Retaining Volunteers on Tenant Groups (or anywhere really!)

There have been a lot of discussions recently about tenant groups, tenant boards and other ways of capturing the tenant voice in your organisation.  One issue that came up often is the retainment of volunteers on the programmes, so we thought we would put together our thoughts on how to keep those brilliant volunteers.

We find it useful to think of volunteer management as HR without the money.  Sounds strange, but it makes us concentrate on the importance of the roles and the people filling them, the same as we would with staff. Using this, we would work out what “currency” to pay the volunteers in. Some examples of this are below.

It is important to always pay expenses to volunteers if you want a true barrier free volunteer experience. People will not be able to get themselves to you without travel expenses, and food during the session will always be well received. Immediate reimbursement or buying the tickets, is always the best option, but whatever way you do it, make sure all volunteers know the process and the limitations and encourage them all to participate.

The first thing we would borrow from HR if we were having issues with retention would be the exit interview. A simple practice to gain data (which we can act on) and has much higher probability of being able to change the person’s mind!  When we talk about paid roles, the decision is usually set in stone at the exit interview stage, and there would be a variety of reasons that the person is changing roles. Often, volunteers will leave over perceived barriers that you can mitigate; flexible attendance, support/break for a time, expenses etc.  Other reasons for leaving will start to build up a pattern you can act on, the most common reason is that they are not getting “paid” enough – see the currencies below.

In order to mitigate the fact that we do not pay volunteers, we need to renumerate them for their time in other ways.  Asking volunteers why they have volunteered in the first place can point you in the right direction, though we would always use a mixture of “payments” as many will have overlapped and changing reasons.

1. Giving back/the cause – one of the most popular reasons quoted for volunteering. To “pay” these volunteers you need to make sure they are aware of the impact of their volunteering.  Reports and updates to let them know what has happened with what they have done will be good payment and invites to celebration events etc when things are good that lets them see what they have achieved.
2. Getting experience – One of the easiest “payments” to give – but often the volunteer that will move on quickly. To tempt them to stay, you could offer progressive training for volunteers that have been there longer, a pathway to more detailed roles or even paid employment. Things like extra training, mentoring, pathways to chair etc can collaborate with these volunteers.
3. Social networks – Lots of people volunteer to increase their social networks, they could be lonely, new to area or had a recent change. Adding social element to the role will help you keep those volunteers on board. Inviting staff to events, being available for tea and a natter before the session or after, having volunteer social events (either online or in person) can help “pay” these volunteers.
4. A feeling of belonging – Is probably a mix of all the reasons above, but can be added to with uniform, badges, lanyards etc as well as the simple ways of inviting them to meetings or including them in the staff email can help.
5. Thanks – Probably the most obvious, but often missed payment. Just make sure you say thank you.  Make it specific – thanks for what you did today – as it makes it worth so much more.  And little random thanks, cards, little bags of sweets, badges etc can be worth millions!

These are just some of the top ways to “pay” your volunteers but remember that there will be many more ways. Do you have any examples you would like to share with us and the membership?

Finally, remember that one to ones or at the least group support sessions will also make the journey easier, you do not have to wait till the exit interview to find out what is going on, and you can see if people’s needs have changed.

Written by
Ruth Gray
Mentoring Programmes Coordinator
mentoring@housingdiversitynetwork.co.uk