Why volunteers leave

With dual-career marriages and single parenting, people want whatever time they give to make a difference. Even the secular sector considers job descriptions important to get volunteer support. People want to know they make a difference. They want to know how the program is better or different because of their service.

You can ensure long-term, satisfied teachers in your ministry. Develop an interview process. Ask volunteers: What expertise do you bring to the program? What do you need out of this experience? What are your goals in working with children?

State how much time the position requires, including training time. Specify a finite term of service. Volunteers want good training to succeed in their job. Ask yourself: Do people give all kinds of excuses not to come?

Employees, on the other hand, may be drawn to social conscious workplaces, but their primary motivation to work is to get paid. Last, volunteers attach a stronger value to incidental and intrinsic rewards than paid staff. Meaning they enjoy the byproducts of volunteering: making friends and working together for the common good. While there are many circumstances that lead to decreased volunteer retention, you might be overlooking a few significant contributors.

So, here are five key areas, backed by research , that might explain why volunteers quit. Want to increase volunteer retention? Use our free roadmap to design an exceptional experience for your volunteers:. Design a focused plan to meet volunteer needs throughout their lifecycle. When you think about designing an intervention to increase volunteer retention, consider these five areas for better results. Volunteers must feel they have the required knowledge and skills and are adequately prepared for their assignments.

Skills-based volunteering has increased over the past few years. And, with the rise of technology in the workplace, there are a number of areas in which volunteers must be competent in order to be successful.

Questions to Ask Yourself — Do volunteers receive adequate training to feel comfortable in their new roles? Rightly, the parent will win every time. The solution: Offer shorter shifts for volunteers. Almost anyone can fit a half hour to an hour session into their schedule.

How Volgistics can help: Create a series of short schedule openings , and allow volunteers to schedule themselves. When volunteers do not receive enough guidance or feedback, they can get frustrated. How Volgistics can help: Add details about each assignment in Volgistics. Volunteers can access it through clickable links on the schedule or your Opportunity Directory. You can use the checklist to ensure volunteers see a description as part of the on-boarding process. When something goes wrong, a volunteer wants to know they can bring the problem to you and receive support and guidance.

The solution: Welcome feedback and suggestions from your volunteer crew. Implement their good ideas, and tell people where the new adjustments came from. Church volunteer training is essential to ensuring your volunteers get the most out of the experience and have a significant impact.

You should also strive to create an open line of communication with volunteers. One way to communicate feedback effectively is to compose volunteer evaluation forms like this one. Your survey should assist volunteers in recognizing strengths and identifying areas where further training may be required. Offer feedback and additional training when appropriate and ask your volunteers what they need from you. Engaged volunteers like to feel: 1 passionate about a cause, and 2 useful to the cause.

So leverage the skills and strengths of your volunteers. This will require some understanding of the skills, strengths, and passions your new volunteers possess. One way to accomplish this is to create a questionnaire or conduct a church volunteer interest survey. Ask questions like these to help you better place volunteers from the outset:. Learn more about Get Connected software.

Volunteer retention requires commitment from volunteers and program coordinators. Keep volunteers in the loop about upcoming events and exciting opportunities with an e-newsletter. But be careful not to overdo-it. Bombarding email inboxes daily can have the opposite effect. We recommend distributing your volunteer e-newsletter one to two times per month.

Thank your volunteers sincerely and often. Find ways to illustrate and share this impact.