Introducing the Queensland Voice of the Volunteer Survey Tool
A new way to understand and strengthen the volunteer experience
Volunteering Queensland, in partnership with My Community Directory, is proud to launch the Queensland Voice of the Volunteer Survey Tool — the first large-scale mechanism designed to measure and monitor the volunteer experience across the state.
This free, practical tool empowers volunteer-involving organisations to better understand their volunteers, improve engagement, and strengthen the sustainability of their programs.
To access this tool, simply log into the VIO Register through My Community Directory and click on toolbox.
Why it matters
Volunteers are the backbone of Queensland communities — yet recent years have seen a decline in volunteering participation. Many organisations are struggling to attract and retain the volunteers they need.
The Queensland Voice of the Volunteer Survey has been created to help reverse this trend. By capturing honest, consistent feedback from volunteers, organisations can identify what’s working well and where improvements can be made — building stronger, more rewarding volunteer experiences that keep people engaged.
How it works
The survey tool is embedded within the Queensland Volunteer Involving Organisation Register — a free platform for organisations to connect, stay informed, and access tools that make volunteering stronger.
With just a few clicks, organisations can:
Data can be viewed at both the organisational and location level, providing meaningful insights to guide improvements and celebrate success.
Carefully curated insights, practical tools, and resources have been gathered by Volunteering Queensland and will be made accessible to organisations to quickly turn their survey results into action — kickstarting their journey to enhance and strengthen the volunteer experience.
How to implement it in your organisation (don’t worry, we’ve made it so easy!)
Our survey tool is designed to seamlessly fit into the way your organisation already gathers volunteer feedback. Whenever you normally check in with your volunteers, simply share your unique survey link at the same time — it’s yours to use whenever it suits your organisation’s workflows. You can integrate the survey into your existing feedback cycle or use it as a complete replacement for your current volunteer survey.
Don’t currently have a formal feedback process? No problem. We recommend running the survey at least once a year. If you’re aiming to strengthen your continuous improvement efforts, consider running it twice annually. Our suggested timings: February and July.
Below is an example of how the survey process may look within your organisation.
Engagement Approach tips:
Reinforce the survey deadline and its importance to them and the organisation
Establish a firm completion timeframe and drive urgency and enable future comparisons
Communicate through multiple channels to reach everyone effectively
Update the team on the outcomes and what you are going to do about the results
Distributing the survey
We have developed three different ways for you to distribute the survey:
- If you’re a big organisation with multiple locations and you want to send it out centrally, you can send an organisational link out to all of your volunteers and they will be prompted to select the location they volunteer from first so you can still segment the results down to a location level.
- Prefer to send it out location by location or just have one location? No worries, we have specific location links as well.
- Do your volunteers prefer to do things when they pop in and see you? We have developed posters with a QR code that you can print off to encourage people to scan and respond.
No matter which distribution method you use, the data will all be collected and collated the same way.
Resources and Templates
Viewing and analysing your survey results
The Voice of the Volunteer statistics dashboard can be found on….
On the dashboard, you can view how many of your volunteers have completed the survey, the average score for each section of the survey and detailed scores for each survey question.
Resources
We have created tailored resources for your organisation based on your survey results. These resources will support your organisation to….
A statewide movement for better volunteering
Volunteering Queensland will also use anonymised data to build the first statewide and local government area (LGA) picture of the volunteer experience. These insights will inform future training, advocacy, and support for the sector — helping to reignite a culture of volunteering across Queensland.
The Queensland Voice of the Volunteer Survey is more than a measurement tool — it’s a collective step towards revitalising volunteering, ensuring volunteers feel valued, supported, and inspired to continue making a difference.
This survey tool was developed using evidence-based methodology and aligned with sector standards. For more information on the rigorous survey design process, view the image below or read the document here.
Join the VIO Register
Register your organisation today and start listening to your volunteers through the Queensland Volunteer Involving Organisation Register.