VOLUNTEER COMMUNICATION GUIDE
Fostering strong communication methods amongst your volunteers helps build community, keeps everyone aware of what’s going on in your organization and allows peers to help each other learn and grow. In an age of social media, forums, chat groups, messaging apps, and more, choosing the best tool can be overwhelming.
This guide breaks down some of the popular apps available today, for when and why you may want to use it.
INSTANT MESSAGING APPS
Instant messaging apps are mobile and web-friendly applications that allow its members to talk directly to each other using either an internet connection or their cell phone data plan. Many also allow users to make phone calls using an internet connection only.
Available apps
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WhatsApp: owned by Meta, WhatsApp works on all smartphone operating systems (OS) and is also available on your personal computer (PC) and via the web. To access WhatsApp via a desktop browser, you will still need a phone with the app installed that has a camera that can read a QR code.
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LINE: an app that works on all smartphone OS, Windows and Apple computers, and via a Chrome browser extension. It also includes stickers and games built into it, which can be a fun addition, as long as it doesn’t become distracting when used on site.
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Signal: a standalone app that works on all smartphone and PC OS. Signal uses end-to-end encryption, which means that no one, (not even the company) can intercept and read messages. This is helpful if you may be sending sensitive information to each other, or if your volunteers value privacy in their communication platforms. It does not have a web platform
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Telegram: a lesser known app that has minor privacy features, such as disappearing messages, and encrypted video calling and file sharing. It is available on all smartphone OS, PC OS, and via the web using a QR code to login.
When to use them
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Keep your volunteers in the loop. You can create separate groups by roles, departments, services, or everyone all together.
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Group chats created in these apps can host files, such as training manuals, scripts, etc, so everyone within the group chat can access them at any time.
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Individuals can mute groups when they are off-site, to avoid too many messages during their personal time. Using regular SMS messaging, there is usually no easy way to mute alerts as new messages arrive.
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As the manager, it is easy to look up and add your volunteer by their phone number, rather than starting all new groups, which can lead to confusion or people using the wrong groups to chat.
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Considerations
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Many require logging into a personal account via QR code, so it will require they own a smart phone that can download an app to get set up.
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Depending on how you set up your groups, they may become chaotic with too many members. You’ll need to individually remove members as they leave the organization.
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Lack of privacy for individual phone numbers. Once someone is added to your group, their profile may display their phone number used to sign up for the account. It would be important for everyone to understand and consent to this sharing - it may seem convenient for everyone to have this information, but there are also risks of harassment if volunteers don’t get along, or even just feeling unsafe if they receive a phone call from another volunteer and didn’t realize how they got their number.
FACEBOOK GROUPS
You can set up a Facebook group that is private to only your volunteers, then invite your staff to join.
When to use it
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Does not require a smart phone, as anyone can have an account and access via the web. This is helpful for users who may not have steady access to a phone, but will help them stay in the loop while on-site if they’re at a desk with a computer.
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You can pin important posts to the top of the page, which can be useful for upcoming events or information for everyone to read.
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Allows for people to add comments to a post and have longer discussions. These discussions won’t send alerts to everyone as people talk back-and-forth, which can be less stressful.
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Allows for video chat in “Rooms” feature, making it easy to do remote meetings on the same platform.
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Create events that are easy to sign up for & add to members’ calendars.
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Easy way to store & share files for educational reference, and photos, to help build community.
Considerations
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There is no method for sending a group instant chat - you would need to individually message (or add to a group message) via Facebook Messenger.
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Posts may be missed. Unless a user opts-in to receive a notification when the group has a new post, important information can be lost in the shuffle of the timeline algorithm. This would make it inefficient if there’s a message that needs an immediate response
SOCIAL MESSAGING PLATFORMS
These apps are similar to Instant Messaging apps, but are intended to allow different sub-groups or channels. This way, everyone signs up for one server (for your organization), but can be sorted into different channels so everyone is not in a single room.
Available apps
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Slack: an application generally used by older professionals and their organizations to talk with each other. Users can sign up with their own email address, then join via an invite to your Slack. It offers a lot of organization tools where you can create public channels, private channels and also “opt-in” channels that anyone can join if they want, but are not immediately available to them. This allows you to set up required channels for the entire group, private channels for teams or departments, and also fun channels that can be based on similar interests but aren’t needed by everyone, such as “recipe recommendations” or “tv show chat”, which helps build community.
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Discord: an app that was built for people who play videogames, but has gained in popularity. It is similar to Slack, though only has public and private channels. To “opt-out” of a channel, the user would need to mute it to avoid receiving notifications.
When to use them
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It is available via PC and mobile apps, as well as can be accessed in a web browser, so anyone can access their accounts whether they have a smartphone or only access to a computer on site.
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These apps are helpful if you have a larger community - you can assign others to moderate the group with you, so responsibility for managing it does not rely on one person. The ability to make multiple channels (or not allow anyone to make new channels except for the administrator) allows people to cut down on the noise
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Users can ‘mute’ the entire server when they’re not on the job and it will automatically start up the next day.
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These apps also allow for voice or video chats, without requiring a phone number.
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Considerations
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Because of its social nature, the user needs to be careful about setting their notification preferences - if it gets too noisy, people may start to ignore messages or mute all chats.
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The platform can have a learning curve to adoption, which can make it difficult for less technology-proficient volunteers to join and make use of it. A simpler platform would be easier to understand.