Volunteer Satisfaction Surveys

Management Category Primary Goal Action Type of Survey to Conduct When to Administer

Volunteer Retention Understand why your

volunteers want to participate

with your organization and

what may cause them to leave.

Use volunteer feedback to

analyze and guide volunteer

retention efforts.

Volunteer Satisfaction Survey Within 24 hours of volunteer

participation

Volunteer Engagement Understand the motivations of

volunteers to better engage

them.

Use qualitative feedback to

analyze and direct engagement

efforts.

Volunteer Engagement Survey Annually

Volunteer Recruitment Understand what drives

volunteers to sign up and how

they found your organization.

Use feedback to recruit more

volunteers and guide marketing

strategy to prospective

volunteers.

Volunteer Recruitment Survey During volunteer

registration or onboarding

Volunteer Placement Understand the interests and

specialized skills of each

volunteer.

Match volunteers to the right

opportunities based on their

skills and interests.

Volunteer Skills and Interests

Survey

During

registration or onboarding

Volunteer Impact Reporting Understand how volunteer

work is making an impact, from

the volunteer point of view.

Report impact based on

volunteers’ perceptions and

experiences.

Volunteer Impact Survey Quarterly or Prior to end of

funding cycle

Volunteer Performance Understand how our

organization can better train

and prepare volunteers.

Perform volunteer evaluations

based on their performance and

preparedness for their work.

Volunteer Evaluation Form Annually

What are the BENEFITS of doing a survey?

• Gather Feedback • Evaluate Current Processes• Guide Future Decision Making• Empower Your Volunteers• Improve Programming• Bolster Volunteer Retention• Identify Areas for Improvement

WHAT?

Define the PURPOSE of Completing the Survey

What are you hoping to impact with the information you receive?

• Reduce volunteer turnover• Improve training• Affect marketing plans• Use on grants• Improve volunteer engagement

THE PURPOSE OF THIS SURVEY IS TO ….

WHICH?

Use the Right Tools

Online Surveyso SurveyMonkeyo Google Formso Wufooo QuestionPro/FormStack

Email Paper In Person

HOW?

WHEN?• How often to do it?• Annually? Every 6 months?• Anniversary Dates?

Format – Radio, Dropdown, Multiple choice…

HOW?

Be clear in your directions and communicate the deadline

Sample Size

The industry standard for audience perception is 95% accuracy with a +/-5% margin of error.

Per Survey Monkey200 surveys sent = 132 return1000 surveys sent = 278 return2000 surveys sent = 323 return

Getting Volunteers/Clients/Employees/Board Members to Participate

• Make it Anonymous –Protect their privacy• Invite volunteer leaders to be involved in the survey• Communicate the purpose• Offer a small incentive• Build hype on social media• Gentle Reminders• Send it out from the top

WHO?

Define the Purpose and Benefits of Completing the Survey

• What are you attempting to capture?• How will the insights will improve a process?• Overall goals of the survey? • Help your organization improve the volunteer experience• Can we better match you with an opportunity you love

Be Transparent

The Survey Opening

Ask the Right Questions

• What top 3 things do you want to learn?• Ask one question at a time• 3 to maximum of 12 questions• Avoid jargon• Keep it recent• No leading questions• Shuffle response options for each• Give options• Limit open ended questions

THANK Your Volunteers

• Provide a sincere thank you for their input

• Connect your survey to future change

Share Results

• Timely manner• Compare to previous years if available• Include some comments• Balance positive and negative

comments

Summary• Prepare• Communicate before, during and

after the survey process• Be consistent• Reference future change to the survey

• Visit the following links for more details:• www.galaxydigital.com/blog/volunteer-survey/#1• https://tobijohnson.com/create-better-volunteer-satisfaction-surveys/• https://www.volunteerhub.com/blog/volunteer-satisfaction-survey/