2. DAY: The position of the volunteer coordination and the organisation

During the second day of the training course we started with the topic “Job Description”.
We addressed the importance of making a good and informative job description when looking for volunteers. That way we minimize the chance of misunderstanding what we are looking for in a volunteer. We followed this with an active role play on how to conduct interviews. 

We got divided into groups and were set up with the task to conduct an interview. The groups simulated different situations, mostly complicated characters, as they then tried to tackle.

Note to self: when interviewing volunteers, remember that they are out of their comfort zone. Questions should be open and DO NOT FORGET to make the person feel appreciated and welcomed.

Then we moved on to how to properly welcome volunteers into the receiving organization. The important lesson here was the induction/orientation of the volunteers. It’s also important to have a procedure regarding the expectations of the volunteer. That way the hosting organisations get a sense of direction and can early modify tasks so it fits the volunteer’s and the organisations needs.

After this, we learned about the principles of the Johari Window, where individuals got to know themselves and their communicative characterizations. The test is used for self-awareness and optimizes the cooperation within a group of people and or organisations. We strongly recommend that you implement this test within your organisations.

We then learned about the importance of policies in regards of volunteer work: e.g. not to interfere with a volunteer’s personal life and personal/free time. Without a set of policies it will be hard remaining professional in different matters with the volunteers. In time the risk is that one will be consumed of all the things that pop up during the period. Note to self : Always stay professional, professional and empathic. 

Author of the article: Beston (Sweden)