Planning for involving volunteers

Before getting started with recruiting volunteers it is important to ensure that you have laid good groundwork considering things like the roles that volunteers will play, how they will be trained and supported and how you will ensure that it is a positive experience for everyone.

Good planning will help you clarify the purpose and scope of volunteer involvement, ensure your organisation is ready to support volunteers effectively, identify where volunteers can add value (without replacing paid staff roles) and build a consistent and inclusive approach to volunteer engagement.

Start with a Volunteer Policy

The starting point for managing volunteers is writing a policy that covers all aspect of their involvement. This sets out your organisations approach to volunteering and the commitment to ensuring that volunteers add value and feel supported.

Your policy should include:

• A statement of your organisation’s commitment to volunteering
• The purpose and scope of volunteer involvement
• Key principles (e.g. equality, inclusion, safeguarding)
• Expectations around support, communication, and behaviour
• How volunteers will be recruited, trained, and supervised
• Information on expenses, insurance, and problem resolution

NCVO provides good information on how to create a volunteer policy or use our chatbot to help.

Writing a volunteer policy

Next Topic: Recruiting volunteers