HOW STARTUPS CAN MOTIVATE AND INCREASE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF SKILLEDUP LIFE'S VOLUNTEER TALENTS

Tech startups subscribed to SkilledUp Life can rely on over 30,000 volunteer talents in our marketplace to help them achieve their goals. However, motivating and increasing the productivity of these volunteers can be a challenge.?

Volunteers play a critical role in the success of startups. They bring a variety of skills and experiences to the table, which can help startups grow and develop. Additionally, volunteers often have a strong passion for the mission and vision of the startup, which can help build a sense of community within the organisation.

Volunteers are often motivated by the desire to help others, a desire for personal growth and development, and a desire for social connection. These desires lead these volunteers on growth journeys that often culminate in them building personal portfolios, growing their networks, and getting better at what they do; in some cases, they get employed during or after their volunteer terms.

It becomes really challenging for startups to keep this fire burning among volunteers, especially in a remote setting since all the free talents at SkilledUp Life work remotely.?

Tech founders can thus employ the approaches listed below to ensure that talents remain motivated during their volunteer terms:

The Importance of a Sense of Purpose

Volunteers are more likely to be productive and engaged if they feel like their work has a sense of purpose. Startups can increase the productivity of their volunteer talents by helping them understand the impact of their work and how it contributes to the overall mission of the organisation. Where possible, share statistics and performance data to help volunteers understand the magnitude of their contributions.

Creating a Culture of Engagement

In order to effectively motivate and increase the productivity of volunteer talents, it is important to create a culture of engagement within the organisation. This can be achieved by encouraging open communication, fostering a sense of belonging, and recognizing and rewarding efforts. Encouraging group projects can also instil that sense of shared purpose. Volunteers are more likely to be engaged and productive if they feel like they are a part of the organisation. Startups can foster a sense of belonging by providing opportunities for volunteers to get to know each other, such as through team-building exercises or social activities.

Encouraging Open Communication

Effective communication is essential for building a sense of community within a startup. Startups subscribed to SkilledUp Life can encourage open communication by providing regular opportunities for volunteers to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback. Separate channels can be created on team workspaces where volunteers can air their opinions, suggest feature updates, appraise process quality, etc.

Recognizing and Rewarding Efforts

Recognizing and rewarding the efforts of volunteers is essential for creating a culture of engagement within a startup. This can be achieved by publicly acknowledging the contributions of volunteers and providing opportunities for advancement and growth. Having weekly top-performer recognition could be a morale booster. Praising the high-performing individual can also encourage non-performing volunteers to sit up.

Providing Opportunities for Growth and Learning

Volunteers are often motivated by a desire for personal growth and development. Startups can increase the productivity of their volunteer talents by providing opportunities for growth and learning, such as through skill development opportunities and learning from failure. It should not be out of place for founders of startups to seek out and share free resources where their volunteers can upskill, especially if this is related to their functional roles on the team.

Providing Challenging Tasks

Volunteers are more likely to be engaged and productive if they are given tasks that challenge them and help them grow. Startups can provide volunteers with challenging tasks by assigning them projects that are outside of their comfort zone or by allowing them to take on their own.

Having explored the above avenues, it is very important to note that some volunteers may still not measure up to the highest performance anticipated; this is where there is a need for peer reviews. Pair your poor-performing volunteers with high-performing colleagues; this way, there is a likely chance that they may come up to speed.

In conclusion, keeping volunteer talent motivated is essential for the success of your organisation. Motivated volunteers become more productive, engaged, and committed to achieving the goals of the organisation, which can lead to improved creativity and innovation.

As a recap, SkilledUp Life is a two-sided marketplace where volunteers seeking professional experience are connected with early-stage, product-led startups seeking to build remote teams.

To date, over 100 startups have explored Skilledup Life’s offer in their journey to growth. They utilise SkilledUp Life’s business proposition to validate, build, and grow their companies. These tech startups have benefited from utilising the skills of the pool of 30,000+ volunteer talents for their productivity and growth.

Whether you are the founder of a technology startup looking to build teams or a prospective volunteer, your SkilledUp Life journey starts by creating a volunteer or company account at www.skilledup.life . Take the bold step today!