Welcome to Volunteer Management

1. Welcome to Volunteer Management Amy Thompson

2. Agenda • Foundation • Introductions • Training Overview • Agenda • M-I-N-G-O! • Volunteer Management Cycle • High Quality Principles • Close

3. M-I-N-G-O!

4. 2 of 3 volunteers stop volunteering because of poor management. **************************** Volunteers, especially “Baby Boomers”, have high expectations: • Good customer service • Meaningful service activities • Well organized experience

5. Volunteer Management Cycle • PLANNING – obtaining buy-in; designing member positions; creating application forms; developing applicable policies and procedures; and educating others in the organization about involving members • RECRUITMENT – who, why, where, when and how. Who would be the ideal member? Why would they be interested in your member opportunity? Where and when can you reach these people? How can you create a recruitment message that encourages potential members to serve for your organization? • Orientation and Training – to give the general information about your organization and the specific information about the member position, provide year long training around position specific, leadership, and life after AmeriCorps. • Supervision and Evaluation – You need to know that the member is fulfilling their role effectively and the member needs affirmation too - assess how the member placement is going and if changes could be made to improve the member’s satisfaction or performance. • Recognition – happens in an informal way every time a “thank you” is said. Formally, members are thanked through celebrations and recognition events planned in their honor. It is important that the thank you fits the member; you need to know your members so that they can be thanked in a way that leaves them feeling truly recognized.

6. High Quality Principles – Initial Discussion • What principles stand out for you the most? • What are your greatest challenges in this area? • What effective practices do you currently do that fit with one or more of these principles? • What ideas do you have that you could implement or talk with other staff back at your programs about that could help you to ensure one or more of these principles are integrated into your program in a high quality way?

7. Activity Guiding Principles • The future in born in webs of human conversation • Compelling questions encourage collective learning • Networks are the underlying pattern of living systems • Intelligence emerges as we connect in diverse and creative ways • Collectively, we have access to all the wisdom and resources we need

8. Activity Etiquette • Focus on what matters • Contribute your thinking • Speak your mind and heart • Listen to understand • Link and connect ideas • Listen together for insights and deeper questions • Document, Document, Document • HAVE FUN!

9. High Quality Principles – Wrap Up • What are the top 2 priorities that stand out for you • What two steps or ideas are you going to take or implement when you get back to your work?

10. Planning • Conduct a needs assessment that at a min. involves the community; • Get buy-in from all stakeholders in project planning and development; • Project vision, mission and goals that fit with those of the overall organization; • Organization budgets money

11. Planning • Other org. staff see volunteers as assets and understand their roles; • Organization implements strategies to promote positive staff/volunteer relationships; • Top management demonstrates support; and • Regularly assess project strengths and challenges

12. Recruitment and Selection • Written description of the qualities of an ideal candidate based on community needs and program activities; • Written list of benefits volunteers receive as a part of service; • Written position descriptions, developed in conjunction with stakeholders that detail essential and marginal functions, time commitment, workload, supervisor, etc.; • Written, strategic, innovative year-long recruitment and selection plan, developed in conjunction with stakeholders

13. Recruitment and Selection • Recruit and select a diverse pool of volunteers that reflect the communities in which they serve; • Actively recruit individuals with disabilities; • Application elicits enough information to determine whether the prospective volunteer is a potential fit; • Selection process thoroughly assesses volunteer background, skills, accomplishments, motivation, goals, and commitment

14. Recruitment and Selection • Selection process involves a diversity of participants that have a stake in program; • Program matches volunteers to appropriate positions and sites; and • Program gets feedback from partners on effectiveness of recruitment and selection process;

15. Support • Agreement that outlines expectations, agreements, and consequences (signed by volunteer and organization) • Written list of skills and knowledge volunteers need to serve • Assess training needs with volunteers and sites • Orientation is planned and developed with stakeholders and prepares volunteers for beginning of service • Provide volunteers with information on community and agency • Written, year-long training plan, developed in partnership with stakeholders • Regularly assess training effectiveness and make needed modifications

16. Support • Yearly evaluations that provide performance feedback (2 times per year for AmeriCorps State and National) • Yearly opportunities for volunteers to assess program impact and support • Use evaluations to make yearly programmatic and volunteer improvements • Written strategy to retain volunteers • Provide each volunteer with a point of contact that provides support and supervision

17. Recognition • Written plan to internally and externally recognize volunteers for accomplishments and community impact • Implement creative motivational strategies • Allow for reflection opportunities to celebrate and document accomplishments and experiences • Provide documentation to volunteers that demonstrate their impact

18. Thank You and Good Luck! Amy Thompson CAC Consulting 512.448.0401 CACconsulting@hotmail.com