Job descriptions for the volunteer

One very interesting, and necessary, activity that volunteer managers should undertake is the development of job descriptions. Just as in any paying position, the rights and responsibilities of the position should be clearly outlined so that the volunteer and the manager agree on what is to happen. This is especially importat to the volunteer because they are giving their time and effort for free and they plan on making it a part of their life which already has other time commitments. How many times has it been said, "If I knew I was volunteering for ALL THIS I never would have volunteered."?

This happens when a volunteer is not given the whole picture up front. This usually isn't done maliciously, it's done because the volunteer manager really has no clear picture of what the job will entail, or the organization continues to have needs and the manager merely uses the current crop of volunteers to fill them. The problem is that many times it's the equivalent of filling a round hole with a square peg. You're using people to perform tasks that they have no aptitude for, or desire to do.

This can be reduced or eliminated by the development of clearly designed job descriptions for every function in the organization. Many times this can be eye-opening to the volunteer manager because many do not realize how many different functions are required to keep the organization running. Developing the job descriptions, however, will enable the manager to see the "big picture" and to begin to fill the open positions with willing and capable people who are fully-informed on what they are volunteering for.

So you want to be a volunteer

This is the start of a new effort to educate volunteer leadership on how to more effectively organize, educate, recruit, and retain volunteer workers. Being a manager can be a thankless job and not getting paid for your efforts can be even moreso. This blog will present some guidelines on how to make you more effective using things that I have gathered in over 30 years of experience as both a volunteer and a volunteer manager in a variety of groups.

We will discuss a wide range of topics and input from current volunteers and volunteer managers is quite welcome! Please feel free to critique or enhance any and all information posted here.

Stop in tomorrow for our first posting on "What it means to volunteer (or do I really get away with anything because I'm working for free?)"