If they don’t, they can easily become frustrated, and in many instances, even more so than a member – because at least a member is being recompensed!
This week we share the most common reasons a volunteer becomes frustrated, and how to alleviate volunteer frustrations below.
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Volunteers Have Big Expectations
Volunteers have big expectations of volunteering organisations. In fact, most people have big expectations of volunteering organisations. Right or wrong, shining spotlights on volunteering organisations can sometimes give them a ‘halo’ effect; filled with perfect saints who work tirelessly to give, give, give.
And while this may be inherently true, people forget that these good people are still everyday people who face the same everyday issues in the workplace: self-doubt, procrastination, skill gaps, lack of resources. They are also all susceptible to making mistakes and errors of judgement.
In addition, volunteers give up their valuable time to work with you, demanding little in return. They do, however, expect things to go smoothly, and their time not to be wasted. They want to feel respected.
So, when they come up against things like miscommunications, broken equipment or gaps in processes, they can get frustrated very quickly.
The key to alleviating volunteer frustrations and dealing with challenging volunteers is to ensure you manage expectations; communicate openly, be realistic, be approachable and receptive to feedback.
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There’s Too Much Bureaucracy and Administration Tasks
While admin is often a component of all companies, volunteers want to feel like they’re using their time making a difference. As the volunteer organisation, you don’t want to be bogged down with admin tasks either.
When it comes to onboarding and volunteer operations, minimise any hurdles to success: what can you do to make each process as quick and as painless as possible? How can you keep volunteers motivated throughout their volunteering experience?
Incorporate strategies and make use of platforms that automate or streamline processes for you, so that you have more time to dedicate to making sure volunteers feel valued and appreciated, and you’re both able to contribute more time to the cause.
We created Volaby volunteer management platform precisely for this reason; our intuitive platform and mobile app allows volunteers to easily sign up and schedule themselves for volunteering tasks, while streamlining all of the processes of onboarding and managing volunteer operations for the organisation.
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They Overcommit Themselves
We all know what it’s like to overcommit to something. This can be a common experience for volunteers, because they all sign up wanting to help – and no-one wants to feel like they’ve let anyone down.
When they overcommit themselves, it can be easy for a volunteer to feel frustrated. Sometimes they feel they’ve overcommitted because they didn’t realise the amount of time, effort or skill that the task would entail. Sometimes it’s because they felt like they couldn’t say no. Overcommitting leads to a volunteer feeling frustrated, feeling burnt out, and feeling like they have no option but to stop volunteering.
The best way to alleviate volunteer frustration here is to be honest about task requirements. Provide plenty of shorter-term, project-specific involvement opportunities (we call this micro-volunteering). Ensure these have a clear focus, and a clear time and effort requirement.
Don’t pressure volunteers into committing to a task in person. With the Volaby management platform, volunteers are able to self-roster, meaning they’re unlikely to ever feel pressured to complete a task they don’t want to do.
Tip for Volaby Users: A new feature on out platform is the ability for admins to set QUIZ TYPE tasks for volunteers to complete – in order to access and make sure they understand and select the correct answers before completing. This ensures volunteers are suitable for tasks, and can be used for both new and continuing volunteers.
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They Don’t Feel Like Part of a Team
Inclusivity is essential for volunteers; the more they feel like part of a team, the more they’ll value and have trust in the organisation and feel motivated to keep volunteering. When a volunteer doesn’t feel like part of a team, the easiest option is often to quit the moment the face a hurdle, rather than try to resolve it.
Reasons that volunteers don’t feel like part of a team are many. Volunteers don’t tend to have access to the same things as employees. They may not have use of a dedicated workspace or equipment, nowhere to store their personal items or no place to park their cars. As a consequence, volunteers can sometimes feel that they are visitors or less integral to the team. Of course, providing all your volunteers with their own office would be an expensive exercise, but you may find that you can provide resources that can be shared, such as a desk or lockers. Volunteers that receive these resources feel much more valued and consequently more connected.
Volunteers can also feel a sense of disconnection when not given the same information as others such as new approaches the organisation is taking, involving them in decision-making or inviting them to staff meetings. Being removed from the dissemination of key information makes volunteers feel less important and detached.
A difference in status or benefits between volunteers (and staff) can also make volunteers feel frustrated and disconnected. Try to minimise “staff only” areas or signage, and if staff are wearing badges that have their names on it, ensure your volunteers do too, avoiding labels that simply say “volunteer”.
Help build a team by learning about your teammates, and encouraging them to learn about each other —chat with them on a regular basis. Listen to their concerns and be understanding and empathic, resolving any conflicts as quickly as you can.
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Need More Help Alleviating Volunteer Frustrations?
At Volaby, we understand the importance of investing time in your volunteers so that they are motivated, feel appreciated, and face as minimal frustrations as possible when volunteering for your organisation.
Our volunteer management platform allows you to streamline some of the more tedious tasks of volunteer operations so that you can allocate your time where it can make a difference.
Volaby is a software platform specialising in onboarding, coordinating, rostering and capturing of social impact data, and is used by organisations of all sizes around the globe. Our platform enables volunteers themselves to sign up and create their own volunteer profile, and even roster themselves for upcoming volunteer activities, making volunteering easier for everyone involved.
We’ve made it easy-to-use and intuitive for both organisations and volunteers – so there are fewer frustrations, and more success stories. We invite you to get in touch and trial Volaby for free today, with no obligations.
Hope to speak with you soon.