Supervision of Volunteers Monday 5 th November

The two kinds of Supervision (1)Teacher / Counsellor / Mentor role, providing helpful & constructive feedback, developing a good relationship with the volunteer, and working with them to continually improve their understanding of and competence of the volunteering role. (2)The other casts the supervisor in their role in the organisational chart, as an administrator responsible for making sure that those in their department carry out their roles. 2

The duties of a supervisor may include: - Training new volunteers. - Supporting and mentoring volunteers. - Development of volunteers - Assigning and creating projects - Making sure plans are being carried out effectively 3

The duties of a supervisor may include: - Providing support - Assisting with projects or activities - Identifying & addressing unsatisfactory performance. All of these duties have the same goal: to help those supervised do the best that they can, and continue to learn & improve. 4

A supervisor of volunteers may also have to pay more attention to logistics - - Scheduling, - Making sure everyone knows about meetings or changes - Checking with people to ensure they can fulfill their commitments, etc. because volunteers arent tied to the organisational schedule in the same way employees are. 5

Supervision Meetings Whatever the situation, supervisors should have a chance to meet with volunteers individually at least a few times a year to: review performance, call attention to problem areas provide support or - where necessary - explain and try to help improve unsatisfactory performance. 6

Why can supervision be difficult? The supervisor should be an important source of comfort & help to volunteers. At the same time, it usually falls to the supervisor to be the bearer of bad news when a volunteers performance is, or has become, unsatisfactory. The supervisor is expected to - and should -provide as much support as possible in that situation, helping the volunteer to bring their efforts in line with the standards of the organisation. 7

Why can supervision be difficult? - Neither the supervisor nor the volunteer can ignore the fact that they may be the person who decides that: - despite repeated warnings & efforts to correct the problem - performance has simply become or continued to be unacceptable, and the volunteer must be asked to leave. 8

What does good practical supervision consist of? 1.Welcoming new volunteers & distributing basic information. 2. Meeting with new volunteers as soon as possible. 3. Orienting new volunteers. 4. Training volunteers. 5. Monitoring volunteers. px 9

References The Community Tool Box. Providing Supervision for Staff and Volunteers. 10