How To Help Volunteers Meet Your Expectations

“How could they mess this up?”  I had sent my volunteers the link for the game, but none of them came prepared.  There I was bailing them out once again.  Then it dawned on me, “I don’t think I told them to do anything more than check the link out.”  

Courtesy of Hello Turkey Toe/Creative Commons License

It is frustrating when it feels like your volunteers are just not getting it.  You think about all the reasons why they aren’t meeting expectations, when the reality the reason could be you.  Before you blame your volunteers for being incompetent, complacent or disloyal, ask yourself whether or not you have:

CLARIFIED THEIR ROLES AND YOUR GOALS

One of the biggest enemies to missed expectations is a lack of clarity.  Make sure your team is clear on:

• What it is they need to do.
• What is is they are trying to achieve.

You cannot over communicate on these two issues. In fact, if your volunteers are asking you to stop sharing them, then it means they know it.  To clarify their roles and your goals:

1. Write it down for them.
2. Share it in meetings and conversations.
3. Affirm them when they fulfill it.

Clarity is key to getting the job done.

SET THEM UP FOR SUCCESS

You might be the saboteur and not know it.  In order for your volunteers to meet expectations you need to make sure you are providing them with:

• Clear direction.
• The right resources.

If they have those things then they will be well equipped to get the job done.  To figure out what your volunteers need in order to succeed ask for their feedback.  Let them tell you what works and what doesn’t.  Not only will they meet expectations but trust that you are putting them in the best scenario.

PROVIDED TRAINING AND RESOURCING

It’s easy to forget that your volunteers are not professionals.  With no training in youth ministry they are not going to immediately know what it is they need to do.  Training your volunteers on how to:

• Lead a small group.
• Connect with parents.
• Develop an activity.

And so on will help them take ownership.  In the end you’ll have a team of people who are not only competent but confident in what needs to be done.

REWARDED MOMENTS OF MET EXPECTATIONS

Your volunteers might not know that they are succeeding.  To help them know that they are meeting expectations you need to point it out.  That means rewarding them when they knock it out of the park.  Affirm them when they make the right decisions.  Share stories of when expectations are met.  

Help your volunteers meet the expectations you lay out by putting them in the best place possible.  That also means helping them grow in their relationship with Christ and personally investing in them.  The more you communicate to them and get to know them, the more they’ll know what it is you expect from them.