Jasmine Salem of iVolunteer shares a brief summary of the Volunteer Management System model, as discussed at a recent workshop last July 2, 2016.
Way back in my University days, I perceived volunteer management as merely posting an announcement for volunteer searches, filtering those volunteers as per an organization’s criteria and then, briefing those confirmed set of people.
As volunteerism evolved into a more sustainable and relevant activity, a system in developing volunteer programs is now often applied to ensure an efficient and strong volunteer involvement. And last July 2, 2016, iVolunteer Philippines led a Volunteer Management Systems (VMS) workshop in Makati together with other groups and volunteer leaders. We had Jay Neil Ancheta from Habitat for Humanity as our main resource speaker, who was with his co-facilitators, Krishna Jennifer Sonza and Nathaniel George Hipolito from Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines. With their extensive knowledge and experience, they enlightened the iVolunteer Staff and iVolunteer Partner Organizations on VMS.
What exactly is a Volunteer Management System (VMS)?
The VMS Cycle is comprised of these components: (1) Placement Development, (2) Recruitment, (3) Selection and Assessment and (4) Volunteer Support.
Placement Development occurs when the right set of volunteers and their roles are determined. Beyond the roles and the corresponding persons, it also highly considers the needs and capacities of the organization and the volunteers.
Recruitment tackles the opportunities to serve and how an organization can create long-term engagement with the volunteer.
Selection and Assessment digs deeper into the potential of the volunteer and matches this against the needs of the organization. Assessment tools and methodologies during the workshop were presented as well, such as interviews and psychological assessment.
Volunteer Support understands the motivational sources of the volunteer
What’s in it for the Partner Organizations?
We at iVolunteer Philippines believe that it is about time to establish standards by which volunteers are gathered and sustained. The recent workshop was one of those opportunities for partner organizations and volunteer leaders to exchange ideas and develop their capabilities to create more engaging volunteer programs. Aside from the VMS Cycle shared above, the facilitators were able to share how the government plays a role in the entire volunteer management space.
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