Matching the right volunteer with the right assignment
Abstract
Volunteers may feel underutilized or unsatisfied with their assignment if the scope of their volunteer work doesn't match their skills and/or interests. Matching the right volunteer with the right position will result in satisfied, more productive volunteers. This practice shares ideas for matching volunteers with the right assignment. Excerpted from Seniors for Habitat Effective Practices Manual, May 2001.Issue
Anyone involved in the operations of a volunteer-based organization knows that there is always something to do. At the same time, the pool of volunteers on hand to help complete those tasks seldom seems large enough. Despite there being so much work to be done, volunteers often feel ineffective or underutilized in their assignments.Action
Know your volunteers. By knowing your volunteers, you will be able to respect their time, ability, personal history, and life experiences. These strategies will help you become familiar with your volunteers:- Use a volunteer information sheet or interests inventory. This is a great way to collect a lot of information quickly and efficiently. Make sure the survey encompasses the needs of your particular organization. Include a list of volunteer opportunities available so a new volunteer can get an idea of which of his/her skills could prove useful to you. The best time to distribute the skills and interests inventory is before a volunteer starts working.
- Keep the conversation going. There is only so much you can learn from a form. The best way to get to know your volunteers is to engage them in conversation, ask questions, and listen to their answers. Some questions to ask include: How does a volunteer most want to contribute? What is his/her desired time commitment? Does he/she have any physical constraints? What are his/her current interests? Asking for feedback—and implementing it whenever feasible—is a great way to establish a relationship with volunteers.
- Take notes. The skills inventory and ongoing conversations will give you valuable information about your volunteers. An easy way to keep this information on hand is to jot down notes during your conversation. Once the information is on paper, you can refer to your notes at anytime to ensure you are meeting a volunteer's individual needs.
Context
Beginning in the spring of 1999, eight RSVP chapters and eight Habitat for Humanity affiliates teamed up to explore the potential for an effective and mutually beneficial partnership between their organizations. They created an effective practices manual to document lessons learned from the Seniors for Habitat demonstration projects.Citation
Corporation for National and Community Service. Seniors for Habitat Effective Practices Manual. Washington, DC.:Corporation for National and Community Service, May 2001.Posted On
August 31, 2001Resources
From The Resource Center library:
Seniors for Habitat: Effective Practices Manual
Item number: M1962