Volunteers: Keeping The Passion Alive
From years of working with volunteers, I have learned a thing or two about keeping them engaged and passionate about what they do.
Do you work with volunteers? Have you ever felt like you’re asking too much of them? You’ve noticed your retention rate is dropping? Me too. Thankfully, I’m learning what it takes to keep volunteers passionate about what they do.
Since 2011, I have been involved with the same organisation as a volunteer and as an employee. We are a volunteer-driven organisation with very few paid staff that lead the operation. You’re probably wondering how we stay afloat on the back of being so reliant on volunteers — some organisations can’t survive with their paid staff! In baffles me too! Leading these volunteers over the past few years has helped me understand why they keep coming back.
Organisations who rely on volunteers have contacted me and want to know how we do it. They look at our returning volunteers and they want to know the secret. There is no secret. I’ve learnt that there are three keys we should focus on as leaders to keep our volunteers driven.
The Why
Whether it is work or volunteering, it is easy to fall into a mindless routine where you tick the right boxes and check out. We’re human, we do this all the time; we love routine. Yet for volunteer work, a routine can make the work seem meaningless. If you’re not getting paid for meaningless work, why do it?
All volunteers started for a reason. They came in with purpose and passion; a desire to do something good. As leaders, our responsibility is to allow them to be reminded of their ‘Why.’
When the opportunity arises, I ask volunteers about their Why. It’s insightful for me and it is reinvigorating for them. With a new volunteer, I like to ask why they are volunteering.
For more experienced volunteers, I use the opportunity to acknowledge the years of hard work they have invested in our organisation then ask about their Why. Something along these lines usually works:
You’ve been doing this for a long time and I admire that, but what keeps you coming back?
Knowing your Why is something we place a high value on. We’ve even done workshops on how you could answer that question. Our volunteers get asked this by the people they support all the time, so knowing the reason they volunteer is so important.
The Fruit
Depending on the work you do, volunteering can be a thankless job, particularly if you don’t see the fruits of your labour. I know this seems obvious, but if volunteers don’t see that their efforts are producing the outcomes they desire, they won’t keep volunteering.
The key here is knowing what outcomes your volunteers want to see. It’s easy to assume your volunteers want to see the same outcomes that your supporters want to see. Maybe your organisation gives statistics to your sponsors to show that their money is going to good use. Statistics are great because we need measurable results, but on the flip side, have you ever read out statistics to your volunteers? I know I have and, aside from our maths buffs, their eyes glaze over.
Over the journey, I’ve learned that my volunteers want to hear stories of genuine impact. They want to experience the emotion of a story and see a tangible change in an individuals life. I know this can look different depending on the work your organisation does, but find the stories and share them with your volunteers.
The Community
Above all else, the thing that so many of my volunteers talk about is the sense of belonging as a part of our community. They talk about the deep friendships they’ve formed with the people they volunteer alongside. This may surprise you, but I’ve lost count of the number of people who met their future spouse while volunteering with us — myself included!
This is partially attributed to the fact that we draw like-minded individuals passionate about the same cause. It is human nature to be drawn to people we can relate to. Adding to this, we are very intentional about creating spaces where our volunteers can connect at a deeper level.
Meals are the hero here. Everyone has to eat, so why not do it together? It is amazing the bonds that are formed when people sit down to enjoy good food together. We invest heavily in meal times, carving out time where our volunteers can all be together to eat.
Another valuable addition to our organisation has been hosting social meetings where nothing is expected of our volunteers. As a staff, we use the time to thank them, feed them and update them with what is happening in our organisation. These events have become pillars in building tight friendships between our volunteers and staff. These friendships have become the bedrock of our organisation.
The Bottom Line
All of us know the value of volunteers and we want to value them accordingly. They give so much of themselves to our organisations so we must show them their value. We can do this by creating an experience that goes beyond ticking the boxes — an experience of passion and community. To truly engage volunteers, these elements are essential — The Why, The Fruit and The Community.
