Four ways to keep your volunteers on side and enhance your reputation

Written by Julie Jackson, PR and communications specialist for Hampshire’s third sector and mission-led SMEs

NCVO’s report about volunteers and their experiences made for very interesting reading. Looking at it from the viewpoint of reputation management, there are four key points that are particularly relevant for organisations that rely on volunteers. These are:

• Make sure there is a clear distinction between volunteering roles and paid for roles: There was a slight decline in satisfaction levels because of unreasonable expectations from the volunteering organisation and because the role was becoming too much like paid work.
• Engage with your volunteers so you can identify problems early: 18–24-year-olds were found to be less satisfied with their volunteering experience than the over 55s.
• Have an effective internal communications system in place: 1 in 5 people who haven’t volunteered in the last 12 months said it was because they’ve never been asked.
• Address the barriers to volunteering: The research showed people are worried about not being reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses and that the role would require more of their time than they can offer.

If you have volunteers in your organisation, it’s definitely worth having a read of the report at https://www.ncvo.org.uk/news-and-insights/news-index/key-findings-from-time-well-spent-2023/#/

Published 19 May 2023