408. Using Volunteer Feedback and Reflec...

MobileServe helps groups like schools - from elementary to college - and companies connect with nonprofits to access service learning opportunities.

They also allow those groups to gather information and feedback from the students and employees participating. Kevin Bauman joins us to talk about what they’ve learned by reviewing the information they’ve collected around impact.

For volunteers - whether they’re students or adults - volunteering can offer the opportunity to make an impact, but that message doesn’t always get clearly delivered.

MobileServe has found that asking volunteers to reflect on their experience in some way before they return back to their classrooms or offices can make a big impact on the connection a volunteer feels to the work they did. 

Questions like “How did your service make you feel?” are a good start, but asking additional questions like “What challenged you?” or “What did you learn about the organization?” can invite volunteers to think a little more about their experience.

You can read more about this on Mobile Serve’s blog on the insights: https://blog.mobileserve.com/the-science-of-top-reflection-questions

While these are best practices for creating a connection with service learning volunteers, Kevin also shares how this type of reflection can be incorporated into working with adult volunteers, as well as a strategy to create a connection and form a stronger relationship with newer volunteers or volunteers that join your organization for single-day events.

Even just a few minutes at the end of a shift or event where volunteers can gather to talk about their experiences and the work they’ve done can go a long way toward creating a stronger connection to your organization and its mission.

You can learn more about the Service Learning Reflection Toolkit mentioned here: https://www.gtc.edu/sites/default/files/files/documents/Service_Learning_Reflection_Toolkit.pdf 

To learn more about MobileServe visit https://mobileserve.com/

And you can find MobileServe on social media @MobileServeApp

For More:

For more on service learning and creating connections with student volunteers check out Season 1, Episode 103 Key Lessons from Seven Years on Intern Iterations

Guest Bio:

Kevin Bauman is the Director of Community Development at MobileServe, a firm that helps connect volunteers to service opportunities and report the impact service organizations have in our communities.

He brings a passion for community building and 20 years of experience in not-for-profit technology solutions. He holds a conviction that technology can provide the necessary advantages for nonprofits and service organizations to meet aggressive goals with often limited resources.

Kevin earned a BS from the University of Texas at Austin and an Executive MBA from the University of Kentucky.

You can reach Kevin at kevin@mobileserve.org or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbauman/