211. Best Practices & Community Spirit with Volunteering New Zealand

Volunteer engagement doesn't exist in a vacuum—it's deeply shaped by community values, national infrastructure, and a spirit of collective care. In New Zealand, where over 115,000 not-for-profits operate and most are volunteer-led, best practices for volunteer management must reflect local culture and real-world challenges like low tech adoption and the need for more informal opportunities.In this episode of the Volunteer Nation Podcast, host Tobi Johnson welcomes Marg McLachlan and Heidi Quinn from Tūao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand. They share how their organization developed best practice guidelines through a genuine co-design process, centering volunteer voices and using plain language to make principles accessible. The conversation also covers Volunteering New Zealand’s role in advocacy, research, and training, and how community cohesion is vital to a country with a small population.If you're looking to move beyond generic volunteer management and learn how community-driven, co-designed guidelines can strengthen your program, this episode offers practical insights and a inspiring look at how one country is putting community spirit at the heart of volunteer engagement.[00:00] - Introduction to Community-Centered Volunteer Best Practices[12:15] - Structure and Size of New Zealand’s Volunteer Sector[22:30] - Challenges in Volunteer Management[49:23] - Tips for Developing Standards and Getting Buy-In[54:26] - Challenges Around Volunteer Exit and Succession Planning[60:07] - Values, Language, and Grounding Standards in Purpose[64:32] - How to Learn More and Connect with Volunteering New ZealandHelpful LinksVolunteer Strategy Scorecard™  Volunteer Management Progress Report Volunteer Nation Episode #131: Volunteerism in Australia Part 1 – A National Strategy with Zac Reimers and Sarah Wilson Volunteer Nation Episode #132: Volunteerism in Australia Part 2 – A National Strategy with Zac Reimers and Sarah Wilson Tūao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand website Tūao Aotearoa Volunteering New Zealand Best Practice Guidelines Assess your practices against the Volunteering New Zealand Best Practice Guidelines Find Marg on LinkedIn  Find Heidi on LinkedIn Mural Online Collaboration Tool 2026 is flying by. Still have doubts about your volunteer strategy? Join Tobi Johnson's Game Changers Q&A on Aug 27. Free registration. Get clarity.Register nowThanks for listening to this episode of the Volunteer Nation podcast. If you enjoyed it, please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review so we can reach more people like you who want to improve the impact of their good cause.  For more tips and notes from the show, check us out at TobiJohnson.com. For any comments or questions, email us at [email protected].