Volunteers are feeling unhappy with their tasks. How can you ensure they feel valued and motivated?

Take time to hear the views of the volunteers who are not happy with their tasks. Remember they don't have to keep coming back - it is a privilege to have them. See if you can solve the problems they have by removing some of the things they are not enjoying or by adding a fun or social element to the more mundane activity which you may still need someone to help with.

Listening first is the key. Then they feel that they are not alone and have backup. If the community members are not sensitive to their concerns that's the initial point they feel they are not valued. So to overcome this, communities should have strong ethics and code of conduct to enhance the responsiveness at the first point. Because sometimes its hard to get back individual's full potential if any negative feeling comes at first point.

Ensuring volunteers feel valued and motivated is crucial for maintaining their engagement and satisfaction we do same strategies like: Clear Expectations, Training and Development, Recognition and Appreciation, Meaningful Volunteer Roles, Empowerment and Trust by this strategies we can foster a culture where volunteers feel valued, respected, and motivated to continue contributing to your organization's mission and goals.

Training wildland firefighters during my time with the U.S. Forest Service presented unique challenges. The inherently dangerous nature of the work requires a solid foundation of mutual understanding up and down the chain of command. To accomplish this, we spent the first 2 weeks to a month of each season getting to know each other before "going available" for wildfire assignments. This time period allowed for a deeper understanding of motivations and competencies. This then translated to a safer, more effective group. As each season progressed, we regularly employed after action reviews to check in with all members of the crew and address any issues as they came up. All crew members had a voice in this team building process.

Create training that is easy to follow, allows for connection, and is in short bursts. If your group feels they are not connected to the work/organization or each other, then they will tune out and not invest in their role. Instead, give short bits of info with time to connect with the facilitator and other group members. Volunteers should have a sense of connection so they can ask questions in training and feel confident in their role.

Each year the Indiana Arts Commission hosts a complete training for new and returning grants panelists. From my experience this training is effective for a few reasons: 1. It's thorough, but brief. The time commitment is laid out in advance and the expectations of the position are clear. 2. It's friendly. IAC staff are open and welcoming to their volunteer panelists. They look to assist and serve at every opportunity. 3. It's accommodating. If a panelist has a specific need, they're ready to accommodate. This could be as simple as being able to print the grant applications and score them by hand. By approaching training in this way, the IAC enjoys consistent, thoughtful contributions each year that help their grant applicants.

The Brown County Community Foundation does an excellent job of recognizing their volunteers throughout the year via publications, marketing materials, and their annual report. During this year's annual report, they asked all those in the room of over 100 attendees to raise their hand if they had volunteered, donated, or otherwise contributed to the work of the foundation. The majority of the hands went up and then back down to applaud the work of their fellow volunteers. While the foundation's work is focused on supporting the community through wide-ranging grants and scholarships, they also do so by encouraging their volunteer base regularly.