How To’s

Interview Questions for Volunteers

Rebekah Coenen

Some events call for specialized volunteer positions. You may need someone with a background in the medical field, experience with children, or strong communication skills. If you are coordinating an event with positions like these, you may consider holding interviews for your volunteers.

Before getting started planning for these interviews, first identify why you may need them:

  1. Required, specialized skills. Working with children, aiding in medical work, and handling money are a few examples. 
  1. Limited positions. Sometimes you can just do an announcement for when your site opens for sign ups, but you might need to interview for any leadership roles.  
  1. Working with a small team. It is important that team dynamics and expectations are understood by new volunteers. Interviewing candidates ensures you are doing that. 
  1. Higher level of commitment needed. If this is not your average volunteer shift, it is good to make sure expectations are clear right from the start so you don’t end up short-handed.  

Here are 10 questions and tips to find out if your candidate is good fit:

  1. Why are you interested in this position?
    • This is a fairly basic question, so if they can’t answer it, that’s not a great sign. Make sure to know what kind of answer you are looking for. Is it enough if it looks good on college resumes? Or do candidates need to show more heart than that?
  1. Describe a time you would change a decision you made.
    • No one is perfect, and it is important that everyone on your team is able to be conscientious, self-reflective, and honest about their work.
  1. What is your past volunteer/job experience?
    • Even if you have resumes to look at, it’s always best to hear it from the candidate directly. This helps you better understand their attitudes toward their history of work experience, as well as their aspirations.
  1. What are your 3 best qualities?
    • This can give you good insight into what the candidate thinks is important. Maybe you need someone that is a people person, or good under pressure.
  1. What amount of time are you able to commit to the position?
    • This is just logistics. Know the dates, times, and hours weekly you’ll expect from them. Then, ask what they’re able to commit to.
  1. Pose a situational question.
    • The actually question will depend on what position you are interviewing them for. You could ask about a time they had to work with a difficult child or parent, or were short in their cashier drawer. It will help determine how they will handle tricky situations on the job. 
  1.   How would you describe your communication style? 
    • You may already have some ideas of their communication strengths and weaknesses, based on the interview itself. However, give them a chance to express it in their own words. You may discover something insightful!
  1. Confirm they have the certifications, or other requirements needed. 
    • Do they need to be bilingual? CPR certified? If so, take the time to verify that information.
  1. Identify a handful of their volunteer interests. 
    • Maybe they are applying to volunteer in one department, but they are better suited for another department. The interview process allows you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, then place them in the role best suited for their strengths and preferences.
  1. Save time for the candidate to ask you questions. 
    • The interview process really goes both ways. This lets them get a feel for if the position is really the right thing for them too! 

It is very important not to ask questions that could be considered discriminatory. Do not ask about a potential volunteer’s gender, race, political beliefs, relationship status, financial status, or religion. That includes asking where they were born, where their parents were born, if they own a home, or if they have children. Although some of those questions may seem innocuous, or like you are just trying to make a connection, the interview process is meant to see if they meet the qualifications you are looking for. Save the more personal chit-chat for later on.

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Handling Tricky Volunteers

Anne Summers

Let’s be honest, some volunteers aren’t the best fit for your organization. Did a new volunteer just say a profanity at or near a guest? Do you have a volunteer who opted to play on his phone for an hour instead of setting up the merch table?

Poor performance isn’t always grounds for firing; so we’ve put together a handy guide for how to deal with the not so helpful volunteer.

The Easy One

If a volunteer does something so terribly inappropriate that your mouth falls open when you find out… it’s definitely fair to let them go. If more than a few volunteers or attendees report that they can’t work with a certain person… it’s decision time again! Use your best judgment, but if you’re floored by a volunteer’s behavior and they’re a risk or detriment to your event, just get let them go. It’s tough, but warranted.

It’s Not You, It’s Me

While volunteer coordinators may be the smartest people we know (we’re biased), they’re not mind readers.

You may have not foreseen a certain characteristic or (lack of) skill in a volunteer that would become problematic in their volunteer role later. How could you have known? There is nothing wrong with admitting you put someone in the improper spot. Just find a new position that is a better fit for them! This will make your volunteer feel more fulfilled and your team work more efficiently.

Walk it Off

What may be an easy two hours of standing for one person could be an agonizing lifetime without a snack break for another. Pay attention to when your volunteers might not be faring well and know when it’s time to offer them a break. Maybe that cranky volunteer at the check-in table is just hungry or struggling through a sugar drop.

Overall, we usually suggest avoiding firing a volunteer unless they have done something truly unacceptable. At the end of the day, volunteers are there to support your cause. They have a variety of strengths and skills, and they may shine better in certain areas than others. Nurture open, honest communication with your volunteers and put yourself in their shoes from time to time. Where would they be most comfortable, confident, and pleased? That might just be the perfect spot for them.

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Creating a Great Mission Statement

Josanna E. Berg-Hammond

Your mission statement is the written vision of your organization. A solid statement can tell volunteers what you do and why you do it. A not-so-great mission statement can be a convoluted paragraph of cliches that don’t actually explain anything. When writing out your statement, we think it’s best to follow this simple checklist. 

Why Do You Do It?

Every mission statement should start with the why of your organization. What in the world lead to its creation? Maybe you wanted to bring running enthusiasts together, get good music to the masses or raise awareness around a certain cause. There’s always a reason for your group’s being and understanding it will inspire and empower volunteers. 

How Do You Do It?

This is where you start luring in the type of volunteers you want. If you need energetic people ready to get out there and spread the word of your cause, be sure to mention the boots-on-the-ground mentality that drives your outreach. If you’re looking for people with connections to help grow your group, point out that you strive to find ways for professionals to give back to their communities. Don’t hesitate to directly reference the kind of people who make your volunteer base what it is. 

Whatever It Is You Do, Do You

There’s no need to fall into the trap of sounding like a mission statement. Keep things in your own words to truly get the sound and feeling of your team across. Volunteers aren’t looking for a tailored blurb, they’re looking for an honest representation of your mission. 

Of all of these tips, perhaps the greatest to remember is to keep it short. Your statement should be a quick and easy way to get an understanding of how and why your organization exists. Lay out your philosophy, how and why you make change, and what kind of people you need to help you make it. 

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Creating a Successful Volunteer Budget

Linh Ta

Let’s face it – the typically tight budget for volunteer programs can be a little straining. After all, we know that “volunteer” does not mean “free” – but when you’re juggling coordinating an event and nurturing volunteers, there’s extra meaning to “a little goes a long way.”

When it comes to budgeting, there are a range of things to consider as a volunteer coordinator: What is the best way to spend your money? What can you do without? 

And most important of all: How do you throw a great event for the attendees and the volunteers, such that everyone is inspired to return for another year?

Get your priorities straight

Identify what you can and can’t live without, the reasons why and the consequences that will occur for either decision. Be sure to know what you need so you’re able to maintain the best practices that your organization strives to achieve for its volunteer program. That means having a plan or structure in place so you know the necessities of your program are, and what you need to achieve your goals.

Recognition is key

Even with a small budget, you can find a way to show your volunteers the importance of their work and (at the same time) say “thank you.” Consider this a necessity. Whether you throw a post-event appreciation party, provide everyone with limited-run t-shirts or some other token of appreciation, these are the actions that will help to cultivate the goodwill you need to keep volunteers coming back, year-after-year.

Two birds one stone

Volunteers help out in all different areas of an event. Can you create a line-item in your budget to nurture volunteer relationships? For example: If you’re throwing a food truck festival and charging tickets for entry, is there enough wiggle room to also allow volunteers a free pass? Communicate with your colleagues and figure what opportunities there are for a win-win scenario.

Volunteers are key to your success. Finding the right budget balance between making an event spectacular for attendees, while making sure the volunteer experience is also fantastic, is critical for an organization’s continued growth.

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Cancelling an Event

Linh Ta

Even for the most weathered of event planners, unexpected complications can arise and result in a cancelled event. Bad weather, low ticket sales or a sudden illness can force an intricately planned program to come to a halt.

While a cancelled event is disappointing for the staff involved, it can be even harder to figure out the right way to break the news to your registered volunteers who were committed to making it a success. 

Volunteers that signed up for an event may include students that were banking on those hours for a class, mandated volunteers, or long-time volunteers who attend your yearly event as part of their tradition. Others maybe just wanted to hang out with their friends and do something fun for the day.

Whatever their reasoning, communicating quickly and clearly after an event is cancelled is critical with volunteers to ensure you don’t lose them for future events and let them know that their efforts and altruism have not gone unnoticed.

Be clear and transparent

It’s frustrating to learn that a plan has fallen through. Communicate the cancelled event in as many ways as you deem appropriate, including emails, social media, text messages and phone calls. Volunteers are going to be curious as to why an event is cancelled – give them a reason and be transparent to avoid further frustration. You don’t need to get into the nitty gritty details, but give your volunteers clarity for their own sakes – and so they can better empathize with you.

Show your appreciation

If this was a volunteer’s first time signing up with your organization, an event cancellation may leave a bad taste. To prevent this from happening, let your volunteer know (through a personalized email or a phone call) why their willingness to help continues to matter. Be grateful and appreciative in your tone. While a volunteer may not have had a chance to actually come out and help with an event yet, it’s the thought that counts. By being appreciative and communicating directly, your volunteer will feel valued and more likely to come back in the future.

Keep them in mind

You now have information for people who are willing to volunteer for your organization – use it! Communicate about other events where you need volunteers and be willing to make those follow-up emails or calls when the time comes. There’s nothing that sends a better message than a personal touch to let that person know you’re thinking of them.

No matter the reason, make sure that your cancelled event is an opportunity to speak directly with your volunteers and convey your appreciation for their dedication and time. You can use your cancellation as a time to reconnect and recruit for future opportunities. Silver lining, baby!

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Limiting Volunteer No-Shows

Julie Kent

If you’ve ever coordinated (or helped coordinate) a volunteer event, you know one of the most frustrating parts of the job is handling last minute changes.

Unfortunately, to a certain extent, there’s not much you can do about it. There are always going to be certain situations and things that come up for people. That said, there are processes and safeguards you can put in place to limit last-minute changes. The best news? We’ve curated a top-5 list for you below! 

Think through contingency plans.

The first step is to take the time to think about what could go wrong or change at the last minute, and have a plan in place for when/if these things happen. You know there are going to be volunteers who can’t make it at the last second, so what do you do? If your event is outdoors, what is the plan if the weather turns? Make a list of “what if’s” and make sure to address them all at least a couple of weeks before the event to limit the stress of when/if they happen. 

Specifically recruit stand-by volunteers.

Volunteer no-shows are a given. Have a certain number of volunteers sign-up specifically as fill-ins if needed. Make sure to let them know how you’ll be communicating with them, and what to expect if they’re not needed anymore.

Make it known how volunteers can back out if necessary.

If something does come up last minute for a volunteer, be sure to have communicated to them the steps they need to take in letting you know. Send e-mail reminders to volunteers prior to the event, and specifically ask them to reply to the e-mail if they no longer can make it. It also can be useful to communicate a date that volunteers can no longer back out, unless absolutely necessary. 

Penalize no-shows.

It may seem harsh, but there should be accountability in place for people who agree to volunteer, especially if you’ve enacted some of the processes mentioned above. You might give people one strike, but if they continue to volunteer and then not show up, consider not allowing them to volunteer for a certain period of time, or restricting which jobs they can sign up for next time.

Print schedules for volunteers ahead of time.

Make sure things run smoothly by printing schedules and distributing them to volunteers ahead of time. This not only provides yet another reminder to your volunteers, but also helps reduce confusion the day of the event. It’s often comforting to volunteers to know exactly when and where they need to be and reduces the stress on them in addition to you on event day. 🙂 

We’d love to hear from you! How do you handle last minute changes and limit no-shows?

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Managing Volunteers Online and In-Person

Samantha Gratton

You can’t be everywhere at once, but your volunteers come from everywhere. 

Your job revolves around one major (and sometimes vague) thing: managing volunteers. But, what if you can’t be everywhere at once and there’s only so much you can cram into the day (plus, you want to avoid burnout)? Using a variety of tools (ahem, like VolunteerLocal) can make your life easier, but you also want to continue to have that personal touch and strong communication with volunteers. How do you get the best of both worlds? 

Let’s talk through a few common volunteer management moments, so you can weigh what methods are best for you and your volunteers. 

Orientation

In-person option: Hold an orientation event. This would mean you get to meet people face-to-face, shake hands, and easily answer questions right there. You know people heard the message, and it’s their first sign of commitment. Downside? You have to find a place to meet, set-up chairs and snacks beforehand, organize a time that works for everyone, and maybe even plan on a make-up date for those who can’t attend. 

Online option: Send a video and/or email message. Instead of scheduling several orientations or waiting until the next event, you can give people the rundown of what they need to know right away in a pre-recorded video and automated email. They can do it on their own time, and you can stay focused on whatever is next ahead of you. The cons may include wondering if they actually watched the video or losing out on a connection point and opportunity to answer questions. Maybe it takes too much time and effort for you to create a video that is easy to understand, interesting, and informative. 

Scheduling/Registration 

In-person option: Sign people up when you see them. Whether you are at an event or activity fair, you can get people plugged in right away. Travel with a tablet or a clipboard, and you can strike when the time is right. You raise awareness about your organization, and you get the chance to meet someone before they show up for their first volunteer shift. But the bad part is it means you have to schlep a tent, an iPad, and your game face all over town, and then go back to the office and sort through what just happened. 

In a more informal setting, if you know someone personally or are simply networking, you can ask someone directly in a kind and personable way to volunteer. But, if you don’t have any of that stuff on you when you meet someone who wants to get involved, you have to try to mentally remember their details and contact them again later. 

Online option: People sign up on their own through your website. This allows you to sort out the info and necessary forms all in one central location. They can pick their areas of interest or available shifts and it goes straight to you. You don’t even have to be there! The hard part is losing out on some of the visibility and appeal that some of those in-person events or meetings provides. If they’ve never heard of you, what’s going to compel people to find your website?   

Planning meeting

In-person option: Hold a meeting with your team. Sometimes face-to-face meetings are simply more productive, and the conversation flows easier. You can sit around the same table and read the unsaid thoughts and emotions more clearly. The tricky part? Scheduling both the people and the location–be it due to timing, distance, or availability. These meetings can get long, and people may not be able to come between work schedules, kids to care for, or whatever it may be. 

Online option: Send email threads and have video conference meetings. A brainstorm via email can allow people time to consider different options and send them to the group to read on their own time. Video conference calls can allow those who live far away to still meet and communicate together all at once. The disadvantages of the online option is that those emails can get long (or worse, can go completely without response) or may be overlooked. The video call can have technical difficulty and cause frustration. 

In the end, ask: what’s going to be most effective for the volunteers and for you? More likely than not, you’ll find a hybrid combination of both in-person and online volunteer management methods will be what suits you best. What may work for you in some seasons or with certain volunteer teams may not work for others, so try to continue to be aware of what tends to be the most successful and be willing to pivot as needed.

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Reaching Prospective Volunteers

Samantha Gratton

Recruiting volunteers is a part of your job, but it can still be interesting and fun for both you and your future volunteers. 

Ever feel like, “Here I am, the volunteer coordinator, now where’s all the people?” If so, then it’s time to recruit some new volunteers! You already know all the basic (and sometimes boring) ways to try to recruit volunteers, so why not have a little fun with it? 

Talk about it. 

Everyone knows word of mouth is powerful. So get out there and really talk about volunteering with your organization! College campuses, corporate lunches, PTA meetings–wherever you can go that might have the type of volunteers you need. But don’t stop there – create a nice informative video or simply turn on Facebook live/Instagram stories and tell the top five reasons people should sign up to volunteer. If you have the budget, promote it further on social media by paying for a sponsored post. (Even better, encourage some of your media and corporate sponsors to do the same on their social media channels.)

Jazz up your fliers. 

Start by removing corny words like “jazz” (unless of course this is some sort of musical production). Yes, the basic information can and does fulfill the need when it comes to getting the word out about your organization. But it could also look like an epic band poster or have the style and design of a trend setter. Collaborate with the coolest screen printing shop in town to create them or simply ask yourself…would this be hip enough to wear as a t-shirt? Aesthetics matter, which means the coffee shop, retail space, and local business will be even more inclined to hang your poster when it looks good. 

Find a friend. 

Involve the volunteers already serving with your organization and promote benefits if they find a friend to join in as well. Maybe you can’t give a referral bonus or half-off their gym membership, but incentivize current volunteers by offering first dibs on the most sought out volunteer shifts or an extra ticket for the music festival for every extra pair of hands they bring. 

Raise the stakes.

Similar to the find-a-friend method, encourage people to seek out the most volunteers in a certain time period. Award the best volunteer recruiter with a goofy trophy and some extra incentives. Sometimes having a little friendly competition will help people up their game. 

Give away free stuff. 

Ears always seem to perk when hearing the word “free!” So pass out stickers, launch t-shirts out of cannons, hold a luncheon or interesting seminar, host a meetup at a local coffee shop, give away yummy cookies…the possibilities are endless. Just make sure those free things come with more info about the organization and ways to volunteer. 

A big part of being a volunteer coordinator is making sure you have enough people to fill your volunteer team. While recruiting can seem daunting at times, make it your own and get creative with it!

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Streamlining the Signup Process

Rebekah Coenen

One of the best ways to keep volunteers happy and returning year after year is by streamlining your signup process.

We’re all familiar with online forms that seem to ask for your whole life story. It’s important for volunteer registration forms to strike the perfect balance between collecting the important stuff, without asking so many questions that potential volunteers bail halfway through. 

After all the effort you put into recruiting volunteers and orchestrating your events, you don’t want your signup page to be the thing that stops volunteers from signing up. So let’s simplify!

Collect only what you need! It’s best to keep your form short, and (if you can) collect all the information at once. We recommend name, email, and mobile phone number, to start. Depending on your event, you might need to get different information from volunteers who select certain jobs. For example, do volunteers in the Medical Tent need to be CPR certified? Would an ideal ‘set-up’ volunteer have some experience using power tools? Take the time to think about your event, the specific roles you need filled, and the qualifications necessary for those responsibilities.

Less is more. Think of what positions you MUST fill to keep the event moving – check-in, ticket sales, set-up and clean-up. This will make your signup form shorter, easier to navigate, and will avoid an overflow of volunteers with too many hands and not enough tasks to fill.

Revisit, reflect, and request feedback about your process. As much as we would all love for everything to go perfectly the first, second, or fiftieth time, it often doesn’t – and things change over the years. Go back and ask your volunteers for feedback about the event and include questions about the signup process. Make sure to take notes along the way, and remain open-minded to re-working your processes in order to better support your volunteers.

Partner with VolunteerLocal. Excel spreadsheets and Google docs have long been the bread and butter for volunteer coordinators. We’re here to replace those jigsaw puzzles for you. We work with all types and sizes of events, for all different size budgets. Just like your signup process, we’re here to keep things streamlined, simply, and easy for you and your volunteers.

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Your Needs Unmet – How to Meet Them with VolunteerLocal

Brianne Sanchez

Before I started blogging for VolunteerLocal, I started using VolunteerLocal. At first, I was working at a small nonprofit that occasionally hosted little volunteer opportunities. I used the free version of the platform, and it helped me manage my little signups simply. When I moved to a role at a University became responsible for events that necessitated hundreds of volunteers, I knew exactly which platform I wanted to use to protect my sanity and make signing up a breeze for the volunteers. (Any guesses?) That’s right: I created a new VolunteerLocal account and upgraded to a paid version of the platform that I continue to build into my annual budget at work.

The VolunteerLocal platform meets my (every-evolving) needs year after year, and it will meet yours if you:  

 

 

Need an easy way for volunteers to sign up for specific shifts and jobs. Volunteers love not having to create a log-in with a password they will constantly forget. With VolunteerLocal, they can sign up using whatever e-mail address is most convenient for them, and they receive a confirmation message automatically. Volunteers (and volunteer managers) can see exactly how many spots are open for any given shift and job. 

 

 

Need a dashboard to track your progress. Customize your VolunteerLocal login so you can get a quick snapshot of how many shifts remain open, how many are filled and how many unique and overall volunteers you have participating in your event. It even gives you a countdown of days until the event, if you want! This is a great motivator or nerve-calmer, depending on how recruitment is going. 

 

 

Need to collect volunteer T-shirt sizes. No need to guess at sizes for volunteers and accidentally over-order a batch of XXLs. The ability to customize signup information eliminates the need to track down volunteers and individually request their size, mobile phone number, or any specialized info that you need, like whether they’re with a certain company or over the age of 13. You can build it all in, and keep it constant or change it up and make it unique for any event.  

 

 

Need an easy way to communicate with volunteers. Paid VolunteerLocal accounts allow you to send mass messages through the platform to your whole volunteer team, or customize instructions and follow-up per job. 

Need an easy way for volunteers to cancel their shifts. If you don’t want to deal with e-mails and voicemail excuses, you can allow volunteers to cancel or swap shifts. Or, if you’re like me, you can turn that function off. Social sharing is also an option, if you want your volunteers to be able to tweet out or post to Facebook about their shifts and help you with your marketing efforts. 

Need a simple day-of sign in. You can easily export your volunteer lists and data as a spreadsheet. Again, you can so this en masse for the whole group, or export batches for specific job sign-ins. You can also use the platform to check in volunteers electronically on the Grow Plan.  

Need a way to store your annual volunteer data. I like to archive my events in VolunteerLocal after they’ve happened, and then at the end of the year, I take them out of archive and collectively export the data to get a big picture of who has volunteered and how often/long. I’ll also pull a past event out of archive if I want to make volunteer staffing plans based on the previous year’s successes and challenges. 

 

 

Need other people to be able to manage different events. With various paid VolunteerLocal accounts, you can have multiple administrators who can access only the events and information you give them permission to control. This is great if you’re working with student clubs and want to give access to student leaders, but only for the organizations they oversee. 

 

 

Need an assistant. What volunteer coordinator wouldn’t like an assistant to help with busywork and data? VolunteerLocal is like a virtual assistant that can pull reports for you faster than you can grab yourself a cup of coffee. Plus, it never takes a vacation day! 

 

 

Need to talk to a person if you’re stuck. VolunteerLocal has amazing customer service. They have been a phone call or e-mail away when I’ve had rare issues, and give me pointers on shortcuts and tricks that make using the platform even more fun.

 

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