OnMovements

What Deters Volunteers?

•

Jay Lorenzen

What Deters Volunteers?

Why do some people come back day after day to serve, while others try
it once and never return?

According to Dr. Don Simmons, “We don’t have a
recruitment issue with volunteers. We have a retention issue.”

Simmons gives his Top 10 reasons volunteers quit or fail to perform their
services:

  1. A sense that their service is not valuable.
  2. A sense that they do not matter as a person, only as a “worker.”
  3. A sense that their contribution is not as valid as others.
  4. A lack of community.
  5. A lack of connection with a bigger purpose.
  6. Poor leadership and management.
  7. Poor communication/direction.
  8. Lack of appreciation.
  9. Failure to recognize them as a donor.
  10. Lack of development of them as a person.

Leadership Network just published a excellent resource on “Transforming Volunteers From Social Workers to Kingdom Laborers.” Read it here.

•

2 responses to “What Deters Volunteers?”

  1. Kristie Avatar
    Kristie

    Hey, you need to change the font size on your commments section….I can’t read what I am typing in here!

    Anyhow, I remember as ayoung staff working on “theme” for a conference. I gave up a Saturday to ehlp all day long. What amazed me was that the person organizing the time brought massive snacks.

    But I am not saying it is just about providing food, it’s about rrecognizing that we were just people constrained by things like low-blookd sugar, needing to take frequent breaks and crack jokes over Nutter Butters. I felt like I wasn’t being used, but that those in charge cared about me the lowly staff person at my most basic needs…..and that the budget reflected it. I didn’t have to scrounge for my own lunch.

    Over a meal, I got to know others and have some great disucssions. To this day I still have friendships that were forged over a simple activity becasue we were treated more than just conference cogs.

    I have also seen these prinicples, or lack of them that you listed, in working as a library trustee in our city. I remember going to the library director and asking if the new volunteers on the library foundation could get some type of meaningful gift. I managed to get them free library cards with no liabrary fines status, but there was no budget to get anything concrete. Ahhhh, government based insitituions. Tahnkfully, in CCC we can move beyond that in the power of God’s turht and Spirit!

  2. Kristie Avatar
    Kristie

    Hey, I’m curious…who are you guys? There is no identification on your site, and I did a WhpoIs and saw it was Bludhost. Then I found out that you bought the privacy option on bludhost so no one can know who you are? why is that? Plus I can’t read the commnets…you really need to fix it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

Social Media

Categories