Solutions to improve volunteer recruitment and retention

As part of National Volunteer’s Week, we wanted to share some solutions that non-profits have adopted to help them improve their volunteer recruitment and retention rates.

At our Company, we help non-profits embrace cloud technology using Salesforce CRM (Client Relationship Management) system, which offers non-profits free and/or heavily discounted user licenses, to improve their volunteer management practices.

Here are some of the solutions being adopted by our clients:

Reduce admin for the volunteer – Do away with downloadable word documents and introduce online application forms that can be completed and submitted directly from your website with the touch of a button and the information goes straight into your CRM database for internal review.
Improve customer response times – If an online form is automatically captured in your CRM, you can then automatically send out a ‘personalised’ emails to the volunteer to thank them for their application and attach any other relevant information that might be important for them to read.
Refine marketing efforts – With the data collected from the online form include a question for the volunteer to find out how they heard about you. Use this data to attribute leads to marketing campaigns in your CRM and analyse and refine the return on investment of your marketing efforts.
Review and speed up internal processes – Within your CRM you can automatically track the progression of a volunteer application form e.g. calculating the difference between the dates… an application was received, reviewed, responded too etc. You can use this data to analyse your internal response times and whether any processes need to be improved.
Improve two- way communication – Provide online forms or a secure area within your CRM for volunteers to login and update their details, availability or submit issues, questions or concerns themselves so it automatically notifies the right people.
Provide readily available peer support and recognition – We have implemented online communities using Salesforce CRM for volunteers to connect, discuss and support each other via group forums, access online support and training, and be recognised by the charity or their peers for their skills and contribution using reward badges.