Question

what type of supervision and oversight is necessary for a volunteer?

Answer 1

Supervision and oversight of volunteers will require constant guidance and assessment. The objective of constant guidance and assessment is to provide volunteers with frequent feedback that is encouraging and constructive at the same time. This type of feedback will help improve the outcome for volunteers. Volunteers should also be allowed, whenever possible, to work on independent basis. Whenever volunteers are working independently the supervisors should ensure to be available with encouragement and with advice. Tracking of learning outcomes is another important aspect of supervision and oversight of volunteers.

To ensure that supervision and oversight is systematic rules and expectations should be defined beforehand. Clear policies and procedures should be put in place for the volunteers. Moreover clear assignments should be created and this will ensure that volunteers are properly recruited and then assigned tasks.

An important aspect of supervision and oversight of volunteers is to appropriately respond to their concerns. Sometimes volunteers work in a complex or risky positions and this requires increased level of supervision as well as increased level of oversight. Honesty is a hallmark of volunteer supervision and so it should be ensured that volunteers are provided with clear expectations with regards to their role from the very beginning. Secondly forward thinking is another important aspect of volunteer supervision and it should be ensured that volunteers properly understand the organization’s/entity’s mission, vision, goals and objectives.