{"id":262,"date":"2021-08-23T17:14:11","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T17:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/?post_type=docs&#038;p=262"},"modified":"2022-05-23T22:00:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T22:00:45","password":"","slug":"team-leader-duty-officer-guide","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/docs\/team-leader-duty-officer-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Leader &#038; Duty Officer Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Remember, the goal is for every volunteer to leave wanting to come back. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Roles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>New Life is a volunteer-led organization. Duty Officers and Team Leaders are encouraged to take the lead, while staff can provide additional guidance as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Team Leader:<\/strong> Lead a specific task and, in some cases, is the only leadership present<\/li><li><strong>Duty Officer:<\/strong> Oversee a shift, including Team Leaders, with multiple tasks at once<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prerequisites <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Must be 18+ years of age for liability reasons<\/li><li>Must be trained by a staff member or someone directed to train to ensure lines of communication, safety, and consistency<\/li><li>Experience volunteering at New Life \u2013 no set minimum<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Run a Shift<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ensure everyone signs in and wears their nametag somewhere visible. If they don\u2019t have a name tag on (and the printer is working), that means they did not sign in.<ul><li><strong>Volunteers must sign up in advance.<\/strong><\/li><li>If a volunteer already in the system shows up without signing up, politely remind them they will be turned away if they don\u2019t sign up in advance next time.<\/li><li>If a volunteer shows up that\u2019s not in the system, thank them for their interest and politely tell them volunteers need to sign up in advance from our website for liability reasons.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Introduce yourself and get to know your team of volunteers.<\/li><li>Review safety &amp; guidelines<ul><li>Dollies \u2013 riding\/standing, distributing weight, loading\/unloading elevator<\/li><li>Elevator \u2013 only trained operators<\/li><li>Lifting \u2013 work together, posture, bend at the knees<\/li><li>Tidiness \u2013 fire and tripping hazards, \u201cLeave it better than we found it.\u201d<\/li><li>Software \u2013 only Inventory\/Sorting Team Leaders, Duty Officers, or Uploaders may use the iPads<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Explain what they\u2019re doing and how it connects to the mission<ul><li>Duty Officer \u2013 what\u2019s happening overall<\/li><li>Team Leader \u2013 how to do a specific task step-by-step<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>At the end, thank them for coming and express that you hope to see them again. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Management Strategies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Basics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Never put down a volunteer. Tone and choice of words can change how a volunteer interprets what you say.<\/li><li>Avoid terms of endearment and physical contact, especially with volunteers you don\u2019t know well. Regardless of intentions, calling someone \u201choney\u201d or putting a hand on their back can make people uncomfortable.<\/li><li>Be mindful of pronouns. If someone introduces themselves or indicates they use specific pronouns, make an effort to use them. <span style=\"color:#8d8d8d\" class=\"has-inline-color\">e.g. she\/her, him\/his, they\/theirs<\/span><\/li><li>Volunteer info, just like client info, is confidential. Do not discuss another volunteers\u2019 personal information with other volunteers.<\/li><li>People are imperfect. Let the small things go and bring any concerns to their attention. People cannot fix what they don\u2019t know isn\u2019t working.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Disengaged volunteer?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Redirect to a new task<\/li><li>Find out interests and see if there\u2019s a task that aligns with those<\/li><li>Explain importance of the task<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Unsafe volunteer?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Repeat safety instructions<\/li><li>Don\u2019t yell at\/discipline a volunteer<\/li><li>Instead, tell them why they\u2019re being unsafe and how it affects others and New Life<\/li><li>Humor helps (when appropriate)! \u201cI don\u2019t want to have to do paperwork.\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Misunderstood directions?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Direct an experienced volunteer to work with them<\/li><li>Re-explain the instruction in a different way<\/li><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Concerns about a volunteer?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Make the best of the situation and notify the Volunteer and Development Coordinator afterward, unless it\u2019s an emergency.<\/li><li><strong>We do not turn away a volunteer unless the reason is safety.<\/strong> If a volunteer has a hard time understanding instructions, lacks self-control, isn\u2019t following directions, or doing anything else that poses a risk to themselves or others, contact the Volunteer and Development Coordinator afterward.<\/li><li>If they pose an immediate danger, ask them to leave politely and contact the Volunteer and Development Coordinator immediately.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Remember, the goal is for every volunteer to leave wanting to come back. Roles New Life is a volunteer-led organization. Duty Officers and Team Leaders are encouraged to take the lead, while staff can provide additional guidance as needed. Team Leader: Lead a specific task and, in some cases, is the only leadership present Duty [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"doc_category":[7],"doc_tag":[20],"class_list":["post-262","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry","doc_category-leaders","doc_tag-volunteer-and-development-coordinator"],"year_month":"2026-04","word_count":593,"total_views":"846","reactions":{"happy":"0","normal":"0","sad":"0"},"author_info":{"name":"Amanda Wolfe","author_nicename":"amandanewlifefb-org","author_url":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/author\/amandanewlifefb-org\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"Team Leaders &amp; Duty Officers","term_url":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/docs-category\/leaders\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[{"term_name":"Volunteer and Development Coordinator","term_url":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/docs-tag\/volunteer-and-development-coordinator\/"}],"knowledge_base_info":[],"knowledge_base_slug":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":892,"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/262\/revisions\/892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=262"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newlifefb.org\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}