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Risk Management: General Principles of Risk Management in Volunteer Programs

Many aspects of risk management in volunteer programs may include activities you are already involved in, such as screening volunteers to ensure they are a good fit for your unit. The best way to incorporate effective risk management practices into your MRC unit—without adding additional work—is to view every interaction with a volunteer as a chance to manage risk.

For example, risk management can be incorporated into the following activities:

1. Selecting volunteers—Recruiting and screening volunteers ensures they are suited for their roles in the MRC. Recruiting materials can manage risk by helping potential volunteers determine whether serving in an MRC unit suits them. Not every volunteer is a good fit for your organization (see the TA Series publication Developing Volunteer Relationships and Capabilities for more information).
    
2. Preparing volunteers for their roles—The better prepared volunteers are to fill their roles in the MRC, the smaller the chance of unintended harm. Volunteers need to know what they should and should not do. Your unit’s volunteer position descriptions, code of conduct, training, and exercises are part of this strategy.
    
3. Proper volunteer utilization—A clear plan for activating the volunteer unit can help ensure the volunteers have a clear mission and that there are provisions for their physical and emotional well-being, in addition to protection from legal liability, where applicable.
    
4. Protecting safety and well-being—Providing MRC volunteers with protective equipment to safely fulfill their roles, ensuring the areas they work in are safe, and protecting the physical and emotional well-being are ways of protecting your volunteers, your most important asset.

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Last Updated on 8/24/2006