Volunteer managers sometimes ask what they can do about volunteers who are keen, but don’t always do what is needed, or do it in the wrong way. It can feel awkward to correct behaviours, and especially if the situation has been going on for a while. Volunteers are giving their time, energy and experience, and […]
As someone who manages volunteers, you know only too well how valuable your volunteers’ time is to the work of your organisation. But what about your time? Do you have trouble getting done the things you need to? Do you sometimes find there are jobs left over at the end of the day? Do you […]
A business case clearly sets out the reasoning for initiating a project or service, with the aim of convincing a decision maker to take action. You might want senior management commitment to a new volunteering initiative, resources to fund an additional staff post; or investment in training and development for existing staff or volunteers. To […]
Managers who can lead effectively create a positive working climate and learning culture, which in turn leads to high quality individual and organisational performance. Leaders inspire and motivate others to follow them towards a vision, rather than commanding them to do things For managers of volunteers, it is particularly important to develop strong leadership skills. […]
What does success look like from where you’re sitting? This was a question raised by Catherine Johnstone, CEO of the Samaritans, at the Surrender, Survive or Succeed conference in Guildford in April. Catherine was talking about the need to get input from all your stakeholders when planning for change. The Samaritans is a huge national […]
Does your organisation welcome a wide range of volunteers, regardless of such factors as age, background, gender, and ability? There are many good reasons to do so. At one of our training days last week, managers identified a very convincing list of benefits to a more diverse volunteer workforce, ranging from bringing new skills and […]
Leading and managing volunteers can be exciting. Volunteers choose to stay with us, not for financial reward, but because they feel motivated to do so. Our challenge is to nurture that motivation, and inspire volunteers towards the vision, aims and objectives of the organisation. Wikipedia offers us this definition of leadership: “a process of social […]
Do you sometimes feel your volunteers are more interested in chatting than getting anything done. Or you find occasionally that your thanks and praise seem to irritate some volunteers? Successful volunteer roles need to meet the needs of your organisation, and also engage and motivate your volunteers. How can you make roles so attractive that […]
What are volunteers to your organisation? At a recent training day one manager referred to volunteers as “the lifeblood of our organisation”. Pretty important then! People often refer to volunteers as “vital” or “essential” to the organisation. For some of you, volunteers are the “public face” of the organisation, for others they “make the engine […]
Do you involve your service users as volunteers? When we ask this question, the answer tends to vary from “yes, very much so” through to “well I think we could do more to involve service users”. At Swindon Mind the starting point for volunteering was to help meet their clients’ support needs through involving clients […]