volunteerplaintalk

Tag: organizations

  • Volunteer Clicks or Cliques?

    arms bonding closeness daylight
    Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

    One of the most prolific skills volunteer managers possess is the art of matching volunteers to not only roles, but to each other. We work hard to pair volunteer personalities that will mesh. We introduce hand picked volunteers to each other knowing that the team will “click.”

    I remember getting all tingly when I dropped in on a team and they were chatting away, enjoying the camaraderie with one another. It’s a real perk to volunteering. You can almost hear the team bonding as each person joins. Click, click, click. But some teams will click so well that they shut new volunteers out.

    Being a new volunteer is challenging, especially when dropped into an established group of volunteers. The group is an entity unto its own. The group has a rhythm, methods of interaction, unspoken rules and shared history.

    Individually, the group members may be welcoming, but group dynamics dictate actions. So, what can we do to encourage socialization among volunteers but at the same time be cognizant of group think?

    1. 1. Do not just drop a new volunteer into the group unannounced, even if it is only temporary. I brought a new volunteer into a group one day and I thought I had walked into a meat locker, the response was so cold. Alert the group beforehand, talk to them in person, or call to keep from putting them on the spot.
      2. Play up about the awesomeness of the group to the newbie and vice versa. Let the group know that this new person considers it an honor to join such a fantastic well-functioning group.
      3. Appeal to the group’s sensibilities. Say to groups, “I wanted Doug to join you because he’s anxious to do well and I couldn’t think of a volunteer group better able to show him the ropes.”
      4. Make it temporary at first. Say, “Doug will be learning from you and I hope that he can join a group of his own once he’s ready.” Sometimes the group will just love the new person and take them in because the decision was their’s to make. If a newbie is not forced upon them, the group is more receptive.
      5. Check in often. Observing the dynamics of the group will tell you everything about how well the integration is working. Check in to let the group and the new volunteer know that you care about their success.
      6. Make it clear that the organization wants to be inclusive of new folks. I’ve used phrases like, “we don’t want to be the best kept secret,” and “we want everyone to be able to have a meaningful experience. With your help, we can do that with our new volunteers.”

    But what if the group still rejects new volunteers? I’ve had groups that, when a member or two is out for extended periods of time get angry because the temporary volunteer doesn’t operate like good old Janet or Bob or whomever is missing. Then, when several newer volunteers tell me that they won’t work with that group because of the way they were treated, I know I have a problem, and it’s time for a volunteer intervention.

    Have a chat about change (On their time and turf is best). Invest in members’ feelings. The members of the volunteer group may:

    • be worried that their missing member is sick and will never return.
    • be upset that their missing member is cavalierly being replaced.
    • think that new volunteers will come in and critique them.
    • feel like they’re not doing a good enough job, because if someone new needs to come in, what does that say about their competence?

    Assure the group that you care about the missing member. Reinforce the group’s strengths. Make inclusion a source of accomplishment.

    Here’s another part to this: Do we, volunteer managers sometimes play favorites without knowing it? It’s natural to engage volunteers who are “super volunteers,” but it’s our responsibility to look out for new people and integrate them into the team. How can we show that we are inclusive?

    • look at everyone in the room when speaking.
    • when chuckling over inside jokes, explain the context to everyone and make everyone part of the fun.
    • when discussing past events, give a synopsis of the event. (and heck, even long-term volunteers don’t know everything about every event)
    • introduce new volunteers in meetings.
    • when asking questions, call on new volunteers.
    • use welcoming and inclusive verbiage.
    • speak to accomplishing mission goals together.
    • enlist long-term volunteers into mentoring new volunteers.

    There’s a delicate balance between “clicking” and “clique-ing” and integrating new volunteers into established volunteer groups takes nuanced persuasion.

    But then again, ‘Nuanced Persuasion’ is our middle name.
    -Meridian

    This post is an update from a 2015 post, Click, click, clique

     

  • Reject a Volunteer, Gain an Advocate

    Reject a volunteer gain an advocate
    courtesy https://gratisography.com/

    A lot of well-intentioned people advise volunteer managers to treat “hiring” volunteers in the same manner staff is hired. It is not that simple and last week’s post explored why. Here is the list again:

    • Unlike staff, we do not have a limit on number of volunteers we can accept, so it becomes much harder to turn away a volunteer. (Because volunteers are viewed as “free help” and the more, the merrier)
    • Qualifications for volunteering are viewed as much simpler and broader than for staff. (meaning there’s a much wider base of volunteers and well, all people want to volunteer right?)
    • There is this perception surrounding volunteering that anyone who offers their time is fit for the job, which is a complete opposite of the perceptions of staff hiring. (warm body theory)
    • Unpaid work is viewed as simple, easy and can be done by anyone. (luke-warm body theory) It’s also, the (they can’t hurt anything because they’re not doing anything impactful theory).

    Let me add another big one to the list: Managing human capital. Let’s say there’s an open, full-time paid position for an IT person at Organization X. HR interviews candidates and offers the job to an experienced IT person who on-boards.

    Now let’s say Organization X needs a volunteer to man the reception desk 20 hours per week. The volunteer manager will interview candidates but that’s where the similarities end. To fill that position, the volunteer manager must “hire” multiple part-time volunteers along with back-ups for the days volunteers are absent. A volunteer manager’s process is exponentially more complex and fluid and requires a much larger amount of human capital to fill a position involving less hours worked.

    Another difference lies in retention anchors. HR has salary, benefits, upward mobility, and positive recommendations that hold the IT person in place. Volunteer managers rely on volunteer engagement. We have vastly different, much more time consuming work involved in keeping a volunteer. (and don’t get me started on the work needed to keep a volunteer at an organization who does not require everyone to engage volunteers)

    In mathematical equations it looks like this:

    1 employee x 4 variables = success!

    1 volunteer x 17,892 variables + vol mgr coaching ÷ meaningful job ≥ staying at home watching “Dancing with the Stars.”

    It’s no wonder volunteer managers have a hard time saying no to a volunteer beyond the niceness quotient. We have a more labor intensive recruitment and retention process and every volunteer we turn away equals losing those hours we’ve spent.

    It’s not a surprise when volunteer managers back peddle and put in a “warm body,” especially when hounded by comments like “I guess you don’t think we need more volunteers or you’d be out recruiting them.”

    But we must find the best people for each volunteer role. This doesn’t mean we have to reject potential volunteers from our organizations. And it doesn’t mean all those recruitment hours should go to waste. We can first classify every potential volunteer as advocates by structuring our recruitment to lay out advocacy and expectations from the start.

    Messaging that says, “we need you and everybody else in the world,” sets us up for failure when we don’t need that guy, the one who sneaks a shot of bourbon during breaks in training.

    Begin at the very beginning. Start by introducing service to your organization as, “we need more advocates for our mission.” Volunteering for our organizations, as we are told by volunteers is a privilege. Set up the expectation that volunteers are elevated advocates. Make orientation and open houses about advocacy. Welcome the attendees and tell them what actions they can do to help. Give them an advocacy sheet outlining your mission, your work and verbiage to use when advocating. Equip them with pamphlets to pass out. Show them your interactive website.

    Introduce volunteering and donating as forms of elevated advocacy or the next step. Explain that potential volunteers will go through an interview and background check process. Show examples of volunteer roles but stress required qualifications and skills. Introduce your policies and procedures and impress upon the advocates your commitment to providing mission value. Make volunteering for your organization a coveted position, one that advocates will want to aspire to, instead of expecting to be automatically accepted because “hey you need someone, right?”

    Capture each new advocate’s email and keep them in the loop with email blasts, updates on mission work, new initiatives etc. Encourage them to send in their advocacy hours-anything they have done to further the mission by speaking to friends, leaving pamphlets at clubhouses, businesses, etc. Most likely, you can’t record those hours because these advocates are not official volunteers, but so what? Record them on a separate spreadsheet and share them with the advocates in an email.

    Design a report that shows all the advocate relationships and their hours. This report highlights two important but seldom understood volunteer management accomplishments:

    1. time spent schmoozing with people is not just “having fun” but rather, has purpose.
    2. relationships forged in volunteer services extend mission outreach and awareness.

    Invite advocates to events and if your organization is on-board with having them work the event, then invite them to participate in a small way. Label episodic groups “group advocates” because a goal with one time and corporate groups is to create partnerships with folks who will advocate for us once they’ve completed a volunteering assignment.

    Let’s say an advocate interviews for a volunteer position and you deem them not a good fit for the role. Tell them that this particular position is not right for their skills or talents. It’s more palatable to be told that you aren’t right for a position than to feel like an organization is rejecting you altogether. It’s subtle, but less harsh.

    Tell the person you appreciate their advocacy and their willingness to help (because it’s the truth). Making advocacy about action is giving people a way to be involved versus telling them “no, you can’t volunteer,” and then shutting the door.

    Let them apply again for another position. The point is, we create relationships with people beyond filling a task. Let that work for you. Ask advocates to recruit more advocates (and potential volunteers). The message then becomes, “We appreciate your willingness to help. There are many ways to help including, but not limited to volunteering.” It’s inclusion versus an all or nothing approach.

    Reach out to other agencies who are looking for volunteers and see if there are opportunities open as I suggested in this post from last year, Innovation and Sustainable Volunteering.

    Clearly this is not meant for the potential volunteer who is destructive or wildly inappropriate. It is for those potential volunteers who are on the cusp. Forging a relationship with them as advocates doesn’t slam the door in their face and who knows, they may eventually become volunteers or bring in volunteers or donors or more advocates.

    We, volunteer managers don’t have to accept that we have an all or nothing approach. When faced with challenges, we find ways to overcome them. Volunteering is about action. Advocacy is also about action. Creating an advocacy role that uplifts volunteering to an elevated form increases mission awareness and reach. It also gives us more control over volunteer engagement and assignments.

    And heck, I’ll admit it: I know I have to, but I just hate to turn people away.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Resting on Nonprofit Laurels

    Resting on Non-Profit Laurels
    courtesy of gratisography.com

    I don’t remember the date, but I remember the conversation. It was the first time I’d heard the word “competition” in relation to volunteer organizations. I was in a community meeting and nonprofit experts were discussing the impact of a newly formed non-profit in the area.

    “They’ll be looking for the same resources,” one expert said.

    “Yes, we now have competition,” another added.

    Huh, competition. That’s one way to look at it. But here’s the kicker statement from the CEO of one of the established titan organizations. It’s a statement that stuck with me. “I wouldn’t worry too much, because we’ve been in this community for years and the public knows us and knows we care.”

    I might add that the start-up organization did very well.

    Do established nonprofits have a monopoly on compassion? Or on knowledge on how to solve societal challenges? I have always suspected that the underlying reason volunteers are not fully integrated is because they are seen as outsiders. By that I mean there is this nonprofit clutching to caring and knowledge as if volunteers or donors are cat burglars and they are sneaking in to try and steal it away.

    I have always suspected that this is the reason volunteers are not requested by senior management nor included in planning. You know what I’m talking about, right? You introduce a highly accomplished volunteer to senior management and you get that look. That subtle grind of the jaw that says, “who is this interloper and what will they discover, or take from me or change?”

    I remember being so excited about a volunteer, Serena. She was taking a year off work and staying in town with her mom. She came from a prestigious marketing firm in New York and I couldn’t wait to get her started helping our marketing team as a volunteer consultant.

    But they didn’t engage her. They didn’t even grab a cup of coffee and sit down with her to explore the treasure trove of experience she was willing to share. They simply sniffed and said there wasn’t that much for her to do. They clung to their area of expertise like it was a chest of gold and marauding pirates were landing.

    I’ve heard nonprofit staff disparage corporate volunteers, dismissing them as “not understanding what we do.” But, you know what? Some of these corporate volunteers exhibited more compassion on their one day of volunteering than some staff members showed all month.

    Society is rapidly evolving. What used to be exclusively in the realm of the nonprofit and even faith-based sectors is now front and center. Corporations are practicing “conscious capitalism.” Individuals are creating foundations (Bill Gates is a prime example) to tackle societal challenges. Citizen helpers are bypassing volunteer organizations.

    This is a quote from an eye opening article posted by Cureo on a philanthropic Millionare’s rant.

    They never ask me to help in ways that don’t involve a check? I know, I’m not going to volunteer at their race, but I’m sure there are other opportunities for me to help!

    And believe me, I have offered a number of times. I’ve asked for more frequent, and more relevant data. Maybe I can make new connections. Maybe I can assemble a volunteer team of some of my super talented staff to riff on a problem or deliver a solution of some kind — in areas of marketing, HR, capital projects, operational expansion — whatever!

    What are we so afraid of? That we’ll lose control? That we might not be as smart as our corporate counterparts? That we’ll admit we need help in planning and executing, not just in stuffing envelopes? That we’ll actually put our mission ahead of our own personal need to be the most compassionate person in the room?

    Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had these feelings too. I remember sitting in a peer group meeting and listening to another volunteer manager talk about a successful volunteer initiative and I felt jealous. Not inspired, not happy that people were being served. How selfishly insecure of me. I remember mentoring a new volunteer coordinator and feeling that twinge. “What if volunteers like him better than me and then, gasp, I won’t be the most loved volunteer coordinator ever to roam the earth!” (I still have that fantasy picture in my head-yeah, I know, seek help)

    You’ve heard the term, “founder’s syndrome.” It generally means a non-profit founder keeps their non-profit from growing by clinging to power. We don’t have to be founders to suffer from treating our work like it’s our baby and we are the only one who can sing it to sleep.

    Maybe we proudly wear the shiny sweat on our foreheads from having labored for so long at being selfless that we can’t imagine some giggly newcomer bouncing in and outperforming us. Maybe we cling to a martyr notion that caring people work for non-profits while the rest of the selfish world drowns baby animals for money. Maybe we suffer from “Non-Profit Insulation Syndrome.”

    But these insulating emotions keep us from learning something new, from moving forward, from expanding and from finding better ways to help the people we profess to help. And sadly, we become the kid in the sandbox who won’t let the other kids try the best toy truck. A very wise volunteer scolded me one day, arguing that my self-esteem had nothing to do with anyone else but me. (I fired him on the spot-just kidding)

    That’s when I began to detach myself from other people’s talents and discovered what my job really was about. Was a volunteer more compassionate than me? Heck yeah. Did another volunteer coordinator create a much better program than me? Good grief, yes. Was there any place for clinging to a warped sense of my own need to be perfect? No. (I’m still roaming the earth, though)

    We should actually be excited that more people want to get involved. We should be opening doors for them, eager to share the joy we clutch. But what I fear is, the nonprofits who rest on their laurels and continue to close their doors to all this amazing outside help will be left behind.

    I fear that cornering the market on compassion or empathy or knowledge will cause generous donors like the one quoted above, skilled volunteers and philanthropic businesses to give up or find another way. I fear they will leave us behind, raising our fists to the skies and bemoaning the unfairness of it all.

    And then, again, maybe that’s what needs to happen.

    -Meridian

  • Volunteer Motivation: Past, Present and Future

    architecture building city concrete
    Photo by Juhasz Imre on Pexels.com

    Alana clicked the wireless presenter and the slide advanced. “Here,” she said, “we have a list of awards our volunteers have won.” Photos of volunteers holding certificates popped up on the screen. “As you can see,” Alana said, “the work we do is impressive.”

    A young trainee in the front row raised his hand. “When did they win those awards?” He pointed at the picture of a smiling lady, her silver hair shining in the stage lights.

    Alana glanced at the screen. “I wasn’t here at the time, but Marge won that award in 1999 I believe.”

    For some volunteers, 1999 might as well be 1899. Past performances are the equivalent of telling your children that “when I was your age, I walked to school. Five miles. Uphill. In the snow. Both ways.”

    It’s old news. But woah, hold on, wait a minute. So, when recruiting and on-boarding volunteers, should we just ditch mentioning our volunteer awards and heck while we’re at it, should we just forget about talking about our accomplishments too, because that stuff happened last week? Should we hide our best volunteers in the closet because hey, they’re so yesterday?

    No, that’s not even close to what I mean. I am all for showcasing awards and accomplishments and sharing volunteer achievements with anyone and everyone. I am all for nominating volunteers for awards. In a previous post, Awards: The Bridge to Inspire I listed reasons for nominating inspiring volunteers. I am all for exposing new volunteers to passionate and inspiring experienced volunteers. So, what do I mean?

    Past awards and achievements are like a building’s foundation. They illustrate the strength of mission worth and goals achieved. They show the new volunteer that your organization has a solid base and has worked hard to lay down an infrastructure on which to continue building.

    One thing I discovered when parading “accomplished” volunteers through training sessions was, there seemed to be a growing sense among the new volunteers of “what do the accomplishments of this seasoned volunteer mean for me? Am I supposed to duplicate their ways or will I have my own volunteering path and is there anything left to be done?”

    The modern volunteer needs to get excited about their volunteering journey. Much more than in years past, volunteers are looking at the future instead of being content with the present. It’s a subtle, but significant shift.

    What does that mean for us then, when it comes to recruiting, retaining and on-boarding new volunteers? It means balancing past volunteer awards and accomplishments with present goals and visions of the future. It means setting the foundation and then inspiring new volunteers to put up the walls, or decorate the interior or construct another floor. It means focusing on continually moving forward.

    Getting in on the ground floor of any enterprise is always exciting. There’s a sense of ownership, of possibilities, of seeing an idea take flight. As a society, we love start-up successes because those stories are filled with grit and vision and frankly, we imagine that those people could be us.

    Even though we may not work for a start-up organization, we can capture that feeling by introducing expansion, new programs and future vision to the new volunteer who may be sitting there wondering, “why, exactly do you need me when you already have all these great volunteers doing all this great work?”

    By balancing accomplishments with future goals, we infuse a sense of organizational history with a vision for the future. And nothing is more infectious than an inspiring vision. It gives new volunteers their own identity. It means that they won’t feel as though they have to mimic past volunteers in order to win an award. Instead, they will look forward to making their unique mark.

    Past infused with future looks something like this:

    “As you can see, our volunteers have won numerous awards for their work, something we are extremely proud of. Now, let me tell you about the exciting direction and future plans for our organization, which needs your passion and help to accomplish.”

    “Our volunteers have given over 70,000 hours in the past 5 years. It’s a testament to their belief in our mission. That’s why we are expanding our programs. These new programs are innovative and we’re really psyched about all the future possibilities. That’s where you come in.”

    “Thank you for listening to our volunteer, Kenya. She has been instrumental in getting that program off the ground. You may choose to volunteer in her area, or we have some new and I think, pretty out-of-the-box opportunities in the infancy stage you may find suit your skills and interests.”

    New volunteers learn a great deal about mission work and goals from the past, but they are motivated by the excitement of what’s to come and how they fit into visionary plans.

    They want to own the future. Let’s make sure we give it to them.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

  • Why Should We Pay Attention to Volunteering Trends?

    adult autumn beauty blue
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Have you ever stopped dead in your tracks and said, “I can sense it, it’s going to rain?” You felt the slight change in barometric pressure, or you heard the leaves in the trees rustle and you knew. You pulled up your collar or searched for an umbrella in your backpack.

    If we could see the coming volunteering trends, we could prepare for them, right? Thirty years ago, were there signs that volunteers wanted more episodic roles? Or did it sneak up on us, causing us to rethink our volunteering strategy? Should we even pay attention to trends? Do we need a volunteer engagement strategy umbrella?

    Can we spot trends by asking our volunteers, “Hey, what are you going to be doing differently 2 years from now?” Oftentimes, the beginning of a volunteering trend bubbles up in some pretty unrelated places. Not all trends first appear in volunteer management articles or blog posts. Rather, they evolve in other sectors and if we aren’t aware of them, these trends can rain down on us, catching us unprepared.

    One such rapidly expanding trend is corporate volunteering. Consider these recent articles, none of which appeared in volunteer management periodicals:

    Starbucks is testing a program that will allow some employees to spend half of their workweek at a local nonprofit

    The 50 Best Workplaces for Giving Back

    Why Paying Employees to Volunteer is Good For Business

    Or this article about a Chick-fil-A store owner who is paying his employees to volunteer while the store is being remodeled:

    Chick-fil-A employees in Plainfield to be paid for community service as location is closed for remodeling

    Or this article on millennial workers:

    Millennials Are Leading a Revolution in Corporate Volunteering Efforts

    The growing CSR (corporate social responsibility) trend greatly impacts volunteer managers, as more and more businesses look for avenues into volunteering for a non-profit. Where do they start? At this point in time, businesses are utilizing partnerships with non-profits to accomplish their corporate volunteering goals.

    If we wish to stay on top of this trend, it is imperative that volunteer organizations develop a corporate volunteering strategy to engage and partner with businesses who wish to increase their standing in communities. Why, we might ask? Why bother with employees who only give a couple of hours? Why take on another project that seems like babysitting? Why engage with people who are really just helping their company “look good?”

    Because, if we turn our self-righteous heads away and refuse to work with corporate volunteers, they will develop their own programs. And they have the money to do it.

    I am not suggesting that we drop everything and drool over any and every corporate volunteering request that comes our way. I’m suggesting that we need to develop a strategy that benefits our mission and works for the company we choose to partner with. By this, I mean:

    • choose a company that has shared goals and values and thoroughly understands what the mission is about
    • start with just one company and learn how to develop a solid partnership with that company before taking on another
    • control the participation as in how many volunteers you can take at a time, what they will do, when they will do it, how much onus is on them to bring any supplies they will need, etc.
    •  make impact on mission goals the primary focus, versus forging a partnership so that fund-raising can hit the company up for money
    • set guidelines or ground rules for participation and stick to them
    • follow-up to cement the relationship and plan for the future

    If organizers of corporate volunteering programs have poor experiences, or are continually turned away or can’t find anyone to partner with, they will quit trying. But here’s the scary thing. If they are really serious about volunteering in the community, they will just bypass us. They will turn their frustration into forming their own internal programs, leaving us in the dust.

    Corporate volunteering may seem like sketchy volunteering to the purist. We can dismiss it as not having pure intent, or not serious enough or existing only for show. But it’s exponentially increasing and we need to stay ahead of the trend and control it. We are the ones to shape it into the meaningful and impactful volunteering purity we wish to see.

    Think about this: When your CEO appears at your door and says, “I just got off the phone with the VP over at Expansion Architectural Designs and he said you told him we didn’t have a corporate volunteer program,” are you going to say, “But, but, corporate volunteering is just not real volunteering?”

    If we strategically embrace corporate volunteering, devise ways to successfully incorporate it into our hectic workloads and use it to further our goals, we will reap the following benefits:

    • increased organizational awareness through the partner company’s newsletter, employee word of mouth, possible press releases, etc.
    • increased donations from the satisfied partner company in the form of money, grants, in-kind donations or corporate matching (but again, donations are a bonus by-product of truly satisfied companies-we should never expect corporate volunteering to be a channel to money because that’s disingenuous)
    • increased positive word of mouth among area businesses
    • increased respect for volunteers in general due to the higher visibility of these corporate volunteers
    • more leverage when asking for an increase in volunteer budget, or additional resources, help, etc.
    • increased acknowledgement for volunteer manager creativity, skills and organizational worth

    We know volunteerism is rapidly evolving. Keeping up with trends can be daunting, so we must craft a strategy to control trend implementation and to work trends to our advantage by formulating a strategy umbrella.

    Because, it’s raining out there.

    -Meridian

    For more in-depth information on corporate volunteering from someone who has been on both sides of the equation and has workable solutions, please see Jerome Tennille’s excellent 2 part post on CSR and volunteering.

     

    View at Medium.com

    View at Medium.com

  • Volunteer Managers and Decision Fatigue

    adult dark depressed face
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Zack pushed back in his chair and stole a glance at his watch. 1:30. His lunch lay half eaten on his desk. A new volunteer, Karey was on hold, waiting for Zack’s decision on which volunteer would mentor her and what day she could start. Several new emails pinged on his screen. Task force volunteers needed an update on the choice of meeting spaces. In front of him, Nadia, the event coordinator was pointing to the unfilled volunteer slots at the Walk-a-thon this coming weekend.

    Weariness blanketed Zack. He forgot what it was the new volunteer on hold wanted. The subject lines on the newest emails blurred in his vision. He snapped at Nadia, “I told you, I was working on the event. I haven’t heard back from the volunteers I called. I will figure out who else I can call, but I can’t just make volunteers magically appear.”

    Decisions. Volunteer managers are faced with making hundreds, maybe thousands of decisions a day. Think I’m exaggerating? Let’s look at a simple request for a volunteer to fill a task and a sampling of the decisions involved.

    • Do I give this request priority?
    • Do I work on this now or put it in a queue?
    • What volunteers are best suited for this request?
    • Who should I call first?
    • How should I frame this request?
    • Do I ask for more information or do I have enough?
    • How much time should I spend on this?
    • What is the best time to call volunteers?
    • Should I also ask survey questions while I have them on the phone?
    • What points should I stress about the impact this task will have on our mission?
    • What is the best way to plead this case?
    • What recent activities has each volunteer I call been involved in and how can I acknowledge that?

    That’s 12 decisions before even starting. All day long, volunteer managers make decisions that directly impact the success of their volunteer programs. Daily major decisions include:

    • How should I answer this email and get my point across?
    • What tactic should I use when asking for more time finding volunteers for a hard to fill task?
    • How can I better explain this task to a volunteer?
    • What methods should I use when mediating the brewing dispute between a volunteer and a staff member?
    • What questions can I ask on the upcoming survey?
    • What do I want to measure on the next volunteer evaluation?
    • What can I streamline in today’s training to save some time?

    Decision fatigue occurs when the brain has made so many decisions that fatigue sets in, causing a breakdown in ability to make new decisions, or making snap decisions, or a lack of self-control and diminished willpower. It leads to poor decision-making.

    Decision fatigue can show itself with an irritated voice or a curt answer. It can show itself with “giving in” instead of standing ground for principles you believe in. It can show itself with forgetfulness or shutting down. It can show itself when you finally go home and can’t decide what to make for dinner so you order something unhealthy from that expensive take out place down the road because it’s the easiest thing to do.

    The 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama famously said:

    You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.

    Beyond filling volunteer tasks, a volunteer manager’s day is fraught with other carefully considered decisions.

    • How do I best approach senior management regarding an issue?
    • How do I politely extract myself from a conversation that is going on too long?
    • How do I mediate between a staff and volunteer or a volunteer and another volunteer?
    • How do I politely answer snarky questions?
    • How do I show volunteer value?
    • How can I manage all my tasks?
    • How can I remember all the small things?
    • How can I find new volunteers?
    • How can I listen to volunteers, genuinely hear them and yet not spend too much of my day in what appears to others as chit-chat?

    Volunteer management is the antithesis of assembly line work. There is no manual outlining each step because each step changes hourly. It involves careful people skills by leaders of volunteers with high emotional intelligence. Decisions are weighed and made in fractions of seconds. No wonder volunteer managers go home exhausted.

    So what can we do?

    Make the important decisions first thing: Before fatigue sets in and while your mind is clear, make your most important decisions early and stick to your decisions. Our minds are equipped to think more clearly and rationally before fatigue sets in so work on your most important projects or challenges when you first arrive. Do you have to counsel a volunteer? Do you have a yearly event? Do you have to give an important report? Work on those tasks first, set a deadline for your decisions and stick to them.

    Limit your decisions: Lay out your work clothes the night before work. Prepare your lunch or decide where you will have lunch the night before. Decide your 5 goals for the next day the night before. Put off making major decisions when you feel yourself losing willpower. There is nothing wrong with telling people you have to think about something and get back with them.

    Realize decisions will not all be perfect ones: Volunteer managers tend to hold themselves to a pretty impossible perfection standard, thinking that every decision must be the optimal one. This unrealistic standard creates paralysis when making decisions, slows down productivity and increases fatigue. Major decisions need time, but lesser decisions can be made more quickly and efficiently. Remember, after mulling over option upon option, we can still make an imperfect decision, so it’s best to leave the agonizing to major decisions.

    Carve out quiet time: Ideally, find an isolated space to work on projects. If you don’t have one, turn your computer monitor to the wall, turn the volume down, let the answering system pick up phone calls and work on your “need to do” list. One hour disconnected from the chaos will reap enormous benefits in not only making better decisions, but in your overall mental health. Two hours would be even better.

    Become a by-appointment office: It’s hard to do when you have an open door policy, but you can slowly begin to change that. Hang signs on your door that keep people from dropping in with questions or information that can wait. Signs that indicate “volunteer interview in progress,” or “volunteer strategy meeting in progress,” clearly announces that you must focus on the crucial task at hand. Having to make a major decision while constantly being interrupted with having to make smaller, snap decisions wears you down. It creates decision fatigue and robs you of any ability to make a good decision. If you find yourself continually putting off big projects, it’s a good sign that you suffer from decision fatigue and probably the effects of a chaotic office.

    Pare down the upfront work and utilize volunteer brains: For projects needing research, input from volunteers etc., ask volunteers to help you by completing the research or polling the volunteers. They can even assist by presenting you with decision options and their recommendations for best choices.

    What’s frustrating about decision fatigue is how it silently chips away at willpower. And a worn down volunteer manager will be ineffective when presenting volunteer contributions or advocating for better volunteer engagement practices.

    People who love us will tell us to take care of ourselves. They’re right. We need to take care of ourselves mentally and physically if we truly wish to create a successful volunteer program.

    So, please, while your brain is fresh and unencumbered, make a commitment to limiting the effects of decision fatigue.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Just What is the Value of a Volunteer?

    Just what is the value of a volunteer

    Do organizations value volunteer Luis because he has this rare ability to look into the eyes of someone and open his being to receiving their pain? Do organizations value volunteer Mary because she drops everything and comes in when there’s an immediate need? Are all volunteers valued strictly for their volunteering? Or, do you sometimes get the uncomfortable feeling that certain volunteers are more highly thought of than others in your organization?

    It’s kinda true that some volunteers are more likable than others and volunteer managers have a challenge to overcome when staff doesn’t like a volunteer (see When Staff Doesn’t “Like” a Volunteer). But, besides likability, are there other reasons some volunteers are regarded more highly behind the closed wooden doors of organizational structure?

    Does a senior manager get all giddy when a volunteer bequeaths money to the organization (and then stands at your desk with a big smile spreading across her amazed face and says something like, “well, we would have gone to his funeral, but we didn’t know, why didn’t you tell us he died,”) or when a volunteer pays for that new tech equipment or that fridge for the employee lunch room?  Does the board go all a-twitter when they find out one of your volunteers is the mother-in-law of a famous actor and they are high-fiving each other because they just know your volunteer will use her mother-in-law powers to badger this actor into endorsing the organization? (I always kept this type of information buried deep in the secret compartment of my brain, it’s the one where I picture myself as the first officer aboard the star ship Enterprise, ooops – what I mean is they couldn’t pry it out of me if they tried)

    What if a volunteer is married to a prominent lawyer or a politician, or someone who owns the swanky hotel where they have that fabulous banquet hall? Or what if a volunteer has loads of money? Does that volunteer suddenly get the VIP treatment?

    Maybe it’s subtle, but it’s there. Does the volunteer who is an absolute master at soothing clients’ hearts rate the same status or visibility as the volunteer who donates substantial money?

    Ok, ok, I’m being critical, and this is really all about human nature anyway, aka, the “what can you do for me,” expectations we all have. So, if volunteers who donate or bequeath or have connections seem to get better treatment, why don’t we, volunteer managers just use that to our advantage?

    Here’s what I propose:

    Let’s equip every volunteer with a name badge that teases their potential value beyond the amazing volunteer work they are doing.  For example:

    badge3

    “Oh Mary,” a fund-raising specialist would say after reading the name tag, “I heard you just had a birthday. If you don’t mind me asking, I mean, you look so wonderful, how old are you again? Eighty-seven? Perfect.”

    or maybe this one…

    badge4

    “Oh, Jamal,” the social media expert would say as he stopped Jamal in the hallway,” tell me about your family. That’s nice that you have an older brother…. what does he do? Really? In Hollywood? I mean, your last name is, and well, you couldn’t be related to…oh, what, really you’re HIS brother? Bam! I knew it! I mean, how nice…”

    or even this one…

    badge5

    “Kameko,” the harried chief financial officer would coo after going over the financial report, “what adorable shoes you have on. From Italy, oh? You bought them the last time you went there? You travel extensively, I see… and your lovely engagement ring, it is so, so enormous…”

    or maybe a general one might just do:

    badge6

    I remember the day my organization got a sizable donation from the best friend of the recipient of our help. It turned out that the best friend was a well-known celebrity. Everyone was surprised at the gift and then a bit relieved that we all had done a good job. I mean any one of us, volunteers included, could have blown receiving that donation.

    There was the usual, “you never know, the person you are serving just might turn out to be someone famous,” talk as if the result of good work is not the work itself, but what it can produce.

    Organizations might get more excited when volunteers have a little extra something to give. Do they donate? Do they have influential contacts?  Will they leave money when they die?

    We, volunteer managers need to remind everyone that volunteers are there to further the mission, whether or not that volunteer has money or influence.

    But the takeaway is this: Volunteers who experience meaningful volunteer engagement and feel integrated into the organization always give more than their volunteer hours. Always.

    That means treating all volunteers as if they have money or influence lest they go elsewhere. And organizations might not want to take that chance.

    -Meridian

     

    This is an update from a 2016 post: Eureka, I’ve discovered the value of a Volunteer!

     

  • Volunteers: The Ultimate in Recycling

    alternative alternative energy clouds eco energy
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    You know, typically, when we think of recycling, we picture a bulldozer scooping mountains of trash to process for reuse and hmm, this is a really demeaning way to picture volunteers. But the word recycling also has nuanced meanings that have nothing to do with trash and maybe everything to do with the incredible potential volunteerism brings. For instance, some of those nuanced words are:

    reclaim: Think of working or retired teachers, nurses, executives, web designers and every skilled human being out there including social workers, advocates, and parents. Think of the wealth of experience and practiced skills they bring. Reclaiming those skills and putting them to work helping organizations achieve goals is reclaiming at its best.

    restore: Giving volunteers the opportunity to restore and hone their skills after any change in status is one of the things we do best.  Think of the student who is unsure about her potential. Think about the worker who lost his job and confidence. It’s one of those life win-wins that we live for.

    re-purpose: Volunteer skills take many forms and often, volunteers find new uses for their skills by volunteering. Think of the accountant who privately loves to draw and how they added hand-drawn figures to the volunteer stats report that illustrate impact.  Re-purposing talents infuses fresh ideas into our organizations and helps volunteers see their skills in a new light.

    re-imagine: Finding that hidden volunteer talent is one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment for any volunteer manager. By delving into a volunteer’s skills and interests, we can often pair them with a role that brings out that buried talent. Think of the stay at home mom who has mad organizational skills or the retired law enforcement officer who has this incredible ability to get at the heart of things when talking with people.

    There are so many ways in which volunteers contribute their knowledge, skills, talents and ideas. But what about our organizations? How do they reap the rewards from this ultimate in recycling?

    Let’s flip those recycle meanings and apply them to our organizations and see how they benefit.

    reclaim: As organizations grow and adapt to the changing landscape, they can easily lose the original passion for the mission. Competition for donors, risk management, reporting and HR functions all contribute to the more business-like atmosphere. Tapping into volunteer enthusiasm is an organic way to reclaim and keep the passion alive. Volunteers can speak at staff meetings and bring their inspiring message to overburdened employees. We can pass along the praise volunteers share with us about hard-working staff members and infuse some new energy into their work.

    restore: Everywhere organizations are doing more with less. Overburdened staff need help. By offloading projects onto volunteer task forces, organizations can restore staff workloads to a more manageable state. Holding on to every task and function when there are capable volunteers willing to step up keeps organizations mired in minutia and stuck in the last century. We can pilot volunteer programs that take tasks away from staff. We can lead up and out by offering expert volunteer help on projects.

    re-purpose: How many organizational functions are outmoded? Skilled volunteers with fresh ideas can transform stale programs into current and relevant campaigns designed to move organizations forward. We can showcase volunteer accomplishments and if need be, add a dollar value to the volunteer’s expertise, as in “if you paid a consultant in this area of expertise, you would be paying $175 an hour. Our volunteer is willing to weigh in with proven methods and years of experience for free.”

    re-imagine: Volunteers bring fresh perspectives, world experience and have the latest in trends and programs at their disposal. Our organizations can be kept abreast of changing trends by inviting volunteers to serve on task forces, the board and campaigns. By listening to the diverse voices within the volunteer base, an organization can re-imagine policies, direction and focus so that they are positioned for the future. Instead of looking in all directions to find expert voices on marketing or finance, organizations can look within to find expert volunteer voices, ones who already know and believe in the mission.

    The perception of volunteering has to change globally. The outdated notion that volunteers are timid souls that just want to fill whatever mundane role we offer them is gone. Let’s bury it.

    We, volunteer managers are managing the ultimate force in reclaiming, restoring, re-purposing and re-imagining. We have talent, knowledge, skills and passion at our fingertips. We have mission success in our reach.

    We, leaders of the volunteer movement must recreate the perception of volunteerism, from one of volunteers as tools to one of volunteers as the ultimate way for organizations to refresh, to reinvigorate, and to rejuvenate our goals. Ignoring the wealth of recycling volunteer gold organizations have in hand is short-sighted and backward.

    And, in order to cultivate all that potential, organizations must re-invest in volunteer management leadership.

    Let’s get to work and re-frame the image.

    -Meridian

     

     

  • Is Making Volunteers Likable Our Objective?

    black haired man in white crew neck t shirt
    Photo by YesManPro on Pexels.com

    I remember my first days as a volunteer coordinator. There was this one volunteer, Addie. She was a tiny, fit ball of northeastern, direct confrontation, piercing eyed judgmental “I’ve been here since the forefront” terror. Staff couldn’t stand her. But she roamed the halls wielding her trusty sword “Gotcha,” slicing apart our ineptness. She was your crusty grandmother, your 87-year-old history teacher and your noisy neighbor all rolled into one, and oh, with a grip of steel. I know because she would grab my arm to make a point. Yep, I still have phantom bruises there.

    I danced lightly around her. Although staff didn’t like her, she was, I thought, untouchable. They didn’t ask that I do anything about her, so I figured their eye-rolling was the way we dealt with disliked volunteers. After all, she’d earned her right to be a disruption, to be tolerated, to interpret our policies as anything that suited her purpose. She was, (da da daaaaahhhh) emeritus!

    So, what crippling reasons cause us to hide under our desks instead of addressing volunteer behaviors?

    • Lack of specific policy indicators? (for example, policy states theft or inappropriate language is an offense. Policy doesn’t include arrogance or chatty-ness as an official offense)
    • Fear that delivering feedback to a volunteer will be misinterpreted as criticism and the volunteer will quit?
    • Our general fear of confrontation?
    • Volunteer status, such as emeritus? Or staff seems to “put up” with volunteers?
    • Our belief that volunteers are giving of their time, so we should be more accepting of their behavior?
    • The perception that a volunteer is older, wiser, more accomplished, more educated or skilled than we are?
    • Our belief that our jobs are no more than coordination?

    The above reasons hold power over us, power that cripples us and prevents us from truly leading volunteers. How can we then make adjustments so we don’t simply going to continue to sidestep situations that can be remedied?

    The first step is to prioritize the why. Why is this volunteer here? We know there are multiple underlying and nuanced reasons, all of which we take into consideration when matching volunteers to assignments.

    But what is the primary, down to basics reason a volunteer shows up? To complete a task, or fill a role that furthers the mission they believe in. How is this being accomplished?

    Taking the focus off of staff’s and volunteer’s personalities allows us to examine the work being done and by doing so we can analyze how behaviors are affecting work quality.

    Communicating mission focus to everyone, staff and volunteers alike, lays the groundwork for intervention. How do we do that?

    In volunteer orientation or onboarding, emphasize the expectation of excellence. While creating a welcoming atmosphere, stress the importance of volunteers being able to fit within a busy organization. Illustrate the enormous workloads put upon staff. Make clear that while staff appreciates volunteers, the work is most important. Ask your most productive volunteers to speak to and hopefully mentor new volunteers.

    Create policy that gives you an opportunity to mediate. Although we obviously can’t write policy for every little behavior, especially if behavior is opinion based. (one staff member believes a volunteer chats too much) We can, however include six month probationary periods, infractions for inappropriate behavior and the specific understanding that it is in the power of the volunteer manager to determine fit. Fit means that a volunteer’s performance will be evaluated on fit within a specific department and the volunteer can be moved to another position. (This is a two-way street; it also protects the volunteer from being stuck with very demanding or uncooperative staff)

    Communicate your commitment to supporting staff. Before placing a volunteer, speak with staff about your readiness to intervene if a volunteer is behaving in ways that hinder production. Get the idea out in the open that your focus is on helping staff be more productive and you are leading volunteers, not simply placing them.

    Ditch the idea that volunteers will stay because we are nice to them. Instead, remind yourself that volunteers will stay because they are doing work that is meaningful and in order to engage in meaningful work, behavior must align with mission centric goals.

    Bravely follow-up and be willing to intervene. Feedback is not always criticisms that will drive a volunteer away. Mediation means taking into consideration the needs of both sides and finding solutions that best benefit the organization. Being on top of situations ensures that volunteers are valued, not tolerated. Ask both sides questions that direct them towards accomplishments, such as “what path do you envision us adapting to increase our survey input results,” or “what small thing right now will help us improve our client satisfaction?”

    Be willing to be a leader who can do the hard stuff. Just because a volunteer is emeritus, or wiser, or more accomplished does not mean that you are their subordinate. Your volunteer program is a reflection on you. In your organization, are volunteers valued or are they simply considered a necessary nuisance? Are volunteers given juicy tasks or are they relegated to boring minutia? With courageous leadership comes respect for the program.

    Educate staff on working with volunteers. Humanize the volunteers. Stress their character and commitment to the mission. Emphasize their desire to help staff, not hinder them. Highlight volunteer accomplishments with a caveat to staff who embraced them. The more we make staff feel as though they “have to accept volunteers,” the less they will actually accept them. Instead, as leaders, we need staff buy-in and it takes some staff ego massaging to get that buy-in.

    Listen to other volunteers. If volunteers are complaining about a volunteer’s behavior, or worse, quitting because of behavior, there’s a clear problem. How many good volunteers are we willing to lose because we would rather not engage in mediating destructive behavior?

    And most importantly, act quickly. Intercepting a problem before it becomes messy and unmanageable will keep those sleepless nights at bay. Regularly surveying staff and volunteers can unearth budding challenges. Following up on those challenges early gives a higher rate of successful mediation versus allowing patterns of behavior to cement. And, by showing your commitment to creating an excellent program, your leadership value will exponentially rise.

    By focusing on mission goals, we can more clearly see the big picture. Mediating and creating volunteer fit has the following tremendous potentials for a huge return on that investment.

    • More satisfied and engaged volunteers
    • Staff who will champion volunteer engagement
    • Openings to more volunteer roles
    • More recognition for volunteers
    • Respect for the volunteer manager voice
    • More leverage for negotiating new programs, ways to integrate volunteers or eliminating outdated volunteer roles

    While confronting behavioral disputes is down right hard and uncomfortable, we will reap enormous results by bravely tackling this challenge. Each successful attempt at mediation will move the needle closer to a professional and more respected volunteer program.

    Leading is doing the challenging stuff well. It gets easier once you burst that tension bubble and see how satisfying it is to get results.

    After all, we’re not volunteer coordinators who shrug because staff doesn’t seem to like volunteer Addie. We are leaders of vibrant, contributing volunteer programs.

    -Meridian

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • When Staff Doesn’t Like a Volunteer Part 2: A Success Story

    adult art conceptual dark
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    What happens when staff doesn’t like a volunteer? Does the volunteer quietly quit because they never get called or do staff begrudgingly put up with a volunteer they dislike and work suffers? What can we, the volunteer program leader do in these situations?

    A leader of volunteers, who is a good friend and colleague recently shared this experience with me:

    I remember one of our volunteers, Steven. Staff would run the other way when Steven came in because Steven always had an idea or a plan to improve our organization and the way we operated. It would frustrate already overworked staff to listen to all these critical ideas.

    But what they didn’t know about Steven was he would take the assignments other volunteers wouldn’t take. He actually volunteered for a lot of shifts, ones that needed filling. He was both annoying and indispensable at the same time.

    It was exhausting, knowing how dependable Steven was and yet being frustrated at his frequent sharing of plans to improve our organization. But then one day, a solution came in a most unexpected way.

    A staff member, Allie who was in charge of a large project involving the creation of a detailed cataloging system needed volunteer help. The assignment meant working in a basement on a very cranky machine. Most volunteers wouldn’t want to tackle such a cumbersome project in a dingy basement so I thought of Steven. I asked my boss if I could approach him with the proposal and fortunately, she agreed.

    The staff member in charge of the project was willing to give Steven a try so I approached him, saying, “look, Steven, saying no is ok. I’m asking you to work on a temperamental machine in a basement here, but it is crucial work that needs to be done.”

    To my surprise, Steven replied, “I would love to do that.” And the interesting thing that happened, was Steven got to see behind the scenes at our organization and by working directly with staff, began to realize how little time they had for all these ideas and projects he had been pushing on them.

    I knew that pairing Steven with this assignment was a success when all on his own, he recruited another one of our volunteers to help with the project. I even overheard him one day pipe up when hearing a group of volunteers grouse about how slow it was taking to get an answer to a question and say, “you don’t realize how busy the staff is here.”

    With Steven I knew that I could either sit back and just let him drive me crazy or I could understand how much he cared about the mission. I realized his complaints and ideas came from his desire to support our mission, not from some need to complain.

    I remembered something I heard from a very wise peer that stuck with me: “That one unhappy worker might be the lone voice in the wilderness telling us something we need to hear. We need to ask: Why are they miserable? Maybe, they have a point.”

    When dealing with complaining volunteers, we have to examine whether or not it is the message or the way it is presented that irks us. And staff must realize that a volunteer’s role is not to make staff happy.

    Just as every staff member needs direction from their supervisors, volunteers need direction from the person supervising them. We can’t expect volunteers to read our minds, so as leaders of volunteer programs, we need to train staff and show them that volunteering is a two-way street. That’s where the successes lie.

    So, from this experience, we know we can salvage a staff/volunteer relationship that has soured. Let’s look at the volunteer manager toolbox and pick out some tools that work in these types of situations:

    Mediation: One of the most important tools a volunteer manager possesses. Stepping back and thinking about three basic things helps us to mediate.

    1. What is the best outcome for our mission?
    2. How will volunteer A satisfactorily arrive at the outcome?
    3. How will staff member B satisfactorily arrive at the outcome?

    By focusing on outcome, (a capable volunteer and a reasonable staff member will find a way to work together to further mission goals) we can then create a mediation plan.

    Look for the interests of each party. For a volunteer, it may be they believe they have good ideas and need to be heard. For a staff member, it may simply be they need quiet time to get their work done. How then, can these two interests be addressed to the satisfaction of each party?

    Picture a continuum: On one end the staff member would give the volunteer complete attention at all times. On the other end the volunteer would work in silence at all times. Begin to move the ends toward the middle-what would that look like? Maybe staff could spend 5 minutes with the volunteer when they arrive and update the volunteer while listening to any new thoughts. Maybe the volunteer could be instructed to bring all new ideas to the volunteer manager who would present the ideas in official ways.

    The point is to craft the movement of the two sides towards one another, keeping the mission as the goal.

    Story crafting: A skill that serves volunteer managers well. In the above Steven story, our volunteer manager deftly created a story. By thinking of volunteers and staff members as stars of a story, we can more clearly ‘write’ the ending in our heads. We can envision ‘reading’ that volunteer Steven was paired with staff member Allie which resulted in a mutually beneficial relationship. It helps us to step back from the situation and look at it logically with a positive outcome or ending in mind.

    Another use of story crafting is to present each side in mediation with the story of the other side’s point of view. Telling Steven how much work needed to be done was a story meant to educate him on the enormous work load on staff. Telling Allie how volunteer Steven would take assignments no one else would take was a story meant to inform Allie that Steven was committed to getting the job done.

    Positive identification: The tool volunteer managers use daily. Let’s look at Steven’s success story. How did staff view Steven? They saw him as a hypercritical, over-simplifying volunteer who continually offered up unwanted ‘solutions’ to problems that either did not exist or were being addressed in other ways. What did they not see? They did not see Steven’s passion for the mission, his willingness to help in any manner, nor his desire to more fully understand organizational workings.

    Tapping into volunteer’s motivations will yield clues to their behavior. Maybe the needy volunteer just went through something tragic and is hurting. Maybe the talkative volunteer is isolated. As volunteer managers, we can humanize our volunteers so that staff sees them as more than just temporary help. We can highlight the volunteer’s character by sharing the positives we witness. Sometimes our humanization needs to use the word ‘but.’ For example:

    Volunteer Millie lost her husband of 45 years a few months ago and is a little raw but she is so grateful for her husband’s care that she is committed to learning our system so she can further our work. She wants to be a help to us, not a burden.

    Volunteer Asher lost his job due to cutbacks but he is passionate about helping end hunger and actually considers this an opportunity to make a difference in the world. He says he feels privileged to learn from our staff.

    Matching: The volunteer manager tool that is always sharp. By pairing Steven with staff insiders, he was able to see first hand how overburdened staff were. He was able to integrate into the bigger picture and thus became a champion for not only the mission, but for the very staff that had rebuffed him before. And by choosing a staff member who was willing to work with Steven and most likely had a personality that would benefit Steven, our volunteer manager made a successful match.

    Now here is the really interesting part in all of this. Experts say that behavior is the outward expression of attitudes, but that if behaviors are modified, attitudes can change. Look at the Steven example. His attitude changed. And as his behavior changes, staff’s attitude towards him and possibly other volunteers will slowly change as well. So, if we can mediate behavior changes in staff and volunteers, we may just end up with attitude changes.

    Next time: Part 3. Laying the groundwork for volunteer engagement that takes into consideration personalities, character, attitudes and behavior.

    -Meridian