What is Identification? 

Volunteer Identification is the process of finding people with the competence and attitudes necessary to fill specific leadership positions. 

This includes the identification of your program needs and the volunteer roles to meet those needs, targeted recruiting for volunteers, identifying potential volunteers, and completion of a volunteer application. 

What to Identify? 

The first step in a good volunteer management plan starts with identification. Before you begin any sort of recruitment efforts, it is important to clearly identify answers to the following questions: 

1. What kind of volunteers are you looking for? 

2. What is it you would be asking volunteers to do? 

3. What do you need to have done? 

4. What skills do current volunteers possess? 

5. What can someone else do better than you, or perhaps enjoy doing more than you do? 

Personal Account of Recruiting Jen Lobely's Story 

The Volunteer Role Description 

Role descriptions are a super helpful tool to have. They serve the following purposes: 

1. They help you clarify your thinking about the purpose and what it is that the volunteer will actually be doing. 

2. They become the basis for your recruitment efforts; you aren’t just trying to recruit warm bodies! The role description clearly spells out the answer to some of those questions that volunteers will have about what they are asked to do because you intentionally gave thought to what you need and want. 

3. They help a potential volunteer determine if the role feels like a good fit for them. Volunteering takes a lot of time and energy! Help volunteers with knowing as much info up front before you invest too much time and energy in onboarding, training, etc. 

4. A role description can also be used as a point of reference. It can assist you in determining training needs and/or be referred to if you do any sort of check-in/evaluation. It can also be useful with a volunteer as a reminder if they begin veering out of their lane. 

State Programs with Volunteer Role Descriptions 

Your state program might already have a few volunteer role descriptions created and ready to use. If not, some other states do have some very good examples of volunteer role descriptions for everything, from club leader and exhibit hall judge to afterschool program volunteer and chaperone. 

Volunteer Recruitment 

Once we know what type of volunteer roles we are looking for, we can start to recruit. Recruiting volunteers is not necessarily the easiest thing to do. Identifying your need so you can help a potential volunteer understand exactly what you are looking for is a great first step- but then it becomes a question of where exactly do you find those volunteers? 

The recruitment phase could also look different depending on how developed your role description is and how clearly, you've answered the question: what is it you're looking for with this role description? 

In this module, we reviewed the components of "identification." As part of a strong volunteer management plan, it is important to identify the types of volunteers you need, what skills you want them to possess, and what needs to be done. A volunteer role description can help you determine specifics. The role description clearly outlines for the potential volunteer what you are looking for and can also be used beyond recruitment. You've learned how the role description can be a helpful tool as a point of reference with your volunteer, once they are enrolled.