Alan came to our office each week to volunteer. I usually brought the work to him at his desk and provided instructions when he arrived. But I was busy and had already left work on his desk for him to start doing when he arrived.
I did not know a coworker left some donor forms on Alan’s desk. She had spent an entire day carefully sorting the names and information of donor forms into a special order so that the forms could be processed into the computer. When Alan arrived and saw a stack of 200 pieces of paper on his desk (donor forms), he did what he was always instructed to do with paper placed on his desk: separate the pieces of paper that had printing on one side from the pieces of paper that had printing on both sides.
An hour later I walked over to Alan’s desk to check on him and I noticed that he was sorting out donor forms. Alan had undone a day of work that one of our staff had done. Ouch! All of this headache could have been avoided if I had taken time to walk over to Alan’s desk and provide him clear instructions when he arrived.
In this article I share with you seven simple steps you can follow to provide clear instructions when leading volunteers at your church.
#1. Prepare for the Volunteer
To communicate clearly with volunteers there is specific information you need to know before the volunteer arrives at your church to help.
Know what needs to be done.
What should be done first? How many things need to get done? If the volunteer finishes early, what do you want her to do next?
Know how it needs to be done.
Is there a specific process that the volunteer needs to follow? What does she do first? What does she do last? Does it matter how the task is done? Where do you want the work placed when completed? Are there any necessary safety procedures she needs to follow?
Know when it needs to be done
Provide a deadline.People like a challenge and want to accomplish something (especially when volunteering their time). Tell the volunteer when you expect the work completed.
Know who can and cannot do the work
Knowing who can and cannot do the work that you have for volunteers is difficult.
For example, Alan (not his real name) would come to our office twice a week to help with work. He had an intellectual disability that limited the work he could do. Alan was capable of doing most of the work I needed him to do, but there were some times when he was not able to do the work. I found that I could do a “test run” with Alan. If there was a new project I was going to give to him that I wasn’t sure if he could complete, I would provide him a small sample of the work to see how it turned out.
#2. Describe What Must Be Done
Share with the volunteers what needs to be done, how it needs to be performed, and when it needs to be finished. You are conveying all of the information from step one. Tell the volunteer this information several times. You might tell her at the beginning when she arrives, as you do the work to show her, and while she does the work while you watch.
#3. Explain What Why It Must Be Done
Tell the volunteers this:
Reasons this is important.
Why does this project matter? What difference will it make? What does it provide to people in need? How did it help to serve people the last time volunteers did this work?
What will happen once it is done.
When the volunteers complete the project what happens next? Where does the finished project go? How does that finished project help your church?
What will happen if it is not completed.
This is perhaps the strongest motivator for volunteers. Share with them what will happen if the work doesn’t get done. Who will not be served? What services will not occur as a result of this volunteer work not getting done?
Connect this work to the big picture and vision of your church.
How does this small task play a role in the big picture of the entire organization? Show volunteers why this apparently menial task is vitally important to your ministry.
#4. Do a Sample.
It is not enough to simply tell volunteers how to do the work; you must show them how to do it. Here’s a simple process I have followed when instructing volunteers about how to do a task. First, go through each step slowly. Second, explain what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. Third, if the volunteer doesn’t understand, I slow down even more.
Research shows that we five senses of learning: taste (1 percent of learning is received this way), touch (1.5 percent), smell (3.5 percent), hearing (11 percent), sight (83 percent).[1] Because we learn primarily by sight you must show volunteers what to do.
It is better to spend extra time up front ensuring the volunteer knows how to do the work than to spend time coming back to redo the work.
#5. Watch a Sample
You are not simply watching. You are instructing, coaching, and encouraging.
Watch more than just one. Almost anyone can get something right the first time. Watch the volunteer do the task a couple of times to ensure that the volunteer is doing the work correctly and that she doesn’t have any questions.
Let the other volunteers who will be doing the same work watch as well. One of the best ways to instruct in a group setting is to use someone as an example, a peer that the volunteers can follow and emulate.
Let the volunteer know that you are watching to make sure you explained everything and that you did not forget something. This is important. Most people will feel nervous to know that you are watching them. Let the volunteers know that you want to make sure that you did everything correctly.
#6. Provide Feedback
Praise the volunteer for good work done.
Find something! Anything!You might have to look hard, but find something positive to say to the volunteer. Even if the volunteer is doing the work wrong but she has a smile on her face, you can compliment her on her good attitude.
Provide praise quickly. The legendary coach of the UCLA basketball team, John Wooden said, “One of the greatest motivating tools we have is a pat on the back. It doesn’t have to be a physical pat – it could be a smile, a nod. Everyone likes to be complimented in one way or another.”[2] Share praise and encouragement as soon as the task is done.
Accept responsibility if something was done wrong.
You are responsible for the success of your volunteers. If something went wrong it was your fault. You need to convey this when communicating with volunteers. Don’t say “You misunderstood me.” Say “I am sorry. I did not explain correctly.”
#7. Answer Questions
Some volunteers require extra communication. Yes, they will regularly interrupt your busy work day to ask simple questions or talk through a problem for which they already have a solution.
But remember that they are here to help you. Give them a little extra time for guidance and they will give that time back to you by taking care of tasks you don’t have to do.
[1] Donald Regeir, “Audiovisual Support for Your Teaching” in The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Teaching, edited by Kenneth Gangel and Howard Hendricks (Victor Books, 1988), 196.
[2] John Wooden, “The Quintessential Coach,” Toastmaster, Oct 2010, p. 23