Learning and development opportunities as a tool for the retention of volunteers: a motivational perspective

Abstract

The growing reliance on volunteers in Australia has heightened the need for non-profit organisations to retain these valuable resources. However, the current literature on volunteer retention is limited. One potential way volunteers can be retained is by providing learning and development opportunities (LDOs). This study investigates the relationship between volunteer perceptions of LDOs, their motivations for volunteering, and retention. Analyses revealed significant main effects for LDOs and volunteer motivations on retention and several interactive effects demonstrating that LDOs can have differential effects on retention depending on the reasons for volunteering.

Recruiting and Retaining Participants in Citizen Science: What Can Be Learned from the Volunteering Literature?

“…Interestingly, motivations for initial involvement have been shown to be a factor in longevity of involvement (Newton et al 2014), with people with certain motivations more likely to continue volunteering than others. For example, McDougle et al (2011) found that young people who were motivated to volunteer for social reasons were more likely to invest greater amounts of time in volunteering, compared to those who were motivated to learn new things or new skills.…”

The management of volunteers – what can human resources do? A review and research agenda

“…For instance, research shows that training facilitates the commitment and/or retention of volunteers of Australian rugby clubs (Cuskelly et al, 2006), Spanish social and ecological non-profit organizations (Hidalgo & Moreno, 2009), a wide range of Australian non-profits (Newton et al, 2014), bereavement volunteer programs in the US (Grossman & Furano, 1999), human and environmental organizations in the US (Tang, Morrow-Howell, & Hong, 2009), New Zealand sports volunteers (Allen & Shaw, 2009), Irish elderly volunteers helping youth to read (Devaney et al, 2015), volunteers of a UK-based religious non-profit organization involved in international relief and development efforts (Saksida et al, 2016), a range of US (Hager & Brudney, 2011;Jamison, 2003) and Spanish charities (Hidalgo & Moreno, 2009), and volunteer emergency response workers in the UK (Waikayi, Fearon, Morris, & McLaughlin, 2012).…”

“…For instance, Newton et al (2014) found that volunteers with an understanding motive (the motivation to learn something new from volunteering) had higher levels of commitment when they were provided with learning and development opportunities, compared to volunteers with a weaker understanding motive. They also found that volunteers with strong career motives for volunteering reported significantly lower levels of intentions to stay; one explanation for this is that individuals with career motives, looking to gain skills, are likely to move to paid jobs once those skills are gained.…”

“…Much of this research implies that HR practices that have been developed in the paid context are transferable to those in the unpaid context; for instance, research has revealed the potential for HR practices to positively impact volunteers' satisfaction with their role (Fallon & Rice, 2015), commitment to the organization (Newton, Becker, & Bell, 2014), and their intent to remain volunteers (Millette & Gagné, 2008).…”

“…Third, the majority of research to date has explored how individual HR practices such as recruitment (e.g., Bennett & Kottasz, 2001), learning and development (e.g., Newton et al, 2014), or job design (e.g., Neufeind, Güntert, & Wehner, 2013) influence volunteer outcomes without questioning whether HR practices may exert a synergistic impact on volunteers.…”