Dr Meg Polacsek
Senior Research Fellow, ARIIA
Across Australia, volunteer numbers are in steady decline, with organisations facing significant short- and long-term challenges when it comes to recruiting and retaining formal volunteers (that is, people who willingly give their time for the common good and without financial gain). These include increased ‘red tape’, an uncertain financial climate and an apparent reluctance of volunteers to commit to regular, formal roles. In addition, the impact of COVID-19 on volunteering will be felt for years to come: while almost two thirds of volunteers were lost at the height of the pandemic, many of those who remained or returned are spending fewer hours in the role.
With high workloads and limited resources, residential aged care providers often turn to volunteers to provide much-needed ‘non-critical’ social and emotional support to their residents. Compared to other healthcare settings, volunteers in residential aged care tend to form long and close relationships with residents. By offering important support functions that may otherwise not be delivered, aged care volunteers have a positive effect on residents’ quality of life and overall wellbeing. The resident/volunteer relationship is particularly important for older adults lacking the support of family or friends, and whose involvement in meaningful activities may depend on the support of volunteers.
It is for this reason then that aged care volunteers may have a specific motivation compared to, say, those in a hospital setting, where they often perform ‘meet and greet’ functions, help with hospitality services or serve as porters.
So, how do we best go about recruiting and retaining volunteers? Free, easily accessible resources are available to inform volunteer recruitment and retention. However, few specifically address volunteering in aged care.
Informed by our systematic review, we summarised a set of strategies to optimise volunteer recruitment and retention in residential aged care. Perhaps the most critical step is to identify their motivations. According to our review, volunteers were motivated most by the practical benefits and self-satisfaction of volunteering. They want to be matched to and trained in specific resident programs. And they are particularly interested in sharing of animals and animal-assisted therapy.
When it comes to recruiting, aged care providers should present a broad concept of the volunteer role and function, to recruit diverse volunteers. Ideally (‘magic wand’ scenario), they should employ a volunteer coordinator to recruit, screen, train and support, supervise, and evaluate volunteers. Providers should also establish a management structure that accommodates the volunteer program within their overall care programs.
Tips for retaining volunteers include:
- Signing a contract and/or statement of commitment that describe the volunteer’s tasks and expectations for performance, while creating realistic expectations
- Matching volunteers to tasks that interest them and/or match their skills, and connecting them with other volunteers and residents
- Providing appropriate training on the role, organisational mission, knowledge of residents' physical and cognitive status (eg dementia), skills and techniques to manage challenging situations
- Using technology, such as email and social media networks, to communicate with volunteers.
Finally, aged care providers should ideally provide opportunities for volunteers to work in a range of roles, and a sense of 'ownership' by involving volunteers in role and task planning.
Optimising the vital volunteer resource takes money, time and effort, but not all of these strategies require significant costs. And with the right strategies in place, we should be able to achieve significant returns on our investment of time, effort and money, while improving residents’ quality of life.
*The views and opinions expressed in Knowledge Blogs are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ARIIA, Flinders University and/or the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.