Florida 4-H Program Handbook

SECTION 6: Steps and Procedures in Volunteer Development

Where to begin?

With this question, you will get the typical social sciences answer, "It depends." Much depends on where the level of volunteer involvement currently is in your county.

Linking Volunteer Development to Program Vision

Before beginning a process to include volunteers more fully in the 4-H program it is important to determine the overall vision for the 4-H program in your county. The clear determination of where the program is heading is crucial in determining what volunteer roles are necessary and in showing volunteers why their services are needed.

If your county has not yet developed such a vision statement, it is important that you do so. The Blue TAXI Guide provides a good resource for doing this.

Important things to remember are that the vision can not be dictated from the top down. Current volunteers and other representative citizens must have a voice in determining where 4-H in your county is heading. The vision must be a shared expression of what the community wants 4-H to be, building on our current successes and the things we value. It must stretch beyond what is, to what we choose to become.

Once the philosophy and roles of volunteers in the program have been clearly articulated you are ready to move on to developing your volunteer system.

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Assessment of Needs

An assessment of your current situation using the Volunteer Assessment Worksheet (Appendix B) provided in the appendix is a good start. Using this tool can give you some feel for where to go next.

When asked what it will take to really make the program what they want it to be, almost everyone will say they need more volunteers. Your answer would likely be the same. Before you think about recruiting more volunteers, ask what, exactly, you need volunteers to do.

The Volunteer Assessment worksheet will help you identify specific needs for volunteers within your program. Use photocopies and additional sheets of paper to collect responses from members of your advisory group and other members of your leadership team. Compile and analyze the resulting comments to help focus and add enthusiasm (perhaps even urgency) to your volunteer recruitment efforts, or modify this example to meet you own program needs.

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Developing 4-H Volunteer Service Position Descriptions

Use the information gathered from the assessment of current programs and volunteer needs within those programs, along with a review of the county 4-H program’s long range goals to determine what volunteer assistance is needed. An important next step is developing service descriptions for volunteer positions that will meet these needs.

Volunteer service descriptions should be used as all times. They form the basis for developing the appropriate recruitment message and targeting of recruitment efforts. They are critical to setting the criteria for selection and placement of applicants for volunteer positions. These descriptions help define the content of training required, set expectations and standards for recognition of volunteer service.

Service descriptions help make clear the responsibilities and limitations to volunteer positions.

One of the most important uses of the position description is that it forces us to look closely at our expectations for the volunteer. Things to consider are:

• Is the service needed?
• Is the task reasonable?
• Is the task clear enough to be understood?
• Are duties and responsibilities clear?
• What resources and support are available?
• Who will advise/supervise this volunteer position?
• How long will the services be needed?
• What training is needed for success?

Service descriptions may vary considerably in length and format, but should include key components such as:

• Position
• Purpose of the position
• Responsibilities
• Contact person
• Benefits/opportunities from service
• Qualifications
• Time required
• Support provided/Resources
• Expected results

A sample form and sample service descriptions for some of the most common volunteer positions can be found in the Appendices C-M.. After the positions we need to fill have been described, we are on our way to successful volunteer management.

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