The unprecedented circumstances thrown up by the COVID-19 crisis (including lockdown, shielding and self-isolation) will have made supporting and engaging volunteers more difficult.
Whether it’s temporary or more permanent, many volunteers will have either stood down through personal choice or because of the advice they have received about the potential impact on their health and wellbeing during this time; these decisions may also be driven by other factors such as caring responsibilities and sadly, bereavement. Volunteers may also use this break with the routine to leave your organisation or explore other opportunities - and this should be allowed.
Putting things in place that ensure you are regularly engaged with volunteers will support retention. Earlier in the crisis, NCVO wrote a handy blog about ‘Keeping volunteers engaged during Coronavirus’ which you can read at:
https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2020/06/15/keeping-volunteers-engaged-during-coronavirus/
One suggestion is to think beyond COVID-19 to help identify and prioritise approaches to volunteer needs.
It is also reasonable to assume that volunteer recruitment could be more difficult currently; and that thinking about doing this is something that throws up more questions than answers.
“However, charities that have given it a go have found that their process has worked well, with a few tweaks” - Janet Thorne, Chief Executive of Reach Volunteering on ‘Recruiting and inducting trustees remotely’.
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 recruitment and retention of volunteers.
Helpful guidance and resources for keeping volunteers engaged
Remember, volunteers leaving or moving on (permanent or temporary) is part of retention and engagement.
If you've stood down volunteers, or have had your usual roles impacted because of COVID-19, you may find it helpful to refer to other roles and opportunities. For example the volunteer centre has pulled together some useful Heroes from Home guidance - that provides details of lots of ways where it is possible to support charities and good causes remotely:
There's also an ongoing Online Advocate microvolunteering opportunity - which asks volunteers to use social media to share messages which show kindness and to encourage connection and solidarity. The scheme is also managed by the volunteercentre and is currently open with a straightforward registration process at:
www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/volunteer-centre-manchester/crisis-volunteering/6655
Get input and take direction from volunteers
Use this time to engage volunteers as active stakeholders in your response to COVID-19 and do this through a variety methods including meetings, subgroups, surveys and polls. This could cover a range of topics including how people feel about returning to their volunteering; what they need and how things could be done differently.
Charity Digital offers some practical guidance with an article about "The best digital survey tools for charities" at:
https://charitydigital.org.uk/topics/topics/the-best-digital-survey-tools-for-charities-7620
Offer training and development
This is a good example of a 'while-you-wait' activity for volunteers, whilst also serving to prepare and upskill for when and how you will adpat or recommence the work of your group, project or organisation.
There is a host of free or low cost online training available right now, including this Psychological First Aid training from FutureLearn:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/psychological-first-aid-covid-19
Do also be sure to refer to Manchester Community Central's listings for relevant training at:
https://www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/news-and-events