Many nonprofits operate stores as a way to generate revenue for their missions. Goodwill is a great example of this type of organization. Its cause is to help people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work. It operates thousands of thrift stores in multiple countries to raise funds to fulfill its mission.

Smaller, less-established nonprofits with stores often rely on volunteers to fill certain staff roles. This is especially true for organizations with small or strained budgets that can’t accommodate hiring employees. However, managing volunteer staff comes with unique challenges you might not experience with paid employees.

To ensure your store runs smoothly, let’s discuss the top challenges of operating a nonprofit store with volunteers. Then, we’ll go over best practices for managing your nonprofit store’s volunteer staff members.

Understanding the challenges of volunteer staff in a nonprofit store

Managing volunteer staff members has distinct differences from managing paid employees. Here are a few challenges of running a nonprofit store with volunteer staff:

  • Lack of formal training: While you may screen volunteers and assign them to roles that best fit their skills, you may not always have the perfect fit. Lack of formal training can make it tough to get volunteers up and running with your store’s processes. For example, a volunteer might not know the difference between different donation tax receipts, how to use your point of sale (POS) system, or the proper way to handle inventory restocking. 
  • Varying availability and commitment: Volunteers have other commitments, such as their full-time jobs, which means they might not always be available to cover shifts. Additionally, not all volunteers feel the same level of responsibility toward your nonprofit, which may result in staff not showing up.
  • Potential burnout: Retail jobs can be extremely stressful and hard on the body due to prolonged interactions with customers and physically demanding tasks. This can lead to burnout, which can cause your volunteers to disengage from your nonprofit and its mission.

Generally, volunteers are motivated by a desire to support your organization’s cause, rather than earning a paycheck. This can cause misalignments in expectations, performance, and accountability. For instance, volunteers may expect you to be more lenient on them if they underperform, because they aren’t compensated for their work. On the other hand, your nonprofit’s staff members may feel awkward about providing negative feedback to volunteers, for fear of driving the volunteer away.

However, these obstacles don’t indicate that enlisting volunteer staff is a bad idea. Far from it, as volunteers can provide crucial support you might not otherwise be able to access. It simply means that you need to be mindful of these challenges and thoughtfully implement strategies that make volunteer staff management easier.

Best practices for managing volunteer staff in a nonprofit store

In addition to strategically promoting opportunities and finding the right volunteers to fill positions, here are three best practices for managing volunteer staff at your nonprofit’s store:

1. Create a thorough onboarding process.

Onboarding is crucial to any volunteer experience. Through this process, volunteers learn what their role will look like, how it fits into the grand scheme of your nonprofit’s mission, the processes they’ll follow, and any quirks about the role they should be aware of. When those volunteer roles involve working at a nonprofit store, onboarding becomes even more important for establishing expectations and preparing volunteers to successfully interact with customers.

During onboarding, you should:

  • Define roles and tasks clearly. Volunteers should know the scope of their responsibilities, including what they’re expected to do and what they shouldn’t be asked to do. For example, a volunteer cashier might be expected to ring up customers, but they shouldn’t be asked to count their drawer at the end of their shift. Ideally, volunteers should be matched to roles that suit their skills, which you likely discovered during your screening processes.
  • Provide documented procedures. Volunteers may be unfamiliar with their responsibilities, so a document that outlines all the processes they’re expected to follow can be incredibly helpful during the first few days of volunteering. When you provide a guide, volunteers can refer back to it when they get confused or aren’t sure what to do next.
  • Offer training and support. Don’t just give volunteers instructions on what they should do. Walk them through every step of their tasks so it’s clear what you expect. To maximize effectiveness, host volunteer training in small groups.

For example, let’s say you’re onboarding a group of volunteers for a cashier and stocker role at your nonprofit’s thrift store. Clearly lay out your expectation that volunteers are on time for their shift, which happens once a week for three hours. Give them documents about the processes they’ll follow, including instructions on your inventory organization system and guidance on how to interact with customers. Finally, provide dedicated training sessions for more complicated tasks, such as using your point of sale software. Leave time at the end of the session for any questions volunteers might have to ensure you have a successful onboarding.

2. Adapt volunteer roles based on availability.

Since you’re not compensating volunteers for their time, extend some grace when they make errors or don’t meet your expectations. One particular area where extra leniency is appreciated is in scheduling. Your volunteers are likely busy people who may not be able to commit to the same shifts every week. Or, perhaps they may need to call out on short notice.

Instead of asking volunteers to come in for shifts at a set time every week, give them the flexibility to dictate when they come in and how long they stay. For example, you can ask volunteers to show up once a week for a minimum of two hours, but allow them to choose which days they want to come in on and if they want to stay longer than the minimum expectation.

The challenge with this system is that you may quickly find that certain shift times are more desirable than others, leaving you with understaffing during key hours. To mitigate that, create a shift sign-up system to ensure you’re never overstaffed or understaffed.

To help you do that, we recommend leveraging a user-friendly volunteer scheduling system that allows you to incorporate flexibility into your store’s staffing schedule. With a volunteer signup app you can also motivate your team with gamification features such as points and live leaderboards.

3. Foster a sense of community and belonging.

Most of the time, nonprofits don’t have to put too much effort into fostering a strong community around their volunteers. After all, volunteers are united by their desire to make a tangible impact on your nonprofit’s mission, giving them a natural jumping-off point to connect with one another.

However, when volunteers step in as staff members, the feeling of community can weaken or even vanish. When you think of your teammates as colleagues instead of potential friends, it’s easier to become closed off and feel isolated.

Overcome this challenge by putting in effort to foster a sense of community and belonging among staff members and volunteer staff. Typical employee engagement practices are extremely valuable here, such as:

  • Active communication: Lack of communication can be extremely frustrating for both volunteers and paid employees. It can even result in disengagement from your nonprofit’s work altogether. Actively communicate with your volunteers by listening to their feedback, answering their questions, and keeping them updated on the status of your store.
  • Team-building activities: Host team bonding activities that facilitate stronger relationships between volunteer staff and paid employees. These can include team dinners, scavenger hunts, trivia nights, and more.
  • Employee recognition: Everyone loves to be recognized for their hard work, and volunteers are no exception. Consider purchasing employee recognition software that makes it easy to show your appreciation for your volunteers’ efforts and how they’ve impacted your mission.

Regularly check in with volunteer staff and survey them on how they feel about working at your nonprofit’s store. Ask them if they’re satisfied with their work and the impact they’re making on your mission. You might ask what you could do to make the experience more fulfilling for them, too. This is also a great time to give them positive or constructive feedback about their performance.

For many individuals, your nonprofit’s store will be the first place they interact with your organization and its mission. When your customers see how well you treat your volunteers and staff members, they’ll feel inspired to get involved and may even become volunteers themselves!

Properly manage your volunteer staff to provide a high-quality volunteer experience that also leads to a well-run nonprofit store. Use the strategies in this guide to set your store’s volunteers up for success.