Tobi's Nonprofit Management Blog

Volunteer Handbooks: A Simple Guide

Volunteer Handbooks are a key foundational risk management strategy.  They can help protect your volunteers, clients, and agency from unintended harm by providing guidelines for acceptable conduct.  They’re also a great resource for volunteers when they have questions about a policy or process they may have forgotten or missed during orientation.

Volunteer Handbooks Help You Manage Talent

Volunteer Handbooks are also an important part of the talent management of your volunteer corps.  A Volunteer Handbook is not the same as a Training Manual, covering key technical aspects of the job they will do.  Instead, Handbooks help volunteers acclimate to your organization by providing social clues about “how things are done around here.”   A high-quality Handbook can also inspire volunteers to see what’s possible as a result of their service.

Volunteer Handbooks can also help deepen levels of engagement.  When volunteers join, many haven’t yet fully committed to your program and are still checking you out.  A well-written, informative, and approachable Handbook answers three critical personal questions your new recruits are asking themselves -- Does this organization have the capacity to make a difference in the world?  Can I make a difference here?  Will I fit in? 

Volunteer Handbooks Don’t Have to be Boring

Nor do they have to be expensive.  You don’t have to spend a lot of money printing a beefy, multi-paged document out.  Instead, post it on your website so volunteers can easily find it when they need it.  You can sprinkle volunteer and client testimonials about the power of your program throughout.  Think about including photos of diverse volunteers in action (provided you have permission).  Or, take photos of clients with hand-held signs that note why they personally appreciate your volunteer team.  To reinforce critical concepts, you can also create an accompanying video of volunteers sharing key points.  

Your Volunteer Handbook doesn’t have to be bureaucratic either.  Write it as if you were sitting across the kitchen table from a friend, and simply explain how things work.  Better yet, have a team of "volunteer guides" create your handbook in their own words -- assign each person a section and include their photo and a short quote about why they volunteer at the beginning of that section.  Or, write it as a comic book or graphic novel, with illustrations and lots of color.

What Should be Included in a Volunteer Handbook?

Below are a some of the categories of info you should think about including.  For a sample Volunteer Handbook Table of Contents, see my resource page here.

• Organizational Overview – Organization Mission, Org Chart, Staff Roles 
• Professionalism and Ethics – Representing the Organization, Conflict of Interest Policy, Accepting Compensation, Gifts, Impartiality, Appropriate Use of Organization Resources
• The Role of Volunteers – Welcoming Volunteers From all Walks of Life, Value & Impact of Volunteers on the Lives of Those They Serve, Paid Staff vs. Volunteer Tasks
• Workplace Safety  –  Working Conditions for Volunteers, Safety Rules & Checklist, How to Handle Emergency Situations, Reporting of Accidents & Injuries, Contagious Diseases, Client Home Visit Protocol (if allowed), Suspected Abuse or Illegal Activity, Sexual Harassment & Domestic Violence, Alcohol & Drugs
• Service Standards – Anti-Discrimination Policy, Serving Low-Literacy & Limited-English Speaking People, Professional Boundaries & Risk Management, Liability Protections, Federal Volunteer Protection Act, State-specific Good Samaritan Law(s), Volunteer-Client Relationships, Client Confidentiality, Client Records, Serving People in Crisis
• Supervision & Support – Self Care, Special Accommodations, Volunteer-Paid Staff Relationships, Confidentiality of Volunteer & Staff Personal Information
• Training Program – Orientation and Training Course List, Peer Mentoring (If applicable), Schedule, Requirements, Certification Testing (if a highly-skilled, high risk job)
• Supervision & Support – Volunteer Coordinator, Other Staff, Time Sheets, Leave of Absence, Travel Reimbursement, Other Perks, Grievance and Complaint Procedure, Technology, Inclement Weather Policy
• Volunteer Separation and Dismissal – Resignation, Exit Interview, The Right to Progressive Discipline, Reasons for Immediate Dismissal
• Required Reporting –  Forms, the Importance of Data Integrity, Data Submission Deadlines, Use of Agency-Approved Materials

If you’re short on time right now, pick a few of the most important areas -- ones that represent a high risk for your organization or areas where volunteers frequently have questions.  Also, don’t forget what a great resource volunteers can be in helping pull our Handbook together and give it life.

Finally, be sure to have your Handbook reviewed by your Human resource or legal staff.  Just because volunteers aren’t paid, doesn’t mean their aren’t laws or regulations you must follow.  Make sure you’re aligned with your agency’s expectations and the law.

If you’re ready to write your own Volunteer Handbook, visit my resource page here for a sample Table of Contents.

 What would you add to my list of Volunteer Handbook “must haves”?  Add to my list in the comments section.

 

How to Recruit Volunteers by Speaking to the “Old Brain”

Lately, I’ve been fascinated with how we humans are motivated to make decisions and are persuaded to act.  I recently read Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customer's Brain by Patrick Renvoisé & Christophe Morin, an engrossing look at how human beings are hard wired to behave in specific ways, based on certain triggers.  The book ins't only for business execs.  It includes smart info we can use to stengthen our volunteer recruitment efforts.

They explain that our brains have developed over thousands of years of human evolution and have a concrete role in helping us survive as a species.  Our behavior is often pre-programmed, partly because our grey matter simply cannot process all of the information coming at us each day.  So, we react in stereotypical ways based on cues that tell us, in shorthand, what is going on in front of us.  

Some scientists argue that because human brains are being bombarded more and more with information, this will continue to be the case, but in an even more pronounced way.  So, learning how to work with our innate systems will become even more important in order to be heard above the din.

So, rather than guess what will appeal to potential volunteers, why not harness human nature and get it to work for you?

In Neuromarketing, Renvoisé and Morin explain that when persuading our fellow humans to make a decision to change behavior, we must speak to the “primitive” (or “old”) brain.  Contrary to past theories, scientists have learned that it is this part of the brain -- the emotional part -- that actually processes information and then tells our rational side whether or not to act.  And, this is all going on a subconscious level.   

They identify the six triggers that wake up the primitive brain and get it to consider a decision.  And, they argue that in order to persuade someone to act, you must tap at least one.  You’ll find them below, with my thoughts on how to use them in your volunteer recruitment appeals.

How to Craft Volunteer Appeals that Tap What Really Motivates Us -- The Old Brain

• Centered on Self – The old brain is completely self-centered.  Appeals that use the word “you” will be more effective.  Also, answering the question “What can you do for me?” clearly and succinctly will help get attention.
• Clear Contrast – The old brain is sensitive to clear contrasts; in fact, it is always scanning our surroundings for disruptions to the norm.  Create contrast to get attention by focusing on the reality of their involvement before or after, or by clearly communicating what makes your program unique by comparing your opportunity versus others that are available.
• Tangible Input – The old brain processes information very quickly, and if waylaid, will forward the info to the new brain which slows decisionmaking to a screeching halt.  Communicate simple, concrete ideas and do away with any acronyms or jargon that will slow the brain processing.
• Beginning & Ending – The old brain conserves energy by focusing on beginnings and endings.  Create a sense of anticipation (which also increases dopamine production and helps people remember) by previewing the intrinsic rewards the volunteer will gain from the experience and then by repeating them at the end of the appeal. 
• Visual Stimuli – The optic nerve is forty times faster than the auditory nerve, and so it feeds info to the old brain much faster.  Because of this, humans are hardwired to make decisions largely based on visual input.  So, use photos and video liberally to tell your story.
• Emotion – The old brain is triggered by emotions.  We remember events better when they are accompanied by strong feelings.  So, make use of powerful stories of human transformation and change a central part of your communications. 

[Note:  If you want to see more info on how to use brain science to attract volunteers, click here my Power Point Slide Deck and Handout for my training “Using Brain Science to Make Your Volunteer Recruitment Appeals More Effective,” a recent webinar I presented for The Aging Network’s Volunteer Collaborative (scroll down to the bottom of the web page for the document links).]