Managing Volunteers In Your Organization
For many of our non-profit clients, the holiday season brings the most volunteers of the year, from food drives and toy collections to community events. More hands means more good work, and a few more risks to manage. Below, we’ve shared the types of volunteer liability your organization may face and practical ways to train, manage and supervise volunteers.
As a nonprofit organization, most of your workforce is probably comprised of volunteers. These individuals devote their time and energy to help the community through your organization. Though these individuals offer their services without compensation, they still require supervision to ensure their work is done correctly.
Furthermore, it is important for your organization to train and manage its volunteers to minimize the risk of harm to the community members you serve and the volunteers themselves. This article outlines the liabilities of having volunteers work for your nonprofit organization and offers related risk mitigation strategies.
Volunteer Liabilities
There are three types of volunteer liabilities that may affect your organization as follows:
Direct liability—The organization or volunteer is liable for an action or for failing to act. For instance:
Not properly screening volunteers who will work with children
Providing volunteers with unsafe tools, such as a ladder, while doing repair work
Indirect (vicarious) liability—The nonprofit is liable for the actions of a volunteer on the organization’s behalf, including the following:
Volunteer damaging city property while working for an organization in a park
Medical bills accrued by a community member after an injury while supervised by a volunteer at an organization-sponsored event
Strict liability—The need to determine negligence is not necessary because responsibility for inflicting harm is automatic.
Training Volunteers
As a nonprofit, it is essential for your organization to develop a training program for its volunteers. The individual program will depend heavily on the position the volunteer holds, the experience they bring to the role, the needs of community members they serve and your organization’s policies.
While in the training program, volunteers should be given a safety handbook outlining your organization’s policies. Further, they should sign a waiver after reading through the organization’s policies and procedures.
The training program should also include the following at a minimum:
An official welcome to the organization and education on the history, mission statement and services provided. Outline the organization's goals and the specific needs of the community members to be served.
Provide an overview of the skills and responsibilities required for the position. If special equipment is used, a supervisor should teach the volunteer how to use it until the volunteer feels comfortable with it.
Explain the organization’s policies and procedures, such as reimbursement policies and sexual harassment prevention.
Conduct a safety briefing that covers how the volunteer can protect themselves and community members from danger and injury while representing the organization.
Managing Volunteers
After volunteers complete the training program, it is essential that your staff members continue to monitor and manage them throughout their tenure at your organization. Ensure your staff members feel comfortable delegating responsibilities to volunteers and correcting them when they make mistakes. Furthermore, if a volunteer acts inappropriately, advise the staff members to dismiss the volunteer before they inflict harm on another person or themselves.
On another note, motivate your volunteers to work hard for the community. Encourage them and praise them for giving it their all. In addition, provide them with a t-shirt, hat or poster as a token of gratitude for their hard work.
Supervising Volunteers
To ensure that your organization is fully prepared to manage volunteers, determine if your nonprofit has the following in place:
A description of all volunteer positions that describes the tasks and duties expected
A volunteer safety handbook for use during training
A grievance policy in the event that volunteers are dissatisfied while working for the organization
Volunteer waivers that acknowledge the organization’s policies
Documented disciplinary standards for volunteers
A dedicated training program for all staff members and supervisors who come in contact with volunteers that addresses how to treat them
Conclusion
Managing volunteers well protects everyone involved, including your organization, the community you serve and the volunteers themselves. By understanding key liabilities and implementing thorough training, management and supervision practices, your nonprofit can minimize harm while maximizing the positive impact of its volunteer workforce. A proactive approach today safeguards your mission for tomorrow. Contact us today for additional industry-specific risk management guidance.
Want to talk through how your organization manages volunteer risk? Explore our non-profit insurance services or reach out to our team. No pressure, just a conversation about what makes sense for your business.
This Risk Insights is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel or an insurance professional for appropriate advice. © 2023 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.