Karen Knight - Feb 13, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 533189
Photo: Pixabay
Cross-training volunteers is a neglected art.
A friend of mine volunteered at a small community food bank for five years. She loved her role as the intake coordinator, sourcing food supplies, recording deliveries and ensuring items were shelved where they needed to go.
But one morning, she was in a car accident and was hospitalized (she’s fine now). The food bank staff scrambled to find someone to fill in but no one knew exactly how to do her job. Deliveries were delayed, tensions rose and the usually smooth operation turned into a disorganized scramble.
That was a classic example of why cross-training volunteers is so important. When only one person knows how to do a particular task, the entire operation can be thrown off when they are unavailable. Cross-training ensures continuity, reduces stress and empowers volunteers by expanding their skills and confidence.
Here are some other benefits to cross-training:
1. It ensures continuity. Organizations rely on volunteers to keep things running, but life happens—illness, travel, family emergencies. If multiple people are trained for each role, operations won’t grind to a halt when someone is absent.
2. It increases engagement and retention. Volunteers who feel they are learning new skills and making a bigger impact are more likely to stay. Cross-training adds variety and provides opportunities for growth.
3. It builds stronger teams. When volunteers understand each other’s roles, they develop a greater appreciation for the entire operation. This fosters improved teamwork and a sense of shared purpose.
4. It allows for growth and change. With the state of upheaval the world is in, organizations need to evolve quickly and having a flexible volunteer team means adapting to new challenges with ease. A well-rounded team can step into different roles as needed.
It’s not hard to make cross-training simple and effective. Cross-training doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here are some easy ways to integrate it into your volunteer program:
1. Start with a skills audit: Begin by identifying what skills are needed for each role and what skills each volunteer possesses. This helps pinpoint gaps and opportunities for cross-training. It also allows you to find out who has skills of which you were unaware.
2. Pair volunteers for role shadowing: This is probably the easiest ways to cross-train volunteers. Pair volunteers with those in different roles and let them observe and help out. This is especially effective for complex tasks.
For example, at an animal shelter I worked with, a long-time dog-walking volunteer was paired with the front desk coordinator. After a few shifts shadowing each other, both felt confident enough to cover the other’s position. Both also gained a new appreciation for each other’s roles and gained a greater understanding of the organization as a whole.
3. Rotate roles periodically: If appropriate, create a schedule that allows interested volunteers to rotate through different roles. This keeps things interesting for them, and ensures that everyone gains diverse experience. At a charity shop I know, volunteers rotate between the till, sorting donations and stocking shelves. This not only prevents boredom but also means there is always someone who can step in wherever needed.
4. Recognize and celebrate multi-skilled volunteers: It may be hard to convince volunteers to learn new roles. Recognising those volunteers who are willing to experience multiple positions encourages others to do the same. A Volunteer of the Month program or small appreciation gestures can highlight those who have stepped forward to expand their skills and serve the organization better.
5. Don’t forget documentation: Documenting key tasks makes cross-training easier. Step-by-step guides can help volunteers learn quickly and feel more confident stepping into new roles. It also protects you until the cross-training has had a chance to take hold.
Cross-training has a ripple effect. Cross-training volunteers doesn’t just benefit the organization, it benefits the volunteers and the community as a whole.
Yes, the organization becomes more resilient, able to handle changes and challenges. But the volunteers also feel more engaged, supported and valued. Ultimately, the people being served experience more consistent and effective support.
Back at the food bank, my friend’s absence was a wake-up call. After she returned, the leadership put a plan in place to cross-train volunteers in all the main roles. Months later, when another key volunteer needed time off, someone else seamlessly stepped in. The operation ran smoothly, and the clients never noticed a difference.
A well-prepared, flexible volunteer team is your greatest asset. By cross-training volunteers as a regular part of your volunteer management, you can build a stronger, more adaptable team ready to meet whatever challenges come their way.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Karen Knight - Feb 6, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 531819
Photo: Pixabay
Have you ever wished you could find that one single strategy to help you with some aspect of your volunteer program? A “silver bullet”?
In October, I went on holiday to Malta. It was a challenging route for me to get there. I drove from my city of Kamloops to North Vancouver and left my truck with a friend. Then I took a bus, a boat (the Seabus) and the Canada Line rapid transit (subway) train to get to the airport. From there, I took two different planes, one from Vancouver to Frankfurt and one from Frankfurt to Malta. Oh, and in the Frankfurt airport, I had to take another bus between terminals.
Finally, I had a friend pick me up at the Malta airport and drive me to where I was staying. Not including walking a lot, that meant that it took eight different vehicles to get me there—planes, trains and automobiles…and a boat plus my feet. All of them were necessary.
What has this got to do with volunteering strategies, you ask? Many times when I talk with clients or potential clients I am asked to give them a way to recruit volunteers, or the best way to engage volunteers. They are often looking for a single strategy that will get them what they need. Unfortunately, it is only in exceptional circumstances that one strategy will be fully effective. To be successful in recruitment a leader of volunteers needs to employ multiple, often very different, strategies. Simply holding an open house will bring in few volunteers. Posting on social media will bring in a few and so will word of mouth. Each on its own has limited effectiveness.
When those and other strategies are used in combination though, an organization can bring in all the volunteers they need.
I understand, your time is limited. It’s a lot easier to focus on one key method rather than putting time and effort into five or six. Doing so, however, means you have to keep repeating the process. You have to continuously post on social media, for example, to bring a couple people in each time. And the law of diminishing returns comes into play here. After a while, most or all of the people that you are able to reach through one particular strategy will have seen your appeal and the ones who are interested will have already applied.
So, the more often you use that single strategy, the less effective it becomes. You end up spending more time with fewer results than you would if you used multiple strategies.
I’ve just spoken about recruitment so far, but the same principle holds true for many aspects of volunteer management.
Do you need to gather feedback from volunteers? Sending out a survey is one way you can try. You should also set up an online forum on the volunteer page of your website. Have a suggestion box at your building. And… and… and…
I’ve often written about the four ways to show volunteers you appreciate them. Each one of the four ways encompasses several different specific strategies. Again, counting on only one way, regardless of how effective it is at first, will take more time and bring in fewer results in the long-term.
Using more than a single strategy can also improve your program’s DEI. Most organizations right now are trying to ensure they are meeting or exceeding the diversity, equity and inclusion rates for their community.
As people from different cultures and/or world views tend to have differing habits and ways of communicating, using only one way to engage with them (recruiting, communicating, appreciating, etc) will leave out those that operate differently. That can mean that you aren’t tapping into pools of potential volunteers or current volunteers feel they don’t belong or aren’t appreciated. Neither scenario will benefit your program.
There is no one, single, fully successful strategy in leading volunteers. The more methods you use in whatever aspect of your program you’re struggling with, the more likely it is that it will be successful for you and accessible for all.
Take the time up front to develop those multiple methods and employ them all regularly. Once the initial work is done, you’ll find that various strategies will give you that silver bullet you’re looking for.
If you need help, let me know.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Karen Knight - Jan 30, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 530463
Photo: Pixabay
When you run a volunteer program, you will encounter unforeseen challenges.
Preparing for the unexpected before it happens is the key to sustainability. I was one of the leaders of a conference a number of years ago and right in the middle of a presentation, the fire alarm went off. Chaos ensued.
We hadn’t even thought about the chance something might happen, never mind planning what to do if it did. Despite the fact the fire was small and contained in one tiny area of the large hotel we were in, it took hours for us to get the conference back on track.
I dread to think of what might have happened if it had been a major disaster like an earthquake.
Anticipating emergencies might not be high on your priority list but when the unforeseen strikes it may be the best decision you’ve made. Planning ahead not only protects your program but also shows volunteers you’re looking out for them.
Here are some typical “unexpected” events you can expect and plan for:
• Absence of a key volunteer or staff member
• Natural disasters
• On-site emergencies
Preparing for the unexpected events that happen is essential for program resilience and long-term organizational health. Let’s take a look at how you can be ready for each of these circumstances.
Preparing for the unexpected absence of key people
You never know when a key volunteer or employee might suddenly become unavailable – because of illness, family emergency, abrupt resignation/termination or some other unexpected event. Without someone ready to immediately fill their role, operations can quickly fall behind or vital tasks can get missed.
To be as prepared as possible, you can take the following steps:
1. Make sure all processes and tasks are well-documented and regularly updated. Your goal is to have procedures clear enough that anyone, even someone completely unfamiliar with the task, can jump in and successfully complete the work.
2. Cross-train volunteers and refresh that training regularly. It’s not enough to train someone once and expect them to be ready to step into a new role when needed. Regular cross-training helps make sure that multiple people can step into different roles if you need them to.
3. Rotate tasks. One way to reinforce cross-training is by rotating key tasks among staff and/or volunteers on a regular basis. For example, rotate tasks between roles once a month or once a quarter. This not only lets the entire team practice covering for each other but also allows for errors to be caught and corrected before they become bigger issues.
4. Reward flexibility. Recognize and reward your team for their willingness to take on new responsibilities. When you acknowledge their efforts to learn new tasks and step in when needed, it not only increases the program’s resilience, it creates a culture of teamwork and adaptability.
Preparing for natural disasters
Major disasters, like wildfires, floods and hurricanes, have been in the news a lot lately and are only going to happen more often. These events can disrupt your organization in ways that often are hard to imagine, much less predict.
Here are some tips.
1. Create a formalized emergency response plan – and share it with your team. Everyone needs to know where to find the plan and should clearly understand its content. It’s no good having a plan if no one knows where it is or doesn’t understand their part in it.
2. Back up data off-site. Make sure all essential data is backed up off-site so even if your office computers are destroyed, you’ll still have access to critical information.
3. Develop a clear communication plan. To avoid confusion during chaotic events, decide – and document – who will be responsible for reaching out to whom and providing direction. Having that would have saved me during the fire alarm fiasco.
Preparing on-site for emergencies
While we often think about people being unable to come in during an unexpected event, there are times when they might actually be on-site during an emergency, such as a flood or tornado. Sometimes, depending on the situation, those people won’t be able to leave your physical location. As leader of volunteers, preparing for this probably won’t be entirely up to you, but you need to ensure that the higher leadership take volunteers into consideration in the overall plan.
Here are two steps that can help prepare for such a scenario:
1. Have some basic supplies on hand. Keep a supply of water, snacks, blankets, and other essentials. A backup generator is also a good idea to keep cell phones charged and lines of communication open. The preparations don’t need to be elaborate, but make sure there are enough supplies to handle an average number of team members being unable to leave for a day or two.
2. Create an on-site emergency plan. Just like your emergency response plan, this plan should be clearly documented and include details on how volunteers can communicate with family members if an emergency occurs when they are on-site. Make sure to review the plan on a regular basis.
Disasters can happen at any time and disrupt your mission in unexpected ways.
Disasters are bad enough on their own; don’t add to the problem by a lack of foresight. By preparing for the unexpected, you can ensure that your program is ready to weather the storm – literally!
These steps can help you respond and minimize the disruption.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Karen Knight - Jan 23, 2025 / 4:00 am | Story: 529096
Photo: Castanet file
There are a lot of issues, legal, ethical and logistical, that come up when volunteers and money collide. It’s inevitable.
Most people have baggage around money issues, and when you combine volunteers and money, that baggage grows exponentially. We need to be willing to face the subject and have good, in-depth conversations about it.
There are three main areas about volunteers and money I see as needing discussion—reimbursing volunteers, providing volunteers with honorariums and charging people to volunteer.
Reimbursing volunteers
I’m surprised this still needs discussion.Just do it. With the skyrocketing cost of living, few people are willing to be out of pocket to give strangers a helping hand—even those who aren’t holding down three jobs and caring for infants and elders.
Pay for any police or background checks that are needed. Cover the cost of any training required. Provide mileage reimbursement when they use their own vehicles and, at the very least, add up all these expenses over the course of the year and issue them a tax receipt for the total.
Let them know you’re doing it. Make it perfectly clear at the outset it won’t cost them to volunteer with you. It's the least you can do until governments provide tax receipts for donated hours.
If you don’t reimburse volunteers, remember, all else being equal, those organizations that do will have more volunteers than you and will be able to achieve more. Isn’t your impact in the world why you exist? It’s worth the money. It really is.
Paying volunteers
This is a more complicated subject.
Depending on where you are in the world, there may be significant legal implications to providing volunteers with honorariums or stipends. In many jurisdictions, making someone a regular payment, even if it’s called an “honorarium,” can be construed as paying them a wage and thus turn them from a volunteer into an employee, with all the rights and benefits a regular employee is entitled to. The specific rules around what is or isn’t acceptable changes every time you cross a border, so I won’t go into details, but here are a few general tips:
• Make it clear from the beginning that the organization is under no obligation to make the payment
• The amount provided must be significantly less than market value for the services received
• The payments should not be made on a regular or on-going basis
There are exceptions to those guidelines, of course. If providing honorariums or stipends are, or are planned to be, part of your strategy, I strongly suggest you discuss it with a legal professional before you go any further.
Charging volunteers
This one runs the gamut of having a volunteer pay a nominal deposit on a uniform to charging people hundreds of dollars for the benefit of helping out at a large event.
Last October, it hit the news that the Ryder Cup 2025 golf tournament will charge volunteers almost $400 U.S. each to volunteer at the event. The organizers gave no explanation for the record-high charge.
I understand, somewhat, the rational behind charging a small fee to cover the costs of providing non-returnable gear or perks to a volunteer, especially if the organization has more volunteer applicants than they need. By charging a small fee for these items, not only can the organization recoup some of its expenses, but it also ensures volunteers have some “skin in the game,” making them more likely to show up for shifts.
I had a discussion once with a board member of a local ski patrol here in B.C. She was telling me they used to provide training and ski passes for free to all volunteers at the beginning of the season. According to her, a huge portion of those volunteers never showed up for a single shift. They just took the perks and disappeared. That’s when they started charging a membership fee. I get that. I don’t get the (level of the) Ryder Cup (fee). That’s just gouging.
If you are going to charge volunteers, I recommend you have policies and procedures in place to allow those to whom that charge is an insurmountable barrier to volunteering. Reduce or eliminate the fee, for example, after you’ve had a discussion with them and confirmed they would be a good fit and are reliable or set up some sort of payment plan. Without some option, you run the risk of limiting your volunteer diversity.
There are undoubtedly more issues around volunteers and money than I’ve mentioned here.
These, though, are the ones I think are most vital. What I’ve written are my opinions, but I’m open to learning. If you’d like to discuss your ideas and concerns about the subject, get in touch.
For us to make objective decisions about volunteers and money, we need to get together and sort through all the baggage, for the benefit of us all.
This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
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