5 ways to celebrate and motivate volunteer workers
Volunteers are the glue that holds the charity retail sector together, so it’s vitally important that charities motivate and reward their volunteer workers. According to the CRA, as of May 2022 there were 186,800 volunteers in the charity retail sector nationwide - working on the shop floor, sorting donations, and listing and dispatching stock for online sale.
Volunteers can be hard to recruit, particularly in the face of a cost of living crisis. For charity retailers, this means that once you have volunteers on board, you really need to look after them.
At Shopiago we are constantly impressed with the commitment, creativity and tireless work we see every day from the volunteers we work with. Based on our experience, here are five tips on how to motivate your volunteer workers throughout their on-boarding, helping them to stay committed and motivated:
1. Communicate clearly
Almost all of your volunteers will feel loyal to your charity and are proud to be raising funds for a good cause. It’s vital to let people know how their shop is contributing and what the funds raised are being used for.
Shopiago’s Ecommerce, Trade-in and Collection services are designed to deliver credit where it’s due – at store level. We have developed the ability to track items through the sales process, crediting sales to individual sites.
This means that online sales are recorded to an individual shop, rewarding that outlet. This is hugely motivating for volunteer workers in store, as they see the direct impact of a successful online sale - which is generally a far higher price than an item would fetch in store.
Take a look at our 'Why it's important to motivate your shops to sell online' blog for more guidance on motivating shops.
2. Celebrate individuals
The level of creativity, compassion and sheer hard work we see from volunteers in the charity retail sector is inspiring - especially at a time when people have so many worries of their own. Sharing success and publicly thanking volunteers helps them, and by extension their fellow volunteers feel valued.
There are lots of different ways of doing this. Why not nominate one of your team for our ‘Talking Shop’ series, which profiles brilliant retail team members? Or take a look at our Shopiago Online Charity Awards and nominate your online retail volunteers for Team of the Year or Online Shining Star?
3. Encourage Creativity
Volunteers join the charity retail sector for many different reasons, but being able to share creative ideas really helps people to enjoy the time they spend volunteering. From brilliant shop window displays to photography for online listings or curated preloved fashion collections, creative thinking helps fundraising and should be supported and celebrated.
Finding a volunteer's specific niche can really help them to feel valued, building their confidence and also showing off their skills. By providing opportunities for volunteers to capitalise on their existing knowledge base - whether this be antique research, art direction or more - you can not only benefit from a wider skillset amongst your team, but create a happy, healthy and productive working environment to keep your volunteers motivated. For younger volunteers, opportunities to grow and expand their skills will work to support with their future aspirations too.
4. Build a team spirit
Most people enjoy feeling like they’re part of a team and it’s vital to build that team spirit among your volunteer workforce. Simple things like sharing successful online sales, offering volunteer discounts and arranging volunteer events all help people remember they’re working towards something bigger, together.
5. Be flexible
Working in a customer-facing shop floor position isn’t for everyone, but there are so many other options for charity retail volunteers. People are needed for sorting stock, managing online listings, photography and copywriting for online sales…the list goes on. Make sure your existing volunteers are aware that if their current role isn’t working out for them, there are other options, even for those who need or want to volunteer from home.
Get in touch
For more information on how Shopiago helps your retail operations around Ecommerce, Trade-in and Collection, why not get in touch or book a demo?