How to Run Effective One-on-Ones with Volunteers

The retention tool nobody uses

Here's a number worth sitting with: people who never have a one-on-one conversation with the person they report to are four times more likely to be disengaged. That's from Gallup's global workplace research, and it's based on millions of employees across dozens of countries.

Now think about your club. When was the last time you sat down with your treasurer - just the two of you - and asked how things were going? Not at a committee meeting. Not in a group chat. A dedicated conversation where they got to set the agenda.

If the answer is "never" or "I can't remember," you're not unusual. Most volunteer-run organisations don't do one-on-ones. It feels too corporate. There's no time. Everyone's busy. And besides, you see each other at training every week - surely that's enough.

It isn't. Seeing someone at training tells you they showed up. It doesn't tell you that they're frustrated by the lack of support from the state body, that they're thinking of stepping down next season, or that they have a genuinely good idea for the junior programme but didn't want to raise it at a meeting with fifteen people watching.

One-on-ones surface the things that committee meetings never will. And in a volunteer context - where people can leave at any time, with no notice, for no reason - those unsurfaced things are usually the ones that cost you your best people.

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This is not a committee meeting

The first thing to understand about a one-on-one is what it isn't.

A committee meeting exists to coordinate the group. Decisions get made, updates get shared, actions get allocated. The agenda belongs to the club.

A one-on-one exists to support the individual. It's their meeting, not yours. They set the topics. You listen more than you talk. The agenda belongs to them.

This distinction matters because the moment a one-on-one turns into a status update - "Have you done the thing? When will the thing be done?" - it stops being useful. The volunteer learns that this meeting is about accountability, not support, and they'll either start dreading it or start cancelling it.

Your job in a one-on-one is to understand how the person is going, what's in their way, and what you can do to help. If you walk away knowing more than when you sat down, it worked. If the volunteer walks away feeling heard, it really worked.

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Who should have one-on-ones (and who shouldn't)

You don't need to meet individually with every volunteer in the club. That would be unsustainable and unnecessary. The principle is simple: if someone manages other volunteers, they should be having one-on-ones with the people they manage.

In a typical club, that looks like this

• President has one-on-ones with each committee member (treasurer, secretary, registrar, junior coordinator, etc.)
• Junior coordinator has one-on-ones with team managers and age-group coordinators
• Events coordinator has one-on-ones with key event volunteers during busy periods
• Any role that oversees other volunteers - coaching director with head coaches, canteen manager with regular canteen volunteers

You're following the reporting lines, even if your club doesn't think of them that way. The president doesn't need to meet with every team manager - that's the junior coordinator's job. The president needs to meet with the junior coordinator, and coach them on having their own one-on-ones.

People who don't need a formal one-on-one

Casual volunteers who help out once a month at the sausage sizzle don't need a scheduled meeting. A thank-you and a quick "everything going okay?" is plenty. Save the structured one-on-ones for the people who carry ongoing responsibility.

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How often: less than you think

The research from management contexts suggests weekly one-on-ones for direct reports. That's not realistic in a volunteer setting and it's not necessary.

A rhythm that works for clubs

• Monthly for committee members during busy periods (pre-season, major events, registration season)
• Quarterly for committee members during quieter stretches
• Fortnightly for new volunteers in their first three months, or for anyone going through a difficult patch
• As needed for experienced volunteers who are settled and happy - keep the standing invitation open

The important thing is consistency. A monthly one-on-one that actually happens is worth more than a weekly one that gets cancelled every second time. Put it in the calendar. Protect it. If you have to reschedule, reschedule - don't cancel.

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The 20-minute structure

Volunteer one-on-ones should be short. Twenty minutes is the target. You're both giving up your time for free, and a sprawling hour-long meeting will feel like a burden rather than a support.

Here's a structure that works. It's adapted from the Manager Tools framework, simplified for a volunteer context.

1. Check in (2 minutes)

Start by asking how they're going - as a person, not as a role-holder. "How are things?" or "How's the week been?" This isn't small talk. It's a signal that you see them as a human being, not just a function. If something's going on in their life that's affecting their capacity, this is where you'll hear about it.

2. Their topics (10 minutes)

This is the core of the meeting and the part most people get wrong. Ask: "What did you want to talk about?" or "What's on your mind?" Then listen.

This is their agenda. They might want to talk about a problem with another volunteer, an idea they've been sitting on, a concern about workload, or something they need from you. Whatever it is, this is where it surfaces.

If they say "nothing, all good," don't immediately fill the space with your own topics. Sit with the silence for a moment. Then try a prompt: "Anything frustrating you at the moment?" or "Is there anything you need from me that you're not getting?" People often need a second invitation before they'll raise the real thing.

3. Your topics (5 minutes)

Now it's your turn. Share any updates that affect them, give feedback on something specific, flag upcoming changes, or ask for their input on a decision. Keep it brief and relevant to their role.

This is also where you raise concerns, if you have any. But frame them as observations, not accusations. "I noticed the registration numbers for the under-14s are lower than last year - do you have a sense of what's going on?" is a conversation. "Why haven't the registrations been done?" is an interrogation.

4. Looking ahead (3 minutes)

What's coming up in the next month? Are there any big events, deadlines, or potential problems on the horizon? Is there anything they're worried about? This is your early warning system - the place where problems get flagged before they become crises.

5. Actions (2 minutes)

End by confirming who's doing what by when. Keep it to two or three actions maximum. Write them down - even just a quick note on your phone. Following through on these actions is what builds trust. Forgetting them is what destroys it.

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Fifteen questions that work in a volunteer one-on-one

The best one-on-one questions are open-ended, curious, and non-threatening. They invite the person to reflect, not to defend. Here are fifteen that work well in a club context.

Understanding how they're going

1. "What's been the best part of your role this month?"
2. "What's been frustrating you?"
3. "How's the workload feeling - manageable, heavy, or too light?"
4. "Is there anything you've been putting off because you're not sure how to handle it?"

Surfacing what they need

5. "What could I do differently to support you better?"
6. "Is there anything you need from the committee that you're not getting?"
7. "Are there any skills you'd like to develop while you're in this role?"
8. "Do you have the information you need to do your job, or are you guessing on some things?"

Checking the health of relationships

9. "How are things going with the other volunteers in your area?"
10. "Is there anyone you think we should be checking in on?"
11. "Are you getting enough help, or are you carrying too much on your own?"

Looking ahead

12. "What are you most worried about for next season?"
13. "If you could change one thing about how we do things, what would it be?"
14. "Are you planning to continue in this role next year? No pressure either way - I just want to plan."
15. "Is there anything else on your mind that we haven't covered?"

Notice what these questions have in common: they're about the volunteer's experience, not about your to-do list. They open doors. They don't interrogate.

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Adapting one-on-ones for volunteers

Everything in the management literature about one-on-ones assumes a paid workplace with set hours, a physical office, and a formal reporting relationship. Volunteer organisations have none of those things. Here's how to adapt.

Keep it informal

The setting matters more than you think. A coffee at the clubhouse after training feels like a conversation. A scheduled meeting in the committee room with an agenda feels like a performance review. Choose the first option whenever you can.

Respect their time

Twenty minutes maximum. If the conversation is flowing and both of you want to continue, that's fine - but never make someone feel obligated to stay longer. They drove across town on a Tuesday night for this. Honour that.

Be flexible on format

Not every one-on-one needs to be face-to-face. A phone call on the drive home from work, a video chat during lunch, or even a voice message exchange can work. The goal is the conversation, not the format.

Don't make it compulsory

In a paid job, one-on-ones are part of the deal. In a volunteer setting, they're an offer. Frame them that way: "I'd like to catch up with you once a month to see how things are going and make sure you've got what you need. Would that work for you?" If someone genuinely doesn't want to, respect that.

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The check-in call: a lighter alternative

Not every volunteer needs the full 20-minute structure. For team managers who are experienced and settled, or for volunteers you see regularly and have a good read on, a five-minute check-in call can be enough.

The check-in call has three questions:

1. "How's everything going?"
2. "Is there anything you need from me?"
3. "Anything coming up I should know about?"

That's it. Five minutes, once a month. It maintains the connection without the overhead. If something comes up during the check-in that needs a longer conversation, schedule one. Otherwise, you're done.

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Virtual one-on-ones: making them personal

Phone and video calls are perfectly valid for volunteer one-on-ones, especially when your volunteers are spread across a region or have family commitments that make evening meetings difficult.

A few things that help virtual one-on-ones feel less transactional:

• Start with the personal check-in, same as you would in person. Don't skip it because you're on a screen.
• Keep your camera on if you're on video. It's harder to build trust when you're talking to a black rectangle.
• Don't multitask. Close your email. Put your phone down. Twenty minutes of genuine attention is worth more than an hour of half-listening.
• Follow up in writing. A quick message after the call - "Good to catch up, here's what we agreed on" - makes the conversation feel real rather than ephemeral.

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What to do with what you learn

A one-on-one is only as valuable as what happens afterwards. If someone tells you they're struggling with a task and nothing changes, you've just confirmed that raising problems is pointless.

Act on feedback

If a volunteer tells you something isn't working, do something about it - even if the something is small. Move a meeting time. Redistribute a task. Connect them with someone who can help. The action doesn't have to be dramatic. It has to be visible.

Connect people to support

Sometimes what a volunteer needs isn't something you can provide. They might need training, a mentor, or help from the state body. Your job is to know where to point them - and to follow up to make sure they got there.

Adjust workload before burnout hits

One-on-ones are your early warning system for burnout. If someone tells you the workload is heavy, don't wait for them to break. Redistribute tasks now. It's easier to move two responsibilities off someone's plate today than to replace them entirely next month.

Keep notes

You'll have dozens of conversations over a season. You won't remember what your registrar told you in March by the time June rolls around. Keep brief notes after each one-on-one - two or three dot points capturing what was discussed and what was agreed. If your club uses a management platform like TidyHQ, the contact notes feature is a natural place for this. It keeps the conversation history attached to the person, not buried in a notebook you'll lose.

Track agreed actions

When you agree to do something in a one-on-one, write it down and follow through. A task management system helps here - creating a task with a due date and an assignee means it doesn't rely on memory. TidyHQ's task management works for this, or even a shared to-do list. The tool matters less than the habit.

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Common mistakes

Turning it into a status update

"Have you finished the grant application? Where are we with the registrations? Did you book the venue?" This is a project meeting, not a one-on-one. If you need status updates, get them via email or your task management system.

Doing all the talking

If you're talking more than 30% of the time, you've taken over their meeting. Ask a question. Then wait. The silence is where the important things live.

Only having one-on-ones when something's wrong

If the only time you schedule a catch-up is when there's a problem, people will associate one-on-ones with bad news. The rhythm needs to be consistent - good times and bad - so that the meeting feels normal, not ominous.

Cancelling them

Every cancelled one-on-one sends a message: this isn't important. Reschedule if you have to, but don't cancel. If you're the one who keeps moving it, the volunteer will stop prioritising it too.

Not following through

You agreed to raise something with the state body. You said you'd look into the insurance question. You promised to talk to the other committee member about the scheduling conflict. If you don't do these things, the one-on-one becomes a place where problems go to die.

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Making it sustainable: you're a volunteer too

If you're the president or coordinator having these one-on-ones, you're doing this on top of your own volunteer workload. It has to be sustainable or it won't last.

Batch your one-on-ones

If you have six committee members, don't spread six meetings across six different evenings. Stack two or three on the same night - before or after training, or on a night you're already at the club. Reduce the number of trips, not the number of conversations.

Use the phone

Not every one-on-one needs to be face-to-face. A ten-minute phone call on your lunch break is a perfectly good one-on-one. The commute home from work is another window. Fit it into time you're already spending, not time you're creating.

Rotate intensity

Not everyone needs the same level of attention every month. Your new treasurer who's still finding their feet might need a proper sit-down. Your experienced secretary who's been in the role for three years might only need a check-in call. Adjust the format to the person and the moment.

Schedule them in advance

Use your club's meeting scheduler or calendar to book one-on-ones for the whole season at once. If you're using TidyHQ's meeting module, you can set these up as recurring meetings so they appear automatically. When it's already in the calendar, there's no decision fatigue about when to do it.

Give yourself permission to keep it short

A ten-minute one-on-one where both of you are present and honest is better than a forty-minute one where you're both watching the clock. Short and real beats long and going-through-the-motions every time.

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Start this week

You don't need a policy document or a committee resolution to start doing one-on-ones. Pick one person - the volunteer you're most worried about, or the one you rely on most - and send them a message: "I'd love to grab a coffee and catch up on how things are going. When works for you?"

That's it. One conversation. See what happens. You'll learn something you didn't know. They'll feel seen. And you'll have a model you can repeat with everyone else.

The clubs that retain their best volunteers aren't the ones with the biggest budgets or the fanciest facilities. They're the ones where people feel like someone is paying attention. A twenty-minute conversation, once a month, is how you pay attention.