Recruiting Volunteers, Volunteer Recognition and Volunteer Management Ideas!

Ultimate Ideas Newsletter

How to lead, recruit and retain more volunteers and members!

Issue 22

Volunteer Recognition, Volunteer

Recruitment and Volunteer

Management Ideas for You!

7 ideas on the power of focus, mini-plans and testing.

During the recent 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly' Workshop Tour for those in volunteer management, amongst the high content information covered was a very important message for everyone about using the power of being focussed and always testing to ensure your greatest success.

Now although focus is important, you also need to know what to focus on and when. Here's an email from a workshop participant afterwards (published with permission but their name has been withheld to protect them from further comments about their driving skills)...

Hi Judy,

As usual I loved the workshop, so much in fact that upon leaving I was so focussed and wrapped up in what I was going to take back to my manager, that I crashed my car into a pillar at the motel!  I bet this is the first time you have had that reaction. But all is well and my car will be as good as gold after visiting the panel beaters tomorrow :) I intend to use some of the content from the workshop at my new Coordinators Network Group that starts this afternoon, and I am sure they will benefit from the ideas as much as I did.

In previous newsletters we've discussed some ideas on making your volunteer recruitment, retention and volunteer recognition plan even more manageable. Let's now revisit the power of focus through using 'mini-plans' and testing your strategies.

Mini-plans make everything manageable as a volunteer manager

Whenever you are developing any plan for volunteer recruitment, volunteer recognition or volunteer management don't feel overwhelmed. Why not develop a series of mini-plans for tackling one thing at a time? For example, here is a simple but very effective recruiting idea - start by deciding to put a recruitment message on everything that leaves your office – brochures, letters, business cards – and then go on to the next volunteer recruitment idea. Begin with bite-size pieces!

Mini-plans help you to focus in volunteer management
Another example of a mini-plan is to focus on recruiting one volunteer for a specific job in a more creative way than before. Brainstorm all the avenues you could explore to fill that position and do something different. For example, to recruit a receptionist, have you considered targeting secretarial colleges, work experience students, 'temping' agencies, job retraining schemes and recent retirees from similar positions?

Mini-plans are based on small but powerful increments

If you currently retain volunteers on average for 2 years, then develop a mini-plan aimed at extending that retention time to 2.5 years. Ask past and current volunteers what strategies they would suggest to achieve this goal. If you have 10 volunteers who contribute 5 hours per week and they stay an extra 6 months you have achieved an extra 1300 hours of volunteer service. Small increases can have very powerful results when compounded.

Sometimes letting people go can help them to stay

One group followed the above mini-plan and actually doubled their average retention rate from 2 years to 4 years for each volunteer. In asking their volunteers, they found out that by letting go and encouraging their volunteers to take annual leave, their volunteers were retained longer. Many volunteers were 'slipping away' when they needed a holiday and never getting around to returning to volunteering again.

Now at the start of every year, 4 weeks of annual leave for each volunteer is put on the calendar. Volunteers then plan their volunteer work around their leave dates. Volunteers come back from leave refreshed, re-energized and ready for more volunteer work. It is also a type of volunteer recognition for the time and effort your volunteer give.

Testing your mini-plans is vital for volunteer recognition and recruiting success
Businesses select a small market sample to test a new product before launching it and committing time and resources. If you have a great volunteer recruitment, retention or volunteer recognition idea, 'road test' it first. For example, if you are targeting a large corporation as a potential market for volunteers, start with one section of the corporation as a test case for the whole. Avoid rolling out that 'grand plan' until you have tested some mini-plans first.

Measuring your mini-plans lets you know when you are winning in volunteer management
For each mini-plan, develop a system to help you evaluate which volunteer recruitment, retention and volunteer recognition activities are the most productive. Rate the amount of time and effort expended, the costs, the responses and the overall effectiveness of each mini-plan. Continue with what rates highly and discard the rest, as your time will be better spent elsewhere.

Putting a series of mini-plans together provides a powerful vision
When you use a series of mini-plans, you still need to keep your overall vision and goals clearly in mind. View each mini-plan as an integral part of the overall volunteer management plan. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle – each piece is essential in creating the final beautiful picture.

Enjoy!

Judy

Dr Judy Esmond is a leading international expert on how to gain, sustain and retain volunteers and members. Join up and receive FREE membership to her 'Ultimate Ideas' Mastermind Group and get the FREE E-Book and newsletter filled with 100s of ideas on volunteer management, volunteer recruitment, retention and volunteer recognition at www.morevolunteers.com

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