Working with volunteers

Working with young volunteers (under 18’s)

Volunteering helps young people thrive and transforms the communities they live in. It teaches them vital skills and prepares them for the future.

Student Volunteers

Inclusive Volunteering

An inclusive volunteer programme is one that is accessible to everyone who is capable of fulfilling a volunteering role subject to being given the right support or offered the right adjustments.

Organisations need to utilise a source of talent and commitment which inclusive volunteering helps them tap into.

This wider pool of volunteers will bring fresh ideas, skills and commitment and they will make organisations relevant to the communities they serve.

Flexible volunteering

Flexible volunteering is volunteering that allows for greater freedom with tasks and opportunities. That can change depending on availability, skills and circumstances; flexible volunteers may vary their roles, location and or their time commitment.  The benefit to organisations is that by offering flexible volunteering it can increase the pool of potential volunteers.

Virtual volunteering

People can make an impact on their communities online. This rapidly growing form of volunteering allows people the flexibility to complete tasks at a time and place that suits them best. Participants are sometimes described as ‘online’ or ‘remote’ volunteers.  Virtual volunteering is not necessarily the same as micro volunteering as online can still involve a regular commitment if that is what the volunteer wants to offer.  For example online counselling and advice services.

What makes a good experience for volunteers?

NCVO Time Well Spent report found eight things that make up a good experience for volunteers:

1. Inclusive of everyone
2. Flexible around people’s lives
3. Impactful and makes a difference
4. Connected to others, the cause and the organisation
5. Balanced, doesn’t overburden the volunteer
6. Enjoyable and makes people feel good
7. Voluntary, not an obligation
8. Meaningful to volunteers’ lives, interests and priorities.

Volunteer Management Systems

If you have more than a handful of volunteers you will probably need to create a spreadsheet to record key data to help you keep on top of things.

Once you have a larger number of volunteers, especially if you are recruiting and managing several different volunteer roles and rotas, you may want to look at using software adapted to volunteer management.

The best of these systems can improve the volunteering experience, thereby aiding recruitment and retention, and can reduce the administrative burden on the volunteer coordinator.

You can also use Volunteer Cambs to communicate with volunteers. If you need help with this, get in touch info@volunteercambs.org.uk

For more guidance on choosing and implementing a volunteer management system see the NCVO website

Support Cambridgeshire is able to provide advice and support to members on managing, recruiting, and retaining volunteers.

Contact us for support and check out our What’s on page for upcoming training on this topic

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