Attracting and retaining volunteer drivers

Scrooge might not have been the most ideal volunteer of his time.  He was frugal, cheap, and impatient. But like Scrooge, today’s modern volunteers are also struggling with the demands of their time and their wallets. With gas prices high and extra time a luxury, can you get the most from your volunteers while respecting their time? This is a question that many service organizations are struggling with.

Stories are very frequent of people excitingly joining up to volunteer for a favorite cause and then mysteriously after a week or two never being heard from again. This is not due to a lack of dedication or trust but it is simply a story of how expectations have changed for most charitable people. Recently we heard of a story of a dedicated and passionate volunteer that signed up to deliver “care packages” for underprivileged high students seeking a college education. The packages were picked up at a central place easily enough but then the nightmare started. Not having a planned route or way to communicate with the students many hours were spent searching for apartment numbers, calling disconnected numbers, and circling neighborhoods trying to find places to park. The result was that this volunteer never returned.

Volunteers doing driving services whether it be meal delivery or elderly/disabled driving deserve a better way to help them, help you.  When you give them the tools to make their lives better not only do you get happier volunteers, but you get more volunteer hours and you even might get them referring their friends. 

Spedsta’s end-to-end trip management and scheduling software allow you to make this happen. Here is a sampling of just some of the ways to rocket your volunteer program to the next level! 

• Provide an optimized delivery route to the drivers. This on average can save 30-40% in gas and driver time.
• Call reminders so that drivers and clients know what is expected of them and when
• All digital and mobile connectivity so that error-prone paper trails are minimized and the volunteer driver can manage his time to the best of his/her capability
• Direct communication and messaging tools between driver, client, and the organization to handle any delivery exceptions, errors, or changes. The rule of most transportation services is that things change and having the ability to adjust on the fly is critical to getting the outcomes that you want.

Wouldn’t it be great that all you have to do is be nice to your volunteers..and you get more!