Many industries and organisations rely heavily on volunteers, not only to maintain business-as-usual activity, but also to deliver successful projects. In sports and charitable organisations, for example, volunteers are often integral to how work gets done.
Good project management in these environments relies on more than just plans, processes and governance. It also depends on the careful management of volunteer teams. Project success often comes down to how well the project manager can build commitment, create clarity and get the best from people who are giving their time freely.
Unique Challenges
There are several unique challenges when delivering projects through volunteer resource. These include:
- Different motivating factors.
Volunteers are not usually financially motivated. They are often involved because they have a passion for, or personal connection with, the organisation or cause.
The Association for Project Management (APM) highlights that volunteers are often motivated by opportunities to contribute to the profession. Such as sharing knowledge, developing skills and building professional networks, demonstrating that purpose and personal development can be stronger motivators than financial reward.[1]
- Skills gaps
It is not always possible to hand-pick volunteers to match the work that needs to be done. Project managers may need to “make do” with the people available, which can lead to gaps between the skills required and the skills within the team.
- Limited availability.
Volunteers are often working around busy professional and personal lives, meaning the project may not always be their top priority.
- Limited accountability.
Managing an unpaid workforce brings challenges in ensuring that work is completed on time, to the right standard, and with a clear sense of ownership.
- Passionate and opinionated individuals.
Volunteers often care deeply about the organisation they support. While this passion is a major strength, it can also create challenges when trying to build consensus, secure buy-in and move decisions forward.
In this article, we look at each of these challenges in turn and outline practical steps project managers can take to overcome them. More importantly, we consider how these challenges can be turned into strengths, helping project managers get the best from their volunteer teams while delivering successful project outcomes.
- Different Motivating Factors
Project managers should start by recognising that volunteers are motivated differently from paid team members. Because they give their time freely, their commitment is usually driven by personal interest, shared values, or a strong connection to the cause, project, or event.
Understanding these motivations is essential to keeping volunteers engaged and contributing effectively. Rather than managing them as if they were contractors with formal obligations, project managers need to adopt a more thoughtful and supportive approach.
What this means in practice
- Sell the benefits of the project.
For volunteers to feel that they are contributing to something genuinely important and worthwhile, the project manager must clearly communicate the benefits and social value the project will deliver. Whether this is increasing participation in sport, supporting a charitable cause, or caring for the environment, volunteer motivation will often be rooted in the positive impact of the work.
- Take time to understand why each volunteer is involved.
Get to know each volunteer and understand what gives them a sense of purpose, enjoyment and connection to the project. If working with a large team of volunteers, use team leaders or coordinators to help build this understanding across the wider volunteer network. Informal check-ins can also be a useful way to understand whether people are enjoying their role and what further support they may need.
- Align tasks with the areas they care about most.
Understanding why volunteers are involved helps project managers get the best from the volunteer resource available. Research into volunteer engagement has also found that matching people to roles that align with both their skills and interests improves participation and task completion. [2]By taking time to understand people’s skills, interests and motivations, project managers can match volunteers to tasks that suit them, improving both satisfaction and the quality of delivery.
- Use clear, respectful communication.
Because volunteers are choosing to give their time, they need to be treated with care, respect and consideration. Project managers should avoid being overly authoritative, and instead focus on building commitment through clear communication, encouragement and understanding. The aim should be to inspire people to contribute, rather than simply demanding that they do so. Vicky Bodman in the APM magazine…
- Channel their enthusiasm as a strength that supports project success.
The passion and personal connection that volunteers bring to a project can be a real strength for project managers to harness. Rarely does a project manager get to work with a team that is so personally invested in the success of the work. By understanding volunteers’ motivations and treating them with care and respect, project managers can turn this engagement into a powerful driver of project success.
2. Skills Mismatch
Project managers working with volunteers rarely have the luxury of choosing their team or stakeholders. They do not benefit from being able to choose specialists – to choose a planner, a communications manager, an engineer, etc. and often have to make do with what they have. There are however things project managers can do to negotiate this challenge.
- Identify skills gaps early.
It is always crucial for a project manager to understand the resources required to successfully deliver a project. It is even more important when working with volunteer resource to do so. If a project manager can gain early visibility of where the skills gaps are, they can take early action to allocate roles more appropriately or find specialists.
- Plan Ahead to overcome skills gaps.
The PMI states the need for project managers to assess capability early, rather than assuming volunteers can simply “make do”. Where gaps exist, they can be addressed through simple training, mentoring, on-the-job support, or by reshaping tasks so that volunteers are not placed in roles where the gap between expectation and capability is too great. (https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/covering-project-skill-gaps-5007)
- Be open and honest about limitations and abilities.
It is important for project managers to separate enthusiasm from expertise. Volunteers may be highly committed and willing to help, but that does not always mean they have the skills, confidence or experience needed for a particular task. Creating an environment where people feel comfortable being honest about what they can and cannot do helps avoid unrealistic expectations, poor-quality work or delays later in the project. It also allows the project manager to provide support, training or a more suitable role where needed.
3. Limited availability
Volunteers in any environment are giving up their own spare time. They are often balancing volunteering responsibility with busy work and personal lives. This means committing to guaranteed availability is often difficult, and they may need to work inconsistent hours, around work and personal commitments. Traditional resourcing techniques like levelling and smoothing may not always be possible.
- Plan ahead.
When resources are uncertain, planning ahead becomes even more important for project managers. Understanding where resources need to be allocated, and where constraints are likely to arise, can help reduce disruption later in the project. This may include identifying key tasks early, agreeing realistic timescales, building in contingency, and avoiding over-reliance on any one volunteer. Clear forward planning gives volunteers as much notice as possible and allows the project manager to make better use of the time and skills available.
- Ask for factual availability rather than vague commitment.
It’s important to ask volunteers to be honest about their availability. Ensure you are not asking for commitment where they are unable to offer it. It is better to make the best of, and plan with, factual availability rather than hopeful, unrealistic information. It is important to build a physiologically safe environment where people feel comfortable speaking the trust.
- Build buffers into your plan.
Planning ahead, and setting realistic targets, helps team members meet targets. It is however no guarantee that targets and deadlines will be met. Things change, and volunteers are not contractually obliged to deliver on time. It is important therefore to build buffers and contingencies into your plans. Understand the critical path of the project, where you have float, and where extra time can be afforded for the completion of certain tasks.
- Be flexible.
Meetings may need to be in the evenings, early mornings and weekends. This doesn’t mean you need to work longer, but project managers may need to match their volunteer’s availability schedules. Forcing volunteers to meet with a traditional 9-5 schedule will be met with unavailability, and resistance.
4. Limited accountability
Volunteers are not contractually obligated to deliver anything, in the same way traditional team members or contractors may be. It is therefore difficult, and a sensitive issue, holding team members accountable for the delivery of work in a timely manner.
- Create a safe environment to ask for help.
It is essential to create a safe environment for team members to ask for help, before it becomes an issue for the project. This means creating a psychologically safe environment. James Evans, Programme Manager at NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee, who spoke excellently at this year’s APM Conference, wrote an insightful piece here on creating psychological safety in projects. As James Evans argues in APM’s work on psychological safety, project teams perform better when people feel able to raise concerns, admit mistakes and ask for support without fear of blame. Psychological safety should therefore be viewed as part of a project’s delivery infrastructure, rather than simply a cultural nice to have.[3]
- Sell the benefits of the project
Volunteers can be encouraged to feel accountable for their own work when they can see the value of the project and their role in it. Project managers should therefore take time to clearly communicate the purpose of the project, the benefits it will deliver, and why each person’s contribution matters. When volunteers understand the positive impact their work will have, they are more likely to feel a sense of ownership and personal responsibility for delivering it well.
- Create a positive and social team environment
Being part of a high performing, and social team is likely to build an environment where volunteers are proud of their role in the team. Ensure they feel part of something, with a positive energy and moving in a good direction.
- Allow volunteers to choose their own work.
Team members are always going to be more likely to deliver to a high standard when they are bought in and enthusiastic about what they are delivering. Volunteers are no different. Allowing volunteers to choose their own work and direct their own contribution means they are far more likely to feel accountable. Conversely, create an environment where they feel comfortable to say no to things they don’t want to do.
5. Managing Passionate individuals
People are rarely trying to be difficult; more often, they are trying to protect something they care deeply about. This can often be the case in sports clubs, where committee members and leaders may feel a strong responsibility to preserve the club’s history, traditions and culture. It is important to manage these individuals carefully, so their passion supports the project rather than derails it.
- Understand their point of view.
The most important skill in this situation is empathy. Take the time to understand what people are concerned about and why it matters to them. If their position is not clear, ask more questions. Once you understand where they are coming from, you can take steps to protect what they value, address their concerns and show how the project can move forward without losing sight of the organisation’s history, culture or identity.
- Manage expectations.
Frustration often develops when expectations are not met, or when trust is broken. Ensure stakeholders understand the project from an early stage, including what is changing, why it is changing and what the expected benefits are. Communication should be clear, consistent and honest throughout. Where decisions have already been made, be transparent about this. Where there is still room for influence, make that clear too. This helps avoid false expectations and gives passionate individuals confidence that they are being listened to, even if every concern cannot be fully accommodated.
- Give a defined welcoming platform for feedback.
It’s important to avoid public power struggles, while still giving stakeholders a clear and constructive way to provide feedback. This should be done through formal channels, ensuring communication remains professional and stakeholders feel heard, respected and valued. It is also essential to keep difficult conversations private, rather than allowing concerns or disagreements to escalate in front of the wider group. This helps maintain trust, protect relationships and keep the focus on resolving issues constructively.
As Vicky Bodman ChPP stated in an article published in the APM Project Magazine:
‘The difference is the emotional context. In paid work, success is often measured in metrics, outputs and outcomes. In a volunteer environment, success is also measured in smiles, pride and a sense of belonging. That changes how you lead. You still need structure, but you must deliver it with empathy, flexibility and a genuine appreciation that everyone is giving their time because they want to, not because they have to.’[4]
References
Association for Project Management. (2024, February 7). Volunteer opportunities: Insights in how you can get involved [Presentation slides]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/apm-volunteer-opportunities-insights-in-how-you-can-get-involved-7-february-2024/266198639
Association for Project Management. (2025). Why psychological safety isn’t a nice-to-have. https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/why-psychological-safety-isn-t-a-nice-to-have/
Bennett, D., & Wang, X. (2024). Volunteer engagement and role matching: Improving participation and task completion. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.11510
Bodman, V. (2026). Delivering projects through volunteer resource. Project Journal (Spring 2026). Association for Project Management.
Project Management Institute. (n.d.). Covering project skill gaps. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/covering-project-skill-gaps-5007
[1] Association for Project Management. (2024, February 7). Volunteer opportunities: Insights in how you can get involved [Presentation slides]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/apm-volunteer-opportunities-insights-in-how-you-can-get-involved-7-february-2024/266198639
[2] Bennett, D., & Wang, X. (2024). Volunteer engagement and role matching: Improving participation and task completion. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.11510
[3] Association for Project Management. (2025). Why psychological safety isn’t a nice-to-have. https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/why-psychological-safety-isn-t-a-nice-to-have/
[4] Bodman, V. (2026). Delivering projects through volunteer resource. Project Journal (Spring 2026). Association for Project Management.
