Playbook: P.E.P. up your volunteer program: discover easy ways to manage your volunteer program through preparation, engagement and perpetuation.

Without a doubt, volunteers are our greatest natural resource" and enhance the vitality of park and recreation services. Volunteers serve in many capacities including advocacy, program support, community outreach, fundraising and more. All of us have dedicated volunteers who provide service throughout our agencies and communities every day, but how do you manage the volunteer program? More often, departments are finding it necessary to establish a structured volunteer management program that assists in the promotion, recruitment, training, supervision and recognition of volunteers in an organized and efficient manner.

You may ask where to begin when establishing a structured volunteer program--P.E.P. is a volunteer management tool used by many volunteer managers in the field and it stands for Preparation, Engagement and Perpetuation. P.E.P. can be adapted to fit any agency's need. Here's how it works:

Preparation:

Assess your organization for readiness of volunteers. An assessment tool is critical and needs to be completed by department staff from administrators to part-time personnel. Some questions to ask are: How can volunteers help your organization? What kind of positions do you want volunteers to perform? What are volunteers currently doing in the organization? What do volunteers want to do?

Once this information is compiled and processed, who is going to manage the volunteer program? This is an operational decision and is dependent on the need.

Next, involve your risk management and legal offices in developing appropriate forms, applications and the volunteer process. This should also include establishing background check criteria and other safety precautions. Important forms to include are a volunteer position description, an application, a release form, timesheets and some type of feedback forms.

Develop a training program for volunteers and for staff, including the development of training manuals and training sessions. It is critical for staff to understand the mission, volunteer process and the infrastructure of the volunteer program. Volunteers need to be oriented in the volunteer process, department standards, policies and safety guidelines. Volunteers may also need the proper tools and training to succeed in specific positions.

The last step in preparation is to market and promote the volunteer program with the who, what, where, when and how. Promoting your program by designing attractive marketing brochures, utilizing print media, the Web site, television and radio coverage, etc. will have a major impact on the volunteer program.

Engagement:

With the volunteer infrastructure in place, you are ready to recruit, select, place, train, supervise, evaluate and recognize your volunteers. It is very important that volunteers be placed in a position that best fits their needs and yours. Don't forget the "virtual volunteer" who may love to work on the computer at home designing newsletters, sending out e-mails of upcoming volunteer events.

Recognition is also very important. National Volunteer Week is always the last week in April but you should not wait until then to recognize your volunteers. However, you may want to plan and implement a volunteer recognition event during that week inviting volunteers to celebrate their achievements.

Perpetuation:

Your volunteer management program is in place and volunteers are flocking to your doors, but now is not the time to sit back and relax. Your volunteer program needs commitment, dedication and "upkeep" to grow and flourish. Be aware of volunteer trends, attend appropriate trainings, research new volunteer markets and become members of organizations that promote the volunteer profession.

Your volunteer management program should be like a field of dreams--if you build it, they will come!

For information on NRPA's new volunteer management program called [TLC.sup.2], visit www.nrpa.org/tlc2

Web extra: Find 10 fun ways to recognize your volunteer's efforts.

www.nrpa.org/p&r

Marybeth Dugan is the volunteer coordinator for The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation, in Prince George's County, Md.