Trained Volunteer Leaders Enable Impact, Mitigate Risk
Let’s face it: corporate volunteering can be a double-edged sword. Done right, it’s a powerful force for good – for communities, for employees, and for companies. Done poorly? It risks reinforcing harmful dynamics and wasting everyone’s time. The difference often comes down to one critical factor: how well programs equip volunteer leaders.
Corporate Social Impact practitioners often struggle with either a) volunteer leaders who don’t always know what to do or how to do it, or b) employee volunteer programs that rely on the practitioner to train all volunteer leaders. Neither is sustainable, and both expose Social Impact programs to risk.
Why Trained Leaders Matter (More Than You Think)
Picture this: Sarah, a well-meaning employee, leads her first volunteer day at a local shelter. She’s enthusiastic but unprepared. The result? Miscommunication with the nonprofit, frustrated volunteers, and a “savior” mindset that does more harm than good. The volunteer hours and participation look okay on paper, but most of the volunteers won’t return, let alone recommend the program. If the nonprofit invites the company back, it won’t be based on trust, and the organization will need to expend their own resources to fill the gaps.
Now imagine a different scenario: Sarah completes comprehensive training on community partnership, facilitation skills, and Transformative Volunteering. This time, she builds genuine rapport with the shelter staff, guides her team through meaningful reflection, and leaves everyone – volunteers and community members alike – feeling energized and connected. This momentum has ripple effects, and employee volunteering starts to fulfill its potential to the community, employees, and company culture and reputation.
The difference between sending employees into spaces where they achieve little or cause harm, and sending them equipped to get the most out of employee volunteering lies in preparation.
We must prepare volunteer leaders to lead, not just execute tasks. When training stops at volunteering event logistics and falls short on human experience, volunteer leader roles are reduced to “feel-good” project managers rather than drivers of success.
Building a Multi-Tier Powerhouse
So, how do we create this dream team of volunteer leaders? It starts with recognizing that different roles need different skills. Here’s a basic framework:
Volunteer Activity Leaders find, plan, and run employee volunteering events. They need practical know-how:
- Project scoping and management
- Team coordination
- Facilitation skills
- Guiding pre- and post-event reflection
Volunteer Strategy Leaders oversee and guide Volunteer Activity Leaders and influence strategy at a regional, global, or line-of-business level. They require a more high-level toolbox:
- Aligning volunteer initiatives with company goals and community needs
- Developing long-term nonprofit partnerships
- Measuring and communicating impact
- Recruiting, coaching, and supporting Activity Leaders
By tailoring training to specific roles, you create a clear growth path within your volunteer program. Volunteer Leaders develop competencies, expertise, and skills within their role and advance to the next volunteer leader role. This progressive development approach can integrate well with existing employee development practices in the organization, boost engagement, and – of course – drive meaningful impact rather than check participation boxes.
Even better? You have a self-scaling network of volunteer leaders who train new volunteer leaders. No longer is a single Social Impact practitioner or a small team responsible for every onboarding and training! This frees up practitioner capacity to focus on strategy, and it enables the volunteer leadership network to grow without a training bottleneck.
Not yet a Social REV member? You can still grab Eight Key Practices of Volunteer Activity Leaders below!
Eight Key Practices of Volunteer Activity Leaders Framework
Use Realized Worth’s Eight Key Practices of Volunteer Activity Leaders as a framework from which to develop volunteer leader training, resources, and support. The eight key practices conducted by employee volunteer leaders contribute to a truly Transformative Volunteering experience.
From Nice-to-Have to Non-Negotiable
We know that developing a strong, multi-tier volunteer leader training program takes time and resources. Investing in this development makes the most sense for programs that are formalized and experiencing growing pains, and they’re ready to level up. Here’s why it’s worth the investment:
- Scale with integrity: As your program grows, trained leaders ensure quality and impact don’t get diluted. In fact, they become force multipliers of Social Impact expertise, training new volunteer leaders.
- Risk mitigation: Prepared leaders are far less likely to damage community relationships or reinforce harmful stereotypes. They get ahead of disengagement and disconnection.
- Employee development: Leadership skills honed through volunteering translate directly to the workplace. Your colleagues in human resources, learning and development, and technology can partner with you to develop and deliver relevant, engaging training for volunteer leaders – the kind that people managers and senior leaders value as talent development.
- Deeper community impact: When volunteers have transformative experiences, they’re more likely to become ongoing advocates for change. They become more comfortable with challenging unconscious bias in their own experiences, and with leading with vulnerability. They become better equipped to nurture relationships at work and in communities.
- Strategic alignment: Skilled leaders can better connect volunteer efforts to broader business and social impact goals. This is critical to growing Social Impact’s business imperative, which in turn secures investment and bolsters positive cultural shift.
Ready to Level Up Your Impact?
By investing in your volunteer leaders, you’re investing corporate power into a fundamental shift in how business engages with society. This shift places corporate responsibility in relationship to communities, powered by people.
People-centric, relationship-focused training is key. Here’s how to get started:
- Audit your current approach. Where are the gaps in your leader training?
- Develop role-specific curricula that balance practical skills with transformative facilitation techniques.
- Create a culture of ongoing learning for your volunteer leaders.
- Rethink your metrics. Look beyond hours to indicators of mindset shifts and community partner satisfaction.
- Make the case to leadership that investing in volunteer leaders is key to achieving broader social impact goals.
It’s time to bet big on your volunteer leaders. The transformation starts here.
Social REV members, get the full how-to guide, with 20+ tools, templates, and resources to Develop a Mutli-Tier Volunteer Leader Training Program!
