It was my first day working at a national non-profit. The office manager handed me a passkey, my boss introduced me to the team, and my predecessor showed me where to find key files on my computer. I was so excited to lead a team of volunteers for a cause that remains very important to me.
That afternoon, I met a group of volunteers. Their focus that day was sharing their tips and tricks with me and bidding farewell to my predecessor whose tenure overlapped with mine. At one point, a volunteer said to me, "It's like mom is going on vacation and you're the babysitter!"
I tried not to look shocked, but my confidence was floored. Here I was, with a graduate degree and relevant volunteer engagement experience, yet I was being compared to a stand-in, and my value as a carefully-selected professional was unrecognized.
Inheriting volunteer relationships can be super awkward, especially if your predecessor built strong ties. In the decade since that experience, I've been in this situation many times. Here are my top five tips for a smooth transition:
Tip 1: Lean on your predecessor's insights, warm introductions, and support.
Before you accept a job offer, learn if your predecessor will take part in your onboarding! Ideally, you have the opportunity to work side-by-side for a smooth transition and knowledge transfer. If they have volunteers' trust and have provided them with strong links to organizational mission, a warm introduction will make a huge difference.
However, you may still encounter volunteers who are resistant to change and new leadership (as I did). In this case, and if you feel safe doing so, share your experiences with your predecessor and ask for support. My predecessor at the aforementioned organization let me know that the volunteer who compared me to a babysitter was struggling to find full-time work and was usually more welcoming. This context helped me build a strong relationship with the volunteer through sharing job search and interviewing resources. They soon found a good-fit role and thanked me for my support and professional reference.
From time to time, you may join an organization where volunteers have a deeper connection to your predecessor than the cause itself. Perhaps they are a family member or friend of your predecessor and will follow them to another organization. Don't let this get you down! As you prepare to recruit and fill the gaps, remember to set up your future self and future workers in your role for success by integrating mission connections to volunteer impact as much as possible. Start with how you respond to volunteer applications. Download my free volunteer application response template to jumpstart this process!
Tip 2: When possible, get to know volunteers individually.
When you start a new job, you're often asked to "hit the ground running". So, it's tempting to find ways to save time. Instead of planning to connect with volunteers one-on-one, you may think that group discussions, briefings, and debriefs will build sufficient rapport and trust.
I strongly recommend focused one-on-one meetings (of at least fifteen minutes) with each volunteer on your team. Realtime interaction and conversation goes a long way when exploring a volunteer's motivations, concerns, and communication style.
Tip 3: Be ready and willing to hear feedback before you experiment with change.
Speaking of hearing volunteer concerns, it is important to ask your new team for feedback. I love the "stop-start-continue" model for doing this. This model positions leaders to ask:
What's not working? (i.e. what should we stop?)
What can we do differently? (i.e. what can we start?)
What's going well? (i.e. what should we continue?)
When you're new to a team and want to find efficiencies, it's tempting to introduce change right away. But listening to volunteers' experiences first may tell you what's already been tried and what might need to stay the same for now.
Tip 4: Share information about your leadership and communication style.
"Figuring out" a new leader is hard. And volunteers who feel like they can't figure you out may choose to leave!
Be mindful of your leadership and communication styles, and prepared to describe them to volunteers. This can be done through an "about me at work" document or by reinforcing which communication channels you prefer (e.g., email if not urgent, phone if urgent).
Volunteers want to make an impact and contribute to the team. By explaining your vision of how you'll work together, they will adjust their ways of working, or ask you to accommodate their needs.
Tip 5: Know that you will make mistakes.
No one is perfect— not you, your predecessor, or any volunteer! Things get missed in transition notes, and errors will happen.
Stay calm and humble when mistakes occur. Use your curiosity when solving problems. Involve volunteers and colleagues in finding solutions!
Most of all, be transparent with your mistakes, as this demonstrates a growth mindset and accountability. When volunteers see the authentic you—mistakes, learning, and all—you'll build an even stronger trust-based relationship.
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