“Yeah, so, this is Ginny from donor relations,” the voice on the phone sighs. “My next door neighbor’s fourteen year old daughter, April has a volunteer assignment for school. Why they are coming to me, I don’t know but just because I work at a non-profit, they think I’m free to help with all their little projects. When is the next volunteer training, or better yet, you call them. I don’t have time for this nonsense.”
“Hey, I’ve been calling you for an hour. Where are you? Anyway, this is Jazz from administration.” The voice message plays, Jazz sounding out of breath. “I need volunteer stats ASAP for a grant for our project that, oh, never mind, I just need some stats and fast to complete this application. How many hours did volunteers give last quarter? This is the last component on the grant and it’s due today so I need this right away. Call me immediately.”
“Yo, this is Dean in records. The new volunteer, Charles, the one you sent us last month hasn’t been logging any hours, at least I don’t think so. I thought these volunteers knew what they were doing. Anyway, where does he fill out his paperwork again? And should he just make up hours for the time he worked?”
Do you get tired of answering the same questions over and over? While we are conditioned to give that personal touch, our time is pretty precious and continually answering simple questions can eat into our efforts spent cultivating volunteers, forging new recruitment avenues and solving challenges.
Taking a proactive approach can help. Think about all the standard questions repeatedly asked by staff and volunteers. Can these be put into a cheat sheet? Where can these cheat sheets be stored for maximum viewing?
We have to remember that folks don’t necessarily remember something told to them one time. Volunteers will forget specifics taught to them in orientation. Staff is too busy with their own pressing duties to remember the date of the next volunteer training. So, storing these cheat sheets in multiple areas will cut down dramatically on repetitive phone calls.
For volunteers, some visible places to store cheat sheets:
on a designated area of your website
as reminders in your newsletter
posted in your office
included in your welcome packet
given to volunteer mentors to share with newbies
For staff:
on an internal website
sent out as a quarterly email blast
given to department heads to post
at departmental meetings (ask to attend other department’s meetings to answer volunteer related questions, explain policies, intercept issues etc. )
on surveys sent to staff
posted in your office in case you are not at your desk
training dates posted prominently in your office (whiteboard, poster etc)
training dates printed on flyers, cards etc and given to staff (great recruitment tool also)
Besides cutting down on repetitive questions, posting core volunteer information creates an informed team of staff and volunteers who will disseminate correct information to potential volunteers. And, if volunteers have to constantly try to pin you down for simple questions, or if they always receive incorrect information from uniformed staff, they will quit out of frustration.
Elevating our vocation includes creating a comprehensive base of information visible to staff and volunteers. The more we polish the fundamentals of our volunteer programs, the more we can build upwards.
So, go ahead and press “2” for that volunteer question. But press “1” to leave the name and contact information of a prospective volunteer.”
Does this sound like you? Thank you to of all the wonderful volunteers who have enriched my soul and believed in my abilities. Ahhh, being thankful, it’s what we volunteer managers do so well.
But maybe we can also thank the volunteers who taught us lessons and built our characters. You know the ones. Their memories are seared into your psyche because you dropped your phone when you learned a trusted volunteer called a client “dumbo.” You slunk back to your office when the CEO told you a volunteer tried to sell something to a client’s son. You stayed silent in meetings after a volunteer wrote that wildly incorrect letter to the editor.
They say that the hard lessons are the ones that stick. Yup, they are the lessons that keep you up at night, and make your hair go grey. (not the pretty kind either)
But, think about all the clients saved from unscrupulous volunteers because you learned a hard lesson. Think about all the necessary precautions you take because you were put through the wringer. Think about the watchful eye you developed because you were caught unaware.
In spite of intention, these volunteers give us the gift of experience.
I remember many years ago, Jacob, who lied to my face. I believed him, not because he was so charming and convincing, but because I wanted to believe him. I believed in the romantic notion that all people could see the light of volunteering and could set aside their personal agendas for the greater good. I dreamed of that world in which unicorns and faeries flitted about, sprinkling the magic dust of goodness upon all.
Jacob showed me that I had to be realistic if I truly wanted to do right by our clients. He showed me that healthy watchfulness did not diminish my job, but rather elevated it to a higher level of purposefulness.
You’ve been through this. We struggle to showcase all the carefully measured thought and actions required to match volunteers to clients and programs. Unicorns and faeries are lovely, but we live in the real world. In the real world, placing volunteers with vulnerable clients takes discerning judgement, careful pairing and keen watchfulness.
Luckily I was watchful enough to remove Jacob before any harm was done. So, I thank him and others for giving me a discerning nature, for strengthening my resolve to do right and for teaching me that compassion takes the courage to be a sentry.
Jacob most likely never intended to teach me anything.
But he never intended to embrace the mission either.
-Meridian
Volunteer Manager Job Update: Should I Laugh or Cry?
A couple of months ago, I posted some volunteer manager wanted ads and most of us pretty much agreed that they were lacking in inspiration. Well, thank you to Laura from Maine for sharing this volunteer coordinator ad with us. I have not changed one word, but only added (my comments).
Wanted: Kitchen/Volunteer Coordinator:
The Kitchen Coordinator/Volunteer Coordinator is a very hands-on position that requires strong leadership skills, responsibility, and enthusiasm.
Job responsibilities include:
Designing healthy menus (uh, registered dietitians actually do this so shouldn’t the job read Kitchen/Dietitian/Volunteer Coordinator?)
Training and supervising a large volunteer crew of cooks and custodians (wait, now the job is Kitchen/Dietitian/Custodian/Volunteer Coordinator)
Working with stores and volunteers to manage daily delivery of food donations (whoa, now it’s Kitchen/Dietitian/Custodian/Delivery Manager/Volunteer Coordinator)
Recording menus, inventory, and volunteer timesheets (meh)
Helping clients find housing and apply for jobs (So, ta da, we have a Kitchen/Dietitian/Custodian/Delivery Manager/Housing Expert/Job Placement/Volunteer Coordinator)
(I’m going to cry now over a piece of pumpkin pie).
How does the statement, “Dare to be Different” make you feel? Does it make you want to dye your hair pink and wear Star Wars Jedi gear to work? Do you immediately want to throw away all your volunteer stats and mundane ways of recruiting volunteers?
Consider these two quotes about being different:
“I want to be different. If everyone is wearing black, I want to be wearing red.” …Maria Sharapova
“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.” …Cecil Beaton
In the first quote, Maria Sharapova talks about the inner pleasure at being different for just being different. In the second quote, Cecil Beaton puts a purpose, an integrity, and an ethic to being different.
How do you view being different? Does it conjure up images of selfishness? Does it impose the stress of wild creativity for no good reason other than to stand out?
Volunteer managers don’t have to dare to be different, because we already are. What unique skills and abilities have you acquired due to managing volunteers? What principles have you discovered while leading volunteer programs? What undeniable truths did you learn from engaging with volunteers?
The tenets embedded deep in our souls are the things that make us different and it is not daring to hold fast to who we are. It’s simply the right thing to do.
How are we, volunteer managers so darned different?
We are highly aware. We consider all that is around us.
We have honed communication into an art form. We are communication hubs and can break information down to clear, impacting messages.
We are Visionistas. We develop talents, skills and passions, molding volunteer engagement to benefit both the receiver and the recipient.
But, along with these stand out qualities, there may be a few things differentiating us that we can work on. For instance,
We are selfless which may lead to us shrinking into the background and hiding our skill set.
We have a coaching mindset which may lead to our contributions being overlooked and therefore, organizations miss out on implementing our methods in other areas that would benefit from our expertise.
‘We are humble, which may lead to being viewed as lacking in confidence. A perceived lack of confidence falsely implies that you have no confidence in your work.
Being “different” means we have a unique space in our organizations, one that carries responsibilities and opportunities, not just for our volunteer programs, but for ourselves.
The challenges we face are opportunities to showcase the fine tuned skills and talents that make us different. Keeping those talents and skills hidden in the background does a disservice to our volunteers and our programs. It is time for volunteer managers to step out onto the non-profit stage and show everyone our amazing contributions and the ways we achieve those contributions. That’s not daring. That’s what’s needed.
We are different because what we do matters.
How we do it matters.
We matter.
So, do we, volunteer managers dare to be different? No, because we already own it.
In 1959, novelist and scientist, C. P. Snow gave a lecture entitled The Two Cultures. Essentially Snow argued that the humanities and science were split into opposing cultures, each one not understanding the other.
Most of us would probably categorize volunteer management as a humanity. In the post The Volunteer Investor I likened volunteers to humanity investors. But while humanity is at the heart of volunteering, isn’t the management of volunteers a science? And, by treating it as a science, does that automatically remove the humanity?
Well, what if we look at other science based professions that serve humanity?
Does the researcher seeking a cure for cancer not dream about the potential millions of people saved?
Does the engineer developing a new prosthetic not imagine the first time an amputee puts on that device and walks?
Does a safety engineer never think about the children she may keep safe?
Re-framing volunteer management as a science will not remove the humanity. Instead, it will elevate the skills volunteer managers possess.
So, then how can we re-frame volunteer management to reflect the science of it? Do we stop talking about the heartfelt work volunteers do? Do we become invested in cold stats? Or, can we do both? Can we still convey the humanity while highlighting the precise steps taken to achieve outcomes?
When we, leaders of volunteers separate the volunteers’ incredible outcomes from the systematic steps needed to achieve those outcomes, then we can begin to identify and speak to the science of volunteer management.
How? Well, we can, as volunteer management professionals begin to:
Temper human stories with solution stories and the steps necessary to achieve results
Speak in management language when discussing volunteer engagement and challenges
Remove emotion when dealing with difficult situations and instead, utilize scientific methods such as observation, gathering of data, testing and logical thinking to solve problems
Re-evaluate programs based on priorities, time involved and solutions achieved
Re-think in terms of humanely leading volunteers, but managing projects
Tout the science of volunteer engagement in terms of strategies, social metrics and road-maps
Categorize the skills used to engage volunteers, such as motivating, knowledgeable delegating (not just delegation because anybody can delegate), problem solving, results orienting, relationship building, strategical planning, innovating and big picture thinking
Chronicle the methodical steps necessary to engage volunteers
Create data that leads to goals, such as maps, diagrams etc
Experiment and innovate
The perception that we coordinate volunteers who require nothing more than a phone call negates the methods required to fully engage these investors in our missions.
Do we do ourselves a disservice when we blur the lines between the hearts of our volunteers and the hard work we do? Do we sometimes become so emotionally invested in our volunteers’ humanity that we lose our management voices?
The results of volunteer involvement is humanity’s crowning achievement but the skills, knowledge and sheer hard work is the science of getting to those results.
If we project our profession as a science with a humanity outcome, we can then elevate the precise, nuanced methodology required to achieve our humanitarian goals.
Laurie sat at her desk, her finger running down the list of volunteers. Her watch read 7:30pm and she wasn’t any closer to filling that last-minute volunteer assignment than she had been six hours earlier when the office was humming. She sighed, thinking about the night before. She’d gone to the midnight showing of Halloween with her friends and giggling, they ate popcorn and jumped when Michael Myers’ got back up again and again.
Yawning, she laid her head on the desk for just a moment. Suddenly, the lights went out. Her computer screen flickered off. It was pitch black. The stillness was unnerving. Laurie looked around, trying to adjust to the dark. As she blinked, the hair on the back of her neck rose. In the corner she could see a shape forming, its wispy outline undulating. Terrified, she watched it drift towards her, a watery face forming in the mist.
Heart thudding, she pushed back away from the ghostly specter, her chair scraping the floor. Its dead eyes fixated on her. “Why Laurie,” it whispered and the icy voice brushed her hair. “Why did all these volunteers leave?”
One by one, transparent faces materialized, hovering in the dark, surrounding her. She recognized Juan, who never had the time to come to orientation. She saw Millie who couldn’t find a job that suited her. In the corner was Yuki, who quit volunteering to care for her sick mother. The faces bobbed and the specter hissed, “What could you have done to keep them? Now they’re gone.” Slowly, the faces dissolved.
The lights popped back on and the computer rebooted with a whir. Rubbing her eyes, she couldn’t tell if she had been dreaming. She shivered, a cold tingling running down her back. Was there still a mist hovering near the door?
The phone rang and Laurie jumped. It was a volunteer returning her call, telling her that he could do tomorrow’s assignment.
Laurie stuffed the volunteer list back into the top drawer and grabbed her purse. “I’m not afraid anymore!” She said aloud as she got up and headed home.
What is our volunteer manager equivalent of the things that go bump in the night?
The Vampire Volunteer who sucks the life out of us?
The Frankenstein Assignment where none of the pieces fit?
The Freddy Krueger Department who keeps shredding volunteers?
The Wolfman Staff who turn on us when volunteers won’t clean closets?
The Mummy Marketer who keeps all information under wraps?
The Episodic Gremlins, who run all over doing more damage than work?
The Corporate Dementor Group who must have contact with clients so they can suck their souls for a feel good experience?
The Ghosting Volunteers who just disappear?
Some volunteer management areas can be scary. But when that cold spector breathes its icy voice of doubt into our ears, just remember: The reluctant hero in the monster movie always prevails.
Are volunteer managers world travelers? Do we venture into exotic lands where the inhabitants speak a foreign language and do not understand the words we speak?
If you’ve ever stood up in a staff meeting to give a presentation on volunteering and the attendees glazed over while checking their devices, you know what I mean. They don’t understand the odd, volunteer language coming out of our mouths.
For example, what are common volunteer management phrases and typical staff responses:
“Our selfless volunteers who are caring and compassionate.” HUH? So what? I’m caring and compassionate too, but that doesn’t get the mountains of work done.
“Our volunteers gave 6,000 hours last month making our clients lives better.”WHAT? Who gave $6,000 and why wasn’t I informed? I’m in charge of donations here! The nerve!
“Volunteers give from their heart.”Yeah, that’s nice but I give from my heart too and I give my blood, sweat and tears besides. Who has time for this fluff?
Broad statements and dry statistics are the twins of tune-out. So, do stats and heart-warming stories have any place at all? Yes, of course they do, but what is the impact of these stats and stories, other than the feel-goodery of volunteerspeak?
As you step onto the stage for your moment to talk about volunteer services, think about your elevator pitch. Does my audience speak volunteer? How do I get their attention? And, most importantly, can I speak to them in their own language so that they understand?
Let’s break this down:
In volunteerspeak, we focus on our volunteer’s selflessness as in, “One of our volunteers, Dave, gave up tickets to a sold out play to spend two extra hours with an upset client. Now that’s above and beyond. ” Nice, but well, this has no bearing on me.
Instead, if we retell this story in a language our target audience speaks, and we focus on impact it becomes, “volunteer Dave stayed two extra hours, allowing our social worker, Alexis, to fully focus on her caregiver assessment while he engaged the upset client. This cut Alexis’ time in that home by half which gave her two more hours to get her work done.” What? Extra time? I’m listening.
Forcing our audiences to understand ‘volunteerspeak‘ is a burden on them. Instead, if we want our voices heard, we need to learn to speak their language.
What questions can help us find the common tongue?
What, at this moment is the most pressing challenge facing our organization? Time? Marketing? Money? Lack of market share? Competition? Complaints? Auditing? How can we craft our stories and stats into the ways volunteers help in addressing these specific challenges? For example, instead of talking in general terms of how volunteers support the mission, gather concrete examples of volunteers who donate money, in-kind goods and influence their neighbors to give.
What departments are stretched, overworked and leaned on? In what measurable concrete terms do volunteers alleviate the load on these departments? For example, instead of pointing to volunteer hours given, flip it and speak to the amount of hours saved by staff.
What are some of the current organizational goals? Expansion? Partnerships? Social Media presence? National recognition? How are new volunteer programs leading the way in achieving these goals? For example, instead of pointing to a new program that will bring in more volunteers, show how the innovative program will more quickly lead to a specific goal.
What methods speak to my organization? Gathering stats? Big picture thinking? Connecting dots? Awards? How can I rework my presentations using these methods to show volunteer impact? For example, instead of equating volunteer hours to dollars saved, speak to examples of volunteers as extensions of departments and the work produced. Impact stats vs. hour stats.
We can continue to praise volunteer goodness until we are hoarse. But if we don’t speak in the terms and language understood by our organizations, CEO’s, department heads and staff, it will fall on deaf ears.
We can’t expect others to translate volunteerspeak. We must adapt the common tongue in order to show true, measurable volunteer impact.
You know, because of volunteer involvement, we frequently travel to all corners of our organizations. It really helps to speak the language.
You are in the midst of job hunting. You figure that if you’re going to go to work, you probably want a job where you make a difference. You imagine that you want to work for a non-profit because really nice people work there and in between patting each other on the back they play with puppies, while sipping salted caramel lattes, right?
You notice a job for a volunteer manager and you think, “there’s a way to get in and hey, how hard can that be, I mean I trained my three cats to come when I tap the cat food can with a spoon, right?”
You apply and have an interview scheduled. And you want to know what questions will be asked and how to answer them. Well, my friend, you’ve come to the right place. I want to help you get that job.
Below you will find some sample interview questions (Q). After each question is a detailed explanation of what that question is really about, followed by the answer (A) you should give. I personally guarantee if you follow this guide, you’ll ace that interview.
So, here we go with are some pretty typical questions:
Q: Do you believe in our mission?
This will be the easiest question asked. Don’t bother memorizing stats like, “you were founded by dedicated volunteers in 1973,” or “last year you on-boarded 32 new volunteers.” Don’t even bother with “I see you had 2,000 volunteer hours, this past month, a record for you.” Nah. Nobody really reads or understands those stats anyway. There are pictures of those statistics in the “Real Non-Profit Dictionary” next to the entry “Busy Work.”
A: I believe in unicorns, fairy dust and most importantly, blindly following directions. Mainly, I’ll believe anything you tell me to believe.
Q: How do you feel about directing people who are older than you?
Fair question, but more than likely, the interviewer has no idea how old the volunteers are, or even how many there are or what they really do. This perception is actually from something the interviewer heard from another non-profit administrator who knows a CEO who knows a fundraiser who went to a conference ten years ago where she met a volunteer manager who happened to bring her grandmother with her.
A: I work well with everyone, especially people who love to do menial tasks and are really good at blindly following directions. Kinda like me.
Q: Are you good at multi-tasking?
Ahhh, the multi-tasking question. Actually the interviewer probably knows very little about the tasks you will need to do. (hint: more than you can imagine, but you can worry about that later) The interviewer just assumes that you pretty much will chat, answer phones, think up excuses as to why volunteers don’t want to clean out the junk closet, make cute posters with scented markers (that you’ll have to buy yourself) and have little impromptu parties with happy volunteers who have nothing else in their lives but the desire to give back. And just so you know, “give back” translates to “don’t ask questions.”
A: I once cut out all the silver cardboard stars, gosh, hundreds of them for my high school prom and attached each one individually to the overhead streamers while consoling Jaime Green who was crying about her breakup with Hugo Carreras. I didn’t drop one star, not one. And besides, (you wink here) I make a mean cup of Earl Grey.
Q: How do you feel about working occasional weekends and holidays?
Ok, listen carefully. This is code for every time we forget to ask for volunteer involvement and then remember at the last-minute, we expect you to either a) stay extra late and get volunteers or b) do the job yourself.
A: When I was in college, I was always the designated driver. And I never was bitter about it. I actually considered it an honor. I once even held the most popular girl in my college, Bitsy Blake’s, hair while she threw up in the Cozy Lantern’s parking lot. (give a satisfied sigh)
Q: Can you plan and work with a budget?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Sorry. Just so you know, there will be no budget.
A: I steal internet access from my neighbor.
Q: What is your concept of team?
Ok, this is one of those mumbo jumbo psychology type questions they have to ask. They got it from one of their philosophy of management courses where they had to read such books as “The Theory of Employee Motivation in Two Words” and “Workroom Break-time, a Descent Into Anarchy.” So, the only way to answer one of these questions is to out-abstract the abstract.
A:(with both hands, draw a large invisible heart in the air. Both hands should move in perfect unison, ending at the bottom point. With a flourish, pull your hands to your chest) In a reverent voice, say, “there is no i in team, but there is a u in volunteer.”
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Be careful here. This question is meant to flesh out the overly ambitious candidate. Once you become the volunteer manager, it will be hard for them to see you as anything else, aka, anything more. It’s kind of like thinking of your Mom dating. You know what I mean. EWWWWWW.
A: I see myself as a productive member who supports the mission. And, if I may be so bold, someone who is a bit of a risk taker, like maybe serving Chamomile instead of Earl Grey or using glitter pens instead of scented markers.
Well, there you have it. Be confident that if you reply to these questions with the foolproof answers above, you will definitely be offered the job.
Do volunteer managers possess the skills required to succeed in the corporate world?
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sally Garrett, a recent leader of volunteers who has taken a managerial position in the world of retail. Sally was the manager of a St. Vincent de Paul depot, an Australian branded “Vinnies” retail thrift store, the highest grossing and net profit store in Western Australia while under her leadership.
VPT (volunteerplaintalk): Can you briefly describe your current job?
S (Sally): My Current job is as a Retail Manager of a lifestyle super store with 26 paid staff.
VPT: How long have you been in this position?
S: I have been here 1 month.
VPT: Before this position, what was your job as a volunteer manager?
S: I ran a large not for profit processing and pick up depot and retail outlet.
VPT: How long were you in that position?
S: Two and a half years.
VPT: What skills do you feel you developed as a volunteer manager and how did they translate to the position you now have?
S: The biggest skills I developed are empathy, patience, organizing people, time management and being able to teach others that they are more than they believe they are.
VPT: What skills helped you the most in moving into your new position?
S: I guess because I had been rostering and managing large volumes of people all doing small roles, the biggest skill that has helped me in my new role is patience. You can’t rush volunteers and you develop a skill of being able to step back and look at the bigger picture all the time, so it became a habit to stop, look and listen. This has helped so much in my present job, because as I have a lot to learn, I am not at all overwhelmed. I am much more rounded in my approach to my team and I listen a lot more and act less, but it’s action with conviction. This means when I do act, it is for the long-term and not the short-term.
I have already found that many people can sort out problems for themselves and become self autonomous rather than needy. I can quickly detect when people are good at what they do or need better training because I’m watching them and listening. I’m not trying to learn their job so much anymore, but placing acknowledgment in what they can do. This has made my new team feel more confident and then their skills began to shine.
The second skill is having learned to not take credit for what others do, but rather celebrate their gifts and achievements. I don’t feel the need to own others’ successes. I have developed the ability to lead, not manage.
The third, most important skill is that I don’t take anything personal. I am impartial to people because I know it is about them not me, and every action someone takes says things about them, not me. So, if someone is frustrated they may call me names or tell me I am not doing my job but this translates into the fact that they are telling me they need more training and are feeling overwhelmed or vulnerable. This took a long time to learn. I always thought I was doing things wrong in this situation until a volunteer pointed out to me that the other 120 people loved what I did and felt supported, so once this skill kicked in it just meant going back to basics and taking time for a cuppa and a chat and getting to the real problem which was 100% of the time the person left feeling vulnerable for some other reason.
VPT: When you accepted this new position, did you find that your volunteer management experience helped you get the job? Any actual feedback from your new supervisor on your volunteer management experience?
S: When interviewing for the position I applied for, I was calm and confident as I knew I had become a leader and not a manager so the interview process was easy and effortless. I had nothing to prove; they either wanted my skill set or they didn’t. If I wasn’t a good fit, I didn’t want to be there.
I was asked to take on a much larger role than I applied for in the interview; the position was in another shop as they felt I would be of value in that role with a larger team and a busier store. As it turns out I came across as soft and compassionate but with a deep knowledge of people. This is what progressive organizations want. They don’t want bosses anymore, they want team leaders and that’s what you are as a volunteer manager.
VPT: Are there skills that volunteer managers lack, or do not realize are important if they are seeking jobs other than in the world of volunteerism?
S: Acknowledge your value!
I believe a volunteer manager is much more qualified at team leadership than anyone gives them credit for, including themselves. It is a huge task being a volunteer manager and when in the role it doesn’t feel it is that important, but you touch the very core of people when they are a volunteer. Because they aren’t there for money, you find out more of what makes people tick so translating that to paid staff roles, you are able to make your staff really feel cared for when they come to work.
You have developed an ability to shut the work-space out and make eye contact and listen to them and answer their questions. whether it be personal or work related. You have developed the ability to validate people, and that’s what our world needs more of. You are also able to adapt quickly because volunteer management deals with absences regularly. You know how to get work done with few, if any help. Acknowledging the confidence that you know it will get done when the team is there, gives you a calmness and that drives people to help more and work harder. People love that you are in control and that you appreciate their efforts rather than stressing and then making them feel less when they are giving more. All volunteer managers develop this skill.
VPT: How can volunteer managers prepare themselves to enter the world of corporate management?
S: Be the very best version of yourself, it’s really that simple; being authentic and not promising things you can’t deliver, the rest falls into place. When you develop the calmness of self-confidence, you can learn anything; the skill of managing people is the highest of all skills you need in life and work and you have that in the bag once you are a successful volunteer manager.
VPT: Is there any advice you would like to give your fellow volunteer managers?
S: Give them (volunteers) 15 minutes undivided attention and induct, induct, induct!
Make sure when your volunteers start, you have given them your time whether it is 15 minutes at the start or the whole induction if you can, that time is what the volunteer remembers, because volunteers revere you; they know how hard your job is and they see you as their guiding light. If you only knew how powerful you are you wouldn’t worry about a thing. But that’s where volunteer managers are the most successful. We don’t settle for second best because it always has to be the best. Aiming for the stars on every task is what we do. Landing on the moon is not good enough for us, but it’s great to everyone else.
Know you are saving lives! There is a high number of volunteers that are volunteering due to mental illness preventing them from holding down a paying job. Know that you are potentially providing the healthy, stable and compassionate environment that these people need to gain new skills and give their life purpose. It surprised me to be told on three occasions that it was because of me, personally that three people got up and tried again another day rather than ending their lives. It both shocked me and made me seek help myself to understand my role more fully. The knowledge of each person over my time in Volunteer Management truly made me see how I changed lives and how powerful and responsible my role was and how important it was to be transparent in all I did. I had to understand that it wasn’t my responsibility to take this knowledge on board personally and that it was only a part of the role. But the knowledge was confronting and it changed my dealings with people. Compassion isn’t being weak, it is the exact opposite.
Relax more and stress less, develop the ability to tell people they can do it on their own. Softly, gently encouraging and convincing people they are wonderful and able, is the greatest skill ever. It is the most productive management tool in the workplace.
What incredibly inspiring words for leaders of volunteers. Thank you Sally for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. All the best to you in your new position. They are very fortunate to have you on board.
So, the next time all of you volunteer managers feel under appreciated, remember these words from Sally: I was asked to take on a much larger role than I applied for in the interview; the position was in another shop as they felt I would be of value in that role with a larger team and a busier store.
The recent spate of natural disasters has cast a light on incredible volunteers across the globe helping people in need.
Although not always news worthy, volunteers daily walk towards a crisis instead of running away. In organizations everywhere, volunteers are doing the hard work, the emotional work. Because they feel so deeply, they are affected by the tragedies they witness such as in this story: Volunteer shares harrowing account of how Hurricane Irma ripped toddler from woman’s arms
In our training programs, we encourage our volunteers to have empathy (the ability to understand and share the feelings of another) so they can better serve our clients. But can empathy take a toll?
I remember a new volunteer, Jenna and the first time she was present with a patient who died. Jenna had hours of volunteer training. She and I had talked at length about her strengths and capabilities. She was prepared… on paper.
Minutes after she left the room, allowing family members to gather, she sought me out. I was in the middle of some urgent matter that I have long forgotten. I looked up and saw Jenna’s face and I knew. You can’t mistake a face that has been profoundly affected by what was just witnessed. It’s there in the tiny muscles that make up the eyes and mouth. It’s there, deep in the irises that reflect a life altering experience. It’s there in the reverent voice asking for “a moment of your time.”
We found a private spot and sat for several long and quiet minutes while Jenna gathered her thoughts. It was difficult for her to put into words how she felt. She only knew that she felt changed, different, profoundly transformed somehow.
And if you think about it, how does each volunteer cope with the things they witness? Does training and on-boarding take care of the emotional investment our volunteers make when accepting roles placing them in life’s most profound situations?
Volunteers have an amazing resilience and ability to cope when faced with deeply personal scenarios. But what if a situation becomes more personal? In what situations can this happen to a volunteer, even if they have received excellent training?
a volunteer works with a person who reminds them of a family member (child, partner, parent, sibling)
a volunteer witnesses tragedy over and over and it accumulates
a volunteer is dealing with a crisis in their own lives
a volunteer is in a situation in which they perceive their help makes little difference (in outward appearance)
a volunteer gets caught up in the narrative of the situation
a volunteer feels the frustration of the client
We can’t prepare our volunteers for every situation, story and person they will encounter. So, how can we provide extra support for volunteers in order to prevent burnout? A few of the things we can do are:
ask clinical staff to be on the lookout for signs a volunteer needs support
ask clinical staff to be available to speak with volunteers who may be overwhelmed
enlist experienced volunteers to routinely call the volunteers who are working with clients. Experienced volunteers are the perfect candidates to do these check-ins because volunteers are comfortable speaking to other volunteers. (This is a great assignment for volunteers who physically can no longer do the job-instead of “retiring” them, elevate them to mentoring status)
create a monthly coffee klatch or tea time and encourage volunteers to share tips, stories and feelings
use newsletters to offer tips on self care
incorporate stories of volunteers who experienced emotional challenges into training and emphasize that this is not a sign of failure
designate a portion of each volunteer meeting to discuss “what’s going on with you”
intervene when noticing a volunteer experiencing emotional challenges (this can be personal, professional etc.)
If we make it clear that we are serious about supporting our volunteers, we will help them remain emotionally healthy and keep them from burning out.
This is the irony of non-profit work: We want our volunteers to share in our clients’ pain (Empathy) in order to better support the clients. But that empathy can lead to our volunteers experiencing their own emotional pain. Let’s make sure we support them so it doesn’t get out of hand.
Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with an amazing Leader of Volunteers, Jennifer Lawrence Nelson, CVA. The Manager of Volunteer Services at Maple Grove Hospital in Maple Grove MN, Jennifer, has an infectious laugh and an approachable aura about her. I literally had to call her back to complete my interview because the majority of the time, we ended up chatting like old friends. I could picture volunteers feeling completely welcomed in her office (which incidentally, has a harp in the corner under a lovely velvet cover).
Jennifer has been leading volunteers for over ten years, four of those years spent at a nursing home facility and now six years at Maple Grove Hospital. She was the first graduate to letter in community service at her high school. Yep, the first.
Jennifer served in the Peace Corps for over two years after graduating college. Her assignment took her to the country of Kyrgyzstan, a rugged central Asian country that sits along the historical Silk Road.
Her Peace Corps experience began with 2 days of training in Philadelphia and then living with a host family for three months, learning the language and culture. While the host family was close to the Peace Corps hub, her permanent site was in a small village where she lived for 2 years.
VPT(volunteerplaintalk): What was your assignment like?
J (Jennifer): My job as a business volunteer was working with craft groups, such as a sewing group. I assisted them in learning business practices. Something as simple as “why do we need a calendar to keep track of projects” was part of my helping.
While I was there, I was able to start a business and training center with the help of a grant and I also wrote a grant to expand the local public school cafeteria to meet the local law requirements regarding providing the mandatory provisions for the students.
I also had the opportunity to concentrate on a second area of work related to a passion of mine so I taught English and started a leadership club for girls. We established the first “take your daughter to work day.” I also supported English clubs and English camps in my village and state.
VPT: I’m in awe.
J: (laughing) I get that. People respond with the “that’s awesome.” But I feel like with strength of will, you can do it. I did it.
I will say that being in the Peace Corps gives me street cred with my volunteers. They realize what I’m doing is not just a job, it’s something that I believe in.
VPT: What did the Peace Corps teach you?
J: I learned that I’m tougher than I thought. At the end of my assignment I lived on my own. I found that if there was a spider, I had to kill it (something I would avoid at all cost in the US). It gives you the sense that you have to do what you have to do.
VPT: What else?
J: It changed me. I now have a global view of people. I don’t see the world the same way as I did and I think beyond America and our way of life. I think beyond my life here in Minnesota.
VPT: Can you tell me about the volunteer program here at Maple Grove Hospital?
J: We have so many volunteer opportunities here because volunteers have been a part of our organization since the day we opened. In so many departments they are truly integrated and are able to do some tasks and take on responsibilities that might not be allowed in other settings.
VPT: Any interesting new programs?
J: We have a pet therapy program started with the help of the North Star Therapy animals that visit our hospital patients. It was started by one of our volunteers and is going well. We have lots of good stories about the interactions. We are careful with who is allowed to come on board, because you have to realize that we need not just well-trained animals, but also well-trained humans. After all, the people are still the volunteers.
We also have quite a few volunteers in guest services, which is a position they love. They thrive on it because it is a bit like being a detective. They have to help people find where they need to go, who they need to see etc. The volunteers take it seriously.
VPT: What are some of the challenges you face?
J: Oddly enough, one of the challenges is the perception that volunteering at our hospital is going to be like the medical shows on TV.
VPT: Really?
J: Yes, I’ll interview a new volunteer and they will reference a show, especially Grey’s Anatomy. They imagine it will be exciting and glamorous.
Another challenge is helping volunteers understand that even if they are stocking a customer’s room with supplies, they have that 2 minutes to forge a relationship with the customer. It’s something we can all easily forget.
Even with the high schoolers, entering a room and picking up the food trays, they may spend 45 seconds but they too have a chance to make a difference.
VPT: Who does all the training for volunteers?
J: Our experienced volunteers step up into leadership roles and they train other volunteers.
VPT: Do you meet with them?
J: Yes, we have regular meetings to discuss what is working and what can be improved.
VPT: You transitioned from a role at a nursing home to the hospital setting. What was that like?
J: There was a learning curve. I went from a place with long-term residents to a place where customers stay a short time, get well, and go home.
VPT: How did that transition go?
J: I found that our HR department was a good source of help and advice.
VPT: Are volunteer numbers different in each industry?
J: Yes. Maple Grove Hospital is a highly visible and well-known volunteer opportunity in town, especially for high school students who want to meet their community service requirements. We onboard about 30 new volunteers each month. At the nursing home, I was lucky to get 1 new volunteer a month.
VPT: Any theories?
J: Volunteering for a nursing home is not sexy. Go back to the television shows about hospitals. That’s a lot sexier.
VPT: What type of advertising did you try in the nursing home?
J: I tried everything. I put out ads, used online services, put notices in church bulletins, and even made business cards for the volunteers to give out.
VPT: Did you find there was a difference in those who volunteer for a nursing home and those who volunteer at a hospital?
J: Well, approximately 55% of our volunteers at Maple Grove Hospital are students. Others come because of word of mouth from the volunteers who work here. They tell their friends that this is a great place to volunteer. At the nursing home, which was actually part of a much larger campus consisting of senior health and housing, home health and hospice, I found that volunteers were family members that volunteered for activities while their loved ones were in the nursing home.
VPT: Would they stop volunteering once their loved one was no longer there?
J: Usually, yes. Other volunteers came from residents of the senior apartments on campus. It was convenient and also, they might have friends there or they saw themselves there in the future and viewed it as their community.
VPT: If you could bring something from your volunteers here at the hospital to the nursing home and vice versa, what might that be? What do you wish you could swap?
J: Hmmm, I think from the nursing home I’d want to have the dedication of the volunteers, they were so loyal to the organization and mission. They had a deep connection to the work and they saw the value in their volunteering. You know, when a resident died, we didn’t just lose that resident and our relationship with them, we also lost our relationship with their families too.
VPT: So, a long-term relationship with clients has a longer retention?
J: It’s loyalty. And maybe the times are different now. Loyalty is rare, maybe because the speed of life keeps people from being loyal to more than a few people or causes in their life.
But, from the hospital, I’d want to bring the amount of volunteers.
(While we were talking there was a knock on the door. One of Jennifer’s volunteers had brought her a jar of pickles and some homemade corn relish.)
VPT: (chuckling) What was the most memorable thing a volunteer gave you?
J: A couple of volunteers in the senior housing complex when I worked at the nursing home were moving out. They said, “honey, come and shop in our apartment. You’re getting married.” I was at the time. They said, “We want you to have anything you want, we can’t take it with us.” I got 3 large pieces of furniture. I think I still have one of the pieces today. It’s funny, but they viewed me like a grandchild because I reminded them of their grandchildren which was ok. I appreciated how generous they were with me.
At the hospital here, one of the volunteers and her husband did something very sweet. Just after I moved to a different town I mentioned that I wasn’t sure what route I should take to and from work. One day, she and her husband drove to my new town and mapped the route, printed it out, highlighting the best route and gave it to me. I still take that route today.
VPT: That was a really thoughtful gift.
J: It was. My husband said that he never had anyone do anything like that for him. And he’s worked in a church! (laughing)
But he also said to me, “that’s how you know you’re loved.”
VPT: You attended the National Summit on Volunteer Engagement Leadership in July. Is there anything you took away from that experience? Anything you want to share with other volunteer managers?
J: Yes, do not let the momentum from the summit die. Get involved somehow and do something different. Write an article, take a chance, but do something. Be involved.
VPT: Thank you Jennifer, not only for spending the time talking with me, but for your leadership in guiding your volunteers and helping to move our profession forward.
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