Calling all corporate volunteers!

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One of the responsibilities I have in my current position is volunteer management and recruitment. As a lifelong volunteer, it has been interesting to be on the other end of it. Seeing how an idea or a conversation with a non-profit representative can turn into a large-scale corporate volunteer activation has been really exciting. While I have enjoyed it, I have also had a huge learning curve when it comes to identifying meaningful volunteer experiences, selecting days that work for our busy 17,000 plus employees and finding tools to use to make the entire process from 
sign up to volunteer activity seamless.

Here are a some things I learned along the way:

Automate sign ups
There are so many sites out there that can assist you in volunteer management. Use them. They help to keep you organized. Most have customizable forms where volunteers can provide the information you need including their name, email, shirt size and phone number and more.

Identify your “Volunteer Ambassadors”
I noticed quickly that a core group of people would be at all the volunteer activities that I scheduled. These are the people that you want to engage. They love helping others and are great representatives of the company. They are the most important tools in volunteer recruitment because they are enthusiastic, and we all know that enthusiasm spreads. So, when you are starting up a volunteer program, harness that enthusiasm and use it to your benefit.

Select volunteer days that don’t conflict with other major corporate events
Like most companies, there are several events and activities happening on any given day. One easy way to hurt your ability to recruit volunteers is to schedule the activity on a bad day. Take care in selecting the day and time of volunteer activities. Throughout this past year, I have scheduled volunteer activities at various times of the day and on various days of the week, always checking the company calendar to try to avoid major conflicts.

Involve the family
Many of your employees are already time-strapped and commit much of their time to the workplace. So, finding volunteer activities that are family-friendly and allowing employees to bring their family and friends along is a great way to increase your volunteer pool and ensure that your company volunteers aren’t missing out on time with their loved ones.

Promote as you would any other event
Marketing your volunteer activation is just as important as planning it. Design a volunteer recruitment flyer and share it on your company social media and add it to your intranet. You can also develop an email sign up list to email scheduled volunteer activities to those who express an interest, But, don’t forget about good old-fashioned word of mouth. The better job you do of promoting your volunteer activity, the more successful your event will be.

Create accurate volunteer job descriptions
Be clear in what the volunteer assignment is. Volunteer descriptions must be clear and accurate. There is nothing worse than scheduling a 4-hour volunteer activity that ends up taking 6 hours. With time being the most limited resource, it is important that your volunteers have a strong handle on the time frame of the project. They also need to know what they will be doing so they know what to expect and how to dress.

Be organized 
Following your volunteer sign up, send additional volunteer details, parking maps and your day of contact information in advance. Also, don’t forget to send a reminder a few days before. Reminders help to ensure your volunteers remember their assignments and provides you with an opportunity to share any last-minute details.

Do these things and you will avoid some of the newbie stress I experienced and create impactful volunteer experiences for your employees.

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