User:Ijon/CEE/Volunteers

Abstract

I've been asked to introduce and moderate a session on Volunteer Management at the Wikimedia CEE Meeting 2012. Below are some notes and points for discussion.

Where do volunteers come from?

• the editing communities
  • how?
• partners
  • how?
• general public
  • how?

How to engage volunteers effectively?

• match tasks to skills and preference
• train to create/improve needed skills, e.g. train volunteers in public speaking, by professionals
• build a portfolio: do (or at least plan) several different things, to create multiple ways of engagement for potential volunteers
• have frequent low-barrier low-key activities to integrate newcomers, e.g.:
  • regular editing workshops
  • photo hunts
  • Wikisource proofreading
  • tutored maintenance tasks (e.g. dead links, copy editing)
• appreciate your volunteers!
  • and feed them :)

Threats to effective volunteer management

• burnout
• strong disagreements
• personal conflicts
• power dynamics
• bad precedents
• vicious cycles