The first time I met Alex many years ago, I noticed his manicured nails. He had the soft hands of wealth. His was not a gaudy proclaiming wealth, but an understated old mixed with new wealth. A retired corporate lawyer, with his much younger wife still working, he wanted to fill his days with something meaningful to do. He’d not had a hospice experience, but he’d heard that hospice was a good organization to volunteer for and he wanted to try it out.
He stuck out in orientation. From his formal weekend wear to his lawyer inspired questions, he animated the sessions with his analytical take on things. The rest of the diverse but more laid back class was somewhat intimidated by him. (Me too if you must know- and yes I tell myself that I’m no better and no worse than anyone else, but heck, my clothes wouldn’t keep their shape like his did).
After the six orientation sessions were over, I met with Alex in my office. He was polite and cerebral and together we formulated that with the help of a seasoned volunteer, he could begin volunteering in our care center.
Alex called me often to ask questions. He would show up at my office door every time he came in to volunteer. Knowing that he was used to doors always opening when he knocked, I allotted time for him. Was he smart? Oh my, I think I could have applied for 3 credits at a local college after listening to his measured thoughts.
Since the care center staff had really never seen anyone quite like him, I was peppered with lots of questions and comments. “One of those successful types,” a nurse said one day. “He asks a lot of questions,” another said and added, “you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
One day, a new patient, Lester came into the care center. A coal miner from West Virginia, Lester was in his late 80’s. His wife had died young and although he had no children, he had an old phonograph that played bluegrass music day and night. We all were used to walking past his room, hearing the lively strains of banjo, fiddle and mandolin drifting up and down the halls as if over the hills of a coal camp. As thin as a pick axe, Lester spoke of a time when his wife scrubbed his coal stained clothes until her hands bled and the chocking black dust laid upon the ground outside his camp house door.
Alex began to visit with Lester more frequently. He sat in Lester’s room while the phonograph scratched out “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” and listened to Lester’s stories of moving from job to job until the mines became more mechanized. As time passed, Alex began to place his chair closer to lean over to hear Lester and I would observe him, elbows on knees, straining to catch the flooding memories. Then, one day, the absence of bluegrass music outside Lester’s door spoke volumes. Lester was actively dying and his phonograph had grown quiet. He had turned it off. Alex came to me and tentatively said, “I have an acquaintance who plays the banjo and knows any number of Lester’s favorite songs. Do you think I could ask him to come in and play for Lester?” We checked with the charge nurse and social worker and Alex was given permission to bring his friend in. By this time, Lester had not stirred from bed, but lay peacefully, quietly slipping away.
I skipped a meeting that day, shut my office door and crept down to the care center. The stomping good sound of the banjo’s strings was glorious. I peeked into the room and saw Alex’s friend’s frenetic fingers pick that banjo, his eyes smiling at Lester, who was now somehow sitting upright, a look of bliss on his worn face. Alex nodded to me from the very corner of the room. I wondered if Alex consciously picked the color of his shirt that day to blend in with the wall color.
Lester died two days later. Alex and I sat in my office, the lack of music deafening. He did tell me that his friend was honored to be able to play for someone who breathed those mountain roots. Alex got up to go. It wasn’t the time to badger him with questions about how he was going to process this experience, not yet anyway. Right then it was time to silently let it all sink in.
What makes a person successful? I’d say Alex pretty much had it all figured out.
-Meridian
In the SpotlightI almost spit out my sip of coffee when I ran across this article a week ago. According to the story, a great grandmother was “sacked” from her nearly 30 year volunteer position at a thrift store for her inability to use a computer. The searing negative light this incident turned on made me cringe because as you can see from the selected comments I pasted below the link, non-profits all get lumped into the big barrel of rotten fish when a charity receives bad press.
JHR16 days ago
Charities are beginning to stink to high heaven.
ycjarman17 days ago
NEVER help a Charity that doesn’t appreciate what you bring to it !
JBJB116 days ago
Strikes me a lot of charities have lost sight of what they are supposed to be doing and more concerned in becoming corporate enterprises
I’m not jumping on the “get the pitchfork and storm the castle” bandwagon because as I read the article, I began to imagine the different scenarios that led to this unfortunate public airing of an incident involving a volunteer. What really happened? We don’t know, so I’ve put together some possible scenarios based on my own experiences with these types of circumstances.
1) An organization’s resale shop manager is just plain tired of “dealing” with volunteers who can’t work as efficiently as paid staff and so begins to find a convenient reason to dismiss those volunteers, never mind their years of service.
2) Volunteers become so entrenched in their jobs that no one has the guts to derail their authoritarian and entitled behavior and everyone kicks that can down the road until there is a blowup.
3) A volunteer becomes increasingly negative for any variety of reasons (health, circumstance, lack of being heard) and no one clears the air. This negativity builds and spreads until big problems arise.
4) Change is implemented without careful regard to how it will impact the volunteers. Lack of change awareness leads to grumbling, camp-forming and ultimately mutiny.
5) Repeated staff turnover leaves a new volunteer manager without any basic information about the volunteers he/she manages. Personality clashes balloon into showdowns with staff.
6) A shop manager/volunteer manager is burnt out, overworked and under appreciated, pressured to increase profit/sales and is unable to properly cultivate the shop’s volunteers.
This comment from a reader of the article hits at the perceived lack of volunteer management:
moanalisa16 days ago
it’s taken 30 years for them to ask Mrs Brooks to leave – if they were so concerned about Mrs Brooks attitude she should have been told to leave years ago
So, could this negative press have been prevented? Perhaps, but the point is, whether the volunteer is in the right or in the wrong, the proper handling of their exit is challenging but absolutely crucial, especially in the messiest situations. A curt dismissal letter is a weapon in the hand of the offended.
Sadly, we all are included in the negative stereotypes of charities as witnessed by the comment section of this article. The “pile-on” comments reinforces any perceived notion that “you know, I’m not so sure my local charity is really that nice. Last time I gave them a check, I never got a thank you. Maybe they’re just not who I thought they were.”
Our microscope is turned to a higher scrutiny than that of businesses. Why? Because the public perception is that charities are run by people who are nice. It’s a simple perception but one that takes a tremendous amount of attention to detail to continue. Who wrote the letter sent to the volunteer? Was it written out of frustration? Acting out of heightened emotions can get us splayed across media. For every 20 volunteers who perceive they are treated badly, one will go to the press or their circle of acquaintances. (And of course their acquaintances live next door to the CEO or the editor of the local newspaper)
So, what to do? You may never adequately resolve an issue with a volunteer and have to dismiss them. But, taking the extra time and effort to make the volunteer feel heard can go a long way in dousing the fire of their perception of being wronged. I’m not advocating the acceptance of poor behavior, I’m saying that hearing the volunteer’s side without your agreement or disagreement helps diffuse their anger.
If you’ve inherited a problem volunteer, it is much trickier. A volunteer whose problem behavior has been overlooked has assumed that the organization is fine with that behavior. It takes real skill to dismiss someone who looks at you as the evil newbie when in fact, you are just cleaning up the mess spilled on the floor years ago that now has mold growing on it. I’ve been in these situations and had hours long conversations with entrenched volunteers. Being respectful but firm, complimentary of their positive skill sets while pointing out negative behaviors and reiterating everyone’s commitment to the mission is helpful. While it took an enormous time and emotional commitment, the end result was always worth it. I never left the conversation until I felt that the volunteer and I were at a calm, reasonable point.
Having written conduct rules, including the steps for dismissal is critical. Every volunteer should sign a copy for their file. I’ve had to go back and look for that copy on several occasions and the presence of the volunteer’s signature on that document has saved me.
We all lose when folks reading a negative newspaper article generalize about every charity. Charities have to work harder to maintain the perception that we are ethical, caring, and committed to treating everyone, including volunteers respectfully.
But then, we signed up to be ethical, caring and committed to treating people respectfully, didn’t we?
-Meridian
Grace is sparkling champagne in a petite frame, and as she walks through her non-profit halls, bubbles of mirth float with her. She is a volunteer coordinator who has some of the most desirable natural abilities: the ability to make someone feel like they are the most important person in the world (at least at that moment) and the ability to include everyone in the fun and the purpose of the work.
When I view Grace, if I squint my eyes just a bit, I start to see a humming hub from which emanates all these connectors that run through people, places and things. It’s almost like the wizard behind the curtains in the Wizard of Oz, but not in a creepy way with a booming voice that fools people. No, she is the genuine article. Her desk looks like any other desk, but it almost seems alive with all the activity that buzzes around it. If scientists can ever extract sound from inanimate objects like they predict they will, I want them to start with Grace’s desk-the amount of voices stored in that wood over the years will be deafening.
I caught up with her recently and just like anyone who wants to bottle success or greatness, I wanted to ask her about her talents in working with volunteers. See, her volunteers are a tight-knit family. They tend to communicate with one another well, tend to be more inclined to say yes to extra work, tend to want to be involved in more ways than they originally signed up for, and tend to want to be around Grace instead of avoiding her. I know what you might be thinking, that this is an example of a personality cult. I don’t think so. I’ve seen personality cults (maybe I’ll write about one I knew of that ended up badly) but Grace is not that. Not that she couldn’t easily herd her volunteers into the “Grace is Our Queen and We are Her Minions” sect, but while she may scrape that precarious line once in a while, she is too smart to cross it and has no problem putting up an arm. elbow locked into place, to stop volunteers from becoming loyal to her instead of the mission.
Grace is first and foremost a master of communication. She calls, emails, asks volunteers to call, sends newsletters, has an open office policy, makes hourly trips to check on volunteers working, sends cards, visits, has meetings and does every other mode of communication possible in order to keep her volunteers informed and engaged. (Picture the hub humming away).
But Grace is fun on a stick, a happy birthday balloon in life. It’s a trait that I’ve seen in many long-term volunteer coordinators-Grace has been doing this for ten years. Maybe it’s because we have to create our own fun to diffuse the stress or maybe it’s because we need to see the joy in life to encourage people to work with the pain.
I asked her about some of her more successful volunteer bonding events and she said, “I’ve tried many things like a game night or having a speaker talk on a worthwhile topic, but one thing I’ve found that works is dinner and a movie. Who doesn’t like dinner and a movie? I saw it as a way to get a crowd in so that they could connect with each other.”
Grace shows movies in a conference room set up with tables and chairs, and puts out a spread of food on folding tables. It’s nothing fancy, but it is effective. “I wanted volunteers to know how much I appreciate them beyond the organization’s appreciation of them. And even shy volunteers can participate in coming to dinner and watching a movie, because I know that those volunteers that are alone appreciate a place to go and socialize on a Friday night.”
Grace has a really good point here. If a secondary reason to volunteer (after the first reason-helping someone) is to socialize, then establishing a social gathering for volunteers truly meets that secondary reason to volunteer in a safe environment. Not only did a crowd show up to the first dinner and a movie, Grace added, “I talked it up with everyone. Most of them came, even if they saw the movie. Later, they discussed the movie with each other and that gave them a chance to get to know people they did not volunteer with regularly. And the next time I had a dinner and a movie, the volunteers encouraged each other to come.”
Grace has this fearless component to her as well. She gets all of the food she serves and the prizes she gives out (sometimes there are winning tickets taped beneath chairs, other times there might be a contest or raffle to win) donated by local businesses. I asked her if she was nervous asking for donated food and goods. After all, asking for someone to donate their time (aka volunteer manager) is not the same as asking for donated money or goods. “Not at all,” she said, “I don’t go with the attitude that I’m begging. I go asking if the business or individual would like to be part of something worthwhile and most of them do. Volunteers are well thought of in the community, and people truly want to support them, so no, I’m not nervous, I’m extending the invitation to join us, to be part of our good work.”
She’s gotten so good at networking in donated goods that staff seek her out. “If they need something, like a special desk or a staff coffee maker, they come to me first to see if I can get one donated. Usually, I can.”
I asked Grace what made her volunteers feel so special and included, beyond the social gatherings. Actually I was holding out my bottle, ready to gather up that magic ingredient to take with me. “I was always honest with them,” she said. “I respect them and their contributions to the organization and I genuinely care about each one of them because each one is important and I think they feel that from me. I sort of liken it to water skiing, the feeling that you get when you’re out there…”
“Exhilaration?” I interjected.
“Yes, but it’s more like that natural high when you water ski. The volunteers come back for that feeling,” Grace corrected me. “Helper’s high. I believe each volunteer has something good to offer and I want them to see that. I help them find that.”
After leaving the humming of Grace’s hub behind, I thought about our chat. I can understand a little better why Grace is so special although I’m not ruling out the bit of magic in her along with her skills. I still want to bottle her gifts, but maybe I’d better concentrate on developing my own first.
Dinner and a movie, anyone?
-Meridian
There is the phrase, “hands-on” which is something that applies to volunteer managers everywhere. We cannot sit in some glass enclosed office barking orders through a microphone to legions of willing, robotic folks who live for every word that drips off of our lips. (Woah, was that a fantasy I just slipped into there?)
No, we are always involved with the work our volunteers are asked to do. We stuff envelopes alongside the volunteers instead of making calls because someone got sick and couldn’t come in and now we have a deadline, so we drop everything and stuff envelopes at the table too, making jokes and keeping the work light. We ring the doorbell of a client in the field and accompany the volunteer that is unsure of an assignment because we are there to provide support and keep that excellent volunteer coming back. We lift the boxes of brochures in the hot sun at a fair because we don’t think the 70 something volunteer should have to do that and there is no one else willing to help. We delay eating our lunch because a volunteer making phone calls was not given enough information and we’ve seen what happens when volunteers feel inadequately prepared to complete an assignment so we grab the list, fingers dripping mayo and get to work.
Yes, next to “hands-on” in the dictionary is a picture of a volunteer manager. While “hands-on” is a no brainer, I want to talk about some new phrases for us. What about “minds-on”? Do volunteer managers have the luxury to let our minds wander while at work and to leisurely think about what we will do on our day off? Will you ever find a volunteer manager at the computer, scrolling through the internet looking for the best deal on the next flight to Brazil or searching for the latest video game to buy for a six-year-old? Actually, you will, because as the volunteer manager scrolls through flights, there is a volunteer peering over their shoulder. Why, because the volunteer manager is looking up information for that volunteer whose home computer is being repaired, that’s why. Volunteer managers don’t do “personal stuff” on work computers, unless it’s personal stuff for volunteers.
Not only are volunteer managers “minds-on” at work, we are “minds-on” even on days off. We run into volunteers at the grocery store and discuss assignments. We meet a person who would be perfect for volunteering and stop to recruit. We see an opportunity for our organization to get involved and interrupt whatever we were doing to make sure we get the information to bring back to work. We talk to a person who knows a person who knows another person who might need our organization’s services and we make sure to listen with empathy, and get their information, all the while knowing that we are late to pick up our spouse who has been waiting by the side of the road for us to come. Our minds are seldom our own and even on vacations we are planning and producing.
So, in the dictionary of made up phrases, next to “minds-on” there is a picture of, wait for it, a volunteer manager!
But what about “feet-on”? We run up and down the corridors, making sure volunteer Anna is getting along with cranky volunteer Grace. We roam the hallways patting volunteers on the back, encouraging them to do their best while praising them for giving their time. We pace the hospital floor while a volunteer is being checked over because she fainted in the lobby. We walk a volunteer to their car in the rain, holding an umbrella because they forgot one. We run out to get water bottles, because the volunteers manning the booth are thirsty and we really don’t believe in letting them fend for themselves. We walk along side a volunteer who is tentative about their first assignment. We dance at volunteer functions to bond and let loose and get that party started. We jump through hoops to make sure volunteers are recognized and appreciated.
Well, what about “eyes-on?” We watch a group of volunteers working and get a swell of pride. We peer around a corner to see how a volunteer is being treated, ready to step in if need be. We scan a volunteer’s face for clues into his sudden sadness. We observe the tender way a volunteer is interacting with a child and we step back, not wanting to break that bubble of perfection.
Or “ears-on” as we listen for any mention of skills and interests that we can help volunteers tap into. We strain to hear the nuances of a client’s needs so that we can find the right volunteer for her.
And there is yet another phrase to consider. While we are “hands-on”, “minds-on”, “feet-on”, “eyes-on” and “ears-on” we are also very much “hearts-on.” Does your heart not ache when your volunteer walks in and sits down, holding back tears to tell you their spouse or child or parent died? Does your heart not soar when your volunteer is flush with excitement because he had a moving experience with a client? Does your heart not sing with pride when a student volunteer is accepted into a prestigious university and you are one of the first people to know? Does your heart not cry when a volunteer suffers from depression or a debilitating disease? Does your heart not melt when you listen to a volunteer describe how they fell in love with their spouse of 50 years at a chance encounter? Does your heart not bleed when a volunteer tells you over lunch that they are dying and they want to continue volunteering? Does you heart not beat stronger when a volunteer tells you that you have made a difference in their life by your mentoring? Does your heart not care about your volunteers so much it is almost embarrassing?
Yes, in the dictionary of phrases, next to “hands-on,” “minds-on,” “feet-on,” “eyes-on”, “ears-on” and “hearts-on” there is a picture of a volunteer manager. Hmmmm, maybe there should also be a really big obnoxious picture of a volunteer manager next to the phrase, “giving it your all.”
-Meridian
“Is it too much to ask?” Calista queries while wiping grape jelly off the hands of her five-year old. She smiles and pats him on the head as he runs off to join his three older sisters in the yard. She drops the rag on the counter and sits down on the bar stool. “I’m not a high maintenance person, not at all. But, I mean, I do need some consistency and direction.”
Calista started volunteering for her PTA after some pretty heavy pressure by the PTA officers. “Maybe it’s because I have four kids in that school,” she laughs, “but I became a target for their recruitment. Maybe it’s because I’m a loan officer at the bank which makes everyone assume I’m the goddess of paperwork. And I know every volunteer group has their share of paperwork!”
Feeling the need for parents to step up, Calista agreed to volunteer and she set aside time for the next meeting. “I’m fortunate because my husband, Josh is great and encouraged me to get involved so I did. After dinner one night, I headed out for my first meeting. I was introduced to the President, a nice lady named Jenna and I met all the other officers as well. They seemed very pleased to have me join the group.” Calista leaned back. “They had quite a number of projects going, including holiday events, fund-raisers and volunteering in the classroom. After the meeting was over, I realized they had gotten me to sign up for a call tree and also as a member of the awards committee.” Calista giggled. “Oh, they were good. I kind of liked the two areas I signed up for. The call tree I could easily do from home and the awards committee sounded fun. At the end of the year there would be awards for students, teachers, parents and even office staff. I have to admit, I was hooked.”
Calista thought for a moment. “Every month I would faithfully attend the meeting. Jenna, the president took me aside and asked if I would research prices on awards for the award ceremony, present my findings at the next meeting and I agreed. I wasn’t being utilized on the call tree and I just figured that no calls needed to be made, but at the next meeting I was armed with the awards information. I had spent a good amount of free time gathering prices, guarantees, choices, etc. But when I got to the meeting, I found that the president had already contracted with a company to create the awards. When I asked the president about my research, she said that it may come in handy next year, but that she had to act fast on a promotion that someone sent her. I gotta tell you, I was annoyed. She could have emailed me so that I didn’t waste my time.”
Calista was a victim of Lack of Communication (LOC).
I’m ashamed to admit it, but I have been guilty of the LOC malady. And I had no good excuse for my lack of communication. Now here’s the thing about committing a LOC on volunteers. A real volunteer’s time and effort is disrespected by misdirection, no call back or no follow through. Running into a volunteer that is awaiting your call is like rounding the cat food aisle to see someone you owe 20 bucks to and forgot to pay. When we see this volunteer do we say, “Yeah, I could have called you to tell you that the project you were so excited to be part of has been scrapped but I chose the cowardly way by ignoring it and you.”
Being mindful of volunteers’ time and effort is crucial to volunteer retention. We can’t give a volunteer an assignment or tell them we will call them without following through on that promise, because it is a promise, a promise to treat them as a valued member of our team. And, as if we didn’t have enough work, we cannot let other staff members commit a LOC either. We have to be on top of their treatment of volunteers too.
But what about those conversations in a hallway, or on your day off in the store when you promise something to a volunteer but don’t write it down or store it in your phone? If I had a dollar for every time that happened to me I’d have a nice little nest egg right now. When I’d finally given up on the idea that I could remember everything (yep, you’re right, control issues), I began to be more honest. “Well, Donna, I’m so glad we ran into each other here in the feminine hygiene aisle and we got to talk about your wanting to get involved in that new project. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have you work with us, thank you so much. Can I ask you a favor? I’m afraid that because it’s a Sunday evening and I don’t have a notepad with me, I might let this conversation slip and I would be mortified if I didn’t call you tomorrow with that information. Would you mind calling me tomorrow to remind me? You would? Thank you, you’re the best!”
Now, when Donna calls the next day, I can chuckle and say, “Thank you for calling me. I was so excited that I was just about to call you, but sometimes I forget. You are unforgettable of course, but now let’s talk about your involvement.”
If a volunteer calls and says, “I haven’t heard from you…” that is red flag territory. For whatever reason, that volunteer was handed a LOC. Open it with honesty.
Honesty goes a long way. Sincerity gallops right along with honesty. I’ve had to say, “I didn’t call you because I’m an idiot,” and “I didn’t get that information because I let time get away from me and I sincerely apologize.” Ouch, It’s sobering to realize that I’m not super volunteer coordinator. But, I am human and I do care about volunteers’ time and energies.
Calista sighed deeply. “You know, it would have been ok had I gotten some sort of acknowledgement that my effort was for naught. An apology, a reason I wasn’t informed, something. That would have gone a long way to make me feel valued.”
Volunteers do not expect us to be perfect. However, they do expect their time and efforts to be valued. Communicating is about valuing them. And too many sloppy LOCs will produce a volunteer LOC out!
-Meridian
Marlene has been a volunteer coordinator for ten years. She’s adventurous, loves rock climbing, extreme sports and her idea of a pleasant evening is a demolition derby. It’s only natural that she would bring her sense of adventure to volunteer management.
“I like to try new things all the time,” she says with the tiny grin of a child caught in the act. “I like to see the things others are doing and try to incorporate that into my volunteer program. Here at my hospital, it’s easy to get into a complacent stage where you think all people who come to volunteer in a hospital setting are pretty much the same type of person. I’m constantly being told to find retired nurses and health care workers, because they would naturally want to continue their line of work after retiring, wouldn’t they?” She laughs easily. “I mean it’s this kind of thinking that breeds a stale environment. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that a retired nurse would be easy to train because she knows the system so well and can follow the rules. But,” she adds with a mischievous gleam in her eye, “what about the retired nurse who was so fed up with obeying the rules, and she wants to volunteer to break the constraints wide open? Huh, what about that?”
Marlene has a great point. Organizational administrations who tend to lump potential volunteers together will most likely also make the mistake of lumping actual volunteers together in a “them” mentality. Ignoring the subtle complexities of volunteer management will foster this stale and outdated thinking.
“When it comes to interviewing potential volunteers,” Marlene continued, “I’ve tried everything from quizzes to group interviews to structured questions. Sometimes these techniques work, and sometimes they don’t. We’re in an age when background checks are not enough, not if you really want to get to know the motivations of the volunteers working within your system. Do background checks uncover mental illness? Does a quick call to a reference on an application reveal the tendency to get over-involved with children? Will an interview question about the reason a person comes to volunteer actually produce the real answer?” Her grin widens. “And what is the real answer, now that is the question?”
Marlene has had some experiences she wanted to share with us. “Look, I tried a list of good, solid questions, but what I often found was that I immediately put the volunteer on the defensive. For instance, I asked a man why he wanted to volunteer with us and he shrank back like I hit him with a bat. I could see in his eyes that he was searching for to the correct thing to say, so I knew right then that I wouldn’t be getting an honest answer. Now, mind you, this man became a great volunteer, but that interview question did not help me in any way. Actually, it hindered the rest of the interview and it took some time to get to know him.”
Marlene looked for the right words. “But, I knew that I wanted answers to certain questions so I started experimenting with peppering the questions into a casual conversation. The whole process took a bit longer, but I found that in the majority of cases, it was well worth it. My mother was born in England and so I began to create in my mind what I termed the ‘spot of tea’ scenario. I would invite potential volunteers in for a twenty-minute chat and a cup of tea or coffee.
At first I started by asking them simple questions and I found that even that put them a bit on the defensive so I experimented with trying to put them at ease. And now I begin by first explaining our program to them. It works so much better and puts them at ease. I start by introducing myself and talk about how the program works, our volunteer jobs, and some of the benefits of volunteering. I make sure that I tell them how rewarding our existing volunteers find their work to be. Then, and only then, do I start to ask some questions in a conversational manner. I’ll reword the questions every time so that it doesn’t sound so rehearsed.” Marlene laughs. “If you don’t think most potential volunteers can spot a canned question, then you don’t know volunteers!”
She continued, “when people are comfortable, they will naturally open up, much more than when they are put on the spot by invasive questions like why are you here?” Marlene then recalled an incident during the beginnings of her ‘spot of tea’ interview. “I remember one young man who came in. We were talking, really getting to know one another and he told me that he had been fired from his last job. Because a red flag went up in my head, I carefully asked him what had happened and he told me. I was shocked that he confided in me, but it turned out to be a reason that prevented us from taking him as a volunteer. A background check would not have revealed that information to me. He did.”
Assessing potential volunteers is something all volunteer managers want to do well. There really is no perfect question, technique or method involved in getting to know volunteers. Whether you have a set of specific questions or not, Marlene advocates first putting prospective volunteers at ease. “Make them comfortable with you so that they can be honest. That way, you’ll not only get some honest answers, but you’ll also have a leg up on figuring out a fit for them. And besides, it’s gratifying learning the volunteers’ stories. It helps you and it makes them feel a part of the organization right from the start.”
This is why volunteer managers are so incredibly good at their jobs. Even the simplest of tasks such as interviewing a prospective volunteer is viewed as crucial to organizational success. Volunteer managers like Marlene may not try to be perfect, but in striving to do the best possible job in every situation is surely as professional as it gets.
-Meridian
I’ve been attending a weekly six part volunteer orientation at a local organization with a friend. Last Monday we arrived at the appropriate office a little before the 6:30pm start time. We were attending part five of the six parts and feeling pretty good about being on the home stretch. “See,” my friend said, “you actually have made it this far and after tonight, we only have one more session to go. Yay!”
Yes, I’ll admit it, I conjured up every excuse I’m sure volunteers have devised when faced with coming to my training sessions. “I’m tired, the season finale of the Big Bang Theory or Finding Bigfoot is on, the weather is bad, no one will miss me, why did I sign up anyway, or I don’t feel good and it’s too far to go.” Excuses aside, I went.
But, when we arrived, we noticed the other new volunteers milling around the parking lot. We’ve gotten to know them, so we approached, expecting enthused conversation. Instead we walked into some pretty negative grumbling.
“The door’s locked,” one said. “The place is deserted.”
“Don’t know where the instructor is,” another one chimed in. “Usually they are here by now.”
“Did you get an email telling you class was cancelled?” Someone asked.
“Man, I could have been home studying,” the student volunteer lamented.
“I didn’t get an email cancelling and I’ve been home all day,” the first volunteer said. “Did anyone else?”
I immediately pulled out my phone and pulled up my email. Nope, no email message. And I did give my correct email address on each of the sign in sheets so I know someone has it.
“I drove 25 miles to be here. Jeesh.” The second volunteer added.
“Does anyone have Betsy, the coordinator’s cell phone number?” The first volunteer asked.
“No,” someone said, “but I have the number for Claire, the office manager.”
“Good, would you call her?”
The volunteer next to me said, “You know, there’s the 20 minute rule.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“You give the moderator or leader 20 minutes to show up and then you just leave.” Hmmm, I didn’t know that. So, mental note to me.
While a call was being placed to Claire, the rest of the increasingly annoyed group began to muse about some other shortcomings of the organization, from the lack of continuity to one really unlikeable staff member.
“Don’t ever work with her, she has no people skills at all.” One volunteer said.
“I know, she basically ignored me when I walked in the door the first time,” another added.
“I’ll bet she was responsible for notifying us of the cancellation,” a third chimed in. As the group nodded I pictured pitchforks and torches and the burning of Dr. Frankenstein’s castle.
Claire was unavailable and so at the 30 minute mark, we all left, a bit more bonded to each other, but much less to the organization.
“That was a waste of time,” my friend said to me on the drive back. She sort of chewed on her lip and offered, “maybe it couldn’t be helped.”
Now here’s where I politely disagree. Someone, anyone should have called each one of us to let us know the instructor was not coming. I know because I have scars from this happening to me. I learned the hard way a long time ago when I could not make a training session and did not have the list of volunteers on me at the time. The thing is, those volunteers, although put out, were able to see past the inconvenience. But here’s the kicker. Two of those same new volunteers were stood up by a staff member on their first assignment.
So as you can imagine, those two volunteers did not wait for the third strike. They each made a different gracious excuse to quit, and no amount of convincing changed their mind.
So, where did that leave me? Forget the statistics, forget the amount of time spent recruiting and orienting these two volunteers. I felt personally responsible for failing them. So, from that day on, I made it my two strike rule to not let volunteers be inconvenienced more than once. Did it always work? No, of course not, but the self-imposed hard fast rule forced me to carry lists of volunteers’ contact numbers, drive to work on a Sunday night to make phone calls, and have multiple back up plans. And when an inconvenience did happen, I made sure to offer a personal phone call apology the next day to the volunteers who were impacted by events oftentimes out of my control.
Did this add to my workload? Yes, by an unbelievable amount. I even learned to do double checks with staff to make sure volunteers did not arrive at an assignment without proper instructions. I’ve found that slogging through all the upfront work is ultimately preferable to trying to make amends for the sloppy treatment of volunteers. And I take volunteers’ experiences personally. Can’t help it, it’s how volunteer managers are wired, I think.
Oh, update. It WAS the responsibility of the staff member the volunteers were trashing to call everyone and cancel. We never got a call and have yet to get an apology from her, although we did get an apology from a different staff member at this week’s orientation.
Cue the pitchforks?
-Meridian
I was so impressed by an article I read a couple of weeks ago about the volunteer program at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo in Indiana that I just had to call and speak to the volunteer manager, Kathy Terlizzi because something about the article’s description of the program conveyed a specialness about volunteering. Kathy graciously agreed to let me write about our conversation.
Kathy has been the zoo’s volunteer manager since August 2009 and was a volunteer at the zoo before joining the staff. “I made changes based on my experiences as a volunteer,” she told me. When she took over, the initial training program for new volunteers occurred either at the end of the season or at the beginning which meant some volunteers had to wait before utilizing their new skills and enthusiasm. Also, the training was a comprehensive training which meant that volunteers, regardless of their comfort level were expected to “get out and do what they were trained for”. Many volunteers, Kathy found, were overwhelmed with the comprehensive training and since there was no practical application (mentoring) along with training, the volunteers were not prepared to roll up their sleeves and jump in to some of the more complicated tasks.
So, Kathy, seeing volunteers repeatedly become overwhelmed, initiated a stair step training broken into three parts.
Part one is the basic training for all adult volunteers. This is the ground floor training and volunteers are asked to commit to 18 shift hours before moving up to the next level. Volunteers at the zoo can sign up for shifts online. (the zoo utilizes Volgistics for volunteer management).
Part two is the Ambassador training which helps volunteers prepare to interact and speak to the general public.
Part three is the docent training which helps volunteers become comfortable in crowd situations and with handling zoo education animals during animal demonstrations and off site programs for zoo guests.
This stair step method allows volunteers to take their volunteer training in stages and encourages them to find their comfort level of participation. The more advanced classes may be smaller than the initial basic training, but it ensures that volunteers find their own path and don’t feel pushed into something they are not ready to do. Some volunteers don’t wish to advance while others find that they want to move up. “I believe that volunteers should bloom where they’re planted,” Kathy said.
I heard real pride and enthusiasm when Kathy spoke about her teen leadership program which is set to kick off in June and July. Daily, 30-40 adult volunteers work in the zoo, but during the summer program an additional 40 teens who volunteer during two-week sessions are incorporated. They too, sign up for shifts online after going through a special teen orientation.
Teens 13-17 apply for the two-week sessions and the 172 slots are coveted by 250 applicants. Returning teens account for about 99 slots, so the rest are new teens who go through the new application process which includes filling out an online application, answering an essay question and providing a letter of recommendation.
After the applications are processed and the teens selected comes the logistical nightmare of slotting teens into the program. Kathy spends the entire month of March working on the two-week sessions. Emails and phone calls from interested teens takes over her days as she slots returning teens first and then the new teens are inserted based on gender, age and availability to provide balance. It is an ever evolving schedule as teens find conflicts with their other activities and family obligations.
But, instead of this monumental task seeming a burden for Kathy, she is stoked about the teen program, and told me that at first, she was intimidated working with teens because of all the negative stereotypes she’d heard about young people. But she found that the teens she works with are wonderful, responsible volunteers. She prides herself as an up front person and speaks to them frankly about dress codes, expectations and sensitive subjects like drugs and weapons. The teens are expected to be professional in their participation, especially in regard to zoo guests. In return, the teens take their responsibilities very seriously and frankly, Kathy says, they “have a lot to say.” Kathy believes in speaking to the teens directly, (although the program is transparent and openly invites parental and guardian involvement) and finds that the teens really step up when given the chance to embrace responsibility.
One day she discovered some older photographs of teen volunteers doing the same animal handling as the adults, something the zoo had gotten away from over the years, so she advocated a return to letting teens have equal volunteer responsibility. The parents were open to it, she says, mainly because they knew their children were safe within the zoo framework.
So two years ago, she implemented a two-hour pilot training and 66 teens signed up. At first the teens began with level one animals, bunnies and guinea pigs, but now the teens are handling snakes and tortoises. When the pilot program began, Kathy let the teens know that they were in part responsible for the success of the program and the teens immediately stepped up and showed the professionalism necessary for the program to thrive.
Puzzle Feeder
Another success Kathy talked about was increasing the trust level between staff and volunteers. It was a goal she had when she first started and so she spent the first year building a rapport with staff. “I told them (staff) that volunteers will do anything as long as it benefits the zoo. They won’t, however wash your car.” At first the zoo keepers were reluctant, so Kathy took a proactive approach.
She saw that the giraffe keepers had to prepare food daily for the giraffe puzzle feeders (a hanging feeder with holes that let the food stick out-these feeders simulate the natural foraging of giraffes) and offered to ask volunteers to do the preparation, thus giving the keepers more time to focus on other more pressing tasks. At first the keepers wondered why any volunteer would be willing to do that job, but within five hours after posting the job online, the shifts were all filled. Now volunteers sign up for 2 hour shifts to prepare the giraffe puzzle feeder food.
Another proactive instance came when the aquarium manager mused about organizing ph data he had been collecting so Kathy offered him a volunteer who was computer savvy in spreadsheets.
At first he reluctantly turned over a month’s worth of data but when he received his data back in a neatly organized spreadsheet, he quickly turned over much more information to the volunteers.
That’s how trust is built. Kathy also found a way to incorporate seamstresses into the zoo’s programs. These volunteers make costumes for zoo presentations and also cold weather quilts for the education animal carriers. She also utilizes Spanish-speaking volunteers to help translate signage.
Kathy has found a great way to work with groups. She says that the community wants to be involved in zoo volunteering so she offers the community the opportunity to participate in Annual Enrichment Workshops (run by a volunteer and his family) where they can do meaningful crafts like make fishcicles or paper mache animals in bulk. These items are requested by keepers and ultimately given to exhibit animals as enrichment. She also utilizes corporate volunteer groups for some of the zoo’s larger events throughout the year.
But when I asked for Kathy’s advice to new volunteer managers, she grew wistful, “I would tell them to get ready for the ride for it’s all encompassing. It’s fun and rewarding but also sometimes sad because you have this personal rapport with the volunteers and you get involved with their lives.” She also would like a new manager to know that volunteer management is not a 9-5 job, as there are weeknight trainings and weekends spent recruiting or trouble shooting. She says, “there’s one of me and 450 volunteers. And they all want and deserve some of my time. That’s why my job is social.”
She told me that she had been a manager for many years before working at the zoo and it opened her eyes when she took a personality quiz and found out how high she scored on interacting with people. Volunteer management has fit that bill. Kathy spoke glowingly of being able to put a volunteer in a place where they can grow. Whether it’s a shy, sensitive teen or a senior who is feeling unfulfilled, she derives tremendous satisfaction in seeing volunteers bloom.
As you can imagine, Kathy is comfortable talking with anyone. She says, “I kid that I need one of those take a number systems outside my door. My office is right across from the volunteer room. Everyone talks to me, volunteers, staff, guests, even family and friends. If I wear my zoo t-shirt to the store, the clerk wants to talk to me about the zoo. So I take the opportunity to ask, how about volunteering for us?”
For me, it was easy to see why this volunteer program succeeds. Kathy Terlizzi, the volunteer manager, is both passionate and practical. I heard in her voice that she wants every volunteer to succeed, to have a meaningful experience, and to be part of something in which they can take great pride. It’s no wonder the Fort Wayne Children’s zoo is the number one attraction in all of Indiana. This zoo and volunteer program is a success story we can all learn from. I know I’ve taken away these principles from my conversation with Kathy:
1. Be proactive with staff-analyze their needs and offer volunteer help whenever possible-build that trust that volunteers can help and free up staff to do other pressing matters.
2. Invest time and thought into your training program-use levels to encourage volunteers to find their niche and don’t overwhelm them with all training at once, instead encourage them to take training in steps. Make sure that the volunteer opportunities are meaningful work.
3. Model professionalism and responsibility, especially to teens and they will step up to the challenge.
4. Be prepared to give your time and attention to every volunteer.
5. Create new opportunities whenever possible to expand your volunteer reach.
6. Take pride in your work. It’s infectious.
Thank you so much to Kathy Terlizzi for allowing me a glimpse into this very special volunteer program. It is volunteer managers like Kathy who take volunteering to the next level through dedication and a willingness to believe in volunteers.
-Meridian
Christian was hired as the volunteer manager for a small hospital. After spending ten years as a human resources generalist, he wanted to utilize his skills while working with folks who wanted to give back.
“I replaced the former volunteer coordinator, Janice, who was moving out of the area. She had been in charge of the volunteers for five years and we spent about two weeks together before she left. The volunteers on the whole were very sorry that she was leaving. They were really attached to her.”
Every volunteer manager has their own unique style of managing volunteers. Some are gentle and kind and encourage volunteers with praise and genuine caring. Some are a combination of inspiration and a perceived expectation of excellence. Some are masterful negotiators and visionaries. Some are light-hearted and fun, others are serious and meaningful. Most are combinations of all of the above. Few of us can be authoritarians or dictators, at least not for long.
“What I discovered a few weeks after Janice left was just how much the volunteers were attached to her. I can’t tell you how many times I heard a volunteer say, ‘Janice didn’t do it that way’ or ‘Janice would never have asked that.’ At first I kind of expected it, but as the weeks wore on, it became more of an us against him situation.”
What Christian was experiencing is the unraveling of the management style instituted by his predecessor. He stepped into a role that was not his style and so the volunteers, used to Janice’s management, were chafing at her absence. It wasn’t so much a rebuff of the new leadership as it was missing the old leadership.
“The more I spent time with the volunteers, the more I realized how intertwined they were with Janice. She knew so much about each one. She socialized with many of them, went to their family functions, had lunch with them, and stayed with them in the hospital. They had her personal cell number. One lady, Bea told me that Janice helped her buy a car. Another volunteer, Simone said that Janice found bargains for her online. It was all so overwhelming, I mean, I was hired to do a job, but I never expected that my job was a 24/7 immersion into the volunteers’ personal affairs. When I was in human resources, I never walked the dog for an employee or planned a birthday party for a grandchild. I simply did my job.”
Christian’s experience went beyond taking over a job from a popular coordinator. He was unknowingly walking into more than a job, he was walking into a cult of personality.
“I started asking the other staff about Janice and the volunteers. I learned that Janice was extremely social and gregarious and that she had a positive attitude and sense of humor. I already knew that from spending time with her before she left. But what I heard from many of the staff is that Janice often seemed frazzled and complained about stress. I also heard that she was somewhat flirtatious, which, on the surface doesn’t seem too harmful, but I now feel a real sense of indifference from the men who volunteer. It’s as if I’m personally responsible for Janice’s leaving.”
Managing volunteers is challenging enough without having to replace someone who has created a cult of personality and Christian, no matter what he did to win the volunteers over, was just not Janice.
“The volunteers would do anything for Janice, and she was very successful in filling all the jobs. But I got to tell you, the first few days, I just thought that the volunteers were really wonderful people who truly wanted to help others. Now I’m finding that yes, the volunteers are wonderful people, but I’m not so sure if they want to help others or if they just wanted to please Janice. I ask them in the nicest way to take on a an assignment and I try to ask them questions about their families, but they are somewhat cold towards me. I haven’t lost any of them yet, but I expect that to occur any day, because although they have direction from me, they seem lost without her.”
Stepping into anyone’s role is hard but stepping into a status quo that you cannot duplicate is incredibly challenging. As volunteer managers, we walk a fine line between being professional and being involved. We sometimes utilize whatever skill works to fill volunteer requests. We often become very comfortable with our volunteers and develop strong relationships with them.
But, every now and then, we have to do a mental check on our own style of volunteer management to ensure that we have created a professional atmosphere and that our volunteers are loyal to the clients we serve and not us. The mental check goes something like this:
If I leave tomorrow, will my replacement find all the systems in place they need to succeed?
If I leave tomorrow, will my replacement be able to continue the calendar that I have set up for volunteer meetings, events, training’s, educational in services etc?
If I leave tomorrow, will my replacement find the volunteers welcoming or will he find hostility because the volunteers are loyal to me instead of the mission?
If I leave tomorrow, will my replacement find that boundaries have been consistently crossed with volunteers, hence making her work life impossible?
If I leave tomorrow, will my replacement have a list of currently active, currently inactive and also former volunteers?
If I leave tomorrow, will my replacement walk into utter chaos or find a smoothly run department?
Ahhhh, if we can occasionally look critically at our work with the eye of our potential replacement, we might just discover some things that need our attention. We might just see the forest instead of those pesky daily, demanding trees that get in the way.
And if a professionally run environment is better for our potential replacement in case we happen to leave, then isn’t a professionally run environment better for our own health and well-being?
-Meridian
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