The document provides 10 tips for managing and motivating volunteers: 1) be passionate about volunteering opportunities and the difference volunteers make, 2) provide great customer service and make a good first impression, 3) regularly and appropriately say "thank you", 4) provide meaningful opportunities for volunteers to see the impact of their work, 5) be flexible in volunteer roles and levels of engagement, 6) provide expenses to support volunteer involvement, 7) encourage current volunteers to help attract new volunteers through their social networks, 8) make volunteering social and offer group activities, 9) lead rather than manage volunteers, focusing on enabling their work, and 10) ensure volunteering is an enjoyable experience that volunteers prefer over other activities.

1. Ten top tips for managing and motivating
volunteers
International Animal Welfare Conference
Istanbul
6 October 2014

2. Who am I?
• Worked in volunteering movement
for 20 years
• Formerly Director of Development &
Innovation at Volunteering England
• Active volunteer for the last 26 years
• Co-author of The Complete
Volunteer Management Handbook
(DSC, 2012)
• The “Voice of Volunteering” blogger
for Third Sector Online

3. Be passionate
• “Are you excited about the
opportunities you offer
volunteers and the difference
they will make?”
What a great
volunteer role!
• Be passionate about the work
of volunteers in your
organisation - your enthusiasm
with attract people to you.

4. Give great customer service
• To make ourselves attractive
we have to acknowledge that
people’s expectations are high
and we need to try and meet
them.
• Being a charity or voluntary
group is no excuse!
• You only have one chance to
make a first impression so
make it a good one.

5. Say “Thank You”
• Regularly
• Appropriately
• Whether people say they want
it or not
• For outcomes and behaviours
you want more of

6. Provide meaningful opportunities
• Do you make the most of the
time people give you?
- Regardless of how much
they can give you?
• Do they see the difference they
make?
- Or do you just allow them to
make a contribution?

7. Be flexible
• The uber-volunteer time bomb
• Responses:
- Try before you buy
- Scale of engagement
- Keeping people by letting
them leave

8. Provide expenses
• An equal opportunities /
diversity issue
• Be mindful of tax liabilities and
employment law risks
• Guard against a culture of not
claiming
• Make the most of gift aid
• Budget for expenses

9. Get volunteers to attract volunteers
• Word of mouth
• World of mouth
• Simple steps
- Give people a great
experience
- Encourage them to make
their networks aware
- Support them in making an
ask

10. Go social
• Making friends and meeting
new people
• Offering opportunities for
groups to volunteer together
- Families
- Friends and colleagues
- People who don’t know
each other

11. Lead, don’t manage
"So much of what we
call management consists of
making it difficult for people
to work"
"Processes
don't work,
people do"

12. Provide an enjoyable
experience
• Volunteering is a leisure time
activity
• What would people rather
spend their spare time doing?
- Volunteering with you
- Spending time with family
- Doing a hobby
• How about all of the above?

13. Questions?

14. What next?
• What one thing will you do now
to make your organisation more
attractive to volunteers?
• What is one obstacle you are
going to have to overcome?
• Share with a colleague
• Follow up after today

15. Getting in touch
rob@robjacksonconsulting.com
07557 419 074
www.robjacksonconsulting.com
@robjconsulting
www.robjacksonconsulting.blogspot.
com
http://robjackson.thirdsector.co.uk