A systematic volunteer management system is essential to enhance the effectiveness of volunteer participation in community end-of-life care. Unstructured volunteer participation, ineffective services, difficulties in keeping volunteers motivated and high volunteer turnover rates are common problems that can result from the absence of an effective and throughout volunteer management. Volunteer coordinators should plan for volunteer management at the beginning stage of service design, and should consider the followings:
- Develop vision, mission, and values of the service
- Establish volunteer objectives, roles & boundaries and impacts
- Design volunteer training programme
- Design volunteer continuous support and supervision procedures
- Develop volunteer recognition strategies