How to benefit from Volunteering uncovers what you need to do to make sure that you get the very best out of volunteers and how they can improve your organisation. For more information on the courses that we offer in mentoring, leadership and management please call: 0121 707 0550 or e-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk

1. How to benefit
from volunteering

2. Having volunteers in your organisation
or business can be really useful.
Volunteers are people who you are not in
a legal contract with and unlike staff volunteers
don’t get paid.
This sounds simple but sometimes it makes it
difficult to know how to manage them.
Volunteers

3. Create a list of expectations
Although you are ‘employing’ the person you
are quite within your right to expect certain
things from your volunteers.
Something’s may be open to negotiation or
change because of the nature of volunteering
however things like attitude can’t be.

4. Make sure that before a new volunteer starts you
sit down with them and get to know them.
This will help you to assess their skills and find
out more about them. It will also help you to see
best where they could fit into the team and
maybe identify skills that they have that you
need that they haven’t necessarily thought of.
Create a list of expectations

5. Make sure that you have a code of conduct
for volunteers.
This may sound too official however it important
that people know the expectations that they need
to comply with as this will minimise future conflict
and also to make the organisational professional
and to safe guard staff and clients.
Create a list of expectations

6. Give your volunteers choice
Volunteers are offering to be volunteers
because they believe in what you are doing.
Unlike staff they have other jobs and things
to do with their time. Some volunteers may
not be able to commit to a weekly or even
monthly commitment however this doesn’t
mean that you should necessarily rule them out.

7. You have to think about how their time can be
best utilised. They may be able to do some
paperwork from home for you in the evenings
or travel to meet someone on their way home
from work, they may be able to turn up to a
specific day every week or just once a month
…
but remember that volunteers want to help you!
Use that!
Give your volunteers choice

8. Sometimes volunteers have their own ideas about
how things should be done. This doesn’t make
them wrong and you need to take the time to listen
to suggestions however there are times when things
need to change but you may come up against
opposition.
In these situations you need to be strong.
Explain clearly why you have made these decisions.
Respect you volunteers but
make sure you aren’t walked over

9. Respect you volunteers but
make sure you aren’t walked over
Try not to get dragged into lengthy discussion of
there is no room for change as this will only waste
time and cause conflict. Instead explain, trail or
implement and then be open to change. As long
as they understand the reasons and know that you
have their best interests at heart volunteers will
have to accept your leadership.
If you have listened to them in the past they
are more likely to support you.

10. Volunteers are best when they are performing on
their own initiative.
It is important that your volunteers feel ownership
for the organisation and feel that what they do as
a team does lead to success.
Once they have this understanding they are
more likely to take initiative.
Get your volunteers to take responsibility

11. Sometimes when you are in the process of building
an organisation or business it can feel like
somewhere along the line in all the busyness
you have lost the vision for what you were trying
to achieve in the first place.
Remember the cause

12. Remember the cause
Make sure that you have regular ‘vision meetings’
with volunteers where you tell them about where
you see the organisation going, similar things that
are happening/government policy changes etc.
and what you heart is for it and then leave time
for them to contribute ideas.
This will make sure that you and your volunteers
all have the same vision and you will be united
in what you are doing.

13. For more information about the funded training
that we provide please:
Call: 0121 707 0550
E-mail: info@pathwaygroup.co.uk
We also offer e-learning courses:
http://elearning.pathwaycourses.co.uk/course/categories
For More Information