Establishing connections for volunteers takes time and effort. But I promise it’s worth it! As your organization grows, it becomes increasingly harder to “know” and properly care for the needs of every volunteer. You have probably already figured this out, but in case you need a reminder (as I often do!), you’re not Superman or Wonderwoman! Yep, I said it!  Even Jesus recruited a leadership team.

One way plan connections is having current volunteers be aware of new volunteers. A great way to help new team members feel welcome is to recruit one of your friendliest volunteers to be your go to person when a new volunteer shows up.  It sounds something like this, “I’ve been watching the way you interact with the team. People love to be around you because you’re so easy to talk to and you’re just a genuine guy!  How would you feel about being my go to person when I have a new volunteer coming to check things out?  I’ll let you know in advance when they are coming and give you a little information about them.  All you need to do is make them feel welcome by getting to know them and introducing them to the team and helping to connect them to others that may share common interests.  This role is so important in helping us keep valuable volunteers because if their first experience isn’t great, there’s a really good chance that they won’t come back.” These volunteers will become like super-greeters to new volunteers, and become a part of their the-first-person-I-met-here stories.

Another component to planning connections is to develop your next tier of leadership. Recruiting high capacity volunteers who can pour into other volunteers expands your influence and multiplies one-on-one connections. These coaches are purposed and trained to support, encourage, and show appreciation to volunteers.  Volunteers need a shepherd who cares enough for them to be intentional about helping them to connect to their wider family in your organization.  Providing people with meaningful relationships and a place to belong brings tremendous value to their whole lives.

Spend time with your coaches by investing in them relationally and teach them to do the same with the volunteer teams that they oversee.  Consider an annual one-day or weekend planning retreat where you brainstorm and plan, cast vision, celebrate the wins, show appreciation and most importantly…have fun together!  Build a culture of community so that your leaders can experience the value of it and then they will duplicate it with their teams.