Make a positive First impression! Proactive, streamlined Volunteer Onboarding & Orientation
Volunteer orientation often gets a lot of focus, but it’s actually a component in the larger and very important onboarding process!
Onboarding
Make a positive, clear first connection (email/phone/automation)
Screen – Complete onboarding paperwork and any vetting
Place – Match volunteer interests, skills, availability with org’s needs
Orientation – Big picture welcome to the org
Additional Training – Role specific
First Shift/Engagement - Welcoming, organized, supported first time through their role
Follow up – Thank you, questions, what’s next?
Survey/Evaluation - How was your experience of our onboarding process?
Orientation
Connect to mission – What do you do and why does this work matter?
Hear from organization leadership – Our leadership cares about volunteers!
Energize – impact – Here's how volunteers are making a difference at our organization.
Culture, Values, Expectations – You are a powerful ambassador for us, people here believe in and show up in these ways...
Next Steps - Here’s what you can expect after this orientation.
Be proactive
Get connected and motivated – We want to establish an early connection with people who express interest in volunteering with us! If this process can be automated that’s ideal, but otherwise, quickly connecting via email or phone to thank them for their interest, understand their connection to our organization and mission, and share next steps is key.
Smooth and accessible Screening
Here it’s important to remember that people are donating their time. Consider how easy and smooth the process is for a potential volunteer to complete onboarding tasks like application forms, background checks, and any other paperwork or tasks you require. Are instructions clear? Is the timeline from start to finish well laid out? Some organizations have more extensive vetting processes, which may be necessary for the work you do. In these cases, be clear about the timeline and steps volunteers should expect, and offer support along the way.
Placement
This is your opportunity to start to get to know the volunteer in more depth, find out about their interests, skills, and passions, and what motivates them as volunteers. When are they available? Is key step helps you guide the volunteer to opportunities that they will find fulfilling, while meeting your organization’s needs. This is another important place to be clear about role expectations, so that you’re ensuring a good match between the volunteersinterests and availability and what a particular role requires.
Orientation & Training
Orientation is a piece of the overall onboarding process. This is a key opportunity to energize people about your mission and their part in it, provide an opportunity to engage with your organization’s leadership, and set expectations – especially about your culture, values, and how volunteers can be ambassadors for the work you do. Specific training for the role the volunteer will be doing could be included in orientation, or might be a separate event. At this stage you want to be thinking about how you can set your volunteers up to carry out their roles successfully, confidently, and as independently as possible.
Successful First “Shift”
Your volunteer’s first “shift” or active volunteer engagement with your organization is another touchpoint you want to go well! You want to put in the time and preparation to make sure it’s well organized and welcoming. Introduce them to other team members and the space they’ll be working in, make sure it’s clear what the goal for the day is, and be available to answer questions as they come up.
Follow Up
Checking in with a new volunteer after their first volunteering experience is a best practice for a supporting onboarding experience. This is a great opportunity to thank them for their time, ask if they have questions, and share any upcoming opportunities for additional training or confirm their next shift or activity. Inviting the volunteer to complete an onboarding survey can offer them a way to share feedback about their experience, andprovides you with valuable information about how you can hone your process.