Volunteers are a vital part of your association providing needed support to drive your work in the community and industry! You likely leverage your association management software (AMS) to manage, recruit, retain, and engage your member volunteers. But have you considered leveraging your online member community to give your volunteer program a boost?
Read our blog for seven tips to use your online member community to enhance your volunteer program!
7 tips to use your online member community to boost your volunteer program
Are you ready to enhance your volunteer program? Invest in your online member community to advance your volunteer engagement.
A well-structured online member community can serve as a central hub where volunteers connect, communicate, and stay informed. It can help you increase participation, retain volunteers, and create a thriving network of engaged members.
Here’s how to get started using your online community platform to transform your volunteer program:
1. Welcome new volunteers
Leverage your online member community to help new volunteers feel welcome to your program. A strong first impression can significantly impact volunteer retention and engagement. Here’s how to leverage your online community to welcome new members:
Start with personalized introductions: When a new volunteer joins, post a personalized welcome message in your community platform. Highlight their background, interests, and what they’ll be working on.
Encourage peer connections: Connect new volunteers with seasoned ones through mentor pairings or “welcome buddy” systems within the platform. Host virtual meet-and-greets through live chats or discussion boards, introducing new volunteers to the community and leadership team.
2. Create and manage different volunteer groups
To encourage and facilitate conversation between your member volunteers, use your online community platform to create different groups. Consider grouping volunteer groups based on service roles, veteran volunteers and new volunteers, a general volunteer program news source, and more. Doing so fosters more relevant discussions and collaboration.
If your volunteer program is large, you might want to add more groups to ensure conversation flows more freely. If your program is smaller, start with fewer groups and build from there. Try including a group dedicated to providing news and announcements, to share upcoming volunteer opportunities and program highlights. Have a staff member ready to moderate discussion and promote the start of new conversations.
3. Host volunteer training
Ensure your member volunteers are prepared for their roles by providing adequate training. Consider using your online member community to conduct volunteer training sessions either by facilitating virtual discussions or by creating online videos where members can watch and react.
In your training sessions, be sure to include the following:
- How volunteers should handle their specific tasks
- The goals for a position
- The required equipment for a role
- A general walkthrough of tasks
4. Provide access to resources and tools
Boost volunteer engagement by offering volunteer resources and tools in your online community. Your online community platform should be your member volunteers’ go-to resource for all sorts of pertinent information about your volunteer program.
Your staff can easily share resources, orientation materials, FAQs, and a step-by-step guide within your volunteer program groups. Additionally, volunteer program leaders can connect members with the tools they most need.
5. Attract more member volunteers
Hoping to recruit more members to your volunteer program? Your online community platform can help! According to the latest Momentive Software research, members continue to report that email and online community are the top ways they engage with their organization. Additionally, members who leverage online community platforms report a stronger sense of community.
When you utilize your online community, you can attract new members to your association, ultimately driving new volunteers to serve your organization.
6. Recognize and appreciate volunteer successes
Take time to thank your volunteers for their hard work, offering recognition and appreciation in your online community platform. Consider using your online community to shoutout your volunteers to highlight certain member volunteer milestones and successes.
For example, you could celebrate one, two, or five years of service at your organization. You could also recognize new volunteers who’ve just joined your volunteer program, helping them to network with more established member volunteers.
7. Poll volunteers
To stay up to date on your member volunteer’s interests and needs, you’ll want to seek and act on their feedback. You can accomplish this by polling your volunteers. With a poll or volunteer survey, you can gain statistically beneficial answers, while simultaneously empowering your members and boosting your volunteer retention efforts.
Consider asking your member volunteers the following questions:
- What motivates them to serve?
- Do you find your volunteer work impactful?
- How would you rate your current volunteer experience?
- Do we offer enough training opportunities?
- Are there training opportunities we don’t offer, but you’d like to participate in?
