Volunteer Appreciation

Do you become frustrated when you spend time conducting a training class but when training is over only half, or less than half, of the attendees end up volunteering?

You get what you ask for, so start by defining what you want.

Start by developing a list of the qualities you are looking for in your volunteers. A short list of qualities might include:

Committed
Consistent / Faithful
Reliable
Teachable
Aligned with your ministry vision

How do you screen for and educate to these qualities?

You must search for and honor these qualities in all aspects of your volunteer program – recruitment, screening, training, supervision and appreciation. It is especially important in the recruitment and screening phases. It is important to establish expectations and requirements from the very beginning.

Recruitment

Your volunteer recruitment materials must keep in mind the qualities you are looking for
How do you talk about what you do and how you do it in your recruitment?
How can you utilize the actual words of the qualities you are looking for in your recruitment text?

Screening: Interviewing, Job Descriptions and References

Interviewing

The questions you ask in an interview should enable you to see how these qualities have been utilized in other areas of their lives

Some sample questions:
- Where have you volunteered? What were the requirements there? What did you enjoy the most? What was the hardest part of that experience?
- How have you invested in your own personal growth in the last year?
- What attracted you to volunteering at the Pregnancy Center?
- What are you hoping to learn from volunteering with us?
- What are you most committed to in your life right now?
- Consistency/Faithfulness is an important quality we are looking for in volunteers. Please share a situation in your life where you were consistent/faithful in the face of adversity.
- What does being reliable mean to you?
- Give me an example of when you had to learn something new and how you learned to do that something.

Job Descriptions

All of the qualities your are looking for should be reflected in the job description.
- What time commitment you are looking for – weekly, monthly, yearly?
- Training required – basic & in-service trainings (Be VERY clear about these.) Include make-up responsibilities if they do not attend the in-services
- What is their responsibility if they cannot make a scheduled shift?
- Reading and signing your ministry mission and vision so they are very clear about what you do and how you do it.

References

Many of the questions you ask a reference should revolve around the qualities you are looking for.
If you are using a written reference, you can ask them to rate the person from 1 to 5 on the qualities. If there are any 1s or 2s you should follow up with a phone call to clarify their answers.
If you are using a verbal interview, you can ask them to tell you about a time they have observed the potential volunteer exhibiting these qualities.

Training

There should always be responsibility put on the volunteer for knowing and showing that they are applying the fundamentals taught in the training.
Tell volunteers how and when they are going to be responsible for knowing and showing what is taught in the training.
What happens when volunteers are not teachable or are not capable to be in an advocate position with clients? Will other positions be offered to them?
Emphasize the importance of ongoing learning and practice (role-play).

Supervision

Hold all volunteers accountable to the standards you established and informed them about.
Be a role-model for the qualities you are asking of them.
Creatively hold them accountable for the fundamentals.
Role-play . . . role-play . . .role-play

Appreciation

Appreciate volunteers for the qualities they are exhibiting
Honor these volunteer qualities in a special way. Here are a few examples:
- On their volunteering yearly anniversaries
- Who have never missed an in-service.
- Who have logged in the most client hours in the past month, year, etc.
- Who have never missed a shift in ____ months.
- Who are always practicing and learning and applying the skills
These honors can be in private (flowers, small gifts, etc.) to encourage the person who deserves the appreciation while not making others feel competitive or left out. This privately shows the qualities you value in volunteers and reinforces those qualities and behaviors.
Public honors can also be utilized by highlighting them in a newsletter or donor letter, honoring them at a banquet, putting their photos up on a bulletin board in the volunteer room, etc. This publicly shows the qualities you value in volunteers and reinforces those qualities and behaviors.

What qualities are you looking for in your volunteer program? Align all the components of your volunteer program to recruit, screen, train and appreciate for these qualities.

Remember . . . You get what you ask for!

Here is the definition of courage that I found in the dictionary:

the ability to do something that frightens one; strength in the face of pain or grief.

It takes courage to persevere in this ministry. It is important to think about how to build or at least invite courage into your volunteer program.

Let’s think about this:

It takes courage to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
It takes courage to persevere in the face of women choosing abortion.
It takes courage to love.
It takes courage to believe that love wins.
It takes courage to pursue people who believe differently than we do.
It takes courage to choose relationship over being right.
It takes courage to listen to people’s difficult stories and painful choices.
It takes courage to be vulnerable.
It takes courage to believe that Jesus is in charge.
It takes at least some measure of courage to do almost everything that volunteers are asked to do, especially when meeting with clients.

So how do we build courage into our volunteer programs?

I think we must remind ourselves, as trainers and leaders, the courage it does, in fact, take to work with clients at the Pregnancy Center. Then we have to hold that reality as we plan all aspects of the volunteer program.

In all aspects of the volunteer program we can build in the reality of the courage it takes to volunteer.

When recruiting volunteers it is important not to “sugar coat” what it means to work with clients. Our prayers must be that God sends us volunteers who are up to the task and come with willing and open hearts to learn how to interact with clients based on your ministry model.
When screening potential volunteers we must ask the hard questions to help us both understand what is the motivation behind their choice to volunteer.
Volunteer training can give volunteers the skills they need to utilize when a situation arises where they need to be courageous. Having skills to help volunteers navigate their way through difficult client situations can provide them with the ability and strength they need to be courageous in the face of personal fears or pain and grief.
Setting clear job expectations and giving regular positive and helpful feedback allows volunteers to know what is expected of them, how they are doing and that you are available to help them improve. This can sometimes be difficult and time consuming for staff. If this is not in place volunteers are often left wondering how they are doing or not knowing how to evaluate their own performance. Without standards, feedback and encouragement volunteer rarely grow in their abilities to work with clients.
Encouraging volunteers with prayer and the word of God is invaluable. Finding scriptures, books quotes, films, etc. that will encourage them to live-out your ministry model is essential in building courage.
I think any kind of volunteer appreciation should include a nod to the courage it takes to volunteer and continue to volunteer.

Courage in the Pregnancy Center ministry is like a muscle that your volunteers are constantly building with your help. How you screen, train, evaluate, encourage and appreciate volunteer are the tools that will help them build the courage muscle they need to become long-time volunteers in your ministry.

How to Recruit and Retain Quality Volunteers