Photo by Naassom Azevedo on Unsplash
Every volunteer team goes through seasons. There are times when you will have a very full team and there will be times when you have barely have enough hands to get the job done. Regardless of which season your team is currently in, it’s always a good idea to make the effort to keep your team healthy. A healthy team can create magic. A healthy team brings joy to your weekend service hours. And even more importantly, a healthy team recruits their friends to come and serve.
A healthy team can create magic ... a healthy team recruits their friends to come and serve.
The best way I’ve found to cultivate a healthy team is to look at the main reasons why volunteers leave. What makes a volunteer stop serving? Why does someone walk away from a team? If you can address the reasons why people stop serving BEFORE they become an issue you’re going to see a huge increase in volunteer retention. You’ll also see a much happier team.
Over the years I’ve seen four main reasons that volunteers walk away from serving:
- They feel left out.
- They feel like they are just a number.
- They don’t feel like they are making a difference.
- They don’t need any more negativity in their life.
Let’s look at each of these reasons individually.
1. They feel left out.
This is a big one and it’s often overlooked. Amazing volunteers are slipping through the cracks because they just don’t feel connected to a team. Take the time to create a spirit of inclusion on your team. Create connections for people. Little things like, “Oh! You ride a motorcycle..did you know that Rich is really into Harleys?” help bridge the gaps and make people feel welcome.
Make sure everyone serving together has met the rest of that weekend’s team. Help your team get used to including people in conversations. Partner new members with experienced members so they don’t feel lost. Don’t allow cliques.
Take the time to create a spirit of inclusion on your team. Create connections for people.
Another aspect of helping a volunteer feel connected and included involves creating a vibrant volunteer culture. This will look different from team to team. For my team, it looks like rubber chickens. Yes. That’s weird. No I didn’t set out to have rubber chickens be part of my ministry. My team has a number of inside jokes that everyone on the team is in on. Here’s the thing: Everyone is included in the jokes. What’s the joke? Well, one of my volunteers absconded with my rubber chicken. Took it to Paris. Texted me pictures of the chicken EVERY DAY for 28 days. So I, naturally, put those pictures on the wall of the video control room. Now the chicken gets taken all over the world. The wall is half-covered with chicken pictures. Volunteers of all ages vie for the chicken. Not traveling? No problem. Some of the funniest chicken pics were taken at people's homes or even at the church.
Obviously I’m not suggesting you need rubber chickens for your ministry. Ideas for culture occur naturally. They can not be forced. But if you see an opening -- something funny or something that everyone is enjoying -- find a way to include it. People need to feel connected.
2. They feel like they are just a number.
Volunteers are people -- people with everyday lives and everyday concerns just like you and me. Take the time to get to know them and their stories.
In order to have the time to make sure your volunteers know they're not just a number to you, I suggest you get every bit of your work done that you possibly can BEFORE your volunteers show up. If you’re disorganized or running around at the last second trying to get work done all the time, you’ll never have time to connect with your volunteers in a meaningful way.
Respect their time. Treat them the way you would want to be treated.
Respect their time. This means never ever making them feel guilty for not being able to serve on a specific week. Give them as much advance notice as possible with serve requests. Treat them the way you would want to be treated.
3. They don’t feel like they are making a difference.
It is so easy for volunteers to feel like they’re not making a difference at the church. It is difficult at times for them to see how something like coiling a cable can actually be serving God. Help your volunteers see how their serving fits into the big picture. Include them in the little wins.
Help your volunteers see how their serving fits into the big picture. Include them in the little wins.
Whenever possible, give them the choice to do a task if it’s a menial one. Most of the time people will help if you ask no matter how small the chore. It’s when you assume they will do the little annoying tasks that people start to get resentful.
Along that same line, if you give them a menial task acknowledge that it’s a menial task and be appreciative.
Set them up for success. Make sure they know how to do the job you’re asking them to do.
4. They don’t need any more negativity in their life.
Think about the feedback most people get in their day-to-day lives. How often does anyone tell you if you’re doing something right? Most of the feedback you get is if you’re doing something wrong or if you’re just not good enough. Volunteers don’t need one more voice speaking negativity into their lives. Refuse to be one more voice telling someone they are doing something wrong.
When someone comes in to serve, they are here to serve GOD. They are here to be God’s hands and feet. Don’t miss that fact.
The reality is that yes … they will still do things wrong. You can still be positive. They still need to know that they are valued.
Treat your volunteers like the valued team members that they are.
In my production world, this looks like yellow Starburst (which ties back into a culture of inclusion). We had candy jars and the candy always left at the bottom of the jars were yellow Starburst. Somewhere along the way, those lonely yellow Starbursts at the bottom of the jars started to represent mistakes. Disappointment Chews, as it were. Now if you miss a slide, push a wrong button or move your camera at the wrong time you’re going to get a yellow Starburst. That applies to me too. I had a volunteer hand me one just last Sunday. I had earned it.
Right about now you’re probably thinking either I’m really weird or you’re remembering chickens and Starbursts. But what I really want you to remember is how to avoid the pitfalls of volunteers leaving. Think about your ministry. And then think about how YOU would feel if you were serving in your ministry. Would you feel left out? Would you feel like you were just a number? Would you feel like you were making a difference? Treat your volunteers like the valued team members that they are. Refuse to be one more voice of negativity in their lives.
Remember, we are called to be servants. We are here to serve our volunteers. Never ever treat them as an afterthought.
