Make them useful ASAP. Teach them something, then give them a task to apply what they've learned. The reason people volunteer to teach people, isn't to teach people. They teach people, because it feels good to be useful. Focus less on what it is you're teaching and how you teach it, and more on providing volunteers an opportunity to put themselves to work. Challenge people and put them in situations where they're encouraged and allowed to make mistakes. Think about what it is you enjoy about volunteering, then provide that same opportunity to others.
On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 5:04 AM Geoff Smart via TheThinkTank < thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
Hi All,
In some but not all of our sessions we have an issue with volunteer retention. After surveying our volunteers and people who left after 3-4 sessions the consensus is that our 1 hour induction is not enough and that we need a more structured training and onboarding over multiple sessions for the cohort that for various reasons need more training and more interaction with staff and volunteers.
Has anyone had any luck with increasing retention using a more structured approach. If you have, we would appreciate any content or information you can share with us, and any other tips you may have to increase retention
Regards
*Geoff Smart* Chair Back2Bikes M : 0419 345 440 525 Williamstown Rd Port Melbourne 3207 back2bikes.org.au _______________________________________________ TheThinkTank mailing list -- thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe send an email to thethinktank-leave@lists.bikecollectives.org To view this discussion on the web visit https://lists.bikecollectives.org/hyperkitty/list/thethinktank@lists.bikecol...