Seven Steps To Happy Volunteers

My friend Cindy (who also collaborates with me on Rockville Central), is a formidable community volunteer, both in her work and in her personal life. She’s been on both sides of the volunteer aisle — being a volunteer, and leading other volunteers. Together, we formed the leadership team at the helm of a local Cub Scout pack, and that went quite well.

Cindy just finished up a very successful, and volunteer-intensive event, and this has got her thinking about what it takes to motivate volunteers and keep them effective.

I wish I knew her seven keys long ago, as they are excellent:

1.) The cause has to be meaningful. If a volunteer is not familiar with your organization, you need to introduce them. . . .

2.) A volunteer has to have support from others in their personal life. A parent praising the work or a friend already volunteering make a big difference. . . .

3.) The experience needs to be fun. . . . The task doesn’t matter but the interpersonal relationships do. . . .

4.) You need to make sure the volunteer winds up having the time to get the job done. We only have so much time and sometimes our jobs or commitments change. . . .

5.) Your expectations need to be reasonable. . . .

6.) Make sure the volunteer job is a good fit. . . .

7.) Volunteers should grow either professionally or personally. . . . Volunteering can create safe environments to improve or discover hidden strengths.

These are edited down. Read the whole article here — it’s worth it.