How can you support volunteers during team building activities?

2 Communicate clearly

Communication is key to any successful team building activity. You need to communicate clearly with your volunteers about the purpose, expectations, and logistics of the activities. Explain why you are doing these activities, what benefits they can bring, and how they can participate. Provide clear instructions, guidelines, and feedback during the activities. Encourage questions, suggestions, and feedback from your volunteers as well. Make sure everyone understands their roles, responsibilities, and boundaries. Use positive and respectful language and avoid jargon, slang, or acronyms that might confuse or offend your volunteers.

3 Facilitate effectively

As a volunteer manager, you need to facilitate the team building activities in a way that promotes engagement, collaboration, and learning. You need to create a safe and supportive environment where your volunteers can express themselves, share their ideas, and listen to each other. You need to balance structure and flexibility, allowing your volunteers to have some autonomy and creativity, but also keeping them focused and on track. You need to monitor the dynamics and mood of the group, intervening when necessary to resolve conflicts, address issues, or stimulate discussion. You need to recognize and celebrate the achievements and contributions of your volunteers, both individually and collectively.

4 Follow up

After the team building activities, you need to follow up with your volunteers to reinforce the outcomes and learn from the experience. You need to debrief with your volunteers, asking them to reflect on what they learned, how they felt, and what they can apply to their work. You need to solicit feedback from your volunteers, asking them to evaluate the activities, share their opinions, and suggest improvements. You need to thank your volunteers for their participation, appreciation, and commitment. You need to document and share the results and insights of the activities, highlighting the successes and lessons learned.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?