PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PAGE IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND REVIEW. IT IS INCOMPLETE BUT WILL BE LAUNCHING OFFICIALLY SOON
The articles and resources contained here have been curated to support Micro, and larger sized organisations, in the management of their volunteer programs.
Defining Micro Volunteering...
Volunteer Management
Volunteer Roles
Volunteer Roles adheres to National Standard 3 and the Prepare Statge of the Volunteer Involvement Cycle
A volunteer role should reflect the values and objectives of your organisation. It should never be a role to replace paid staff and is generally undertaken for 16 hours or less per week.
It may be that all roles in your organisation are volunteer roles or that some parts of your organisation run volunteer programs with volunteers involved.
People want to gain valid and valuable experiences, by volunteering with organisations that match their values. Clearly demonstrate how the role will support the organisation’s values.
Developing a volunteer role shouldn’t be a generic approach, but an opportunity to be creative and look at different approaches to volunteering.
The motivations and barriers of volunteers have also changed. How someone volunteers, when they volunteer and what types of activities are on offer all need to be considered when developing meaningful and worthwhile roles.
Supporting Resources:
Article - Developing Volunteer Roles
Template - Volunteer Role Description
Additional Reading - Staff vs Intern vs Volunteer
Volunteer Recruitment
Volunteer Recruitment adheres to National Standard 5 and the Recruit Stage of the Volunteer Involvement Cycle
Recruiting the right volunteers for your volunteer program is important for the success of the program and for developing team cohesion. Factoring in volunteer motivations and passions, and recruiting volunteers from diverse backgrounds while using a wide variety of recruitment techniques will all help you to build a solid volunteer base.
Supporting Resources:
Article - Recruiting Volunteers
Template - Volunteer Registration Template
Volunteer Induction/OnBoarding
Volunteer Recruitment adheres to National Standard 5 and the Recruit Stage of the Volunteer Involvement Cycle.
Onboarding is the process of integrating a new staff member into an organisation. A robust onboarding program will consist of any pre-boarding activities, the induction and any additional essential and ongoing training required for the role.
Structured onboarding programs should be provided for all staff, including volunteers, to ensure they can become independent, productive and confident team members. Without a clear and structured onboarding process your volunteers, like staff, may never integrate properly into the team and can feel unprepared and ineffective.
There are 4 core components of onboarding
Pre-boarding - occurs between a volunteer accepting a role and starting in that role.
Induction - usually done face-to-face starting on the first day and includes information on location of things like fire exits, bathrooms and first aid kits, meeting staff, policies etc.
Training - covers the practical parts of a role.
Socialisation - includes familiarising new staff with your organisation’s culture and values and helping them to foster new relationships in the workplace.
At the end of the on-boarding review the process with the volunteer and confirm that they understand their role, the organisation and their part in building to the success of what your team does.
Supporting Resources:
Article - Recruiting Volunteers (in particular the attacment "Induction and Onboarding for New Volunteers"
Article - Volunteer Training
Template - Volunteer Induction Checklist
Volunteer Recognition and Retention
Volunteer Recruitment adheres to National Standard X and the Support Stage of the Volunteer Involvement Cycle.
The value of volunteering is immense and irreplaceable.
One of the best ways to demonstrate the importance of volunteering to the Australian community is to ensure volunteers’ contributions are recognised, valued and accounted for.
Valuing the time and efforts of volunteers is crucial to retain them. Recognising and Rewarding volunteers is an essential part of best practise for volunteer management.
Supporting Resources:
Article - Volunteer Recognition
Article - Volunteer Motivations and Barriers
Article - Volunteer Training
Volunteer well-being and preventing Burnout
This topic is likely to not be included as we do not have specific pages available on launch.
Skills for Volunteer Leaders and Volunteers
For many Volunteer-Involving Organisations, a Volunteer Manager or Coordinator role will be implemented to provide management and support for the organisation's volunteer team. If it is not feasible for such a position to be implemented an assigned member of staff or a senior volunteer may be appointed as a primary person for volunteers to liaise with, take instruction from and raise any concerns or issues.
If you have found yourself in such a role, you have been identified as someone who possesses the leadership skills and qualities to bring the volunteer team together to work towards the organisation's mission.
Volunteer Leaders understand volunteer motivations, trends and issues and how these relate to volunteering.
Foundations of Volunteer Management eLearning Suite
To assist in developing these skills, the Foundations of Volunteer Management eLearning suite has been developed.
Consiting of seven units that can be completed in any order and accessed at any time. Learners may complete all units or pick units that suit their needs.
Manage and Promote Diversity - Manage and Promote Diversity has been designed to give you a thorough understanding of workplace diversity and inclusion, covering essential aspects for creating a respectful, inclusive, and productive work environment. The unit consists of various modules, each focusing on different aspects of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DIBs). Starting with the basics of why diversity, belonging and inclusion are crucial for achieving organisational goals and how to collect and analyse diversity data, you'll develop the skills to evaluate and improve diversity initiatives.
Use Communication to Build Relationships - Use Communication to Build Relationships will take you on a journey to master the art of using communication to build and strengthen relationships in the professional sphere. The unit underscores the importance of clear, empathetic, and culturally aware communication as a cornerstone for fostering successful professional relationships and teamwork. You'll gain practical guidance in tailoring dialogue to meet diverse needs, crafting effective meetings, and ensuring every interaction contributes to constructive relationship building.
Lead Team Effectiveness - The Lead Team Effectiveness unit is designed to enhance your leadership skills, focusing on building cohesive teams, effective communication, and resolving issues within your volunteer organisation. These skills are vital for those aiming to foster a positive, productive team environment, ensuring alignment with organisational goals.
Maintain Work Health and Safety - Maintain Work Health and Safety is a unit designed to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to enhance workplace safety and team efficiency. This unit underscores the significance of Work Health and Safety (WHS) policies, hazard identification, risk assessment, and the implementation of control measures, stressing the crucial role these elements play in maintaining a secure working environment.
This unit, Work Legally and Ethically, provides an exploration of the Australian legal system and ethical frameworks, aimed at enhancing your understanding and application of legal and ethical principles in a professional setting. You'll start by delving into the structure and operation of the Australian legal system, understanding different types of law and their implications on various work roles. This foundation will enable you to confidently navigate and apply key workplace policies and legislation.
Recruit, Induct and Support Volunteers - This unit, Work Legally and Ethically, provides an exploration of the Australian legal system and ethical frameworks, aimed at enhancing your understanding and application of legal and ethical principles in a professional setting. You'll start by delving into the structure and operation of the Australian legal system, understanding different types of law and their implications on various work roles. This foundation will enable you to confidently navigate and apply key workplace policies and legislation.
Manage Volunteer Workforce Development - These units provides an overview of volunteer management within Australia. It is designed to enhance your understanding and skills across several key areas. Starting with the basics of Australia's volunteer landscape, you'll explore the roles volunteers play, demographic trends affecting volunteering, and the challenges faced by different types of volunteers.
Volunteer Leader Guide
In addition to the Foundations of Volunteer Management eLearning suite, the Volunteer Leader Guide: Foundations of Volunteer Leadership is a fantatic resource that can become you go to guide for all things volunteer leadership.
Volunteer Manager Leadership Training
Financial Management
Digital/Tech Literacy (including systems to support VM)
Privacy & Confidentiality
Grant Writing
Legal
Comms & Presentation (and Stakeholder Engagement)
Event Management
Organisational Management and Governance
Governance Training (incl. those with Boards)
Sourcing Funding (not just via grants)
Attaining DGI Status
Program (& organisational) sustainability
Compliance challenges (e.g. ACNC, Insurance)
Risk Management
Sub-committee and working group structuring
Cross-sector collaboration
VPB awareness (including role of VPB)
Admin overhead
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