Involving volunteers

Why do you want to involve volunteers?

You will need to convince potential volunteers that your reasons are valid and
consistent with your mission or aims. Saving money or doing the hackwork will
probably not be strong motivators for them to get involved.

Tips

• Involve all relevant organisation stakeholders.

• Thoroughly investigate the positive and negative aspects of
involving volunteers.

• Reach consensus.

Determine how you want to involve volunteers in the organisation
Organisations invariably have a variety of jobs that volunteers could undertake.
The skill is to ensure that jobs have some intrinsic value and collectively make
up a meaningful volunteer role. A collection of odd jobs is less likely to arouse
the enthusiasm of a potential volunteer than is an identified role in the
organisation.

When you have developed the role, test it against the criteria - necessary skills,
experience and time needed to undertake the work, does it look too much like a
paid position and health and safety implications.


Please also visit  European Volunteer Centre for developments in the post 2015 framework

Recognising Volunteers

When volunteers are recruited to your organisation it makes the utmost sense to make

every effort to retain them. It is a costly proposition to recruit and train replacement

volunteers. Moreover, the time lost in recruiting replacement volunteers can result in

lengthy periods where an organisation may not be able to deliver the additional quality of

service that a volunteer may bring to the organisation.

One important way of encouraging your volunteers to remain with your organisation is to

give then adequate recognition. Recognition to be effective should be consistent and

ongoing. Volunteers can quickly loose motivation if they feel that their work is not valued.

Volunteer managers should be aware that the way volunteer efforts are recognised is of

importance. This is because one volunteer may regard one type of recognition as valuable

whilst another volunteer may feel it has little worth. If a Volunteer Manager is aware of the

volunteer's motivation in working for the organisation then this will provide a good

indication for the type of recognition that the volunteer is seeking. For example if a

volunteer is hoping to obtain paid employment, they will value opportunities to receive

training and obtain a certificate of training recognition or they may value a referee for their

résumé?

In many cases volunteers that are motivated by helping the community will see their work

as reward and will only require support from their volunteer organisation. The support of

paid staff and the Volunteer Manager can be shown in many ways. The enthusiasm of

paid staff to the aims of the volunteer program is very important because it will naturally

engender within the organisation the recognition that volunteers are important.

Rights of Volunteers

As a volunteer you have the right:

• to work in a healthy and safe environment

• to be interviewed and engaged in accordance with equal opportunity
and anti-discrimination legislation;

• to be adequately covered by insurance;

• to be given accurate and truthful information about the organisation
for which you are working;

• to be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses;

• to be given a copy of the organisations volunteer policy and any
other policy that affects your work;

• not to fill a position previously held by a paid worker;

• not to do the work of paid staff during industrial disputes;

• to have a job description and agreed working hours;

• to have access to a grievance procedure;

• to be provided with orientation to the organisation;

• to be provided with sufficient training to do your job.


Check that:

• The organisation is a not for profit;

• The purpose of the organisation matches your own values and beliefs;

• The organisation carries volunteer insurance;

• Your role is clear and specific;

• The organisation can provide you with written information about its purpose and activities; and

• You are satisfied that the funds of the organisation are expended in accordance with its mission.

Source :  www.volunteeringaustralia.org

Definitions and Principles of Volunteering

Volunteering is an activity which takes place through not
for profit organisations or projects and is undertaken:

• to be of benefit to the community and the volunteer;

• of the volunteer’s own free will and without coercion;

• for no financial payment; and

• in designated volunteer positions only.


Principles of Volunteering

• Volunteering benefits the community and the volunteer;

• Volunteer work is unpaid;

• Volunteering is always a matter of choice;

• Volunteering is not compulsorily undertaken to receive
pensions or government allowances;

• Volunteering is a legitimate way in which citizens can
participate in the activities of their community;

• Volunteering is a vehicle for individuals or groups to address
human, environmental and social needs;

• Volunteering is an activity performed in the not for profit
sector only;

• Volunteering is not a substitute for paid work;

• Volunteers do not replace paid workers nor constitute a threat
to the job security of paid workers;

• Volunteering respects the rights, dignity and culture of others; and

• Volunteering promotes human rights and equality.

W: www.volunteeringaustralia.org