Questions to Ask Volunteers About Their Experience
For whoever looks after the volunteers at a food bank, school, congregation, hospital, shelter or one-day event and wants to hear from the people already on the schedule how it is going. The questions follow the order of a check-in: the overall picture, getting started, the role itself, support and thanks, scheduling, then whether they plan to stay. Those worded as a rating or a choice of three are ready for a survey form, and the rest are better asked aloud, one to one or in a debrief after a shift or a season.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Overall
How has volunteering with us been so far?
Why ask it
Start here and then stay quiet. Whatever a volunteer mentions first, good or bad, is usually what is on top for them, so note it in their own words and come back to it before you finish.
Overall, how satisfied are you with your volunteer experience?
Why ask it
This is the survey version of the opener: give it a five-point scale and put an open box asking why straight after. The score lets you compare one season or site with another, and the box is where you find out what to fix.
What has been the best part of volunteering here?
Why ask it
Answers tend to gather around the people served, the other volunteers or one particular task. Whichever your group names most is the thing to protect when you redesign shifts, and it is honest material for your next recruiting notice.
What has been the hardest or most frustrating part?
Why ask it
Asked straight after the best part, it sounds like the other half of one question and people answer more freely. Sort what you hear into two piles: what is hard about the work itself, which you can only prepare people for, and what is hard about the way you run it, which you can change.
What made you start volunteering with us, and are you still getting that from it?
Why ask it
People come for company, for the cause, to use a skill or because they need hours signed off. A volunteer who came to meet people and now sorts donations alone on a weekday morning may drift away from a shift that runs perfectly well, and a different slot can be all it takes.
What have you gotten out of volunteering here that you did not expect?
Why ask it
Friends, a skill, a reason to leave the house on a Tuesday, a clearer idea of what the people you serve are up against. Write these down, since they are what a volunteer takes home in place of pay. Someone who cannot name anything after several months is worth a longer conversation.
What is one moment from your time here that has stayed with you?
Why ask it
A story tells you what a rating cannot: which part of the work reaches people. If you would like to repeat it in a newsletter or an orientation, ask the volunteer first and leave out anything that identifies someone you serve. When nobody can think of one, look at how close the role gets them to the people it is for.
How long have you been volunteering with us, and in which role?
Why ask it
On a survey this is what lets you read the other answers by group: a complaint about training means one thing from people in their first three months and another from people in their fifth year. Offer wide ranges instead of an exact date, and leave the question out if the team is small enough that the answer would point to one person.
What went well today, and what should we change for next time?
Why ask it
This is the two-minute debrief, asked while everyone is still putting things away. Keep it to the shift just finished, write down one change and say at the start of the next shift what you did about it.
Getting started
How welcome did you feel on your first day?
Why ask it
First days are remembered in detail: whether anyone knew they were coming, who showed them where to put a coat. If a newer volunteer describes standing around waiting, name one person per shift whose job is to greet whoever is new.
Did the orientation tell you what you needed to know before your first shift?
Why ask it
Ask what was missing and also what could have been left out, since an orientation tends to grow over the years until nobody remembers the part that mattered. Volunteers in their first two months are the ones who can still answer this accurately.
Was the training enough for the tasks you were given, or did you learn most of it on the job?
Why ask it
Learning on the job is fine when someone experienced is standing beside you and poor when you are alone at a front desk. Follow up by asking which task they first did without having been shown, and put that task into the training.
What do you wish someone had told you before you started?
Why ask it
Where to park, what to wear, that the building is cold, that some days are sad: the things nobody thinks to say because everyone on the team already knows them. Gather the replies onto one page and give it to each new volunteer before the first shift.
How easy was it to get from signing up to your first shift?
Why ask it
You are asking about the forms, the wait and any checks your organization requires. A long silence between applying and being scheduled is where willing people give up, so ask how many weeks it took and whether anyone kept in touch in between.
Was there anything in your first few shifts that you were unsure how to handle?
Why ask it
Listen for situations, not tasks: an upset visitor, a child who would not join in, a request they did not know whether they were allowed to grant. Each one is a scenario worth walking the next group through before they meet it.
When you were new, did you know who to go to with a question?
Why ask it
'Whoever was around' is a sign that it depends on luck. A named contact on each shift, introduced in person on day one, usually settles it, and a buddy for the first three shifts does even more.
The role
Is the role what you were told it would be when you signed up?
Why ask it
A gap here is usually nobody's lie: the posting was written years ago, or the need moved. Ask what is different, then decide whether to change the role back or change the description, because the next recruit is reading the same words.
Do you know what is expected of you on a shift?
Why ask it
Have them describe it instead of answering yes. If three volunteers in the same role describe three different jobs, the fix is a short written role description, not more supervision.
Are there shifts when there is not enough for you to do?
Why ask it
Being underused sends volunteers away more quietly than being overworked, because nobody complains about it. Ask which days it happens, then either cut the number of slots on those days or keep a standing list of jobs for slow hours.
Is there anything you are short of on a shift, such as supplies, equipment or information?
Why ask it
Small shortages come up here that staff stopped noticing long ago: one working label printer, no key to the supply closet, a login that only the coordinator has. Most cost little to fix, and volunteers notice at once when you do.
Can you see the difference your work makes?
Why ask it
Volunteers at the back of the operation, packing, filing or driving, often cannot, and those roles are easy to lose people from. If the answer is no, bring the result to them: a number at the end of the shift, a thank-you note passed on, a visit to the front of house.
Do you have a skill we are not using that you would like to use here?
Why ask it
You may find a bookkeeper stacking chairs or a retired nurse handing out flyers. Not every skill has a use, so promise only to keep it in mind, but write it against their name where you will see it when a need comes up.
Is there any task you have been given that you feel uncomfortable or underprepared doing?
Why ask it
Some volunteers will keep doing a task that worries them because they do not want to let you down. Make it plain that saying so will not cost them their place, then train for it, pair them up or take it off their list.
Now that you have been here a while, is there any training you would like?
Why ask it
Experienced volunteers are rarely offered anything after orientation, and being asked is itself a form of recognition. Requests for help with difficult conversations or with a new system tell you where the role has changed since they were trained.
Would you like more responsibility, less, or about what you have now?
Why ask it
Do not assume a long-serving volunteer wants to lead; plenty come precisely because nobody depends on them for decisions. Those who say 'more' are your future shift leads, and those who say 'less' have told you something before it became a resignation.
Support and thanks
Do you feel supported by the staff you work with?
Why ask it
If you are one of those staff, expect a polite yes and ask instead what a staff member did recently that helped. Where the trouble is one person or one shift, it tends to show as a pattern across several volunteers and not in any single answer.
When you have a problem or a question, do you get an answer quickly enough?
Why ask it
This one measures you, so take the answer without explaining why you were slow. Ask for the last time it happened and how long the wait was; a question left hanging during a shift matters more than a slow email reply in the week.
Do you hear from us too little, about the right amount, or too much?
Why ask it
Three choices make this easy to count on a form. 'Too much' usually means messages that did not apply to them, which points to splitting your list by role or site, not to sending less overall.
How do you prefer to hear from us: email, text, a group chat, a phone call or a notice at the site?
Why ask it
Ask it once and record it, because a group that spans students and retirees will not agree on one channel. Before adding volunteers to any group chat, check how your organization handles sharing people's phone numbers.
Do you feel appreciated for the time you give?
Why ask it
On a survey this is a rating; in person it is better followed by 'by whom?'. Thanks from the people served, from staff and from the organization are three different things, and a volunteer can be rich in one and missing another.
What is the best thank-you you have had here?
Why ask it
The answers are your guide to which kinds of recognition are worth the effort. If people remember a handwritten note or a staff member using their name and nobody mentions the annual lunch, you know where to put next year's energy.
Do the paid staff treat you as one of the team?
Why ask it
Listen for 'they' and 'we'. Being left out of the break room, the staff email or the news that a colleague has left makes volunteers feel like visitors, and those are things you can open up without spending anything. In a group with no paid staff, ask it about the committee or the long-serving core instead.
How do you get along with the other volunteers on your shifts?
Why ask it
For many people the others on the shift are the main reason they keep coming. If someone mentions friction, ask whether they want you to do anything about it or would simply prefer a different shift, and keep names out of anything you report upward.
Have you ever suggested a change here, and did you hear back?
Why ask it
The second half is the one that matters. Volunteers accept a no with a reason far more easily than silence, so if suggestions vanish, set up one place they go and one person who answers each.
Does anyone tell you how you are doing?
Why ask it
Volunteers are often thanked and seldom given feedback, which leaves the conscientious ones guessing. If they would welcome it, agree how: a word at the end of a shift suits most people better than anything resembling a performance review.
Have you ever felt unsafe or been treated disrespectfully on a shift?
Why ask it
Ask this privately and never in a group debrief. If something serious comes up, do not promise to keep it secret; say that you will take it to the right person, and follow your organization's own reporting procedure, checking with whoever is responsible for it if you are unsure what it requires.
Scheduling
Does your current schedule still work for you?
Why ask it
Lives change faster than shift lists: a new job, a new class schedule, a grandchild to pick up. Asking twice a year catches the volunteer who is about to start missing shifts and would happily move to another day.
How easy is it to sign up for a shift, swap one or cancel?
Why ask it
Treat the three as separate questions, because the sign-up may be fine while canceling means an awkward phone call. People who find it hard to cancel tend either to show up resentful or not to show up at all.
Are the shifts too short, about right, or too long?
Why ask it
A shift that is too long for the task shows up as people leaving early; one that is too short is not worth the journey. If answers split by age or by travel distance, consider offering the same role in two lengths.
Is the time we ask of you more than you expected, less, or about the same?
Why ask it
Count the hidden hours as well: the extra half hour of cleanup, the messages answered at home, the 'could you just cover Saturday'. If it is more than they agreed to, say so yourself and reset it before they reset it by leaving.
Do you get enough notice when a shift changes or needs covering?
Why ask it
Ask how much notice would be enough, since a student and a parent will give different answers. Frequent last-minute appeals also tell the reliable few that they are being leaned on, so keep track of who always says yes.
Is anything about getting here, such as travel, parking or childcare, making it harder to keep coming?
Why ask it
Hardly anyone brings up what volunteering costs them unless asked. Find out first what your organization is able to offer, whether that is expenses, a parking pass or a ride share, so that you ask only about things you can act on.
Would a different kind of commitment suit you better, such as one-off events, a seasonal role or something you could do from home?
Why ask it
This keeps a person who can no longer manage a weekly slot. Offer it as an equal option and not a step down, and note the answer even from those who are content, for the day their circumstances change.
Staying
Do you expect to still be volunteering here six months from now?
Why ask it
A 'not sure' is the most useful answer you can get, because there is still time to ask what it depends on. Students, seasonal residents and people who needed a set number of hours may have an end date that has nothing to do with you; ask so that you can plan for the gap.
Would you recommend volunteering here to a friend or family member?
Why ask it
On a form, a 0 to 10 scale with a 'why' box gives you a figure to track from year to year. Face to face, a pause before the yes is your cue to ask what they would warn the friend about.
What is one thing that would make volunteering here better for you?
Why ask it
On a survey, tally these by theme and look for whatever three or more people name without prompting each other. Then tell the group which of those you are going to do and by when; one visible fix earns more goodwill than a long list of intentions.
What is most likely to make you stop volunteering here?
Why ask it
It can feel like tempting fate, but people answer it calmly while they are still content. A move or a new job is out of your hands. 'If Thursdays stopped working' or 'if I kept being sent home early' is a warning that has arrived with time left to act on it.
Have you ever thought about stopping, and what kept you coming?
Why ask it
What kept them is the part to write down. It names the thing your program is doing right in that person's eyes, which is often not the thing you would have guessed.
Would you be interested in a different role here, such as training new volunteers, leading a shift or helping at events?
Why ask it
Boredom is a quiet reason for leaving, and a change of role can reset the clock for someone who has done the same task for years. Be clear about what the new role involves before they say yes, including any extra training or checks your organization requires for it.
What is one thing we should start doing, and one thing we should stop?
Why ask it
It works well at an end-of-season debrief with a group, each person writing both on a card before anyone speaks. The 'stop' answers are the braver ones, so read those out first and thank whoever wrote them.
What have I not asked about that you would like us to know?
Why ask it
On a survey, make this the last open box and keep it optional. Face to face, ask it before you close your notebook, because some volunteers hold the thing they came to say until the list of questions has run out.
Would you like me to come back to you about anything you raised today?
Why ask it
This is the question that makes the rest worth answering. If the survey was anonymous, offer a separate place to leave a name, and whatever the format, tell everyone when and how they will hear what you did with the results.
How to ask volunteers about their experience and use what you hear
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Survey, check-in or debrief
Pick the format by what you need to learn
A survey reaches everyone and gives you numbers to compare from one season to the next, but it will not tell you why. A one-to-one check-in gets the why from one person at a time. A debrief straight after a shift or an event catches practical detail that is forgotten within a week. Most programs need a little of each: a short survey once or twice a year, a check-in with every new volunteer after the first month, and two minutes of debrief whenever something was tried for the first time.
Be honest about anonymity
Anonymous surveys tend to get franker answers, but with twelve volunteers a survey is not really anonymous: you will know the handwriting, the shift and the turn of phrase. Say plainly who will read the answers and whether comments will be passed on word for word. If you cannot promise that nobody will be recognized, do not promise it.
Do not wait for the end of the season
Feedback collected on the last day can only help next year's volunteers. Ask new people after three or four shifts, while the first day is still fresh and before a small annoyance has become a reason to stop. Ask everyone at the midpoint, when there is still time to change a schedule or a pairing.
Cut the list down
Nobody should be handed every question on this page. For a survey, take ten to twelve: two from Overall and two from each of the other groups, chosen to match what you are actually prepared to change. For a check-in, five is plenty. Leave out any question whose answer you could do nothing about.
In the conversation
Choose who asks
Volunteers are polite people talking to someone they like, so the shift supervisor will mostly hear that everything is fine. Where you can, have the check-in done by someone one step removed: the coordinator instead of the site lead, or a board member or long-serving volunteer for the end-of-season round.
Pick a time that is not the shift
Ten minutes before or after works better than pulling someone off the floor, and a phone call in the week works for people who leave promptly. Group debriefs suit practical questions about how the day ran. Anything about staff, other volunteers, safety or leaving belongs in private.
Trade the opinion for an occasion
'Do you feel supported?' gets a yes. 'Tell me about a shift when you needed help' gets a morning, a name and what happened next. Nearly anything under The role or Support and thanks can be turned this way, and the occasion a volunteer picks is itself part of the answer.
Listen without defending
When someone says the training was thin or a message never arrived, the pull is to explain. Write it down, thank them and ask one more question instead. An explanation can wait for the follow-up; give it on the spot and the volunteer learns that being frank leads to a debate.
Adjust for who is in front of you
Teenagers and students doing required hours often find a choice of three easier than an open question, and they should not be asked in front of the adult who signs their form. Corporate groups who came for one day need only the debrief questions. With volunteers who also use your services, take extra care that nothing they say can affect the help they receive, and tell them so.
After you have asked
Sort before you act
Put every comment in one of three piles: fix this week, fix by next season, cannot change. The first pile is usually small things such as a key, a sign or a contact name, and doing them fast is what earns you honest answers next time.
Report back to everyone
Within a few weeks, tell the whole group what you heard and what you did: three things you changed, one you are working on and one you cannot change, with the reason. A survey that disappears teaches volunteers not to bother with the next one.
Notice who did not answer
The people who skip the survey and the volunteers who have missed two shifts in a row are often the same people. A short personal message asking how things are going will tell you more about why volunteers drift than the returned forms will.
Handle the serious things properly
Now and then a question brings up something that is not feedback: an injury, a safeguarding worry, a complaint about how someone was treated. What you must do with it depends on your organization, the people you serve and where you are, so find out before you start asking who such reports go to and what the procedure is. Do not promise a volunteer more confidentiality than that procedure allows.
Keep the same core questions
Change the wording every time and you lose the comparison. Hold four or five questions fixed, such as overall satisfaction, feeling appreciated, enough to do and whether they would recommend you, and rotate the rest around whatever you are trying to improve that year.