volunteerplaintalk

Category: explaining volunteer management

  • How Volunteer Management is Like a Video Game

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    For years, volunteer departments have mainly operated in an old school linear manner. It reminds me of the first video games. If volunteer management were a video game, it would be the equivalent of a linear game like the original Super Mario Brothers or the game Pitfall. Move along a predetermined line (no allowance for straying off that line) to complete the course.

    A linear volunteer department operates very much like a linear video game: Request for volunteers->recruit volunteers->fill tasks->complete assignment.

    That linear model worked for volunteers in the past, but the modern volunteer wants to play a different type of game. The modern volunteer is not looking for a narrow experience along a predetermined route, but rather they have more of a sandbox mindset in which their volunteering encompasses a much broader world of possibilities.

    Modern volunteers find meaning in creativity and want the freedom to explore their skills and passions. They are looking at a bigger picture, and are interested in organizational transparency and their own secondary reasons to volunteer. It’s no longer considered ‘selfish’ to want more from their volunteering experience. Showing impact to both modern volunteers and to their organizations can no longer be determined by linear boxes checked such as time spent or dollars saved.

    The challenge for leaders of volunteers is in making a sandbox mode work for us. It has to work from both the volunteer perspective and from the organizational perspective. Changing from a linear model and setting a new normal takes courage, conviction and the will to succeed.

    Let’s first look at a sandbox from the volunteer perspective. How is this different from the old linear model?

    • Volunteers are looking to utilize their skills and passions versus fitting a predetermined role.
    • Volunteers are more interested in how organizations are perceived, how they behave and how they utilize resources versus assuming that the organization does good work just simply by existing.
    • Volunteers rely on social media for information, appreciation, instruction and ease in finding a fit versus a more lengthy and time-consuming process.
    • Volunteers expect organizations to earn their loyalty versus signing on for the long haul.
    • Volunteers crave flexibility and shorter assignments versus commitments.
    • Volunteers want fulfillment from learning new skills to exploring job opportunities versus just filling a task.
    • Volunteers want meaningful recognition, an accounting of their contributions and input into organizational direction versus symbolic appreciation.

    This doesn’t mean that we have to discard every volunteer role and start anew. It means we must be aware of how modern volunteers view volunteering and prepare to integrate them into our programs. And here’s where a sandbox mode fits beautifully within a volunteer initiative: The testing ground.

    • Does your organization struggle with a challenge? A volunteer pilot program can work on the challenge without hiring extra staff or overloading existing staff with new duties.
    • Do you have volunteers with a particular skill or talent or interest? A volunteer pilot program can introduce new ways to engage volunteers and at the same time create new avenues to help clients and the organization.
    • Does your organization strive to increase awareness? Engaging corporate groups, or students or episodic volunteers can expand the scope of community awareness and increase donations.
    • Does your organization struggle to find funds for expert training and consultation services? Engaging skilled volunteers to teach corporate leadership, productivity, wellness and other subjects is a win-win for willing volunteers and the organization.

    We, volunteer managers can start small and introduce the sandbox one step at a time. Then, with each positive gain, we can introduce another pilot program or innovative solution and lay the foundation to create a new normal, one in which volunteers are viewed as more than a linear character on a straight line.

    The key is to show the impact of each new pilot program or innovative solution. It’s akin to earning coins, or tokens or points in a video game and these “volunteer initiative tokens” can be spent on opening up an organizations’ perception of volunteers and volunteer programs.

    Next time: Sandboxes are not infinite and not open world. How to balance the other side of the concept so it works for us.

    -Meridian

  • Volunteer Management: A Kiddie Pool or an Ocean?

    Volunteer Management: A Kiddie Pool or an Ocean?

    Photo by Matthias Zomer on Pexels.com

     

    “Coffee break again?” Clara laughs. “Yeah, this is my 6th coffee break today and I’m wired from all the caffeine. But each so called ‘break’ is with a volunteer who needs my attention. I’m not on break, I’m sustaining volunteers.”

    Volunteer managers universally struggle with showcasing the complex work involved in the 3 “ainings:” Attaining, Training and Sustaining volunteers. We keep stats on all sorts of volunteer activities. We may even include anecdotal stories to illustrate volunteer impact. But how do we show everything we bring to the 3 “ainings” table? (Sometimes it feels like bringing a kiddie pool filled with water to describe the ocean.)

    What if we had a report form that showcased the soft work required to attain, train and sustain volunteers? It would explain why our hard stats (shown in bold) are fluid, like an oceanic ecosystem:

    DAY 1 at 9AM:  Trusted my instincts to spend extra time with a 5 year volunteer whose partner has just been diagnosed with cancer. I can see he needs to take some time off and I have placed him on the inactive list thus reducing the number of active volunteers. He may or may not resume volunteering, but, due to his positive experience so far, will remain an advocate forever. I will be spending time to check in on him periodically because I hope he returns to volunteering, but also, because I care about him as a person (and make no mistake, our volunteers know the difference between sincerely caring about them versus giving them lip service). My personal attention to volunteer needs increases the overall number of active volunteers. It also creates satisfied volunteers who will advocate for us no matter whether they continue volunteering or not.

    Day 2 at 2PM:  Realized that a situation requiring a volunteer was overwhelming for just one volunteer so took the extra time (three days) to find and enlist the right two volunteers who could support one another while dealing with a very difficult and challenging assignment. Did not meet goal of finding a volunteer in 24 hours, but instead, created a better outcome that avoided placing an excellent volunteer in a difficult situation. I retained two key volunteers, ensured our client received excellent care and thwarted a potential misstep.

    Day 3 at 11AM: Temporarily removed a marketing volunteer from staffing events because of recent health challenges. Although volunteer insists that he is physically able to carry boxes, his wife informed me that his doctor has prescribed no lifting or standing for three months. As a result, I reduced the number of available marketing volunteers but salvaged this volunteer’s future potential and eliminated the substantial risk for a workman’s comp claim should this volunteer injure himself while under his doctor’s orders. More importantly, we sent a message to all volunteers that their health and well-being is important to us and we view them as valuable assets, thus increasing overall volunteer sustainability.  I am currently exploring other areas with this volunteer and he is interested in moving into a deeper volunteer experience, so with additional training, we will have a new client volunteer who, BTW already has proven himself to be a great volunteer.

    Day 4 at 3:15pm: Spent 45 minutes with a prospective volunteer who admittedly can’t volunteer until sometime next year. This prospective volunteer’s father was helped by our organization and she is interested in giving back, although current commitments are preventing her from taking training. I have set reminders in my calendar for scheduled contact with her throughout the year as I perceived her as an excellent future volunteer. Rushing her at this time will only increase her overload of responsibilities and will cause her to quickly quit. As a result, no new volunteer stat has increased but time spent will pay off in the future because this potential volunteer also belongs to several key civic groups that I have been recruiting. She’s already booked a speaking engagement for me next month. I expect several new volunteers from forging a relationship with this group.

    Day 5 at 6pm: Attended funeral of long-term volunteer who retired due to health reasons more than two years ago. No stat will be affected, but I did it because this is the right thing to do. *Addendum: Received a phone call from the volunteer’s son whom I spoke with at his mother’s funeral. He is a VP at the largest investment firm in our area and is very interested in setting up a corporate volunteer program with me. There will be substantial work involved. And, BTW, he and the firm will be donating in his mother’s name.

    The soft work we do is an ocean compared to the kiddie pool stats we report. Our instincts flow like a current, over and under the waves of volunteer requests. We create an ecosystem in which results are symbiotic and may take up to weeks or months, sometimes years to see. We nourish relationships that reach beyond volunteering and affect donations, future staff, community standing, and so much more.

    It’s time we begin to connect the hard results from the ocean of our soft work.

    -Meridian

    This post is an update of an original post in 2016 but don’t feel like you have to read it-this new one is hopefully better anyway 🙂 https://volunteerplaintalk.com/2016/07/20/huggable-book-of-volunteering-stats-or-why-a-kiddie-pool-cant-explain-the-ocean/

     

  • The Terrible, Horrible Phone Call or Why Purging Matters

    The Terrible, Horrible Phone Call or Why Purging Matters

    blaze blue blur bright
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    I answered the phone one day to hear, “Yes, this is Juan, the son of Adelia and I just received an invitation in the mail for my mom to this year’s volunteer luncheon. She died. Last year. I thought I’d let you know.”

    “Ohhhhhh, crap.”

    I also vividly remember sitting at a sign-in table for an invitation only event attended by donors, volunteers and dignitaries. And I looked up to see the volunteer we dismissed two months before presenting the invite we sent him.

    Countless volunteer managers have said that the first thing they had to do when they came on-board at their organizations, was purge hundreds of volunteer names off the list.

    We have a difficult challenge because we don’t manage employees. Employees are either in or out. They’re working or they’re not.  They don’t get paid once they quit, move, get fired or die. They are removed from rosters and lists and don’t get official invitations or phone calls. They don’t get calls asking them to “please, just come in for a few hours because we need extra help this week.” Nope, doesn’t happen. We can’t do that. Our volunteers don’t get paid. They exist in a grey area. And we work hard to keep our volunteers engaged enough in this grey area so they return again and again.

    We worry that if we remove a volunteer due to temporary inactivity, we will forget to contact them and therefore, lose them permanently. I remember the thought of forgetting good volunteers was more horrifying to me than leaving my stove on.

    But when can we remove volunteers from an active list? After six months, two years, death? The problem with keeping volunteers who are not active on an active list, is we can’t give an accurate volunteer count. If we say we have 125 volunteers, then staff assumes we have 125 volunteers to choose from when they make a request. That’s far different from choosing from 60 currently active volunteers.

    So, how can we keep volunteers, yet not confuse temporarily inactive volunteers with active ones?

    • Enlist the help of a key volunteer. Ask your volunteer to help maintain a current list by making check-in phone calls. Not only will you be able to distinguish who is active at the moment, you can ask the key volunteer to conduct an informal survey on satisfaction, training, communication or any other topic. And this periodic “checking in” will flesh out problems before they get out of hand.
    • Send the volunteer newsletter to all volunteers. Keep everyone in the loop. Newsletters are great for showcasing new projects, calls to action and for encouraging inactive volunteers to get involved again.
    • Remove the “quitting” stigma. Assure volunteers that you don’t view stepping back as quitting. Show them you have other volunteers on a temporarily inactive list and explain there are many reasons for volunteers to step back. Encourage them to take time they need and let them know you will be checking in with them periodically because they are valued.
    • Keep several lists or use templates that allow you to sort. I’m a big proponent of categorizing volunteers by locale, assignment, training completed, and current availability. It gives a much clearer picture than putting all names on one list. We wouldn’t expect all staff to be listed as substitutes for social workers or accountants. (“Hey, call accounts payable and see if one of their staff can come and do wound care for a day.”) It’s no different with volunteers. If your volunteers need specialized training for an assignment, then just like staff, only those volunteers who have had the training should be in that category.

    Leading volunteers casts a much wider net than managing employees. You don’t hear the phrase “episodic employees” for a reason. Volunteers drop in and out, and some hover on the periphery. (for a take on periphery, see https://volunteerplaintalk.com/2017/09/06/the-volunteer-periphery/ ) (more…)

  • Volunteer Managers Are Better Than These 3 Phrases

    Volunteer Managers Are Better Than These 3 Phrases

    sticky note with apology
    Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

    Words are pictures formed in the mind. The art of communication is drawing those word pictures so the other person sees things our way.

    If we, volunteer managers want to change the perceptions of us, our work and our volunteers, we need to eliminate words and phrases that negatively picture us. We need to adopt communication that rewires the way people perceive us and our work.

    Consider this conversation:

    • Senior manager: “Where are you on getting those volunteers for tomorrow’s event?”
    • Volunteer manager: “Well, I couldn’t get all five volunteers, but I did manage to get three.”

    or this conversation:

    • Staff member: “Were you able to place a volunteer with our client?”
    • Volunteer manager: “I tried everyone but right now, no one is available. I’ll try again next week.”

    or this one:

    • Volunteer: “Were you able to get the answers to my questions?”
    • Volunteer manager: “There’s a couple of people I still have to talk to and they are hard to pin down. I’m doing the best I can.”

    I used these phrases all the time. They just naturally came out. So, what’s wrong with them?

    Phrases like I can’t, I tried, and I’m doing the best I can, are apologies.

    What are the natural reactions to these apologies?

    • I can’t or couldn’t: “You let us down.”
    • I tried: “You should have tried harder.”
    • I’m doing the best I can: “You should do better.”

    How many times have staff said things like, “Why don’t you just go down to the senior center and recruit those people?” Or “well, if you just put an ad in the paper, I’m sure folks would come.” Each time we say, “I couldn’t” or “I tried but,” we draw a picture that says: “I’m sorry, I failed.”

    This does not mean shifting blame to anyone else, especially volunteers. It means don’t apologize, but rather answer in a positive and explanatory way. Let’s look at the first conversation again.

    • Senior manager: “Where are you on getting those volunteers for tomorrow’s event?”
    • Volunteer manager: “I have three of our best event volunteers lined up and ready to go.  Two of them rearranged their schedules after I made clear the importance of the event. All other qualified volunteers explained they have prior commitments they cannot break. I have new orientation this month and we will have even more volunteers for future events.

    A bit wordy? Yes, I’ll give you that. But communicating with non-apologetic positive explanations eliminates the notion that the volunteer manager can’t get the job done.

    Structure your non-apologetic communication to include three things:

    Always use “I” with the positives:

    • “I have three of our best event volunteers lined up.”
    • “…after I made clear the importance of the event.”
    • “I have new orientation this month.”

    Explain the work being done:

    • “All other qualified volunteers explained they have prior commitments.” (It’s obvious you contacted all the volunteers)
    • “…after I made clear the importance of the event” (shows the amount of work you did with each volunteer)

    Reasons:

    • “All other qualified volunteers explained they have prior commitments they cannot break.”
    • “…we will have even more volunteers for future events.” (not enough volunteers to choose from at this point in time)

    Rewiring people’s perceptions of us and our work is never easy, but with a shift away from apologetic responses (emphasis on the personal) to professional communication (emphasis on the work–positives, explanations, reasons) we can uplift ourselves and therefore, our programs.

    So, rethink the ways you communicate information and save your apologies for the times you actually do something wrong.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

  • The Value of a Volunteer? $I#.@S

    The Value of a Volunteer? $I#.@S

    The Value of a Volunteer is

    The official value of a volunteer is $25.43 U.S. according to Independent Sector.org. , an amount that converts to about £19 or $33 Canadian, $34 Australian and $36 New Zealand.

    I honestly appreciate any help in assigning value to services rendered by volunteers because we need to point to tangibles when explaining volunteer contributions. But I think we should expound on the amount and not rely solely on this measuring stick.

    It’s kinda like explaining an elephant by saying it’s an animal about 10 feet tall. Ok, but what does it look like or sound like or feel like?

    By simply packaging volunteer value into monetary amounts based on hours recorded, we lose the opportunity to showcase all the incredible volunteer contributions beyond that 4 hour shift. So, how about we institute a more comprehensive formula for volunteer value?

    I propose $I#.@S.

    Broken down, $I#.@S stands for:

    $: 25.43, the amount already fleshed out by Independent Sector. Volunteers add real monetary value-our organizations are gaining the equivalent of paying someone to do the work.

    I: Impact, impact and oh, BTW, impact. As we move towards re-branding volunteer programs as volunteer engagement and impact initiatives (initiative–a new plan or process to achieve something or solve a problem…Cambridge dictionary ), we put volunteer impact (contributions) front and center. No longer are volunteers “those sweet people who give from the heart;” instead, volunteers are “those sweet people who make tangible contributions to furthering mission goals.”

    #: Key category contributions as in #fresh voices or #new ideas or #infused passion or even simply the #ability to focus on one thing and do it well. Beyond the 4 hour shift, volunteers are volunteer fresh (see Volunteer Fresh ) and are liaisons between our organizations and the communities we serve.

    Volunteers can focus their attention on being present with a client while overworked staff members hurry off to the next meeting or scramble to finish paperwork. Volunteers can tune out all the chaos and concentrate on making sure data is entered correctly. Volunteers can deep dive listen to a donor on the phone so the donor feels their contributions are sincerely appreciated which translates to more donations.

    .: Diverse point or more simply, volunteers bring diversity. Organizations looking to diversify need look no further than the volunteer department. Volunteers come from all walks of life, all cultures, all religions, all parts of the world and all frames of reference. Some are mission experienced, some are transplants, some never held a job, some are too young to be employed and some have experiences we could never imagine. Want to tap into the pulse of the community? Get a group of volunteers together.

    @: At our organizations or more aptly, volunteers providing awareness. Our volunteers have a wide circle of influence and are continually creating organizational awareness beyond the hours recorded on paper. They talk us up to their friends, family, worship partners, clubs, neighbors and more. They are our WOMM (word of mouth marketing) ambassadors (Volunteer Fresh ) and their reach extends to future donors, potential clients, new volunteers or staff and budding advocates.

    S: Skills. Bucket loads of skills. Volunteers offer skills beyond what most organizational budgets can pay for. Marketing gurus, attorneys, tech wizards, executives, organizational geniuses, communication sages, project manager leaders, and so many more accomplished people offer their skills to help our missions. It’s like going to this amazing buffet featuring gourmet dishes from around the world and then finding out it’s free. All you have to do is get a plate.

    So next time you are asked to provide a volunteer “value,” use $I#.@S. (and you may have other numbers or letters or symbols that you think work better, so by all means, use them).

    The point is, when you present $I#.@S, the reaction will most certainly be, “what the heck does that mean?”

    That’s when you smile and say, “Oh, I’m so glad you asked. Let me explain.”

    -Meridian

    For a different take on the value of a volunteer, see Just What is the Value of a Volunteer?