retaining volunteer talent in your community

KATE BAUCHEREL@KateBaucherel

DAVID J NEFF@daveiam

VICTORIA TAYLOR@happysquid

#RetainAtSXSW

THE CHALLENGES OF VOLUNTEER RETENTION1. People get involved in volunteering for many reasons, and their

motives can change over time. How can you meet their needs and retain their skills?

2. How do you measure the impact of volunteers? Developing clear community goals, and activity and behavioral targets, can deliver measurable ROI.

3. Can volunteers see the bigger picture? How do you keep individuals engaged & motivated to move towards greater goals?

@katebaucherel @daveiam @happysquid #RetainAtSXSW

ORIGINAL RESEARCH• Dr Jennifer Hagan ‘Sustainable Volunteering in Cultural Heritage Attractions’• Established a disconnect between volunteers, the organisation, and

eachother• Communication and culture failures led to volunteer disillusionment• Change of motivations rarely recognised, managed, or exploited• Came to the attention of the Ambix online community team. Could the

application of Community Management disciplines reduce volunteer turnover?


LATEST RESEARCH• Asked questions of 2 samples of volunteers and

volunteer co-ordinators (Jan-Feb 2017)• Global reach: responses concentrated primarily in the UK

with input from the USA, Australia, Ireland and France.• Disseminated online via Twitter and LinkedIn (snowball

sampling), so actual distribution numbers are unknown.• 64 complete responses – 70% volunteers, 30% co-

ordinators• Very positive feedback from professionals and

academics who have participated in interviews and shared their own research on the topic to add to our findings.


Location of All Re-spondents

UK USA IrelandAustralia France

Volunteers Co-Ordi-nators

RANGE OF RESPONDING ORGANISATIONSVolunteer co-ordinators represented organisations of all sizes, from <20 to 10,000+, and teams of up to a thousand individual volunteers.


Number of volunteers in the organisation

Direct responsibility for how many volunteers?

<20

50-100

500-1000

2000-5000

Over 10000

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

<20

50-100

500-1000

2000-5000

Over 10000

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

KEY FINDINGS• Motivations for volunteering do change over time, but even at

the outset these are not always in line with the expectations of the organisation.• Co-ordinators can be hard on themselves! They perceive more

problems than volunteers do with support, management and investment.• Not everyone plans for, or measures, the impact of volunteers

and the return on investment in the volunteer cohort.• There are challenges with communication – a scattergun

approach which does not help to cascade organisational culture or deliver consistent support.


EXPLORING VOLUNTEER MOTIVATION – KATE BAUCHEREL

• Volunteering starts at a young age, so there is an element of ‘career development’ throughout the volunteer journey.• Volunteer motivations change, but throughout there is a

strong desire to support the cause: volunteers take their roles seriously.• Volunteers have the potential to play a significant role in the

organisation – they deserve support on a par with staff.


VOLUNTEERS START YOUNG59% of respondents were under the age of 25 when they began volunteering. Most chose to volunteer to support a specific cause (54%), expand a pastime (43%), or gain experience (33%); our favourite reason, though, was ‘my mother made me’!


Age of first volunteering Age at time of survey

Under 18

18 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75+

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%Under 18

18 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75+

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%

VOLUNTEERS ARE DEDICATEDWe asked both groups about motivations for starting and continuing volunteering. The importance of social interaction, building experience, and comfort zones were overestimated by co-ordinators – support for a specific cause was the primary motivator in both cases by a clear margin.


To support a specific cause

To expand a personal interest or hobby

To gain experience for personal development or career progression

To meet people with common interests

As an alternative to work (eg due to retirement)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Co-ordinators Volunteers

Reasons for starting to volunteer

To support a specific cause

To expand a personal interest or hobby

To gain experience for personal development or career progression

To meet people with common interests

As an alternative to work (eg due to retirement)

In a comfortable routine

Social reasons - a good relationship with fellow volunteers


Reasons for continuing to volunteer

VOLUNTEERS ARE RELIABLEWe asked volunteer co-ordinators about the length of time their volunteers spend with them. In this sample, 69% retained their volunteers for more than two years. Of the sample, only 12% of respondents used volunteers in short-term projects. Volunteering is not a stop-gap: it’s a key element of business. But are volunteers well supported?


“We find it hard to retain volunteers long-term”

“The organisation supports and manages the volunteer

community well.”

0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%

Strongly disagree

disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

VOLUNTEERS ARE PROFESSIONALWe asked volunteers the following questions:• I am satisfied that I have the opportunities to apply my talents and expertise

: 90% Agreed• I am satisfied with the role-related training my organisation offers: 75%

Agreed• I am inspired to meet my goals in my volunteer role: 74% Agreed• Volunteers treat each-other with respect: 92% Agreed• I am able to make decisions regarding my work: 82% AgreedOur sample of volunteers is generally professional, empowered and supported.


MEETING CHANGING NEEDS – DAVID J. NEFF• Professional world – focus on staff retention because of acquisition cost• Volunteer world – acquisition cost not always quantified , are volunteers treated

the same as staff & needs met?• Similar retention models are needed in the nonprofit world. What’s the process?

• Churn of employees• Onboarding and continuous training• Culture changes• Part time vs Full time vs Contractors• Firing volunteers


COMMUNICATION, COMMUNITY AND CULTURE – VICTORIA TAYLOR


We asked volunteers and co-ordinators to reveal the perceptions and reality of how volunteers source information from the organisation, and built a weighted average based on frequency of use.

There are a lot of options available and in use - and a difference between the organisation’s perception of the most effective channels, and those which volunteers report as their best sources.

Could an online community management approach enable nonprofits to do fewer thing better?

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION?


Face to face, one to one with staff

Face to face in the course of volunteer work

Face to face, group meetings

Newsletters - printed

Newsletters - circulated online

Email with staff

Email with other volunteers

Telephone with staff

Telephone with other volunteers

Facebook or other social media group - unofficial

Facebook or other social media group - official

Organisation's private online community

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5


SUMMARY

MOTIVATION AND RETENTIONCommunicating effectively with

volunteers must be the first step in retention.

Close the gap between perceived and actual

motivation.

PROFESSIONALISM AND

MEASUREMENTEmpower your volunteer

community.Recognise and support

professionalism.

COMMUNICATION, COMMUNITY &

CULTUREDo fewer thing better.

Good volunteer management and

community management practices


YOUR QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK…?Download the research paper ‘Retaining Volunteer Talent in Your Community’ from

www.katebaucherel.com using code RetainAtSXSW for your free copy.Find the audio of this session on SXSW SoundCloud

DON’T FORGET TO REVIEW THIS PANEL ON YOUR SXSW GO APP!

http://www.katebaucherel.com/

retaining volunteer talent in your community

Government & Nonprofit