1. INCREASING VOLUNTEER RETENTION THROUGH JOB SATISFACTIONS

 

Various researches have been conducted that proved that one of the most influential factors in volunteers’ decision to continue donating their time to an organization is based on the job satisfaction of the volunteers. Numerous tactics can be administered by Back on My Feet in order to improve job satisfaction such as inclusiveness, organization support and adherence to psychological contracts, and internal motivation. 

 

JOB SATISFACTION IS A KEY ELEMENT IN VOLUNTEER RETENTION IN NON-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Non-profit organizations do not use what society would consider traditional advertising. They must use communication techniques to maximize the viewers of the organizations. Organizations must be more innovative because they do not have continuous funds to have a lot of advertising. Research suggests recruiting a celebrity spokesperson because it draws new supporters. Depending on the spokesperson involved, they could bring more volunteers and supporters for the organization.Not only new supporters but people who usually would not take time to attend an event. 

 

Events should contain inexpensive promotional items that would cause the new volunteers and supporters to remember the organization and more satisfied with their help in the event. This job satisfaction should increase the retention rate of the volunteers according to research. Researchers, Jenson and Mckeage stated, “that volunteers who were managed with an integrated approach of collaborate and control were more satisfied with the experience across several dimensions, satisfaction increased when organizations provided clear structures, policies and procedures,”(White, 2016, pg.70). Knowing job satisfaction is a key element in the retention rate of volunteers makes this research relevant to Back On My Feet organization because they can potentially implement different job satisfaction techniques to increase the retention rates of volunteers. 

 

JOB SATISFACTION IS OBTAINED BY AN INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT

One method is to provide an inclusive volunteering environment for the volunteers. A research was done by Denise Bortreere from Pennsylvania State University and Richard Waters from the University of San Francisco that revealed the existence of a positive relationship between volunteers feeling inclusive in the organization and the retention of volunteers. Their Journal of Public Relations Research (2006) stated that “lower inclusion also indicated lower relationship quality and future intention to volunteer” (p. 228). This can be achieved through multiple means such as including volunteers in meetings, newsletters, social media, inviting them to social events, etc.  

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JOB SATISFACTION IS ACHIEVED THROUGH ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT AND UPHOLDING OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT

The Journal of Community Psychology (2016) by Arlene Walker and Beth Costa from Deakin University and Rebecca Accadia from Barrett Consulting Group, stated that “volunteers’ intention to remain with their volunteer organization is associated with their perceptions of organizational support and psychological contract breach” (p. 1066). In other words, the retention of volunteers requires organizational support and the elimination of psychological contract breach. Volunteers who receive direct support from the management or employer of the organization decrease the intention to leave the organization. 

 

The psychological contract refers to the implicit or explicit expectations employees or volunteers form about the organization about how a certain behavior should be reciprocated with a certain payoff by the employer or organization. People who volunteer and complete it expects something in return from the organization. Organizations that do not breach the psychological contract of the volunteers show their support and appreciation for the volunteers. A simple word of appraisal or even a small prize or reward has an immense impact on the volunteer’s psychological contract.  

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2. INCREASING VOLUNTEER RETENTION THROUGH THE USE OF VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT

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The use of volunteer management has been found to be very useful in helping organizations increase their retention amongst volunteers. A handful of studies provided findings regarding the correlation of retention of volunteers and volunteer management which can be useful for Back on My Feet. 

 

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT FOCUSES ON STRUCTURE AND BENEFITS FOR THE VOLUNTEERS

Volunteer management is shown to give volunteers a strong and structured environment which leads to the volunteers wanting to return based on the sense of community that they feel. The more structure that is given not only helps give a community feel, but it also helps with volunteers having more self-worth. 

 

A high connection to volunteer retention is leadership because when a volunteer is given a large role they gain an understanding that their work matters, which ultimately leads to them returning to the same organization. Volunteer management is important because of the benefits that it gives volunteers and the fact that retention is increased in return. 

 

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT INCREASES JOB SATISFACTION

The Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership by Peter York included a study that said, “nonprofits need to invest in specific management practices for the retention of volunteers” (2017). This suggests that the use of volunteer management will increase volunteer retention in an organization. Knowing that there is a correlation with volunteer management and retention is good, but in addition to further analysis it shows that volunteer management also increases job satisfaction which ultimately helps retention. 

 

The Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership also had a section by Kristine B. Jensen and Kim K. McKeage that covered a survey that showed “that volunteer satisfaction increased when volunteers’ motivations for helping matched their tasks, with increased satisfaction resulting in an increased time commitment” (2015). With that being said, Volunteer management gives people the job satisfaction that they need in order to feel like their work matters and overall will persuade them to return again. 

 

WAYS TO IMPLEMENT VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT WITHIN AN ORGANIZATION

 

Structured Training and The Use of  Motivational Factors.

Volunteer management is definitely beneficial to help and organization with retention rates among volunteers, and there are many ways to adapt volunteer management. One example of using volunteer management is by creating structured training. Structure training would overall be time set for volunteers to gain a better understanding of the service they are providing; structure training also creates a more welcoming and comfortable environment for volunteers. 

 

If training is implemented then including the use of motivational factors is very beneficial for volunteers. The types of motivational factors that are useful for volunteer management include “values, understanding, esteem enhancement, personal development, and community concern” (White, 2016, pg.46). Motivational factors overall allow volunteers to gain a closer connection to the organization and will increase the likelihood of them returning. 

 

Have Thought-out and Clear Descriptions of Provided Volunteer Positions.

Volunteer management besides training can also be done by creating very well thought-out and clear descriptions of the types of volunteer services provided. When creating the description you could add a section to your website dedicated to explaining the types of volunteer positions that are offered at your organization. 

 

Implement Leadership Roles for Volunteers to Manage.

Leadership roles are another thing that is tied to volunteer management because when a volunteer is trained it is good to give them or let them know that they are in a leadership role. Leadership roles help volunteers gain self-worth within and organization and it creates job satisfaction which is why, when volunteer management is used, it is important to let the individual know how much they mean to an organization. 

 

Set-up a Volunteer System to Contact and Appeal to Volunteers.

Volunteer management can also be done through a volunteer system that sends out emails, helps keep track of volunteer registration and can update the volunteer when things change. A volunteer management system can help create an organized and professional environment that is not only appealing for volunteers but helps them in the process. 

 

Figure 2.1 Volunteer Retention is Highly Influenced by Flexible Scheduling  

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The team sought to find out what increases volunteer retention from a volunteer’s perspective. In order to find this information, we used our survey and asked college students, what makes you want to return to an organization and volunteer again; The question was multiple choice but allowed you to select more than one option, and the options are given where volunteer management, swag (free stuff), leadership position, and flexible scheduling.

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We found that 37% of the respondents highly favored flexible scheduling and the next highest result was 22% which is connected to swag (free stuff). Although flexible scheduling and swag received the most selection among respondents the other answers were still relatively close with leadership position having 20% and volunteer management having 21%. This information means that college students really favor when organizations include flexible hours for volunteering are more likely to return to an organization that has flexible hours available.

 

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3. INCREASING VOLUNTEERS THROUGH INCENTIVES 

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We sought to find if incentives, such as prizes and events, would prevent turnover rates with volunteers and keep them interested in working for the cause. We found that while people are motivated intrinsically from the goodwill of volunteerism, having incentives set in place can inspire them to stick to volunteering. These incentives can be materialistic or be based on the academic majors of the volunteers and their age.

 

INCENTIVES ACHIEVED THROUGH MATERIAL PRIZES

While intrinsic values play an important role in motivating volunteerism, extrinsic motivation also immensely influences the long term satisfaction and participation of the volunteers. However, the incentives should be reasonable.

 

Gear and prizes that could be used are items such as water bottles, stickers, and t-shirts that feature the company or organization’s name and/or logo. These items not only tend to excite those who receive them because they can be used in their daily lives, but this also gives exposure to the organization featured on the merchandise as they are being used by the recipient (Harris, 2018). This strategy could benefit Back On My Feet by enticing volunteers and reducing volunteer turnover rate.

 

INCENTIVES BASED ON ACADEMIC MAJORS AND AGE GROUP 

From our local study survey, the 122 student respondents also provided their affiliated majors and age range. Figures 3A and 3B below summarizes the results from the survey:

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FIGURE 3A: Students Interested in Volunteering are Mostly of Science Background 

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FIGURE 3B: Students Interested in Volunteer are Mostly in the Age Range of 18-24 Years Old

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Out of 122 students who completed our survey, 110 answered that they were interested in volunteering. For those interested, their majors or fields of study and age were tallied and noted individually. These answers were recorded and collected to make a graph that visualizes the data shown in Figure 3A and Figure 3B above.

 

The result of Figure 3A shows an overwhelming portion of the students are science majors, which included medical and dental students. Figure 3B reveals that nearly all of the respondents were in the age range of 18-24 years old. 

 

The result of these data can help Back on My Feet establish the background of their potential volunteers. Targeting activities or offering incentives that entice these age groups and field of studies can increase the turnout rate. Since a majority of the students are in the science field and at a young adult age group, events and workshops offered at Back on My Feet should be altered to attract and benefit these groups in order to maximize the volunteer numbers and eventually, the retention rate. For example, those workshops could include activities science majors could practice their professional skills on, such as a health workshop that showcases the importance of a healthy diet and exercise, etc. 

 

This will not only increase volunteers but also their sense of worth in their community and role in the organization, which in turn, motivates them to continue their services at Back on My Feet.

 

4. USING SOCIAL MEDIA: CONSUMER DONATIONS 

 

Back on My Feet can use social media for increasing consumer donations with these strategies: creating a trustworthy and satisfactory social media platform, giving donors social recognition for their donations, and showing the donors that their donations are making a difference through social media.

 

CREATING A  TRUSTWORTHY AND SATISFACTORY SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM

Our team sought to find ways to use social media for consumer donations. Yi Feng and Lanying Du Huazhong from the University of Science and Technology and Qian Ling Hubei from the University of Economics stated in their article titled: How Social Media Strategies of Nonprofit Organizations Affect Consumer Donations Intentions and Word-Of-Mouth, “We found that consumers’ perception of social media strategies had a significant influence on satisfaction and trust, which are important drivers of donation intention and eWOM” (p 1784). Another way of saying 'electronic word of mouth' is eWOM which is utilized in this article. Our team found that trust and satisfaction in a nonprofit’s social media data gave way to more intentions to volunteer. Back on My Feet should create a system of trust with their social media followers by providing reliable information on their social media platforms. 

 

Building Trust Through Reliable Communication.

Also in the article by Yi Feng, Lanying Du Huazhong and Qian Ling Hubei they found, “NPOs can take advantage of social media as a channel for consumers to obtain educational and useful information about the organization, and as a venue for them to engage in sincere and friendly communication with the NPO and other consumers” (p 1784). NPOs stands for Non-Profit Organization. This helps to build trust with the non-profit. This trust in the non-profit then leads to donations and volunteers. Back on My Feet should use the way the organization puts out their information to show that Back on My Feet is a trustworthy and satisfactory Non-profit. This will give way to more donations according to the data found by Feng, Huazhong, and Hubei. 

 

GIVING DONOR RECOGNITION FOR THEIR DONATIONS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA 

Sojung Kim from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nam-Hyun Um from Hongik University agree on the importance of using social media for donations in their journal Recognition in Social Media for Supporting A Cause: Involvement and Self-efficiency as Moderators In this journal Sojung Kim and Nam-Hyun Um stated from their findings, “The social recognition strategy should facilitate charitable behavior in social media, because, according to the Engagement Pyramid (Li, 2010), a major reason for social media use is receiving public recognition” (p 1873). This helps more for people with less involvement for the cause as stated by Kim and Um (p. 1873). Facilitating the social media platform for donations and using that platform to give recognition will help excel the donation count. Back on My Feet should create ways for donors and volunteers to be recognized through social media as an incentive to donate. 

 

SHOWING THE DONORS THAT THEIR DONATIONS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

Sojung Kim and Nam-Hyun Um go on to say, “When staff in nonprofit organizations are seeking to recruit donors or volunteers, they would do well to employ strategies aimed at increasing personal involvement in their cause” (p. 1873). This means to show how the donors and volunteers are actually helping to make a change through their contributions. This will build more for the donors who actually want to see a change happen. By doing so, Back on My Feet will receive a more efficient donor count according to Kim and Um.