What Modern Volunteers Expect

When we say “modern volunteer” we don’t mean young volunteers.  We just mean volunteers of today.  None of us are the same people we were a year ago.  We have new expectations, new priorities, and new goals.  So, if your policies and approach to volunteerism were designed a year ago or longer, it might be time to reconsider things.  It’s a new world out there.

The modern volunteer expects:

• Transparency
  No one wants surprises and they don’t want to unearth the answers to their most likely questions.  If your volunteer opportunities, expectations, requirements, procedures, location, scheduling, etc. are shrouded in mystery, you’ll alienate people.  They want access to all of their questions before they’re asked and available from the palm of their hand.
  

• Control
  Whenever possible, the volunteer wants to have control over where they volunteer, the type of work they perform and according to their availability.  This also means they want flexibility in how they approach their volunteer work.
  

• Portability
  More than 55% of all email and web browsing, 61% of Google searches, and 68% of all social media is read from a mobile device.
  

• Efficiency
  In other words, it’s got to be easy.  Today’s volunteer is used to “iPhone easy” tech.  And they have little patience for having to jump through hoops to learn about your volunteer opportunities or sign up for them once interested.  They want to make a near immediate impact.