The agility and simplification of recruiting and inducting volunteers, along with the innovation and ingenuity of how voluntary effort has been mobilised and deployed during the COVID-19 crisis has shifted people’s expectations of the route into volunteering.
“If I can be approved in 24 hours to deliver prescriptions to vulnerable people based on providing a photo of my driving licence, why do I need to jump through all your bureaucratic hoops to do some admin or fundraising? Organisations need to re-think the practicalities of volunteer engagement for life after Covid-19" - Three reasons why organisations will need volunteer engagement professionals after lockdown, Rob Jackson Consulting
What expectations could volunteers have as a result of the COVID-19 crisis?
Things are moving quickly right now.
With such a groundswell of voluntary effort to respond to and deploy; and added to this the various ways in which it is possible to give time, it’s not surprising that volunteer(ing) expectations and culture are shifting.
It is not that they’re drastically different to what they were before, but we’ve found that a lot of expectations that are coming about from the COVID-19 crisis can be broadly categorised as follows:
Registration and recruitment - the methods and approaches you use to onboard volunteers (application form, interviews, references, DBS checks etc)
Role - the tasks and duties that are being undertaken, and the nature of these (location, skill-based etc)
Relationship - with the volunteer-involving project, group or organisation; and the volunteering activity that is being undertaken (formal, informal, spontaneous, infrequent)
Helpful guidance and resources for managing expectations
If your appeal for support is urgent, ensure that your processes and communication is in step with this; respond to enquiries in a timely manner and communicate clearly and often with volunteers about any timeframes or next steps - as a minimum, be sure to acknowledge any support that you are offered.
The Institute for Voluntary Action Research has been sharing its findings on volunteer recruitment during the COVID-19 crisis; and although it may not match your processes exactly, this example from Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust could be useful to you:
If you’re receiving large amounts of interest in volunteering with your group, project or organisation, consider developing new, short term roles with existing volunteers who can offer administrative or technical support - this could also include writing and promoting recruitment messages.
Develop this further by considering where it is possible to streamline or automate your processes - for example replacing long form application packs and paperwork with a ‘register your interest’ form, carrying out interviews and inductions in groups and making adjustments to base recruitment around a series of simple steps.
If you haven’t referred to it already, our guidance, information and other resources on ‘Rethinking the role of volunteers’ will also be helpful to your work on managing expectations like this.
N.B. In terms of health, safety, wellbeing and safeguarding, it is important to ensure that your recruitment and deployment pathway for volunteers is adequate, robust and proportionate to the role(s) that are being undertaken.
For information and guidance on safeguarding and volunteers, you can refer to this specific page from NCVO Knowhow:
https://knowhow.ncvo.org.uk/your-team/volunteers/keeping/safeguarding-volunteers
Volunteering Matters also provides some suggestions for managing expectations as part of it's information on "Top tips for recruiting volunteers":
Provide a clear ask – create clear task/role descrptions so volunteers understand clearly what you are asking of them.
Allow volunteers to try it out – Promoting taster sessions for volunteering roles can be more appealing for people who like to ‘try before they buy’. This can alleviate any fears people have about the role.
Open up to offers! – You may be surprised what talents and experience people may bring and offer to do for you that don’t fit into a role but would be useful for your organisation
Be as flexible as possible – Some people like to suggest what they could do but others like to see clearly what is on offer and what you are asking from them. For example promoting specific tasks.
Providing a wide range of ways to volunteer – A choice of tasks can increase your chances of attracting a wide range of volunteers. Make sure your volunteering roles are interesting enough. Would you do them? If they are not motivating to you then they are unlikely to motivate others.
Promote the difference volunteers make – People are more likely to be motivated if they can see the impact they could make through volunteering, example reducing loneliness for older people or improving people’s quality of life. Promote the benefits of volunteering for volunteers! Share the great benefits as making friends, increased confidence and learn new skills (what can volunteers expect from you?) if you offer training or other opportunities.
It is important to remember that expectations do not exist in a vacuum; and that they are not exclusively affected or changed by circumstances (such as a global pandemic). You might also find it useful to refer to the UK Civil Society Almanac, and specifically its sub-sections on motivations and barriers (which goes hand in hand with expectations and how to address them):
https://data.ncvo.org.uk/volunteering/motivations-and-barriers
For instance: "Changing circumstances may mean people stop volunteering, but a good quality experience also matters" might lead you to consider some common changes in circumstances and how you will adapt to them, along with some reflection on how the volunteer experience (good, poor or otherwise) could lead to or prevent someone from returning to you at a later date.
Although it is almost ten years old at this point, the Pathways through Participation research project and it's "Volunteering as a participation pathway" aspect does well to illustrate how engagement in volunteering is best understood as a journey over someone’s life - and imagine if you will, this also includes the situation that is currently unfolding.
"It evolves over time in response to people’s life stage and what’s happening in their wider environment; it doesn’t happen in a bubble. We need to understand that people’s ability to participate changes over time. In order to create a culture of volunteering where people are able to volunteer throughout their lives then we need to build in the flexibility and pathways needed in order to support people on this journey" - The changing face of volunteering and four ways you can respond, NCVO
You can access the research and reports through Involve at:
https://www.involve.org.uk/resources/publications/project-reports/pathways-through-participation