How do you adjust to changing risks in your volunteer program?

2 Communicate with your stakeholders

Another key tip to adjust to changing risks is to communicate with your stakeholders, such as your volunteers, staff, board, funders, and beneficiaries. Communication is vital for creating a culture of risk awareness and responsibility, as well as for sharing information and feedback. By communicating with your stakeholders, you can keep them informed of the changes in your risk management policies and procedures, solicit their input and suggestions, and address their concerns and questions.

3 Provide ongoing training and support

A third tip to adjust to changing risks is to provide ongoing training and support for your volunteers and staff. Training and support are crucial for ensuring that your volunteers and staff have the knowledge, skills, and resources to perform their tasks safely and effectively, as well as to cope with any challenges or emergencies. By providing ongoing training and support, you can reinforce your risk management standards and expectations, update your volunteers and staff on the latest best practices and regulations, and enhance their confidence and competence.

4 Review and revise your documents and tools

A fourth tip to adjust to changing risks is to review and revise your documents and tools that support your risk management process. These may include your risk management plan, volunteer handbook, policies and procedures, forms and contracts, checklists and templates, and evaluation and reporting tools. By reviewing and revising your documents and tools, you can ensure that they reflect the current reality and needs of your volunteer program, comply with the relevant laws and guidelines, and facilitate your risk management implementation and improvement.

5 Learn from your experiences and others

A fifth tip to adjust to changing risks is to learn from your experiences and others. Learning is an ongoing process that helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses, discover new opportunities and threats, and adopt best practices and innovations. By learning from your experiences and others, you can evaluate your risk management performance and outcomes, identify the lessons learned and areas for improvement, and implement the necessary changes and actions.

6 Seek external advice and assistance

A final tip to adjust to changing risks is to seek external advice and assistance when needed. Sometimes, you may face complex or unfamiliar risks that require expert guidance or support. By seeking external advice and assistance, you can access the specialized knowledge and skills, additional resources and tools, and objective perspectives and feedback that can help you address your risk management challenges and opportunities.