Thousands of organizations depend of volunteers to provide services and opportunities to clientele they serve and appropriate volunteer management is a necessity for success. With millions of people volunteering their time each year in the United States, volunteer managers have to be sure that each person fits well in the organization. In order to determine whether a potential volunteer will be beneficial to an organization, proper screening techniques may be the most important step in the volunteer management process.
As a youth development professional, it is evident that volunteer managers have to be absolutely sure that a potential volunteer is the right person for the job. A potential volunteer will express interest in assisting with a specific program or organization, and it is the task of the volunteer manager to discover everything they can about the person and determine their effectiveness. Screening should come in the form of the following: personal interviews; job history checks; criminal background checks; and when working with youth a sex offender registry review. Here are some tips for developing volunteers.
Volunteer managers should not accept “just anybody” into their program without prior knowledge of the person’s abilities or history. As previously mentioned, a thorough review of the person should be completed before they are presented the opportunity to volunteer for an organization. The volunteer manager must find out why the person wants to work for the organization and an example of a screening technique can be found here. The potential volunteer will have an opportunity to market themselves to the volunteer manager. It is at the discretion of the volunteer manager to make the decision whether to move forward in the review process or to respectfully decline this person’s service. A thorough background check has to be completed and this includes work, volunteer, and criminal history. An organization cannot afford to have their reputation tarnished by someone who cannot be trusted to make appropriate decisions in favor of the organization.
In any organization that depends on volunteer services to achieve a goal or a mission, the person in charge of managing volunteers has to be diligent in searching for the right person. The volunteer manager should ensure that protocols are in place for determining the right fit for their organization. Refer to this for supporting literature. The steps that were mentioned previously will allow the volunteer manager to find the most qualified person for the job. When working with any clientele especially youth, the volunteer manager must pay attention to minute details as the organizations reputation depends on reliable leadership. Volunteers for youth programs should be subjected to strenuous screening processes to not only protect themselves but the youth that they serve. Child abuse, neglect, and sexual predators are becoming more common in today’s society and thorough screening processes will ensure that these people are disqualified from volunteer leader positions.