A clear, concise communication plan is imperative for your organization. You have a lot of moving parts with a lot of people completing tasks at varying times and locations. This can cause confusion and miscommunication. It can even result in missed deadlines and lack of revenue for your organization.
Communication is the #1 issue in almost every organization. Communication plans set the standard, timing, tone, and location of when/how/where appropriate communication is to occur. Let’s take a deeper look at this.
When to Communicate
Transparency around expectations, deadlines and updates will help volunteers more effectively fill their roles. By knowing when to best communicate, you’re creating a foundation for success. Teach volunteers when to share information, when to raise alarm, when to ask questions.
How to Communicate
How people communicate can greatly affect one’s sense of connection and engagement. Do you have a system for how you want to receive information? In what format? Is a text acceptable? When do you expect a phone call? What verbiage is appropriate when talking about your organization. How a person communicates can be just as critical as when they communicate.
Where to Communicate
This one is my personal favorite. I’m a stickler for not emailing task related information. I go into greater detail in the Volunteer Communication Plan but I assure you, everyone knows not to email me or anyone else on the team files. Files are living documents and should live in ONE LOCATION. If you don’t have a set location, learn how by completing the Volunteer Communication Plan Template.
Teach Volunteers How to Be Successful
If you want people to function a very specific way inside your organization, we recommend developing a Volunteer Communication Plan and training on it immediately.
Need More?
We’re just beginning to scratch the surface on how to effectively train your volunteers. If you’d like to learn more about how to train and retain volunteers, I encourage you to get started building your Volunteer Management System today. Need a little help getting started? Download our Volunteer Communication Plan Templates.
These Canva templates are plug and play. That means we guide you through creating your volunteer success training. Click the graphic above and get immediate access to the training templates you need to create your Volunteer Impact Army.
