Spotlight Volunteer Management

The Movement’s 191 National Societies provide services to people and communities in vulnerable situations in almost every corner of the world thanks to an extensive network of more than 16 million volunteers engaged occasionally or regularly, with no expectation of financial or material benefit.

Collectively, they form the world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network. Local volunteers are close to their own communities, understand people’s needs and hardships, and enjoy their trust. When disaster strikes, Red Cross/Red Crescent volunteers are often the first on the scene.

Key cumulative data 2023

In 2023, the SRC provided technical assistance and support to enable its SNSs in Bhutan, El Salvador, Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Ukraine and South Sudan keep their volunteers motivated and engaged; it adopted a regional approach in Central Asia (Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan).
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The 2023 spotlight in NSD focuses on the support provided to Sister National Societies building and retaining a well-trained and motivated volunteer base as the backbone of responders in local disaster response and development activities.

Understanding what motivates volunteers

Volunteering is undergoing rapid change. The SRC therefore decided to investigate what motivates volunteers. Together with its partners in the Global Volunteering AllianceOpens a new window, it developed a web-based application, MOTIRO, to measure volunteer motivation.

A monitoring tool

MOTIRO enables National Societies to monitor their volunteers’ motivation. Currently available in 10 languages, MOTIRO aggregates results at branch, state and national level. It can be used to monitor progress towards psychological safety, gender inclusion, youth engagement, leadership development and mental well-being. It provides team leaders with feedback on how their leadership skills are perceived and how they can build motivation by improving those skills. To date, 15 National Societies have used MOTIRO to understand their volunteers' motivation and adapt their volunteer management and leadership practices.

An example from Kyrgyzstan

The Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan, for example, conducted a MOTIRO survey of 199 active volunteers to identify factors of motivation and problematic issues. While 70% expressed satisfaction with their volunteer activities, half of the respondents indicated that their personal values did not always coincide with those of the team. More than 80% felt energized by the satisfaction and meaning found in volunteering. About 60% were emotionally exhausted but not disappointed, probably because of the intense nature of volunteer activity.

A service for National Societies

Under the umbrella of the Global Volunteering Alliance, the SRC, the IFRC Secretariat and pioneering National Societies support and coach others as they work to improve volunteer engagement, motivation and well-being. MOTIRO’s functionalities are constantly being developed based on National Society needs. A community of practice to be launched in 2024 will enable exchanges and peer-to-peer support.

Global Volunteering Alliance

The SRC is one of over 70 National Societies actively engaged in the Global Volunteering AllianceOpens a new window to discuss current trends and influence the future of volunteerism in a changing world. In the last decade, the number of Red Cross/Red Crescent volunteers has fallen owing, for example, to volunteer management difficulties and lack of appropriate volunteer protection and safety mechanisms. The Global Volunteering Alliance was created to share and scale good volunteer practices among National Societies, to ensure the safety, security and well-being of volunteers, in line with the IFRC Volunteering Policy.

Four main issues need to be addressed: volunteer motivation, volunteering in dangerous situations, organizational learning and volunteer data management. New forms of volunteering are a cross-cutting issue. Drawing on its experience at home and abroad, the SRC plays a significant role in the Alliance as lead of the technical team on volunteer motivation.

Bhutan Red Cross: Building a volunteer base

The Bhutan Red Cross Society, the “youngest” of the 191 National Societies, is building a solid volunteer base across its 21 branches under its Strategy 2030. The SRC is working with this SNS to implement a volunteer management system for the effective recruitment, training, supervision and retention of volunteers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bhutan Red Cross not only proved its added value to the authorities and communities, it also heightened the visibility of its volunteer network. This led to a sudden and rapid increase in volunteer registration: in December 2023, the 21 branches had 6,893 registered volunteers.

Training to keep volunteers

The Bhutan Red Cross Society addresses retention through volunteer training. For example, volunteers trained in basic non-medical first aid and disaster management come to the aid of communities in emergency situations. Thanks to the Volunteer Safety and Security Policy, the volunteers are better protected, and their participation and safety are ensured. They are encouraged to take part in National Society recreational activities, to promote their well-being and a healthy lifestyle.

Youth volunteers

Young people are an important segment of Bhutanese society. The Bhutan Red Cross therefore established youth networks in 11 colleges in 2023. As agents of change, the youth volunteers initiate college and community events (e.g., blood donor, cleaning or college beautification campaigns) with the National Society's branch coordinators.

Digitalization of volunteer data

As part of its overall digitalization strategy, the Bhutan Red Cross Society enhanced management of volunteer data in 2023, moving from Excel spreadsheets and hardcopy formats to a more efficient and streamlined volunteer database. It also created a volunteer dashboard for quick access to volunteer data and interactive information.

The SRC is committed to maintaining its support for Sister National Societies enhancing their volunteer engagement capabilities. It will focus on volunteer motivation, collaborating closely with the Global Volunteering Alliance to develop tools, create learning opportunities and provide peer-to-peer coaching.