Volunteers are essential to an Australian not-for-profit. They cover everything from greeting guests visiting your NFP for people who are hard of hearing to ensuring the animal stalls are cleared up before an adoption event. While staff keep an NFP moving, volunteers are the “secret sauce” that adds an extra flair any organisation needs.
The trick is to ensure that each and every volunteer feels empowered to share their ideas. You never know when the person managing your social media or performing music every weekend at your senior centre can transform how you operate.
Developing a feedback loop for these volunteers keeps you competitive. It helps you grow, enabling you to better achieve mission milestones. Here is a quick “how-to” for building such a loop.
Step 1: Understand How Feedback and Relationships Work
Think back to your early crushes and relationships. How often would good communication have saved an argument or an uncomfortable situation?
Volunteers are kind of the same thing. They love the work they do, but want recognition for their efforts. Communication, trust, and a sense of being valued by your NFP are all critical so that constructive feedback can be cultivated.
Another way to think about these relationships is how they will impact your staff and leadership recruitment. People are more likely to work at an organisation if it has a culture of positivity and strong interpersonal relationships.
Step 2: Target How to Gather Authentic Feedback
Posting a “suggestion box” near the breakroom microwave is not going to do the trick. If you want real, honest feedback, you’ll need to integrate a few targeted methods like:
- Mixed Feedback Channels through anonymous surveys, direct manager check-ins, and online suggestion tools.
- If you are asking questions, ensure they focus on behaviour-related topics or experiential situations. You want observable actions and experiences over broad sentiment.
- Make every communication line private and empathetic. Anonymity goes a long way in ensuring that everyone feels respected and has the space to report without fear of retribution.
A simple addition to your volunteer workflows is an exit interview. That will inform you of what you can improve upon based on people ready to move on to the next hobby or interest.
Another popular option would be volunteer retreats or celebrations for achievements (length of stay, special recognition, etc.), where people feel free to write down ideas for improvement that are put in a hat and only management sees.
Step 3: Turn Volunteer Feedback into Action
Now that you’ve collected some decent data, it’s time to turn it into action. Remember, your volunteers can experience burnout if suggestions are ignored. You want them to feel appreciated and heard.
Start by observing any recurring themes or patterns. Those are considered “infrastructure” feedback determining how the operation flows. Anything more specific is a “targeted” suggestion you can take or leave.
If you do make a change based on that feedback, let everyone know why and how it will work. Alerting volunteers that they can impact the greater mission of the NFP goes a long way to making them feel valued and part of the team.
You should always include timelines and the leaders in the NFP who will be accountable for the change. That step will encourage more feedback because everyone will see that they have a meaningful impact.
Step 4: Introduce Tech into Your Feedback
All these changes and data collection are valuable, but at some point, you’re likely to get overwhelmed by information overload. That is when you need to integrate purpose-built volunteer engagement tools. Items like:
- Pulse survey scheduling (10 min or less)
- Tailored questions via email, social media, and other communication channels (i.e., Discord)
- Introduce real-time analytics and reporting on the progress of change or feedback gathering
- Project management software to demonstrate deadlines and accountability.
When you integrate technology into your volunteer feedback loop, you can expand it to include staff, clients, and donors. Over time, you’ll be doing far more than collecting data. You’ll be building a culture of continuous listening that fosters greater personal investment and trust.
Step 5: Start at the Beginning
An aspect of volunteer feedback that often gets overlooked starts at Day One. From the moment a volunteer signs up or has an entrance interview, you should listen to their insights. How you present your Australian NFP matters. It sets expectations that you may have to modify to gain more volunteers or donors.
If the candidate identifies a confusing part of the interview or onboarding process, provide a way to close the feedback loop until it is resolved. Those red flags indicate that you have an issue that needs to be ironed out before you bring in more volunteers.
Final Thoughts
Around 5 million Australians put in annual volunteer hours. That is roughly a quarter of the entire population. These are incredibly valuable people you can use to grow your NFP and overcome operational challenges.
Creating a feedback loop ensures you are listening to actionable insights you may have missed and that each volunteer feels respected, heard, and appreciated. Use these steps and you’ll see your NFP thrive.
If you need digital solutions for your volunteer feedback loop but are unsure where to start, reach out to our team at Web 105. We are professional website designers and developers specialising in Australian NFPs, healthcare providers, government agencies, and businesses.
We can help customise your online presence with a modern, easy-to-use, and mobile-responsive website perfect for gathering volunteer insights.
FAQs
How to get feedback from volunteers?
You can use surveys, private meetings, online emails, and more, but ensure they are anonymous and actionable so that everyone feels safe offering honest insights.
How to measure volunteer satisfaction?
Measuring the number of hours each volunteer puts in over a period of time, as well as retention rates, goes a long way to ensuring you are cultivating a strong volunteer community culture.
What is voluntary feedback?
This feedback covers how your NFP operates and offers insight into improvements and challenges by uncovering blind spots you may have overlooked in the past.