Saturday, May 18, 2013

The Best Volunteer Management Practices

By Sebastian Troup


As in all aspects of business, proper management is one of the biggest keys to success. This is certainly true when it comes to running a corporate charity program. The better this type of program is managed, the more successful it will be. Your biggest task should be to make sure that it is easy for all of your employees to become involved, and this means more than just asking them to donate money. Provide employees with an easy way to volunteer. For instance, if your charity is hosting a big event, create a large signup sheet and list many options for employees. All your staff will have to do is find a good option for them and sign in their name. Keep this sign-up sheet in the break room or another high traffic area, and don't forget to bring it along to staff meetings. In addition, hang posters for the event in key areas and create a shared staff calendar which also lists the event.

As busy administrators, you also will want to make the program simple to manage. Make sure you have the right tools in place to manage the program logistics. For company volunteer events focusing on a particular non-profit, make sure an administrator from your company is in close communication with someone from the charity so all details are closely coordinated.

When you set up your company's volunteer program, be sure it aligns with your company's other philanthropic endeavors. It is important to focus most of your efforts in one key area in order to maximize results. For instance, if your goal is to promote education, focus your efforts on charities and volunteer events that promote education. To reduce the amount of management work, consider creating a custom site on the company's intranet which lists all of the charities supported by the company. Make it easy for employees to quickly make a donation, and list the types of volunteer options that are available. If other types of donations are needed aside from monetary donations, be sure to list these needs. In addition, highlight your corporate matching efforts so that employees also are aware of this option.

Excellent record keeping is an important skill for effectively managing an employee volunteer program. The records not only help you monitor the performance of your campaigns but also the level of engagement among employees and the impact on the community. By recording contributions, hours volunteered, and other relevant data, you can determine what is working well in your corporate volunteer program and what could use some improvement.

Rather than trying to do this yourself on some type of spreadsheet, consider using volunteer management software instead. This makes it easy to input information, track hours and donations and print different types of reports. If you need to present progress to company leaders, this type of software allows you to quickly print out analytics and reports.

It cannot be said too many times that the first rule managing a volunteer program is to make it simple. Employees might be enthusiastic about a charitable organizations supported by your company, but unsure how to help. Providing plenty of options will make is easy for employees to find volunteer opportunities on their own.

Remember that input from employees is often extremely helpful, and some of your employees might already be volunteering for a cause for which they have great passion. Be sure to ask employees to share information about events in which they are participating and suggest ideas for the corporate giving program. Encouraging their ideas is a great way to make employees feel like they are truly a part of the program.

The number one reason why employees don't engage in volunteer programs is simply because they weren't asked to participate in the first place. If you ask them, many will likely say "yes." Use multiple channels to get the word out about volunteering including company email, a communal sign-up sheet, staff meetings, and personal invitations. It is also important to thank employees for their participation afterwards. Providing a simple recognition and acknowledgement of the personal contribution employees make with their time will keep them returning for additional volunteer opportunities.




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