At one point or another, we have struggled with disengaged volunteers. Or perhaps we have been disengaged or burnt out ourselves. It can be hard to stay motivated with our volunteer work when so many other demands fall on us daily. Yet, as chapter leaders, it's important we stay engaged and help our volunteers to stay motivated and engaged as well. We held a Chapter Best Practices webinar on Wednesday, October 6, that covered tactics to better understand our volunteers’ motives and to keep them engaged. Below are the highlights of the session which will be available for viewing on ANFPtv later this week.
- What is Your ‘Why’? – We as volunteers need to understand our ‘why.' What motivates us to volunteer? What is our purpose and drive to become a volunteer? These are the questions each volunteer leader should be asking themselves on a regular basis. Understanding our why is the motivation to continue to engage and fulfill our roles as volunteers.
- Different Motivators – Working with individuals, we will see that we are each motivated by different factors. Some may be motivated to give back, while others may be motivated to learn or enhance a skill. Whatever the reasons, it's important that we understand what motivates our volunteers.
- Connecting the Motivator to the Volunteer – Once we know more about our volunteers’ motivators, we want to connect them with the roles that help fulfill their needs and meet their goals. Help them identify any goals or skills they wish to obtain and look for volunteer opportunities to match the volunteer’s motivation to achieve these goals.
- Share the Success – We want to show our volunteers how they have impacted the organization. Each task and job completed helps to serve the chapter and impact the organization. It also helps ANFP strive to meet their mission and strategic goals. Remind them that their success is our success as well. We can also share our own success stories and how volunteering has made a positive impact on our own lives.
- Ask – There are many questions we can ask our volunteers to gain a better understanding of their needs. Start by asking what is their ‘why’? Why did they choose to volunteer? We can also ask for their feedback/input/advice about their volunteer role. What is going well? What is not? What can we do better? Asking these questions, and more importantly, receiving the response will help us better understand and engage with our volunteers.