Unlocking the Power of Volunteerism with NCSS

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Why Engage Volunteers?

Volunteers play a vital role in the realm of social service, acting as a bridge to the broader community. Through regular and sustainable contributions, Social Service Agencies (SSAs) harness the potential of volunteers to enhance manpower and elevate service delivery.

How to Better Manage Volunteers?

NCSS empowers SSAs to strengthen their capabilities and forge strategic partnerships for sustainable volunteerism. Elevate your volunteer management practices with these 5 key strategies:

	Hire a dedicated Volunteer Manager SSAs are highly encouraged to employ individuals with recommended skill sets and competencies listed under the Skills Future Framework for Social Service. You can refer to "How Does It Work?" section for Volunteer Manager's Skills Map, Training Programme, Skill and Competencies. Enhanced Volunteer Manager Funding Scheme (EVMFS) Launched on 19 August 2020, EVMFS is a 2-year manpower support funding scheme aiming to strengthen volunteer management capacity. Though the 2020 application is closed, discover more about the Enhanced VMFS Scheme 2020 and the 2019 pilot study.
	Create Both Flexible and Permanent Volunteering Schemes Through structured volunteer frameworks, volunteers can align their commitments according to their schedules. This fosters a sense of responsibility within an organised environment. Ensure that the framework includes contingency plans, which is crucial for the continuity of services during a crisis. Download the Volunteer Management Toolkit here. Navigate the post COVID-19 landscape with the Volunteer Continuity Plan here.
	Improve the Volunteer Experience Cultivating a good volunteer experience is key to building a pool of regular volunteers for your agency. Make it easier for your volunteers to commit regularly by providing bite-sized volunteer opportunities of about 1-2 hours per session, with well-defined roles, based on the volunteers' preferences and the needs of your agency. Think of the factors that would motivate you to continue volunteering with an agency. Acknowledge their contributions, be open to their feedback, support, and develop your volunteers. The "Transforming the Volunteer Experience in the Social Service Sector" Research Study, was a collaboration with SMU Lien Centre for Social Innovation and it provides insights and recommendations on how the social service agencies (SSAs) can develop data-backed volunteer management strategies to improve volunteer experience for more effective outcomes in attracting and retaining volunteers. Through the perspectives of volunteers and volunteer managers via surveys and in-depth interviews, this report reveals a framework depicting five key features that contribute towards a quality volunteering experience. The study also makes recommendations on the actionable steps and strategies that SSAs can adopt to engage their volunteers more strategically, so that they can play a more significant role in delivering enhanced quality services to service users.
	Empower Volunteers with Beneficial Roles Every role is a valuable contribution. Enable your volunteers to leverage their skills to meet your organisation's needs – without compromising their interests and providing an opportunity to enhance their own skills. Volunteering can be more meaningful when volunteers understand how they contribute to enhancing the quality of life for service users. Curate well-defined roles that are manageable for volunteers and meaningful to your service users. Learn more about redesigning roles for your volunteers.
	Send Volunteers for Accredited Training programmes Volunteers are an asset to SSAs, just like employees in any organisation. By providing them pathways for growth, volunteers will feel valued and motivated to contribute more to the cause. Invest in developing and training your volunteers. Equip them with the right knowledge and skills, and develop existing volunteers by enhancing or rotating their roles in your agency. Check out the complimentary E-learning courses for volunteers here. Keen to find out more? Email us at volunteer_resource@ncss.gov.sg.