I want to thank and pay tribute to all of our volunteers - those people who believe in all work and no pay. Robert Orben From Prospects to New Volunteers Increasing Your Conversion Rate As promised in Issue No 1 of this newsletter here is a simple but effective technique to increase your conversion rate of prospects (people who have shown an interest in volunteering but have not yet signed on) to new volunteers. Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up! Develop a system to follow-up on all prospects who did not join up. They may have requested information about volunteering, made an enquiry or attended an information session and never returned. Capture the name and phone number of everyone who ever enquiries about volunteering. Then you or a selected volunteer aim to ring them back within a week to talk with the prospect again. When you follow-up on all enquiries you can get some feedback without being pushy. Find out why they decided not to volunteer. Could the recruitment process have been handled better? Are there suggestions they would make to improve the process? How could their needs be better matched to your volunteering opportunities? Would they consider volunteering in the future? Follow-up provides valuable feedback and also re-establishes a personal connection that allows you the opportunity to again convert a lost prospect into a new volunteer. Adapted from the book Count On Me! 501 Ideas on Retaining, Recognizing & Rewarding Volunteers by Dr Judy Esmond
Some Reasons Why People Do Not Volunteer Although each and every day millions of people around the world give of their time and energy to make a difference through volunteering, a far greater number do not volunteer. Yet, research has found that many more people believe that they ‘should’ volunteer as compared to those who do volunteer. In our recent study, non-volunteers rated 21 statements as to why they had not volunteered. Below are the top responses to the statement: 'I would volunteer if...' 1. I knew the volunteer opportuntiy was meaningful, or made a difference in 2. I weren't so busy with family and other obligations. 3. I found an organization, where I really believed in their philosophy and mission. 4. I knew the volunteer environment to be pleasant and safe. 5. I weren't so busy with other interests and hobbies. 6. I weren't so busy at work. 7. The volunteer opportunity was offered or needed by an organization or group I belong to. Meaningful voluntary work, belief in the organizational mission, a pleasant and safe environment and helping out an organization they already belong to were important key responses from non-volunteers. But it is the feeling of being 'time poor' and the busyness of people's lives with work, family, hobbies and other obligations that is the most consistent reason people give for not volunteering. So how do you convert 'time-poor' non-volunteers into 'time-rich' volunteers? In our next issue we'll give you a great 'time' tip used by one group in the field to get you really thinking. Adapted from the Volunteer Motivation research report Appendix 1- The Non-Volunteering Study by Dr Judy Esmond & Patrick Dunlop
5 Ways to Personalize Cards Individualize Christmas and other cards. Avoid sending mass-produced Christmas cards with the signature printed on it. These might be cheaper and less time-consuming, but the purpose of the card is lost – the message is ‘I don’t have time to even sign my name for you’. Make these cards count – add your signature and a personal message for each volunteer whenever you can.  A great tip is to sit down, visualise the volunteer you are writing to and tune in to the words that describe what type of person they are – ‘people person’, ‘quiet achiever’ or other key words or phrases that ‘fit’. Let yourself be guided by the words that come to mind – this ensures that your written thankyou is sincere, honest and personalized.
Another quick tip to personalize cards. Quote it! Add different quotes for different volunteers. Get on the internet, type quotes into any search engine – google, yahoo, etc. You will see a list of sites that have 100s of quotes. Choose sites that let you search for keywords. Type in keywords that describe the qualities of your volunteers – caring, listening, understanding, leading and so on. You can directly hand-write the quote on your card. Or copy, print and then cut the quote to a slip of paper and add it to the card for each volunteer.  Not enough time and too many volunteers? Space out writing Christmas cards throughout the coming year. Got 100 volunteers? Then write about 3 cards per week. Got 500 volunteers? Then write about 10 cards per week. Break it down into manageable chunks.
Vary the tradition of sending Christmas cards. Be a bit different and send volunteers a New Year’s card instead. Personally sign it and wish them another great year of working together. Adapted from the book Count On Me! 501 Ideas on Retaining, Recognizing & Rewarding Volunteers by Dr Judy Esmond
Quick Tips from the Field about Birthday Cards One saying that I have found and put into the birthday cards that I send to our volunteers is:- A special person was born today, We send wishes full of good cheer along with our thanks to a special volunteer. Another is:- Your birthday's a pleasant reminder of the many things you do, That make the people in your life so happy that you are you, You share yourself with others through your caring, warmth and love, You're the special kind of person this world needs a lot more of! Heather Hurley Volunteer Coordinator Fullarton Lutheran Homes Inc.
Next Issue... In the next issue of the 'Ultimate Ideas' Newsletter...
Cheers Judy © Judy Esmond, 2005 Dr Judy Esmond is a leading expert on how to gain, sustain and retain volunteers. She is author of best selling books and numerous research reports on recruiting, retaining, recognizing and rewarding volunteers. Subscribe to her 'Ultimate Ideas' Newsletter filled with 100s of ideas on volunteer recruitment, retention and recognition at www.mtd4u.com We welcome your links to this newsletter? www.mtd4u.com/newsletter2.htm Want to reprint part or all this newsletter for non-commercial use? We would be happy for you to do so. Please ensure to always include the above signature line in its entirety. Just email judy with the details and please direct a courtesy copy to judy@mtd4u.com or by mail to: Dr Judy Esmond PO Box 402 Victoria Park, WA 6979
Do you have ideas on volunteer recruitment, volunteer retention and volunteer recognition that you would like to share? We would be delighted to hear from you and will acknowledge any ideas published. Just email judy@mtd4u.com with ideas, tips, techniques and comments. |
