FURTHERING THE CONVERSATION
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT
Cheryl Harris
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Manager
Volunteering Sunshine Coast Inc
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Today
 Welcome – outline for the day
 Volunteering – Sunshine Coast
 Trends
 Challenges
 Effective practices
 The critical five
 Social and Economic Benefits
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Mega-trends 1
 Digital Age
– Tools
– Culture
 Time
– Episodic
– Events
– Mixed experiences
 Legislation and risk
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Mega-trends 2
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Corporate
Leadership
Informal
Universities
– Student volunteering / engagement
– Service Learning
 Transitions
 Experience
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What are the trends affecting volunteering
and volunteer management in your
organisation?
Issue
Younger volunteers
Legislation
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Sector
Sport
All
Challenges
 Resourcing
– Volunteer program
– The organisation as a whole
 Recognition of the role of vols in the org
 Opportunities for Professional
Development
 Too few volunteers
 Too many volunteers
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What are the challenges affecting you?
Issue
Resourcing – of vol program
More rules and regulations
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Sector
All
Arts
 “… [it’s] the quality of the volunteer
experience that is the critical factor in
successfully engaging volunteers and
therefore strategies that enrich the volunteer
experience (particularly recognition, training
and professional development opportunities,
and effectively matching volunteers’ skills and
interests to volunteering activity) all enhance
volunteer retention.”
2012 Volunteering Report – Contemporary practices and research in volunteering: A
literature review. Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.
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Your best practices
Discuss your best practices (those which
have worked for you) – in recruitment of or
retention of volunteers Eg.
1. Held a volunteer conference for all our
volunteers
2. Recruitment via radio free ad
3. University partnership provides all our
professional volunteers plus advice
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Retaining Volunteers 1
 Explicit, developmental, and appreciative management
– Opportunity for autonomy, self-expression and space for personal
development.
– Support, recognition and good personal relations.
– Not overburdened and not undervalued.
– Flexibility.
– Clarity around role and accept its responsibilities.
– Voice in designing roles, decision making and idea generation.
 Enhancing the Volunteer Experience
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–
–
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Quality, match, shared.
Flow - energised focus, full involvement, and success.
Challenge within competence.
Opportunities for learning.
Retaining Volunteers 1
 Congruence between individual and organisational
objectives
–
–
–
–
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Match of expectations – values and tasks.
Reciprocity between volunteer and organisation.
Able to do job.
Match of skills / passion to role.
Negotiated Project.
 Social support e.g. Friendship
– Ties that surround volunteers.
– Social environment – developmental.
– Regular and variety of communication mechanisms.
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The Critical Five
 What are the five critical changes for
ensuring a bright volunteer management
future?
This might include:
 Subsidised training
 Promotion of volunteering
 Policy changes
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Futuring Volunteer
Management Forum 2013
 Brought together 84 VMs from SEQ in May 2013.
 Four specific themes were explored;
1.
2.
3.
4.
Trends affecting volunteering within their organisation
Challenges affecting volunteering within their organisation
Best practices for recruitment & retention
Critical changes required for a bright future
• Each VM provided five suggestions for each theme.
• Of the 420 written responses collected, similar topics
were then categorised & counted.
• The results provide us with a snap-shot of volunteer
management in SEQ.
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Key Findings
Structural Trends
 Remarkably, VMs reported that all five trends were
influencing their daily practice...
These trends, however, produce problems. VMs mentioned students are
“volunteering for the wrong reasons – only to gain experience”, whilst legislation is
“binding volunteers in red tape”. Similarly, VMs “lack experience & tools to update”
websites, plus “newer technology scares older people”.
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Key Findings
SEQ-Specific Trends
 Interestingly, VMs also reported local trends just as
consistently & frequently...
On mismatching VMs revealed increasing needs to “utilise the skills volunteers
have & place them in appropriate programs, so they don't get bored”. On
expectations, “volunteers now seek meaningful tasks plus increased responsibility”
&“mundane everyday tasks are no longer considered an experience”.
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Key Findings
Challenges
 Surprisingly, the challenges affecting VMs & their
organisations were more ‘traditional’ than ‘new’...
All challenges involved common shortages. On resourcing VMs reported “No predesigned systems or templates are provided - we make it up ourselves”. On
training, “VMs need more training to manage personalities & volunteers.” On
funding, “nothing available for volunteer development/recognition”.
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Key Findings
Best Practices for Recruitment &
Retention
 Best Practices identified by VMs included both
‘traditional’ & ‘new’ approaches...
Volunteer recognition & inclusion are the most effective ‘traditional’ retention
strategies.
However, the ‘new’ approach of online resources & websites is gaining
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popularity for recruitment, as mentioned “so for placing an add on a free website
[like SEEK], I have 10 interviews planned for next week”.
Key Findings
Critical Changes for a bright volunteering
future
 Changes included the improvement of both ‘traditional’
& ‘new’ areas...with a call to us for increased support
VMs suggested promotion could sell ‘new’ forms of engagement by “re-defining
what volunteering is, advertising this to the community & breaking down the
traditional idea”. Increased VM networking & Volunteering Queensland Inc support
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highlight desires for collaboration, we need “more VM meetings to share best
practice” & “more workshops by Volunteering Queensland Inc to share ideas – like
today [at the Futuring forum]”.
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