School of Business
Working better with volunteers
Improving the effectiveness of managers of volunteers and their teams in the National Trust and beyond
Collaborative research between the Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ and the National Trust has highlighted the unique, and often unspoken, emotional challenges involved in managing volunteers across the UK. This has led to a series of interventions that have substantially informed National Trust policy regarding the management of volunteers; and demonstrably altered practice, via the development of new guidelines, training, and a toolkit designed to better manage the emotional difficulties encountered when directing and coordinating volunteers. Our research has directly improved manager-volunteer relationships and volunteer manager wellbeing, and its success has prompted other voluntary organisations to implement similar changes.