Engaging Volunteers Thinking Through the Volunteer Engagement - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Engaging Volunteers

Thinking Through the Volunteer Engagement Process

Group Activity 1

Think of three jobs/tasks

• Can be completed for you
• You wish you had someone to complete for you

Meet Tim Meet Janet

Tim is a stay at home dad and is not currently involved with his child’s school. Tim often feels uncomfortable with other peoples children, but really wants to be involved. Janet works full time and is a member of the PTO. Janet is always seeking

• pportunities to take on

leadership roles , but has to be cautious of the time commitment.

Recruit

• Is this a Formal or Informal volunteer role?
• Title
• Major Objective(s)
• Qualifications
• Responsibilities
• Orientation/Training
• Time and Place
• Commitment
• Supervision
• Benefits
• Focus on personal strengths
• Make a “hard” ask
• Recruit non-parents
• Pitch the kids
• Never say “No”
• Ask again, connect them

STEP 01

• School Flyers
• School Functions
• Get Connected
• Community Fairs
• Letters to Community Organizations
• United Way

Creating Volunteer Role Descriptions How can you make asking for Volunteers easier? Where are the best places to recruit?

Group Activity 2

Draft at least 1 Volunteer Role Description

• Be specific
• Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want

Tim Janet

• Think through the activity, what information do you

legally need to acquire?

• How early do you need the information?
• Do you have a central location/person that will collect

the information?

• Where can you easily place the link

to the application?

• Is the application easy to fill out?
• Background Checks
• Familiarize yourself with

the School District policies

• Write new policies if they

are unclear

• Interviews
• What are your interests?
• What are your skills?
• What do you most want to learn from the

experience?

• What do you hope to gain from your experience?
• Will your volunteering affect other commitments?
• How flexible are you?
• What type of volunteer opportunity are you

looking for?

Creating the Volunteer Application Experience Types of Screening

Screen

STEP 02 Questions to ask when interviewing volunteers

• Secondary or Primary?
• Do you have the resources available?
• Who is your audience?
• Is your topic clear and concise?
• Do your volunteers need ongoing support?
• Make the experience

Hands On

• Should be a walk through
• Introduce them to key

staff/volunteers

• Challenge them at the end
• Assessment
• Specify clear learning objectives
• Separate the NEED to know from the NICE to know
• Provide printed resources

Is Virtual Training right for you? Steps for Creating an Effective Volunteer Orientation and Training On Site Tours a MUST

Train

STEP 03

Group Activity 3

Define the best way to train potential volunteers for your Volunteer job description?

• Do you have this resource?
• Does it need to be created?

Tim Janet

Engage

• Be specific
• Don’t negotiate
• Follow-up
• Build a rapport
• Suggestion Box
• Training
• Mid-way
• End of Experience

STEP 04

• School Flyers
• Get Connected
• Community Fairs

Recycling Volunteers Evaluation is key Capture them in the moment

Group Activity 4

Create a timeline of engagement

• Who will follow-up with your volunteers?
• When will the follow-up take place?

Tim Janet

• EVERYONE’s
• Direct Supervisor
• Mentee/Student
• Other Volunteers
• LinkedIn Review
• Facebook Post
• Personalized Emails
• Recognition on school’s

website

• Hand written thank you cards
• Meeting with a Meal
• Certificates
• Swag Bag
• Good as Gold

Whose job is it anyway? Types of formal recognition The least expensive forms

• f appreciation

Appreciate

STEP 05

• Every Volunteer is different

IMPORTANT

Group Activity 5

Plan your Appreciation Activity

• When should the appreciation take place?
• Who is responsible?

Tim Janet

Group Activity 6

Does this opportunity meet Tim or Janet’s wishes?

• What will you do next?

Tim Janet