The modern world is associated with the digital revolution, which transformed how people interact and the media through which this communication happens. This shift towards different media has changed how non-profit organization interacts with volunteers for their projects. Therefore, a non-profit manager must be able to adequately represent the organization to the outside world and communicate its key ideas, values, and principles through modern forms of media (Denhardt et al., 2018). Although the virtual volunteering and volunteer databases may have made the process of finding engaged citizens simpler, keeping them engaged for long-term cooperation remains a challenge.
The retention strategies for paid employees and volunteers are different. Some of the main differences include a limited scope of external motivational factors such as the absence of financial compensation or career development. Therefore, the main focus of a non-profit manager is to create conditions that foster internal motivation in volunteers. However, what is the ways to accomplish a long-term volunteer engagement? This is important as it affects an organization’s productivity and effectiveness. For example, if a manager can attract a new non-profit workforce but fails to retain them and they leave within a month, this leads to high turnover rates. Such a situation is associated with lower productivity and wasted time and resources on volunteer education. Therefore, an emphasis on volunteer engagement is important and can be achieved through internal motivation. For example, working closely with their professional colleagues will improve volunteer performance and increase their expertise, provide them with job experience, and keep them engaged in the process. In conclusion, some different strategies and methods could be applied to achieve a long-term engagement of the volunteer workforce.
Reference
Denhardt, R. B., Denhardt, J. V., Aristigueta, M. P., & Rawlings, K. C. (2018). Managing human behavior in public and nonprofit organizations. CQ Press.