3 Reasons Why You’re Finding It Hard to Find And Keep Volunteers – And What To Do About It

Realizing Your Worth: 3 Reasons Why You’re Finding It Hard to Find And Keep Volunteers – And What To Do About It

Volunteer rates are down, but more people are talking about the importance of volunteering. There’s a disconnect. Here’s why, and what you can do about it.

Outside there’s an audible hum, and it’s increasing in volume by the minute. People are talking about the things that matter, the causes that move them, the communities they love. They are talking about the need to get more active, more involved. Apparently society has decided to give back like never before, and they have decided to do it through volunteering.

Or…..have they?

Non-profit executives and volunteer managers will tell you a different story. From their perspective, fewer people are showing up and fewer still are willing to make the necessary commitments. Not only that, but the volunteers seem more selfish. The question has become, “What am I getting out of the experience of volunteering?” rather than “What am I giving?” And the widespread popularity of Corporate Volunteering programs only multiply these frustrations.

The thing is, it’s true. People are very interested in volunteering, yet less willing to make long-term time commitments. They are socially aware, yet seem concerned with program outcomes and personal fulfillment rather than the value of “doing the right thing.” Oddly, (despite the fact that many volunteer managers struggle with recruiting new volunteers) volunteer rates are, in fact, steadily increasing. People are far more active and informed than ever before. Each week hundreds of corporations are looking to formalize a volunteering program and mobilize employees in their communities.

So where’s the disconnect? If more people care, and more people are actually volunteering, why are non-profit execs so frustrated? Why does it seem tougher to find and keep volunteers today than it did just two or three decades ago? …

SHIFT ONE: From card catalogs to wifi. …

SHIFT 2: From finding the right job to becoming the right brand. …

SHIFT 3: From commodity to experience. …

… People are googleized, branded and experiential. If those of us who recruit and manage volunteers are going to be successful, we’ve got to account for these changes. Here are some initial thoughts that might encourage the necessary adjustments:

1. Create regular and easy opportunities to volunteer. And I mean really easy. No police checks. No lengthy registration forms. No liability forms. No prior-to event sign up. Instead, find an event that can be held once a month, if not weekly. Make it easy for groups, families as well as individuals to attend. Most organizations I’ve worked with cannot even imagine how this is possible. It is. It just takes a little work, and some imagination. Mostly, it takes a willingness to admit that the thing not working now, aren’t going to start working anytime soon. Like it or not, change is required.
2. Instead of using volunteers as a means to an end, use the tasks volunteers perform as the means to an end. It is the experience volunteers have and not the tasks they perform that is the point. Focus on the experience, and you’ll discover the commitment and productivity of your volunteers grow.
3. Ensure that the experience involves close proximity between your community or cause and your volunteers. This is an essential part of volunteers internalizing the experience and discovering very personal and compelling reasons to invest in your organization.
4. Only spend time on people who are worth spending time with. (Trust me. Sometimes the seemingly selfish moves are the best for everyone in the long run.) If people come back, and they demonstrate a keen interest in what you’re doing as an organization, then they are the prime candidates for your efforts.