Volunteer Management great ideas in the

Ultimate Ideas Newsletter

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

Issue 5

From Volunteer Management Newsletter Part 1 to Part 2 Continued...

Exit Interviews in Volunteer Management

2 More Tips for You

In the previous issue of the newsletter for those in volunteer management, we looked at ideas on conducting great exit interviews. But wait! What if you don't really have the time to do those exit interviews. I promised you ideas on how to solve this 'time' dilemna. Here we go, listen carefully - YOU stop doing the exit interviews! If you haven't got time, if you are trying to squeeze them in and they are falling by the wayside, and if it is hard to really hear any 'negatives' - then YOU stop doing them. Here's two ways to go...

The Exit Team

Recruit one or two new volunteers to be your 'exit team'.  Their only role is to contact exiting volunteers and gather their feedback.  Pick the right people, with non-judgmental attitudes and they can often find out more information than a volunteer may be willing to tell YOU.

Out There

Outsource it! Pay a consultant or research company to undertake the volunteer interviews for you. This doesn't have to mean big $$$. Some organizations use phone exit interviews at a very low nominal cost. Using a standard interview schedule designed in consultation with the organization, a phone interview with the departing volunteer is a much more effective and feedback process than just a survey. It remains objective, allows the volunteer to give great feedback and ensures that the organization gets many ideas on what works, what doesn't and what could be improved. If you want anymore details just email me at mtdjudy@iinet.net.au

Another Case Study - 7 More Tips on Volunteer Recruitment

In the previous volunteer management newsletter issue we provided a case study for Kate on recruiting 'coffee volunteers'.  Here's an update on Kate's feedback on those ideas:

Dear Judy,

I was very impressed with the tips you had included in your last issue of the newsletter. I had not thought of going to the TAFE & recruiting students so they could "practice" coffee making etc. Also the flyers for outside the church etc. was a good idea. Thought when the time comes - I would first try speaking at the church and having volunteers outside with the flyers etc.  The volunteers were quite excited about being involved in the recruitment of someone for the coffee shop. Thank you so much. 

Regards

Kate

Volunteer Coordinator - Lourdes Home for the Aged

Case Study From The Team at Citizens Advocacy

Janine, Di and Roz's Specific Volunteer Recruitment Goal

Hi Judy,

We'd appreciate any volunteer recruiting and targeting tips for our goal to find advocates to enter into a freely giving relationship with 40 year old twin brothers with an intellectual disability through autism. The twins have quite different personalities and interests, and we are therefore looking for two advocates who share their individual interests.

'Jim' (name changed) is chatty, very interested in radio, loves to sing and has a great voice! Whereas quiet, thoughtful 'Alan' (name changed) would be a real asset at a quiz night!  He's a whiz at general knowledge and is also very interested in astronomy and radio.

Having Autism though, means that while 'Jim' and 'Alan' are very competent in some ways, they struggle and become very anxious in having to performsome relatively simple tasks. They also find pursuing their interests difficult without support and someone with whom to share them.

Since they have no other family, they need someone to speak up for them to ensure they cope, do not lose independence and are not taken advantage of. The presence of two patient, encouraging and understanding people in 'Jim' and 'Alan's' lives, who would take an ongoing interest in them and, importantly, speak up for them, would be of tremendous value.

This would be a freely given, hopefully lasting one-to-one relationship, for which we offer orientation, ongoing support and information. This rewarding opportunity might only take an hour or two hours per week.

Judy, our first preference would have been to match 'Jim' and 'Alan' with men, although we would consider women.  We have been searching for suitable advocates for over a year now, without success...YET!  Any suggestions would be MOST welcome.

Here are 7 Volunteer Recruitment Tips for 'The Team' To Think About!

Tip No 1 - Telling the story

This volunteer recruitment goal is a great example for a very specific, intensive recruitment campaign. It requires a very special type of person to establish a close relationship with each twin. This is what I term 'storytelling recruiting'. This is the type of story that 'tugs at the heart strings'. The more times the story is told the greater the chances of the right volunteer for each twin hearing the story and coming on board.

Tip No 2 - Find as many ways to tell the story

The goal is to find as many ways as possible to tell the story. Begin by brainstorming all the ways to get the story out about the twins. Prioritize and work through the list starting with strategies you think may be the most successful. Here are some ideas to get you thinking in your volunteer management role...

Tip No 3 - Radiowaves

Get on the radio! Radio is a great medium to tell a story. You'll want a radio station that has a talk-back program and the right profile of listeners for the type of volunteers you are looking for. You can obtain from any radio station a profile of their listeners (general information such as age profiles is very handy for targeting particular age groups). Contact the station about the possibility of doing a radio interview. Aim to talk on a topic rather than make a plea for volunteers as you are less likely to get airtime. Speaking about autism and its effects on people's lives allows you to weave the story of the twins and a volunteering request into the discussion. Remember often you only have a few minutes so get the story told early.

Tip No 4 - Calling in

Another radio technique if you can't get interviewed is to be a 'caller in'. Listen to the local talk back stations, choose the ones you want to target and then aim to get on air telling the story of the twins and putting forward a direct request for volunteers. Because your radio time is limited, write it down in point form so you get in the important details - who, what, where, when, why and how. It can take time to get on the airwaves so dial up, put the call on speaker phone and continue working.

Tip No 5 - Tell me more

As I mentioned in another previous volunteer management newsletter, if you want to target males for this caring role, save your energy and go where you will have the most success. Target males who already have a caring mindset - they are more likely to be responsive to this type of volunteering role for men. Males undertaking University or TAFE studies in psychology, social work, counseling, community welfare, mental health and other caring professions would be a focused target group to begin with. Check each institution's websites and locate the relevant courses and then ring to find out who teaches these courses and specific units. Then ring (don't just send written material) and actually speak to the relevant lecturers asking for a five minute timeslot in one of their classes to tell the story of the twins and offer the volunteering opportunity to their students. Be sure to 'sell' the benefits of this volunteering opportunity for the students in their own studies and future career.

Tip No 6 - It's showtime

Absolutely make sure that you can do a 'killer' presentation in five minutes to tell the story of the twins. Practice, refine and polish your presentation because it is often the only opportunity to make a good impression and a 'key' tool in convincing the right people to volunteer. Consider using a powerpoint presentation with only slides picturing the twins in action, changing about every 20 seconds as you speak. 

Tip No 7 - Dear Volunteer

Back up all your 'live' presentations with written material for each attendee. However, because this is such a specific recruitment request, design your one-page 'storytelling' flyer quite differently. Have an eye-catching headline, a picture of the twins and a call to action with all the contact details. But for the content compose an open letter telling the story of the twins and the need for just the right volunteers to come forward. This type of volunteer recruitment flyer really is your storytelling presentation but in a written form.

These are just some tips to get Janine, Di, Roz and YOU thinking about even more recruitment ideas. We will look at a different volunteer recruitment 'bonus focus' on recruiting committee members in a future newsletter.

You can also get 100s of extra ideas on recruiting volunteers in Count Me In! 501 Ideas on Recruiting Volunteers by Dr Judy Esmond

Enjoy!

Judy

Dr Judy Esmond is the leading 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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