Thanking volunteers does not have to be difficult, daunting or elaborate

A lot of leaders of volunteers struggle with finding appropriate ways to thank those who volunteer.

It’s easy to get caught up in planning elaborate events, or stressing over what kind of gift to give. Too often, people forget the most effective and valuable tool in your appreciation toolkit is to just say “thank you.”

Many volunteers don’t attend appreciation events, and choosing a gift that’s appropriate and welcomed by all volunteers is next to impossible. However, the one thing everyone likes is a simple “thank you.” Knowing the time they’ve donated had an impact that was seen and valued is something that’s important to all volunteers. That’s the key to thanking those who volunteer.

Be explicit, too. Not just a “hey, great job” or a “thanks for everything”, but a specific comment about a task they accomplished or an action they took that helped advance the mission. It's like when your romantic partner brings you chocolates on Valentines Day versus bringing them to you on some random Tuesday. One is, frankly, expected. The other shows they really are thinking about you and valuing your presence in their life.

It’s not really that difficult. It’s simply a matter of developing the habit. You don’t need to set aside a special time to thank people, or rack your brains thinking up things to thank them for. Develop the practice of commenting whenever you see something a volunteer has done well, right then and there. In Patty McCord’s TED talk, “Eight lessons on building a company that people enjoy working for,” in lesson five she explains that giving feedback (good or bad) is something most people struggle with because they only do it once a year during performance reviews.

Instead, she says, it works better when we start “telling people the truth, the honest truth, about what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong, in the moment when they’re doing it. ‘That good thing you just did, woo, that’s exactly what I’m talking about! Go do that again.’ And people will do that again, today, three more times.”

To see things to thank volunteers for, you need to develop a habit of observation. We can all get caught up in our own routines and slide through our days on autopilot. By doing that, though, we lose out on what’s going on around us. We lose opportunities to sincerely thanking volunteers.

To increase your observation skills, slow down and start looking outward. When you’re around volunteers, make a point of putting your thoughts on hold and focus on seeing what’s happening around you. Every time you’re around volunteers try to catch them doing something right. You can even make a game of it and see if you can steadily increase the number of specific compliments you give in a day.

It's easier if you are around the volunteers. You have more opportunities if you are their direct supervisor. You can keep an eye out for someone making an extra effort, finally figuring out something they’ve been struggling with or taking on a disagreeable task that everyone else is avoiding.

As soon as you see it, walk over and comment. That kind of in the moment acknowledgement has significantly more emotional impact than a generic “thanks for your help today” at the end of a volunteer’s shift.

But what if you’re not their direct supervisor? Or, what if the volunteer does remote work? How does this kind of informal thank you work when you can’t see what’s happening?

I admit, it’s harder. But not impossible. If someone else is a volunteer’s direct supervisor, train that person to thank volunteers in the moment. And thank them. If a volunteer is remote, you will need to pay particular attention to the results of the actions they take. A quick phone call or email to a website volunteer, for example, to let them know that you just noticed the number of donors has increased by 25% since they added a “donate here” button, or that people are spending significantly more time on the site since the volunteer redesigned the homepage.

Also, pass along any commendations you hear about a volunteer from other people. If a client mentions the volunteer who drove them to their appointment was so cheerful and helpful, tell the volunteer that, as soon as you can. Forward to them any written compliments, too.

Thanking volunteers shouldn’t be a chore.

It should be something done throughout your day. Yes, appreciation events, gifts and public praise are important, but the regular, day-to-day, thanking of volunteers for specific actions is the air that volunteers breathe.

If you become good at this, the other tools in your appreciation toolkit will become secondary and you won’t need to stress about them.

And one final thing. I know from personal experience that if you tell someone they’ve made your day, it makes their day.

So, start now. See if you can provide a specific “thank you” to a volunteer within the next 20 minutes. Good luck, and have fun.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.