Volunteer Management Best Practices

Top Ten Invite, Connect, Equip, Sustain ideas from Resurrection staff

Invite

  1. Include a time to assess upcoming volunteer needs at every staff meeting. Create a document or spreadsheet with upcoming volunteer needs, actions steps, and deadlines. Network with other leaders to start brainstorming potential candidates and methods to invite them. Pray for your volunteers, existing and future.
  1. Utilize our Arenadatabase – either to look for people with particulars gifts that meet a current need, or to target people who are not currently serving.
  1. Create invitation collateral – business cards, simple brochures – to provide quick, easy access to information about serving.
  1. Create “first serve” opportunities – people are less intimidated by a one-time commitment of one hour or less. If they have a good experience, they will come back.
  1. Train your current volunteers (happy, positive people only!) to invite others to come and “try it out alongside me” just to get a taste of serving. Of course, it’s on us to make our volunteer serving opportunities happy and positive. People won’t be willing to invite others if they are not having fun themselves.
  1. Host a social information session. Our downtown campus hosts monthly “Get the Scoop” events where people can interact with ministry leaders over an ice cream cone.
  1. Locate ponds of people and go fishing. Many of our volunteers started out as program or ministry participants first.
  1. Create simple, accurate position descriptions that are clear about the responsibilities and expectations. If the volunteer role is too complicated, try to break it down into two or more positions.
  1. Use humor and creativity. Our leaders will make funny videos, or use humor in their print materials, to help break down barriers and make the ministry feel “light” and accessible.
  1. Ask, ask, ask. Make it personal. People don’t respond to blanket invitations that feel like they are meant “for someone else.” A personal invitation sends the message that “you need me,” not someone else. You need my gifts, my talents and no one else will do quite as well as me. And if you feel strongly that a particular person is right for the role, keep asking. It took one of our leaders five years to convince someone to volunteer, but they knew the person was perfect…and the leader was right!

Connect

  1. Meet one on one and in small groups with people who are ready to serve – to give an overview and details about a specific serving opportunity. Maintain up-to-date volunteer job descriptions. Get to know them from the start and maintain those relationships over time.
  1. Give new volunteers the opportunity to shadow current volunteers to “test drive” a volunteer position. This allows them to get a sense of what they’re considering committing to, and helps them decide whether the role is a good fit for them.
  1. Listen to prospective volunteers and, when possible, tweak current positions or create new positions that match what they are looking for. They might have better ideas or more efficient processes than you anticipate.
  1. Set clear expectations. What do you expect from your volunteers?; and what do your volunteers expect of you? Clear communication at this stage helps prevent problems down the road.
  1. Have a training plan in place and a person responsible for training new volunteers. Plan ahead and be ready for volunteers so they aren’t walking into an unknown situation.
  1. Give volunteers a tour of the church, office, or area where they will be working. Point out “behind-the-scenes” spaces or equipment that not just anyone would know – this gives volunteers a sense of being a part of the team and being in the know.
  1. Encourage current volunteers to intentionally welcome and get to know new volunteers so that cliques don’t form and discourage the involvement of new team members.This helps build a broader sense of community and belonging.
  1. Offer fellowship times for volunteers on the same teams; teammates who feel a part of a community often serve for the long term, and focus on serving instead of chatting when they’re “on duty”.
  1. Explain the “why” of the volunteer role to ensure volunteers see the bigger picture and not just a task. Explain why the role is important and why they specifically are a good fit for that role.
  1. Use spiritual gifts assessments to help match volunteers to roles that fit them.Gifts-based volunteer placement facilitates a good fit and helps prevent placing volunteers in roles they aren’t suited for. Volunteers who are in the right roles will find more joy in serving and will be more effective in those roles.

Equip

  1. Can you provide some of the logistical details in writing? Then do it! Our technical arts ministry keeps cheat sheets handy and labels buttons on equipment so important details are instantly accessible.
  1. Ask current volunteers to help you create your next training. Survey current volunteers and ask them what is most helpful about your current training, what is not needed, and what they wish they would have been told before they started serving. Involve those who are gifted presenters in delivering the content. Current volunteers will experience more ownership and buy-in when they have helped shape the training.
  1. Be sure the level of training matches the commitment. The intensity of the training should mirror the level of responsibility of the role. Our people tell us time is their most precious commodity. Don’t waste it with unnecessary meetings. However, if the stakes are high, you also must be clear and provide adequate training.
  1. View every training event as an opportunity to build community. Make sure people have ample opportunities to share life, pray for each other, grow spiritually and learn together, preferably over great food!
  1. Model the values and practices you hope your volunteers will emulate. If you want them to extend radical hospitality, you must extent it, too. If you expect excellence in teaching, leading, or follow up, paint a picture through your own words and actions. Be authentic!
  1. Implement on-the-job coaching. Catch people in the act of doing things well, and help them improve where needed through a combination of self-evaluation and your constructive feedback. Coaching happens best “in the moment” and with the leader who has observed the volunteer’s behavior. Ask questions, like “what do you think went well?” and “is there anything you would do differently?” before offering your own advice. People learn better when they self-identify areas for growth.
  1. Pair new volunteers with a current, excellent volunteer for training. This sends the message to your best volunteers that their expertise is noticed and valued and is one of the most effective methods for training. It has the added benefit of building relationships.
  1. Empower your volunteers to make decisions. It’s de-motivating to not be able to provide answers or help and to always rely on someone else for constant direction. If you are not going to give your volunteers freedom and authority, you will lose them.
  1. Include vision casting and cultural awareness in your plans. Be prepared to answer these questions: Why is what I’m doing important? How does what I do contribute to the big picture mission and vision? What do I need to know about the context in which I am serving so that I will best honor the people and culture I will be encountering?
  1. Communicate important information in a timely manner. Some of our ministry areas send out weekly emails or newsletters to inform volunteers of what to expect when they show up to serve, or to keep them advised on future plans. People like to know ahead of time what to expect. They love insider information!

Sustain

  1. Intentionally create a support network among volunteers, which creates long-term and lasting relationships within that support team and encourages volunteers to stay connected to the team and to continue serving.
  1. Schedule regular team gatherings. Monthly meetings for sub teams; quarterly trainings for teams; annual retreats or celebrations for multiple teams. Avoid sticking only to business meetings and hold different gatherings for different groups of people for different purposes.
  1. Invite volunteers to serve in leadership roles or helping to train and acclimate new team members. If volunteers are equipped and willing to move into a deeper level of commitment and responsibility, allow them to do what they are equipped to do.
  1. Seek feedback from volunteers, listen carefully, and seriously consider what they have to say. Implement feasible changes and explain why other ideas may not be put into practice. Let volunteers be active, contributing members who help shape their teams and our churches.
  1. Say thank you. Send personal notes and emails. When appropriate, give small appreciation gifts. Be intentional in making sure your volunteers know you don’t take them for granted.
  1. Pray with and for your volunteers. Maintain a prayer list for volunteer teams for members to be in prayer for one another. This helps volunteers support one another in a very powerful way.
  1. Have fun. Share jokes, hold silly contests, etc. Volunteers who enjoy what they’re doing will be more likely to serve long term and to invite and encourage others to volunteer with them.
  1. Staff and volunteer leaders should be in constant contact with volunteers, making them feel connected and informed. Don’t let volunteers be caught off guard in their serving roles because you failed to keep them up to date.
  1. Avoid micromanaging volunteers; give direction and empower them to do the job they signed up for. Recognize styles, gifts, and abilities and provide appropriate guidance.
  1. Maintain a personal connection with volunteers. Meet regularly with volunteer leaders and at least once a year with other volunteers – either individually or in small groups.