Many association leaders learn quickly that a thriving and fast-growing organization often becomes a demanding work environment that may be hard to keep up with. A big workload with deadlines and not enough staff can be a recipe for burn out, which is something that every small organization wants to avoid. Here’s what to know about balancing work load between staff and volunteers in your organization.
Implement Clear Expectations for Each Group
While the intricacies of running a small organization are unique for each department and may be difficult at times, solutions exist that can help. A lot of nonprofit organizations encourage supporters to contribute by volunteering their time in order to support them. While this allows people to gain a better understanding of an organization’s mission, it can also help a team of staff with additional assistance and guidance.
Establishing a sense of community and teamwork between paid workers and volunteers for an organization is important. Without doing so, resistance and distrust of an institution can occur which harms the overall morale. Differentiating between responsibilities of the two groups will clear any confusion regarding responsibilities, thus leading to better productivity.
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Responsibilities of Organization Volunteers
Avoiding giving volunteers monotonous and unfulfilling tasks will encourage them to stay with the organization and will help with work in a demanding environment. By assigning valuable duties to volunteers, you can ensure a better sense of loyalty and satisfaction for those who offer support.
Designating tasks such as clerical work to volunteers can provide a more fulfilling experience for those who have the extra time and privilege to work for free. Another great example of a volunteer’s responsibility can be a volunteer coordinator or grant writer. Assigning volunteers grant-writing tasks can offer valuable experience and learning opportunities in the organization’s industry. Creating newsletters, training other volunteers, helping with fundraising, or planning and organizing events are additional roles that can be filled by volunteer work.
Responsibilities of a Staff Liaison
After designating certain roles to the volunteer group, the staff liaison will be used to facilitate communication and transparency between staff and volunteers. The staff liaison is given a more hands-on approach to completing projects by their deadlines. By implementing a protocol for how jobs need to be finished, the staff liaison can offer further advice, direction, and knowledge for volunteers. This can entail tasks such as coming up with agendas, deadlines, and projects to execute for the rest of the team.
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Having a clear understanding that volunteers and staff liaison are working together with mutual respect for each other will be a key ingredient in successfully reaching a goal. The most important outcome of volunteers and staff is to achieve a shared vision in a balanced and efficient approach.
If you need further consultation on how to bring volunteers and staff together in order to reach success, then contact Dennison & Associates today. Our professional staff can help give you guidance and support on reaching your unique goals and overcome any problems within the workplace.
