Volunteers are the key to success in your ministry. You rely on them to help you fulfill the mission and vision of your church. But overall, people are volunteering less at church (only 42% serve regularly!), so losing a volunteer hurts, especially if it’s someone who serves in multiple areas or has developed a reputation of reliability.
There are many reasons a volunteer may choose to step down from a role, and many of those reasons are preventable with the right actions. While you won’t be able to counter every issue, there are things you can do to help improve your retention rates, keep volunteers happy, and encourage those who serve in your ministry.
Reason #1: They’re Overcommitted
One of the biggest reasons volunteers quit is that they’re overcommitted and overwhelmed. They may have bitten off more than they can chew and said yes too much. It’s all too easy to see people who go above and beyond in everything they do and want to pull them into every serving role you can because you know they’ll do it well.
Or it may be that the seasons in their personal lives have changed, and they can no longer balance everything they had previously been able to juggle. Having a baby, changing jobs, or dealing with the death of a loved one can just as easily cause someone to feel stretched thin as signing up for too many things.
Solution
The solution to volunteers feeling overcommitted varies depending on the cause. Keep a close eye on your volunteers, especially those who serve in multiple ways. Make sure you aren’t putting undue burden on them by asking too much. Take time to communicate with the leaders of other ministry areas to make sure the same people aren’t being stretched too far across multiple ministries.
Being proactive about ensuring your volunteers aren’t overcommitted is the best way to prevent the loss of good people to something preventable. If you see someone overwhelmed, take the time to talk with them and find a way for them to step back or adjust their commitments to something they feel is more manageable.
For those whose life circumstances have changed, be understanding and encouraging when someone needs to back out. In many cases, these volunteers don’t want to quit but feel they don’t have another choice. Work with them to see if there’s another area they could step into or a way to lower their commitments without losing them altogether. In these cases, if someone can’t continue in a serving role, send them out in love and ensure they know they’re welcome back if and when they’re ready to serve again.
Reason #2: They Feel Unappreciated
Few things will send your volunteers out the door faster than feeling like their contributions aren’t noticed or needed. Feeling unappreciated is detrimental to your volunteer rosters and is one of the most common causes of losing key volunteers.
Solution
Take time annually to recognize your volunteers and all the time and effort they’ve put into helping your ministry thrive. Whether you celebrate all of your volunteers’ contributions at one time or break it up into smaller celebrations, make sure you’re doing something special to acknowledge the sacrifices your members have made.
In addition to an annual celebration, sending thank you cards, providing special treats, or giving little gifts to thank your volunteers throughout the year will help those who serve to feel seen and appreciated.
People are 4 times as likely to be engaged when recognized “consistently [in] fulfilling, authentic, equitable, embedded, and personalized” ways. If you aren’t sure of the best ways to show appreciation, just ask! Your volunteers are the ones who know best what things will resonate.
Reason #3: They are Frustrated Due to Unmet Expectations
According to Stewart Leadership, “frustration occurs when expectations are unmet.” In many cases, frustration with a situation has nothing to do with the actual experience or reality of the circumstances but rather with the unmet expectations someone develops beforehand.
It’s normal for you and your volunteers to develop expectations about a serving role before they begin. Expectations can range from how successful an event will be to how difficult or time-consuming their role will be. There may also be expectations surrounding how much fun the volunteers will have or how quickly something is accomplished.
However, things won’t always turn out as they thought they would, and tasks won’t always be completed the way you anticipated. When that happens, you’ll be battling frustration and irritation and potentially returning to the drawing board to fill the role anew.
Solution
There are four easy things you can do to help manage expectations and prevent the issues that arise when they go unmet.
First, think critically about your expectations (because you do have expectations whether you realize it or not). Are they realistic and practical? If not, take the time to adjust them before you approach your volunteers about their expectations.
Second, talk to your volunteers about their expectations. Give them space to be honest about what they expect and work together to manage those expectations in reasonable ways.
Third, communicate clearly and explicitly. Even if something is obvious to you, it may not be to your volunteers. Ensure all expectations, yours and theirs, are stated plainly and any questions are answered.
Last, connect with your volunteers regularly and reevaluate expectations. If expectations are unmet, work quickly to find solutions before frustration can build and cause irreparable damage.
Reason #4: Their Roles and Responsibilities are Unclear
Managing expectations is only half the battle if your volunteers don’t understand their responsibilities within their roles. When your people aren’t sure who’s responsible for what, you risk volunteers stepping on each other’s toes or tasks falling through the cracks. Unclear roles confuse both you and your volunteers, but unlike tackling expectations, identifying responsibilities has a more straightforward remedy.
Solution
Write “job descriptions” for all of your regular volunteer positions. Make these descriptions as detailed as possible and work with your church staff and leadership teams to ensure responsibilities aren’t overlapped or forgotten. Share the descriptions with your volunteers during and after recruitment so they can easily see what they’re signing up for. The added benefit of having job descriptions is helping mitigate unmet expectations by clearly outlining what you envision for your volunteers in their roles.
A full job description may not be necessary for smaller roles or one-time needs. However, you should outline responsibilities as you develop your list of needs prior to recruiting your volunteers.
Clearly defining your volunteers’ roles is vital to preventing confusion and dissatisfaction surrounding the logistics of serving.
Reason #5: They See Disorganization as the Norm
Few things will destroy a volunteer’s motivation faster than being surrounded by disorganization. Irritation and frustration will run rampant through your ministry if volunteers have trouble identifying who they should ask for assistance, finding equipment and materials, or seeing the details of their assignments.
Volunteering in any capacity is a sacrifice. Disorganization discounts the efforts of your volunteers and makes serving unnecessarily difficult.
Solution
Utilize every resource at your disposal to keep your ministry organized. Volunteer management tools like Volunteer Connect can help you keep track of schedules and assignments. Clearly labeled closets and supplies will help your church staff and volunteers find materials quickly. Effectively communicating hierarchies for questions and problems will allow volunteers to serve confidently because they know who to contact if they need help.
Conclusion
Filling your volunteer roles is a challenge that doesn’t need to be made more complicated by high volunteer turnover. It will take time and effort to counteract the biggest reasons volunteers hang up their metaphorical hats, but increased retention will help your ministry thrive in the long run. Helping your volunteers feel encouraged and valued will develop lifelong disciples with servant hearts who are passionate about volunteering in the Church!
For more tips and tricks for growing your volunteers, check out our guide, Increase Volunteer Numbers for Your Growing Church.
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