Supporting Your Volunteers

Managing volunteers is as important as managing paid staff for community/voluntary groups. It is becoming increasingly important for groups to have policies, procedures and practices in place outlining how the group will attract, recruit and manage volunteers. As the nature of volunteering changes, there is a greater emphasis on responsibilities and skills and a corresponding need for groups and organisations to become more professional in their approach to volunteering.

Volunteer policies should cover the following areas:

• Planning Volunteer Involvement;
• Recruiting volunteers;
• Induction;
• Memorandum of understanding between the group and volunteer which sets out the roles and responsibility of both the organisation and the volunteer;
• Devising a Role/job description for the volunteer;
• Support and supervision arrangements for the volunteer;

Support for volunteers can be offered in a structured or unstructured way and should be something that is done on a daily basis. It is as simple as listening and communicating with your volunteers, showing that you value their input, and providing them with necessary information. Supervision is likely to be one of the main ways in which Volunteers are managed within a group or organisation. Supervision is different from support and while it is not the same as “having a friendly chat”, it is also not about “checking up”. Supervision is making sure that there is a good balance between the needs and interests of the individual and the needs and interests of the organisation.  

For further information on this area please go to the Online Resources page where you will find a directory of resources for community and voluntary groups.

If your group would like further support or training on managing volunteers please contact Donegal Volunteer Centre by clicking on the contact us page.