Reader situation
Your community has grown beyond what one person can manage. Volunteers have offered to help, but roles are unclear, some volunteers are doing too much and others aren’t sure what’s expected. Without structure, good volunteers burn out or drift away.
Central idea
Volunteer leaders need clear responsibilities and reasonable expectations to support a community consistently. Agree on the role, time commitment, boundaries and available support, then review whether the arrangement continues to work for both sides.
Practical steps
- Needed responsibilities. List the work the community actually needs. Common responsibilities include welcoming new members, hosting Circles or discussions, moderating, organizing events and sharing updates. Group related tasks into roles, and estimate roughly how much time each takes in a typical month.
- Start with what’s essential. It’s better to fill three clear roles well than to create eight roles that no one can sustain.
- Suitability and interest. Match roles to people’s interests and strengths. Ask volunteers what they enjoy and what they’d like to learn, rather than assigning roles based only on availability. Someone who enjoys meeting new people may make a good welcome lead; someone who is careful and calm may suit moderation. Ask about time honestly too. A volunteer who can give two reliable hours a month is more helpful than one who promises ten and can’t sustain it.
- Be fair and transparent about how roles are offered. If several people are interested, explain how you’ll decide. Avoid giving the most visible roles only to the people you already know best. A mix of volunteers from different backgrounds also helps the community feel open to all its members.
- Scope and boundaries. Write a short description of each role. Include what the role covers, what it doesn’t, the expected time commitment and which decisions the volunteer can make on their own. For example, a moderator might remove spam without asking, but consult the owner before removing a member.
- Agree how long the role lasts. A fixed term, such as six months, makes it easier for volunteers to commit and easier to step back without awkwardness.
- Share the description with the volunteer before they accept, and invite changes. A description agreed together is more likely to reflect what the volunteer can actually do, and it gives both of you something to refer back to if expectations drift.
- Support and handover. Tell volunteers who they can go to with questions and how quickly they can expect an answer. Share any guidance they need, such as community guidelines and examples of good practice. When a volunteer steps down, plan a handover: a short note on current work, open issues and useful contacts, and, if possible, a conversation with their successor.
- Recognize volunteers’ contribution. A thank-you, a mention in a community update or a reference letter can matter more than people expect.
- Periodic review. Check in with each volunteer every few months. Ask what’s working, what isn’t and whether the time commitment is still realistic. Be open to changing the role or ending the arrangement. Ask what support would help them most. Volunteers’ circumstances change, and a respectful review makes it easier for people to tell you when they need to step back.
Worked example
Fictional example
Grace owns a community of 600 product managers. Three volunteers help informally, and one, Paul, is doing most of the moderation and event planning. He’s started to miss messages.
Grace lists the community’s needs and creates three roles: welcome lead, moderator and events coordinator, each estimated at three to four hours a month. She asks each volunteer what they enjoy. Paul prefers events, so he becomes events coordinator. Two other volunteers take the welcome and moderation roles. Grace writes a short description for each role, agrees a six-month term and sets a monthly 20-minute check-in. She also lists who each volunteer can contact with questions.
At the three-month review, the moderator says the time commitment is higher than expected. Grace and she agree to recruit a second moderator to share the work. Paul says the events role suits him much better than his earlier mix of tasks, and he agrees to continue for another term.
Boundaries
- Volunteers aren’t employees. Don’t expect the availability, response times or commitment you would from paid staff.
- Don’t give volunteers access to private member information unless their role requires it.
- Volunteers shouldn’t make decisions with legal or financial consequences for the community without the owner’s involvement.
- Respect a volunteer’s decision to step down, and thank them sincerely.
One action to try with a professional peer
Write a one-paragraph description of one volunteer role in your community, including scope, time commitment and boundaries. Share it with the volunteer and ask what they’d change.
Discussion prompt
What kept you volunteering in a community longer than you planned, or what made you stop?
