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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.

Working with volunteers

Have a place to take notes and document for the volunteers your meetings so they can catch up if they miss a meeting
Have specific and clear instructions and keep things bite sized until volunteers are able and confident enough to work on their own
Be a strong facilitator, engage with them personally, get to know them, learn their names/likes/interests/hobbies and share about yourself