Did you know… the first instant cake mix Betty Crocker developed did not sell very well? Initial product surveys indicated customers felt “just adding water” was too easy, and therefore the cake must not be worth eating. So Betty Crocker went back to the drawing board and added one more step – an egg. After 59 years I think it’s obvious how successful this change made Betty Crocker.

What does Betty Crocker cake mix have to do with your organization’s volunteer roles? Well – is it possible volunteers want a different experience than the one you’re offering?

One of the most common sentiments I hear from not-for-profit leaders is the challenge of recruiting enough volunteers. When organizations post volunteer roles and no one applies (or the right people don’t apply), they lament that nobody volunteers anymore. Can you imagine what would have happened if Betty Crocker said “nobody bakes anymore” after its first cake mix failed?

When a successful company realizes they have a product no one wants, they change course and figure out what will make it desirable to the customer. Or they pull it altogether and develop a completely new product.

In the not-for-profit sector, we are excellent at asking if our programs and services are of value to the people we serve. Let’s start asking the same question about our volunteer roles. Are the roles you’re offering desirable to the people who want to volunteer with you? Have you developed the right roles to attract the talented people you want on your team?

We started this same conversation in 2006 with A People Lens Discussion Paper on the benefit of transforming your volunteer opportunities to attract and engage skilled professionals. Unfortunately, seven years later we still haven’t witnessed a significant shift. Search through the more than 600 volunteer roles currently available on govolunteer.ca and you’ll see the majority do not engage people’s unique skills or expertise.

Like it or not, you are in a competition for talent. If you want to win, you must begin with an understanding of what people want from their volunteer experience. The most talented people want a high-accountability, mission-critical role where they can contribute their unique skills and expertise.

Try the same tactic as Betty Crocker: don’t make it too easy. Make it feel worth the investment.