One-on-one meeting questions for checking in with volunteers
Most volunteer leaders only talk to people one at a time when something has gone wrong. That is a pity, because a twenty-minute chat when nothing is wrong is the cheapest tool you have. It catches the tired volunteer before they quit, the bored one before they drift, and the quiet one who has had a good idea for months and never found a gap in the meeting to say it.
What follows is a set of one-on-one meeting questions you can copy, a way to book and run the conversation without making it feel like an appraisal, and what to do when the answers come back as single words. No forms, no scoring, nothing to file.
Why bother on a volunteer team
Paid teams hold one-on-ones because managers are expected to. Volunteer teams have a better reason: nobody is obliged to stay. People leave a volunteer role for small, fixable things far more often than for big ones. A shift time that stopped working when school started. A job they never liked but felt awkward giving up. A feeling that nobody noticed whether they came or not.
You rarely hear about those things in a group. You hear about them over coffee, one on one, when somebody asks.
There is a second reason. When you check in with everyone, a check-in stops meaning trouble. The first one feels odd. By the third round, people expect it and come with things to say.
How to set it up
Keep the arrangements light. The goal is a conversation, not a meeting with a capital M.
- Pick a rhythm you can keep. For a team of eight or fewer, once every two or three months per person is plenty. For a bigger team, split the list with a co-leader.
- Book it in a normal place. A coffee shop, a bench outside the hall, a phone call while someone walks the dog. Avoid the office, if your organization has one, and avoid right after a long session when everyone wants to go home.
- Say what it is when you ask. People assume the worst if you just say "can we talk?"
- Keep it to 20 minutes. Put a hard end on it, and finish on time even if it is going well. You can always book another.
- Bring a short list, not a script. Five questions at most. More on choosing them below.
Here is an invite you can paste into a message and adjust:
Hi Jordan, I'm doing short check-ins with everyone on the team
this month, nothing wrong, just 20 minutes to hear how things
are going from your side. Would a coffee before Thursday's shift
work, or is a phone call easier? Your pick.
That last line matters. Letting the volunteer choose the format and place tells them this is for their benefit, not yours.
The one-on-one meeting questions
Copy this into a note on your phone or a document you keep for the team. You will not use all of it in one sitting. Pick one or two from each of the first few groups, and always end with a closing question.
OPENING (pick one)
- How has the last month been for you, on the team and generally?
- What's been the best part of volunteering lately?
- What's on your mind about the team right now?
THE ROLE ITSELF
- Which part of what you do do you enjoy most?
- Which part would you happily hand to someone else?
- Is the time and day still working for you?
- Is there anything you need that you don't have?
(a key, a login, a clearer instruction, a second pair of hands)
THE TEAM
- Who on the team have you enjoyed working with?
- Is anything getting in the way of working well together?
- Is there anyone we should be keeping an eye on or thanking?
LOAD AND ENERGY
- On a scale of "could do more" to "need a break", where are you?
- Is there a week coming up you'd like off?
- Is anything outside the team making this harder at the moment?
(no need to share detail)
GROWTH
- Is there something you'd like to try or learn here?
- Would you ever want to lead a part of this, even a small part?
- What's a skill you have that we haven't used yet?
ABOUT ME AS THE LEADER
- What's one thing I could do differently that would help you?
- Is there anything I've asked for that wasn't clear?
CLOSING (always)
- What's the most useful thing we talked about?
- Is there anything else you wanted to say?
- What's one thing I'll follow up on, and by when?
The question about the part they would happily hand to someone else is worth asking every time. It is the question most likely to reveal a slow leak before it turns into a resignation.
The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier is a good companion here. Its main idea is to ask a few good questions and stay curious a little longer before offering advice, especially by asking whether there is anything else before you respond. That one move turns plenty of short answers into real ones.
Choosing five, not twenty
Twenty questions in twenty minutes is an interview. Five is a conversation. Here is a plan for a typical check-in:
| Minutes | What happens | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | Settle in, small talk, coffee | How has the last month been? |
| 3 to 9 | The role | Which part would you happily hand to someone else? |
| 9 to 13 | Load and energy | Is there a week coming up you'd like off? |
| 13 to 17 | Growth or the team | Is there something you'd like to try here? |
| 17 to 20 | Close and agree one follow-up | What's one thing I'll follow up on? |
Change the middle depending on the person. A new volunteer needs more on the role and the team. Someone who has been around for years may want to talk about handing over, or taking on something bigger. Someone who has been missing shifts needs the load questions first.
If the person brings their own topic, drop your list and follow theirs. Their agenda beats yours every time.
When the answers are one word
It happens. "Fine." "Good." "No, all okay." Some people are private, some are tired, and some are not sure yet whether you mean it. A few things that help:
- Ask about something specific instead of something general. "How did the Saturday food drive go for you?" gets more than "How's it going?"
- Wait. After a short answer, count to five before you speak. Most people fill the silence.
- Go first. Share one thing you are finding hard about the team. It gives them permission.
- Ask the handover question. "If you could stop doing one part of this, what would it be?" almost always gets more than a word.
- Do not push. If someone clearly does not want to talk, end early, thank them and leave it. The next check-in will usually be easier.
If someone tells you something that sounds more serious than a scheduling problem, such as exhaustion, illness or trouble at home, listen, thank them, and encourage them to speak to a doctor, counselor or the right person in your organization. There is more on spotting the early signs in volunteer burnout.
After the conversation
This is where most check-ins fail. The chat goes well, the leader means to follow up, and nothing happens. Three weeks later the volunteer has learned that talking to you does not change anything.
Write a short note within an hour, on your phone in the car if that is all you have. Keep it private, and keep it to facts, not opinions about the person:
| Name | Date | What they said | What I said I'd do | By when | Done |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan | Wants Saturdays off in June; would like to help plan the fall event | Ask Dana to swap two Saturdays; invite Jordan to the planning call | Next Friday |
Then do the thing. If you cannot do it, tell them that too, and why. "I asked, and we can't move the shift, but I've found someone to cover every other week" is far better than silence.
Small follow-ups like this are a large part of how teams keep people for years. There is more on that in how to keep volunteers coming back, and the shared rota and agenda templates in the toolkit make the practical changes easier to carry out.
Questions leaders ask
Should I check in with every volunteer or just the key ones?
Everyone, eventually. The volunteers who seem least central are often the ones most likely to drift away without saying anything.
Is it okay to do it by phone or video?
Yes. Some people are more open on the phone because they do not have to manage their face. Use whatever the volunteer prefers.
What if I am not the right person for them to talk to?
Then ask who is. On some teams a co-leader or another experienced volunteer is a better fit for certain people. The point is that everyone gets asked, not that you personally do every conversation.
Start with one person this week, the volunteer you have spoken to least in the past month. Send the invite tonight, and put the question set in your phone before you go to bed.
