Ever have one of those jobs that needed a volunteer or two or ten? Ever have trouble trying to get enough volunteers to fill the roles you need to fill? I’ve used a very specific method for obtaining and keeping volunteers that has proven to work pretty well for me the past 10 years. If needing volunteers isn’t your thing, then you’re welcome to just move on.
So at the outset here I need to come clean. I’m a pastor and as any pastor or non profit leader can attest, getting volunteers is sometimes a challenge. Actually, statistics show that volunteerism is on the decline across the board for non profits and churches. Another admission, at the church where I serve as pastor, we haven’t noticed that decline in volunteerism. How do we do it? Pretty simple. We have three simple things to keep in mind.
Keep commitments short term
Gone are the days when we can ask someone to serve on a board or committee for years on end. Gone are the days when someone wants to be tied down to a commitment for an extended period of time. This is why we form teams to complete tasks. We call them ministry teams, but you can use whatever designation want. We don’t do boards or committees but action teams because action is what we’re after! Boards are often boring and committees look like people are in comas! Teams have to function together for the time it takes to get the job done.
One example of this is our team that pulls off a fall outreach event. We call our event Fall FunFest. This is a pretty big event for the size church we are. The event has 4-5 key leaders, each with a designated area of responsibility. They form their own teams to get their tasks done. The beauty is when FunFest is over, so is your commitment to this particular team. This frees them up to serve somewhere else or sit back and chill for a bit.
Say Thank You!
This one is pretty significant. Let people know you appreciate their service to the team. This can be as big or small as you want. I’ve used a passing word, a public affirmation, an email, phone call, and often I’ll use a hand written note sent through the snail mail. Just acknowledge the work of your volunteers because if they feel appreciated, not only will they be more likely to volunteer again but also they’ll be great recruiters!
Tell Them Why Them
This is the big one for me and it’s not original to me. A buddy told me to try something and it has worked magnificently! The idea is simple. Tell them why you chose them. If you can’t answer that, then you shouldn’t be asking them. So often we ask someone because they have a pulse or don’t think they can tell us no. These are not good reasons! They are not acceptable.
The trick here is to tell people 3-5 things you see in them that make them a perfect fit for the task you have in mind. This does two really important things. First, it lets them know you value them as a person. In order for you to tell them why you think they’re good for the job you have to know who they are. You’re essentially telling them what you see them bringing to the table. For me it’s really about giving them 3-5 blessings whether they say yes or no.
The second thing this accomplishes is simply to reframe your own mind. This process turns this away from simply asking someone to fill a position but engaging with someone as a human and demonstrating care for them.
These are just a couple of the lessons learned through the past years of volunteer recruitment. What’s worked for you?