If work space is at a premium for employees, don't be surprised if there's a problem accommodating volunteers, too. Saying "we welcome volunteers" is contradicted if the person has to hunt around for a work surface and chair or beg for someplace to store materials in-between shifts. Assess available furniture and equipment in terms of the impact of more people (volunteers) coming into the facility at various hours. Help staff in each unit to think through where volunteers can sit at a clear surface and what office equipment they can use. Where can messages be left for the volunteer? Other volunteer work space needs include:
- Secure storage space for volunteers' coats and other personal belongings (and uniforms, if applicable)
- Places for volunteers to store work undisturbed from one shift to the next
- Volunteers who work one-on-one with members of the public or clients may also need private talking areas
- Group work space for meetings, training sessions, or special projects
Get Creative
It is common to budget for things like a new desk or extra telephone for each new employee hired. Yet it is far from common to routinely add such basic work tools for volunteers, generally under the assumption that very part-time workers have fewer needs. Not necessarily. Placing a few extra desks in various offices might prove useful for employees visiting from other sites or occasional consultants, as well as for volunteers working a few hours at a time. Keep the desks stocked with basic supplies, as well as with instruction sheets for using the phone system or the copying machine, and they will be a welcoming "home base" to assist volunteer productivity.Having unassigned work stations available is also a way to give volunteers who usually work off-site, independently in the field, or online a place to sit if they come on site once in a while. This is the nonprofit equivalent of corporate "hotelling" or "hot desking" practices, providing unassigned seating in an office environment for a mobile workforce.
Sharing Staff Space
If your organization has a cafeteria or lunchroom, a staff lounge, or even a coffee area, it will be necessary to establish policies on whether and how such space will be shared between employees and volunteers. Do not leave this to chance. Without clear guidelines, you run the risk of inadvertent and uncomfortable confrontation. Keep in mind that you may have many more volunteers than employees on site at some times, and that some volunteers will be teenagers or seniors or others unlike the paid staff. Determine the answers to these questions - and think through the implications and alternatives of each decision:
- Are all volunteers to have full access to all public and private space in the building (except for personal offices)? If not all volunteers, which ones? As determined by whom?
- If food or beverages are available, does everyone pay the same for them? If not, what are the criteria for paying more or less?
- Is there some reason why employees might want occasional privacy? Why? Where? Under what circumstances? How will this be explained to volunteers consistently? (Now ask the same questions for volunteers.)
- Should there be different rules for those volunteers who give many hours on a consistent basis to the organization (versus those who come in once a quarter)?
These kinds of details make work go smoothly for everyone and integrate volunteers into the organizational environment in a welcoming way.