Volunteers are an essential part of every church or ministry. They can also be one of the most challenging. Leading volunteers doesn't have to be a difficult part of ministry. There is a way for you to leverage technology in a way that makes the challenge of leading volunteers easier.
Here are a few ways your church can use technology to overcome the challenge of leading volunteers in a way that boosts engagement, improves retention, and multiplies the number of people willing to serve:
1. Technology enables you to identify potential volunteers and monitor volunteer engagement.
You can quickly identify those who are not serving, those who are serving in multiple positions, and those who are involved in the training process.
Because volunteers are so valuable to the ministry of any church, technology can also help you keep track of those who have been absent for consecutive weeks. This keeps you aware of ministry opportunities among those who are serving.
2. Technology helps “fit” volunteers.
Volunteers will be happier and more effective when they’re serving in areas that align with their passions and skills. Technology can help you “fit” volunteers for ministry by helping you as a leader record what you know about them. From there, you’re able to use that information to invite people to serve or help them find an opportunity that best fits their interests and abilities.
3. Technology ensures your volunteers are trained and equipped to fulfill their roles.
One of your primary roles is to equip the saints to be the ministry of your church. When your volunteers are properly trained and equipped to fulfill their roles, they perform better and they’re less likely to get burnt out or quit. Technology helps ensure that your volunteers are properly trained by giving you the ability to offer online, convenient training. It also helps your church make sure that volunteers have everything they need to be successful by creating a way for you to allocate resources and gather feedback.
4. Technology improves scheduling and communication between volunteers.
Scheduling can be one of the most frustrating aspects of leading volunteers. Technology can help you eliminate the stress of volunteer scheduling and allow volunteers to easily connect and communicate with each other.
The key is to make sure your volunteer teams feel valued enough to continue to excel in their work every Sunday. If you want to dive deeper into how technology can support volunteers and boost engagement, download our free eBook, “The Challenge of Leading Volunteers.” With the right technology in place, everything from signing up to volunteer to gathering supplies can be made simpler.
Here is another article on how to thank your volunteers that can also go a long way to improve volunteer relations.
[…] Steve Caton lists a few ways you can use technology to help manage your volunteers: […]