Start with the sum
Before anyone argues about whether once a month is too much, work out what your roster actually needs. Count every place on every date across a period, then divide by the number of people who can fill them.
Places ÷ people = turns each. A Sunday morning welcome team with 3 places every week needs 156 places a year. With 26 people that is 6 turns each, or about one Sunday in every nine weeks. With 12 people it is 13 each: one Sunday in four.
That number is the floor. Nothing about how cleverly you roster will bring it lower, because the places have to be filled. If it’s more often than people can manage, the fix isn’t in the roster: it’s more people, fewer places per date, or fewer dates.
Do the sum for each role separately. A team of 30 might look plenty, but if only six of them can run the sound desk or hold the keys, those six are on far more often than everyone else.
What pushes the answer up or down
Once you know the floor, think about what a comfortable gap looks like for this particular job.
| Things that mean less often | Things that allow more often |
|---|---|
| Long shifts, early starts or late finishes | Short, light shifts close to home |
| Physical work: lifting, standing, heat | Sitting jobs: a front desk, a scoreboard |
| Emotionally heavy work: crisis lines, hospital visits | Social jobs people enjoy doing with friends |
| People who also do other roles in the group | People who do this one thing |
| Busy seasons in people’s lives: exams, harvest, new babies | Quiet seasons, retirees with time to spare |
There’s a lower limit too. If people are on so rarely that they forget the routine (where the float is kept, how the alarm works), every shift starts with ten minutes of confusion. For skilled jobs, a turn every month or so keeps the knowledge fresh. For simple jobs, longer gaps are fine.
Ask people, then write it down
The simplest way to set a gap is to ask. When people join, ask how often they’d like to be on: “About once a month? Every few weeks? Only now and then?” Most people give an honest answer, and it is far easier to agree a load at the start than to discover it the day someone quits.
Write the answer down and look at it when you roster. A volunteer who said “once a month at most” and gets three Saturdays in five weeks will feel you didn’t listen, even if the tally says it was their turn.
Some people will offer to do more. Accept it, gratefully, but keep an eye on it. The most willing volunteers are the ones most likely to burn out, and they’re usually the last to say so.
Warning signs that the roster asks too much
Burnout rarely arrives as a resignation letter. It creeps in. Watch for:
- More last-minute drop-outs from people who used to be reliable.
- Shorter replies, or no replies, to roster messages.
- The same names on every hard date: Christmas week, the 6 am starts, the grand final.
- People saying “I don’t mind” in a voice that says they do.
- Volunteers stepping back from extra things, like social events or training, before they step back from the roster.
- You. If you’re covering most of the gaps yourself, the roster is asking too much of somebody, and it’s you.
When you see these, have a quiet word, one on one: “I’ve had you on a lot lately. Is that still working?” Then act on the answer straight away, for the next roster, not the one after.
How to fix a roster that is too heavy
- 01
Cut places before people
Can the shift run with two instead of three? Every place you remove comes off everyone’s load.
- 02
Cut or merge dates
Do you really need a Wednesday night and a Thursday night? Would every second week do?
- 03
Train more people for the scarce roles
If only six can do a job, train two more. It shares the load and covers you when someone leaves.
- 04
Recruit with a clear ask
“One Saturday morning every six weeks” is easier to say yes to than “we need help”.
- 05
Give people a break
Offer a term off to anyone who has carried a lot. They’re more likely to come back if they leave on good terms.
Keep it fair as well as light
A light load still feels unfair if some people have twice as many turns as others with no reason given. Keep a running count of turns per person and carry it from one roster to the next. When you need cover, ask whoever has had the fewest turns first. The fair roster guide walks through the method, and the free turn calculator does the sum above for you.
Different loads for different people are fine when they’re agreed. A trainee on less often while they learn, or a committee member doing fewer turns, isn’t unfair if everyone knows why.
How FairTurns helps
In FairTurns, Fill gives each empty place to whoever has had the fewest turns in that position, and the Turns booked chart beside it shows how many dates each person has, so overload is easy to spot. Volunteers mark their away days, and Fill leaves them off those days. All of that is free.
With Pro, the How often setting lets you put each person on More often, Normal, Less often or Now and then, position by position: an experienced person on More often, a new volunteer on Now and then while they learn. See the volunteer roster page for how it fits together.
Questions
How often should volunteers be rostered?
Start with the sum: places on every date divided by the number of people who can fill them. Then adjust for how demanding the job is and ask each volunteer what load suits them.
Is once a month too often for volunteers?
For a short, light job many people find once a month comfortable. For long, physical or emotionally heavy work, less often is kinder. Ask your volunteers and watch for warning signs.
How do I know if volunteers are burning out?
Look for more last-minute drop-outs, slower replies, the same names on every hard date and people pulling back from extras. Ask quietly and act on the answer for the next roster.
What if I do not have enough volunteers?
Cut places per shift or merge dates first, train more people for scarce roles, and recruit with a specific ask such as one Saturday every six weeks.