The Volunteer Journey
I like to start each year writing down what the volunteer journey looks like in my organization: what are all the steps they take and what are our processes at each of them. Writing everything down allows me to see the big picture of my program and check what is in place, what needs to be updated or improved, what no longer serves us, and what can be implemented.
Here’s the plain draft I work from:
- Research: More likely the first thing the volunteer will do is an online search for volunteer opportunities and your organization. If they check your website or one of the volunteer recruiting websites (VolunteerMatch, AllForGood, Idealist, etc), what will they find? Will they get a good idea of what you do, what you need, how to get started?
- Inquire: The next moment is when they contact you to volunteer themselves. Who receives the inquires? How do you respond to them? How long does it take you to answer? Is the answer enough for them to start the process? Do you have the volunteer opportunities ready and explicit written?
- Paperwork: This is when they start the actual process with you. Do you have an Application? Is it updated and relevant? How they receive and fill it out? Do you have an interview? Do you run background checks, why and how?
- Onboarding: Once they are ready to start and the paperwork is all filled out, it’s time to explain your policies and procedures. Do you know that they are? Are the policies updated? Which ones are relevant for the work? Which ones are essential? Is your due diligence being done properly? How can you protect the organization?
- Data entry: The easiest step to forget or to delay is updating your system with the new volunteer’s information. I suggest you make it part of the process. Do you keep a physical file? Are all relevant information of the volunteer easy to find? Do the supervisors have access to it?
- Welcome meeting or orientation: It can happen before the first day, monthly, quarterly… It depends on the reality of the organization. But it’s important that you create a moment where the new volunteers are welcomed, introduced to the executive team, and connect to the organization and to the mission. Allow them to understand the big picture and feel part of the family.
- First day: Welcome and orientation. How is the first day? Do you have a checklist the supervisor has to go through with the volunteer (introduce to staff, a tour of the office, etc)? What the schedule is going to look like? What materials and access do they need?
- Daily activities: Do they understand the day to day activities? Do they have proper supervising? Do they need or can benefit from training?
- Regular activities: What do they have to do on a quarterly, monthly, weekly basis? Maybe create a report, deliver their hours, have an evaluation or check-in meeting with their supervisor.
- Celebrations: Yes, show them gratitude in everything you do but also create moments just to celebrate them. Do you have them in place? Here are a few ideas: send birthday and anniversary cards, host an annual dinner, gift them with small totes, work with the supervisor to create a special moment or surprise, ask them how they like to celebrate, email the organization about a volunteer’s accomplishment.
- Exit: How do you learn about a volunteer leaving? Do you have an exit survey or interview? Do you have ways to keep the volunteer connected even after they leave — maybe through a newsletter or transforming them into donors? Do you have a process to learn about problems and work on them?
From this first draft, I start writing down what I could do to make the year even better for the volunteer. It’s usually a moment where new ideas also come to mind, so I just let my mind to work freely without judgment. I like to do it in a coffee place rather than at work, to try to avoid any “it has to be this way” to take place. By the end of this session, this is usually what my paper looks like. And it becomes a document I keep referring to for the rest of the year without having to reinvent the wheel.
Have you ever thought about it this way? Do you have a Volunteer Journey at your organization? Does it look like this one? What are the differences? Is there something else I could add to it?
