Desired Qualities/ Skills
What skills does this program require?
- For delivery?
- For support?
How many Volunteer positions should we staff for?
The suggested number of Volunteer positions depends upon the size of the program and the specialization of the position. It is suggested that there be a group of Volunteers in reserve. This reserve group should number 15 to 25% and remain in excess of the Volunteers required to staff the project.
Duration of Program (one time or ongoing)
If the program is a one time event or an annual event it is alright to allow the Volunteer to serve for greater than 4 hours at a stretch as there is a definite end point to the commitment.
- A good example of this type of Volunteer assignment would be a fundraiser for a charity golf tournament.
Duration of Volunteer Assignment (short term or long term commitment)
If the program is to be ongoing it is suggested that the organization require a commitment that would take into consideration natural breaks in service.
- In the above example of the training sessions, a natural break would be the end of a semester
Where this is not possible, it is suggested that the program be structured to limit the amount of time the Volunteer be required to serve. This is meant to reduce the number of Volunteers lost to burnout.
- One way to do this is to have the Volunteer pick a time each week/ month consisting of from 2 to 4 hours. For the ease of the person doing the scheduling, it is suggested, where possible, that the Volunteer keep the same shifts each week/ month.
Schedules
What is the best basis of a schedule for this program?
- The basis would depend upon the duration of the project and the number of skilled people volunteering as well as the number necessary to provide the service.
- The best possible situation would be one in which there are more people interested in Volunteering than needed and a spill over of non critical tasks from another program.
- It is important to have enough work for the Volunteer to do so that they do not get discouraged and feel unneeded.
- Suggestion: If you can schedule more than enough volunteers, you may wish to work on a rotation basis as to who works on another project for the session.
Position Evolvement
Is there room for growth within this structure?
- While structuring the program it is important that there be room for advancement within the program or movement to another program where they may continue to develop new skills themselves.
Relevant skills may include:
- Centre Management
- Computer Literate
- Training Abilities/ Experience
- Patience
- Appearance
- Customer Service/ Commitment
- Responsibility/
- Money Handling
- Report Preparation
- Proofreading
- Fundraising
- Corporate/ Government Contact Experience
- Relationship Building
- Course Development
- Scheduling
- Custodial
- Safety/ First Aid
- Polite
- Courteous
- Confident
- Web Development
- E-Business
- Accounting
- Policy and Procedure Development
- Board Experience
- Enthusiasm
- Computer Application Knowledge
- Data Management
- Marketing
- Sales
- Ability to work with Mentally and Physically Challenged
- Children
- Youth
- Young Adults
- Seniors
- Ability to work with Children
- Ability to work with Youth
- Ability to work with Young Adults
- Ability to work with Seniors
- Correspondence
- Commitment to Mission and Goals
Download the Functional Area/ Skill Set Worksheet from the Tools Page.
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