Volunteering in New Zealand is changing

We have an aging population of volunteers of a more traditional era with a work ethic of turning up for unpaid work and being told what to do, no questions asked. The older generation are not wholly concerned about work experience, adding to their CV. Nor do they have to juggle volunteering with school, study and child commitments. We have relied on their generosity and pliability for decades and most not-for-profit organisations couldn’t survive without them. Except one day we’ll have to.

Young people today, e.g. Millennials still want to volunteer but for some it’s not so much about what they can offer the organisation, but what the organisation can offer them. Millennials are more likely to walk away from a volunteer role if their expectations are not met. They’ll even expect a reference if they’ve been reliable and productive after several months. Smart not-for-profits should be offering this when recruiting.

Organisations can capitalise on this by providing good volunteer engagement which will impress savvy young people. These organisations need to manage recruitment, induction and training of volunteers as a professional process, no different to engaging paid employees. The professionalisation of volunteering demands that organisations get clued up to the needs of younger volunteers because there’s never been an easier time to find a volunteer role with the advent of the internet.

Volunteering Bay of Plenty provides an online Database of volunteer roles available in the Bay of Plenty at: www.volbop.org.nz.

By Theo Ursum, General Manager, Volunteering Bay of Plenty

I write for the Bay Waka Magazine because I want to get the message out to the community about the benefits of volunteering.