The Volunteer Convertibility Calculator

• How do I input answers to the 4 questions?

Each question has a drop-down menu to its right. Clicking on the drop-down menu will allow you to select the corresponding answer provided by the potential volunteer.

 

• What does that number under “Likelihood of Conversion” mean?

This is the likelihood that an individual might be converted to (take up) volunteering. It changes according to the answers input into the Calculator. The higher the number, the more likely the person can be persuaded to participate in volunteering.

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• Can I download these convertibility questions?

A two-page questionnaire can be downloaded at this link. It has all the questions your potential volunteer will have to answer to find out their likelihood of conversion to volunteering. You can use this as a stand-alone instrument or integrate the questions into your existing recruitment questionnaire.

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The wording of these questions should not be altered as the validity of the Calculator output may be affected.

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• This Calculator is applicable to people who do not currently volunteer and have not volunteered in the recent past. How do I determine if the prospective volunteer fits these criteria?t

For the "Likelihood of Conversion" to be valid, the prospective volunteer must answer 'No' to each of the following three questions:

 Q1) Have you given time/volunteered in the last 12 months (giving time without pay to an organisation/association)?

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Q2) Have you given time/volunteered in the last 5 years (giving time without pay to an organisation/association)?​

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Q3) Have you given your time freely and without pay to any to these organisations within the last 5 years?

Your kid's school or sport  / Your church / Your work / As part of your studies 

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• What if I want to ask a question that is not on the list?

The Volunteer Convertibility Calculator is the result of a nationally representative survey of volunteer participation in Australia. These questions have been found from an extensive range of variables, including volunteering motives, attitudes to giving, beliefs about volunteering, amongst others, to best discriminate between volunteers and non-volunteers. We would encourage organisations wishing to use the Calculator to embed these questions within their recruitment questionnaire.

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• How might I use the Calculator in practice?

We intend that the Calculator should complement the existing recruitment practices of volunteer-involving organisations. We do not intend that potential volunteers access the Calculator directly but rather that it be used as a tool for volunteer-involving organisations and the voluntary sector. It should not substitute for any recruitment practices that are currently working well in your voluntary organisation. It has been designed to calculate the propensity to volunteer of people who do not currently volunteer and have not done so in the recent past.

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• Has the Calculator been tested in practice?

The reliability and validity of the Calculator will be tested in practice with volunteer-involving organisations to assess if volunteer conversion rates correlate with other indicators such as volunteer turnover. Please contact the project team if your organisation is interested in evaluating the Calculator in action as part of this validation research phase. Additionally, we would welcome any feedback on the experience of organisations using the Calculator.