Training Workshops / Forums

Opportunities for upskilling in good practice volunteer management practices provided by Volunteering Auckland.

Volunteering Auckland provides a series of workshops and forums specialising in management of volunteers. Below is a selection of topics available. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for further details.

For a more in-depth look at different aspects of Volunteer Management the following are workshops delivered and facilitated over the last few years:

Cultural Awareness among Volunteers working within your organisation;
Dealing with HR “Difficulties”: When Change is Necessary - Effective Change Management
Governance & Management: Roles and Responsibilities
Motivation and Recognition: Important steps for Retention of your Volunteers;
Needs Analysis and Job Design for Volunteer Programmes;
OSH and Volunteers: Obligations and Expectations;
Risk Management: Processes and Practices for Volunteer Programmes
Policy Development for Volunteer Involving Programmes: Laying the groundwork for effective Volunteer Involvement;
Recruitment Planning;
Screening and Selection: Ensuring the Right Fit for your Voluntary Roles;
Staff Commitment to Volunteers: Working with a team of paid and voluntary staff
Succession Planning;
Volunteer Management: The Basics of what you need to be aware of – very good for reviewing your programme or if you are looking at setting up a Volunteer Involving Programme
Volunteers: Who are they? What do they want?

Outlines of some of the above topics:

1.   Governance & Management: Roles & Responsibilities
One of the more difficult challenges within organisations is determining what hat to wear and when. In particular, many of us who are members of Boards or Committees also play an operational part in the running of our organisations. How do we best contribute in these roles? This workshop looks at the different roles and responsibilities of managers and trustees/committee members.

2.   Motivation & Recognition: Important Steps for Retention of your Volunteers
Success in volunteer programmes occurs with the simultaneous meeting of the needs of staff/organisation and volunteers. Too often in the past we have thought of volunteering as a one-way activity. Volunteers simply gave, expecting nothing in return for their contribution of time. What we now know is that there always have been exchanges going on, we just didn’t pay attention to their significance, or we responded generically with “volunteers always gain more than they give.: The real truth is that both agencies and volunteers must be gaining simultaneously to make it work.

The aim of this workshop is to understand why people volunteer and to respect and respond to differences in motivational needs. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
•   Understand that success in volunteer programmes involves matching an organisation's needs with a volunteer's ability and motivation.
•   Explore the variety of reasons that people volunteer today.
•   Determine one's personal motivation style and its impact on job placement, supervision and recognition preferences.
•   Examine McClelland’s motivation theory in light of the organisation's ability to attract and retain volunteers

3.   Recruitment Planning
It is difficult to isolate the topic of recruitment because its ultimate success is intertwined with the development of good jobs (the product you are selling in recruitment) and with having an organisation prepared to utilise volunteers' time and talents effectively when they arrive. It is important, however, to examine how potential volunteers are invited to consider becoming a part of your organisation, particularly if this function is not centralised. Even if most volunteers go through a central recruitment process, all staff and volunteers within an organization are a significant part of its informal volunteer recruitment team. Thus, the principles of recruitment should be useful for staff whether they carry out this function themselves or are ambassadors for the programme.

The purpose of this workshop is to gain an understanding of what recruitment is and the impact of doing it well. Participants will list some objections and barriers that people might have to volunteering at their organisation and some strategies to overcome them. They will begin designing an effective recruitment plan as well as describe the characteristics of effective recruiters.

4.   Staff Commitment to Volunteers
The purpose of this workshop is to outline for staff techniques for motivating and supervising volunteers to keep their enthusiasm high and their turnover low. Since volunteers receive their reward in personal satisfaction, they are particularly sensitive to staff attitudes toward them. Individual volunteers differ widely in their needs, capabilities and aspirations. The challenge and occasional frustration that face staff in using volunteers is well worth the effort considering the potential value of this resource.

5.   Succession Planning
If you were ‘hit by a bus’, were unexpectedly taken ill’ or suddenly terminated from your position … what would the effect be on your organisation, your current volunteers? What would happen to your programme? This workshop will look at what Support, Processes and Systems we need to have in place to ensure the continuation of our service.

6.   Dealing with HR “Difficulties”: When Change is Necessary - Effective Change Management
Every job has its problems! Voluntary organisations are no exception to this rule. They present a number of problems peculiarly their own. It’s because we care that we can sometimes take responsibility for the failure of others. Let’s be honest. Some volunteers are just darned difficult. Solomon, Confucius, and Mother Theresa working as a team couldn’t handle them any better than we do! Whether you manage a team of six volunteers on alternate Tuesdays, or supervise an army of people full time for a handsome salary, you’ll find some volunteer behaviours difficult to deal with.

The purpose of this workshop is to give you a tool kit from which to draw strategies that work for you. If a piece of advice doesn’t feel right or makes you feel phony or just seems dumb to you, don’t use it. Adapt it, adopt it or discard it. There are some general principles that you can apply to handle any situation when you feel your blood pressure rising, your sweet temperament evaporating and your patience strained.

Any combination of topics can be tailor-made to suit the requirements of the community organisations.