The Best Holiday Gift from your Volunteers - Feedback!

4 Tips for Capturing Volunteer Feedback

We've officially kicked off two of the busiest months of the year for many volunteer-based organizations.  The holiday season marks the start of toy drives, food collections, “Turkey Trots”, seasonal galas, bake sales, festivals and year-end donation campaigns…just to name a few.

This influx of volunteers and donors presents an incredible opportunity that, in the hustle of the season, is oftentimes missed.  Quite simply…this time of year is a golden opportunity for capturing feedback.

Fresh eyes on your operation are a wealth of insight and innovation.  How often do we get buried in the work of our day-to-day and run out of time to wonder how we could be improving?  The arrival of so many new faces for holiday activities is like a boost for your brainstorm – bringing a variety of perspectives and ideas. 

Feedback can also give you important testimonials for your work, or new ways of looking at your successes.  You may not even think to call-out some of your accomplishments – you’re doing them so often – but a newcomer will may be more apt to recognize these achievements.

In addition to the benefits of new ideas and testimonials, through feedback your relationships with your volunteers will also be improved.  How?  Because when you ask someone for their opinion, you make them feel valued.  Knowing that they’re not just ‘another set of hands’ but an individual you recognize and appreciate, deepens their connection with you.  You can bet that your organization will be at the top of their list when they are thinking of volunteering or donating again. 

So, in this busy time of year, how can you gather feedback and reap the rewards?

1.    Ask, ask, ask  A variety of quick and easy opportunities for feedback is better than one carefully crafted, survey.  Ask volunteers for their thoughts as you’re cleaning up the event, solicit feedback in the volunteer thank you email, or send out a link to a survey site like insideGOOD.  The more simple, straightforward, and frequent the opportunities are for feedback, the more likely you are to get a response.

2.    Not Criticisms but Opportunities!  Attitude is everything when collecting feedback.  It’s important to believe (and remember) that the folks who took the time to send you their thoughts are truly supporting you.  A criticism is not a bash, it’s an opportunity!  Stay objective; acknowledge the feedback, consider any potential value and move on.

3.    Say “Thank You”  Once you’ve received feedback, don’t forget to say ‘thanks’.  Few people enjoy spending time on something and then wondering if it ever got received!  A quick ‘thank you’ note will reassure your respondents that they have been heard, and will encourage volunteers to provide valuable feedback in the future as well.

4.    Schedule It  Don’t worry about trying to sort out what to do with the feedback right now – you’ve already got enough to do during these busy months.  However, you should get something on the calendar now for early next year so that the feedback will be taken into account and acted upon.  In fact, a feedback review and strategic team meeting is a great way to kick-off the New Year!

Don’t let the opportunities this season presents slip away in the rush.  Start by remembering to ask - tack a sticky note to your computer, change your template ‘thank you’, send an email to your staff and committee chairs – and the rest of the process will fall into place.  With the wealth of information and prospects that feedback brings, you can look forward to a very jolly season and bright opportunities next year.

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Guest blogger Katie Taft is the CEO of insideGOOD, an online nonprofit ratings website where employees, interns, volunteers and donors can rate their experiences working with, or donating to, U.S. nonprofits.