Virtual Volunteering

Volunteering without being physically present at an organisation’s offices is not new. For years, volunteer drivers, visitors, mentors, book keepers, fundraisers and the like have volunteered off-site and they have used occasional face-to-face meetings, the telephone, fax and postal mail to communicate with ‘HQ’. However, the recent revolution in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has opened up many new possibilities for volunteering.

What is virtual volunteering?

Virtual volunteering is voluntary work completed, in whole or in part, over the internet. It is sometimes known as online volunteering or cyber service. It is not a replacement for face-to-face volunteering, neither for the organisations, nor for the volunteers themselves, and a combination of on-site and on-line volunteering usually works best for everyone. It does, however, allow an organisation to involve more volunteers and thus achieve more of its aims.

Why virtual volunteering is an attractive concept

There is a growing awareness of, and enthusiasm for, the huge potential of ICT.

• Many voluntary and community organisations are under pressure to do more, often with fewer resources.
• As the use of ICT in the voluntary and community sector grows, so will the requirement for ICT- based tasks.
• There are fewer ‘traditional’ volunteers available to assist organisations.
• Virtual volunteers tend to be younger and tend to be relatively new to volunteering.
• Virtual volunteering suits all sorts of people, especially those with homebased obligations, those living far away and those with mobility issues.
• Time zones are unimportant and it can therefore be suitable for those with time constraints and/or unusual working hours.
• Most virtual volunteers are highly skilled.
• Involving virtual volunteers is relatively cheap, though not free.
• It is environmentally friendly.

What do virtual volunteers do?

The list of possible projects virtual volunteers can undertake is endless, but can be divided into two types of work, each requiring a different approach to volunteer management:
1. Technical assistance – that is, assisting the organisation itself – in which the main focus is on managing end results
2. Direct client contact – that is, assisting the organisation’s client groups – in which managing the process is as important, if not more so, than managing any end results.
    Examples of each are found below:

 Virtual volunteering tasks can complement work that is already being done but it also allows you to do new things; let your imagination soar. Some organisations are even experimenting with virtual board meetings!

Managing virtual volunteers

It is very important to have a proper system for managing volunteers generally within your organisation before embarking on a virtual volunteer programme. Managing virtual volunteers is very similar to ordinary volunteer management, but the following factors must also be taken into consideration:

• Start with a pilot project.
• Ensure both the supervisor and any virtual volunteers are very comfortable using internet technology, are aware of ‘netiquette’ and use email effectively (standard message bars etc).
• Ensure both the supervisor and volunteers have adequate hardware and software, relatively high speed internet access and their own email addresses.
• Make a commitment to answer emails within two working days and require volunteers to do the same to show that the assignment is being taken seriously.
• Amend any volunteer policies and procedures to include virtual volunteers, giving consideration to issues such as expenses, parental consent for underage volunteers, confidentiality and use of passwords.
• Do not recruit volunteers online until you have ready well-defined written voluntary work outlines, a description of what on-line volunteering with your organisation will be like and a definite next step to take; this is important anyway but especially so for the egeneration who expects instant results.
• Virtual volunteers can be recruited through traditional off-line routes, but you are more likely to find success online, for example, through your own website (advertised widely and kept current), mass emails, on-line volunteer opportunity databases such as www.volunteeringireland.com and targeted recruitment through online discussion groups.
• Ask all potential virtual volunteers to complete an on-line application form combined with a little ‘quiz’ that allows them to assess whether they are ready to be a virtual volunteer. The form will provide relevant contact details etc and allow some screening to take place (do they complete it at all, on time, in a way which is professional?). You can then respond to inform them whether they have been accepted and if so, send them all the relevant information needed to do the work (including, for example, websites and databases with which they should familiarise themselves). In this way, screening, selection, matching, induction and training are blended.
• Clarify expectations, in writing, at the beginning. Never assume; be crystal clear in terms of instructions, simplify language as much as possible and reinforce directions through rephrasing rather than through verbatim repetition. Remember that some volunteers may need both oral and visual directions and accept that sometimes it is easier to pick up the phone or meet in person.
• Have many different types and levels of projects available, breaking down volunteer assignments into ‘byte-sized’ pieces. This is especially important at the beginning; a piece of work that will take less than five hours and has to be completed with a deadline of two weeks can act as a good trial period.
• Ensure virtual volunteers do not feel isolated; schedule regular meetings/progress reports (on-line or off-line), update them on developments within the organisation, invite them to things, celebrate small successes as they go along, consider getting a team of virtual volunteers to work together, etc.
• Ensure technical assistance volunteers understand how your organisation works and what its needs and resource limitations are; just because they are highly skilled, it does not mean that their (commercial) experience will be directly transferable to your setting.
• Be prepared to educate yourself about assistive technologies if you are involving volunteers with disabilities.
• When supervising virtual volunteers, focus on outcomes rather than techniques.
• If there are problems, make sure you act to do something; be honest, share concerns openly and do not hide behind the facelessness of email interaction, simply letting work lie
  undone etc.
• Don’t force virtual volunteering on everyone!

Useful websites

www.coyotecom.com/volunteer

www.serviceleader.org

www.volunteermatch.org/virtual

www.volunteeringireland.ie