same volunteers for a long period of time, it is worth looking at what you can do to reduce the turnover of volunteers in your organisation. After all, you’ve already gone through the process of recruiting, inducting, training and supporting the volunteers. In addition to this, when they leave they will in all likelihood take a wealth of knowledge and experience with them, and you will be left to fill the gaps by starting the recruitment process all over again.
So, what steps can you take to help make your volunteering opportunities a valuable enough experience to make existing volunteers want to stay with you?
Creating rewarding volunteer roles
Building retention into your volunteer programme starts long before volunteers are even recruited. The need for volunteers should be based on the tasks that they could reasonably perform within the organisation. However, very few people are going to stay long in volunteer roles where the tasks are boring or lack a challenge or a chance to develop. So, the key is to think creatively about how you can design interesting and rewarding roles around these tasks that will make volunteers want to stay.
When drawing up a volunteer role/ task description think about the tasks you would like the volunteer to perform. What is there in the role that would attract and keep volunteers? A chance to learn new skills? Meet new people? And what does the role have to offer a volunteer in the medium to long term?
Task/ role descriptions should not be regarded as being set in stone; if possible they should be flexible enough to allow for some adaptation to suit individual volunteers. If a volunteer has some say over the role they are coming into then there is more chance that they are going to be happy in it.
Role descriptions should also be open for negotiation further down the road. Once volunteers are established within the role they may be looking for new challenges, or find that they really dislike a task they thought they would enjoy. Obviously, there are limits to flexibility, as your organisation has its own needs that need to be met. For further ideas, visit the Good Practice Bank theme Creating volunteer roles
Motivations for volunteering
Being aware of a volunteer’s motivations is a useful tool to have, as it can help to steer the volunteer’s journey during their time with your organisation. An informal chat at the recruitment stage can be a helpful way of discovering a person’s motivations for wanting to volunteer with you.
Such motivations can include:
- Learning new skills
- Using existing skills
- Addressing a specific problem in the community
- To have fun
- Gaining ‘work’ experience
- Feeling useful
- Getting out of the house
- Making new friends
If these needs are not met by volunteering with you then the volunteer will either move on to another organisation or into a different activity altogether. Therefore it makes sense to find out what these motivations are, and monitor how well they are being fulfilled.
Changing motivations
Remember too that motivations can change over time, which makes communication with volunteers very important. Someone might start volunteering to improve their cv, but decide to stay because they enjoy the company of the people they work alongside. Most of us like to feel that we're a part of something. If volunteers feel marginalised they are less likely to want to continue volunteering with your organisation. By talking to volunteers, both informally and as part of supervision meetings, you can keep track of their motivations, and if possible adapt their role to continue meeting them.
Introductory periods
It may be worth having an introductory period for potential or new volunteers, to give them a taste of the volunteering role before they commit themselves to your organisation on a longer-term basis.
Support and supervision
Another area that might be lacking could be the level of supervision volunteers receive. It’s very important that they have good quality feedback and support. On top of this, if they do have concerns it's better if they have a chance to express them, rather than having to bottle them up until it’s too late and they've decided to leave. Proper supervision also helps you keep aware of how volunteers are feeling in general. Problems with their work, or with their colleagues may be making them unhappy. Or they may need to change their level of commitment to meet other needs. The earlier you know about such problems the easier it is to find an acceptable solution to them.
Reward and recognition
Lastly there are specific measures to reward or recognise volunteers - certificates, parties, volunteer events etc. More important than the big gestures though are the everyday things you do to let volunteers know they are valued. A simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way.
Volunteers should feel that they are an important part of the organisation. They should be involved in decision making, and their achievements should be recognised. There are many ways of making volunteers feel involved, welcome or recognised. Different people value different forms of recognition, so here are some suggestions for both formal and informal ways of showing how much you value your organisation’s volunteers. Feel free to invent your own!
Formal
- Volunteer events (for example, a ‘thank you event’ as part of Volunteers’ Week)
- Certificates (could be an annual ‘thank you’, or after a fixed term, such as completion of a specific number of volunteering hours)
- Accreditation, such as NVQs etc
- Invite volunteers to meetings that affect them, such as staff meetings if appropriate
- Invite volunteers on to working groups etc. (Again, if there are internal issues affecting volunteers, they should be involved in the process.)
Informal
- Saying ‘thank you’
- Making sure they have enough tasks to do every day.
- Including them in social events
- Going out for lunch, to the pub etc.
- Consulting on informal matters, such as where the new notice board should go
For more ideas, you can read the VE Information Sheet on "Saying 'Thank You' to Volunteers"
Being inclusive
Make sure that volunteers are involved in the internal life of the organisation - consulted on decisions that affect them, invited to participate in relevant meetings, and included in any social plans, if appropriate.
Good practice
The better and more efficiently volunteers are treated, the better they will feel about the organisation they are donating their time to. Key things to bear in mind are clarity and consistency. Volunteers should know where they stand. This means:
- Fully inducting volunteers
- Keeping volunteers advised of what they can expect and what your organisation expects
- Having a volunteer policy in place
- Having a named supervisor to go to with problems
- Having clear problem solving and complaints procedures
- Taking equal opportunities and diversity seriously
Exit interviews
Finally, if you still haven’t managed to retain your volunteers, then one obvious way to find out why they are leaving is to ask them. Exit interviews, questionnaires or informal chats might reveal issues in your organisation that need addressing.
Some questions you might ask are:
- do people know what they’re letting themselves in for when they volunteer for you?
- does the information enquirers receive give them a clear picture of what will be expected of them when they volunteer?
- do volunteers receive task or role descriptions?
- are volunteers taken seriously within the organisation?
- are problems and issues raised by volunteers dealt with efficiently and effectively?
- are you clear about reimbursing expenses to volunteers?
- are there clear lines of communication within the organisation?
- do the volunteers have a designated person to talk to about any concerns or problems they may have?
- is the Volunteer Co-ordinator/ Manager easily accessible?
- are volunteers clear about the contribution they’re making to your organisation, its service users and the wider community?
Even if you don’t think there is a problem, exit interviews are a useful tool for monitoring how you engage volunteers within the organisation. Remember that people leaving the organisation are likely to be more candid than they would otherwise be. However, it’s obviously better if the exit interview isn’t being conducted by a volunteer’s immediate supervisor.
Last reviewed: April 2009
Disclaimer
We have made every effort to ensure that this article was correct at the time of publication. It is intended as a summary of relevant issues to help you plan or develop your work with volunteers. Volunteering England is unable to accept liability for any loss or damage or inconvenience arising as a consequence of the use of this information.
Copyright
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