Working with volunteers

At oikos we depend a lot on our volunteers who dedicate their free time to the organization. Without their commitment and passion, oikos wouldn’t be the same. However, volunteer work is connected to unique challenges in comparison to the management of employees.

• Volunteer engagement can fluctuate depending on the individual’s capacity

• Volunteers need to have intrinsic motivation & a good understanding of oikos to start their commitment and stay engaged

• oikos has limited resources to give back (non)financial benefits to volunteers

• Find value for the volunteers in the work they do so they stay engaged

What does ‘volunteer’ mean in oikos?

Everyone who is not officially employed by oikos International & offers their time & commitment to the organization is considered a volunteer. The volunteer commitment should account around 1-max 10 h / week. Beyond that, We recommend exploring if the role you dedicate to a volunteer is actually worth an employment.

Based on our learnings and experience over time, we have gathered a couple of best practices for the work with volunteers.