Using Instant Messaging to Work With Volunteers: Benefits and Suggestions

By Jayne Cravens of the E-Volunteering Unit at United Nations Volunteers

Version: November 2002

Volunteer managers already have phones and email to work with offsite volunteers. What is the advantage of using Instant Messaging (IM) with these volunteers as well?

UNITeS, a global Information and Communications Technology (ICT) volunteering initiative managed by the United Nations Volunteers programme, posted requests for information on various online discussion groups for people to share their experiences regarding IM in working with volunteers. Based on their feedback, as well the experience of UNITeS staff and selected documents, this article has been prepared to help illustrate the advantages for using IM to work with volunteers.

Please note that, when we say "IM" in this article, we mean a text-only exchange among two or more people that is via computer and the Internet, is private, and is live. IM is very similar to "chat." Both are synchronous communications, meaning users communicate with each other at exactly the same time. IM is generally used by just two people at once, however, and is private. A chat usually takes place in a virtual "room" online, often via a web site, and usually involves more than two people.

Why informal communication is so important to working with volunteers and others
Includes a description of, generally, how IM programs work, and a testimonial from a volunteer manager on why IM is a valuable tool.

But what is IM really for?
A description of how one volunteer manager uses IM to work with remote volunteers.

Getting started
A list of first steps for learning to use IM to work with volunteers.

Additional resources
Links to more online sites that provide tips for online collaboration and IM.

If you have used IM in some way, formally or informally, in working with volunteers, please share your experiences -- how you use IM with volunteers, what the benefits are, what obstacles there are, what your advice would be for others -- by sending an email to Jayne Cravens

This article is dedicated in loving memory of Zainub Ashraf of Girard, Ohio, an outstanding online volunteer whose encouragement helped UNV's e-volunteering staff learn the joys of IM.