volunteerplaintalk

Tag: organizations

  • No Tools, But a Nice Brunch

    I have this friend, Jenny who is a volunteer manager for a large non-profit and she is hopping mad. Now hopping mad is an old phrase, but her anger stems from old wounds. It seems that her marketing team decided at the last-minute to put on a very large community fair. They were given an opportunity to utilize a prime space and they jumped at the chance.

    Naturally, they needed beaucoups amounts of volunteers to stuff packets, act as hosts, man tables, set up, break down, etc. Jenny put all of her other duties aside to recruit about 30 excellent volunteers. Not just any warm body, no, Jenny, like all of us made sure she lined up the very best.

    The event was a success. Marketing patted themselves on the back. Jenny, however, put in almost 60 hours trying to do damage control. There weren’t enough items to stuff the packets and no one was there to explain the procedure to the volunteers. When the set up volunteers arrived, it was chaos and some of them had no jobs so they went home a bit miffed. On the day of the event, there were no assigned duties. Jenny had to run back and forth between the volunteers and the marketing staff, asking endless questions, running for supplies and trying to keep the volunteers out of earshot of the staff’s irritated comments. All of this while maintaining a cheerful disposition to shelter the volunteers from the madness.

    It took her days to recover from the exhaustion and for the volunteers to stop complaining about the extreme lack of preparation. They were not mad at Jenny, they were, as always, wise enough to see she had no control. They vowed to not work with “those people” again, not only because of the rightly perceived shoddy management, but the obvious treatment of Jenny. Small consolation to Jenny, who, as a professional did not pass along their feedback concerning her.

    So, why did she call me hopping mad three weeks after the event? She got a copy of an email, inviting the participating volunteers to a “thank you” brunch. Now, here’s the kicker. Two days after the email went out, another one cancelling the brunch appeared. But this one did say thank you for making the event so successful.

    Marketing will dust themselves off and move on, having scattered their used wrappers of volunteers all over. Jenny will be left with the long cleanup. Will some volunteers stop volunteering? Not if I know Jenny. She will work to keep them.

    I have this mental picture of Jenny, her hair disheveled as she stands atop the litter pile of cast off volunteers. She has a broom in one hand and air freshener in the other. Everyone in her organization just walks by without noticing her.

    It’s her job, after all, isn’t it?

    -Meridian

  • The Circle of (Volunteer Manager’s) Life

    I was watching the Lion King with my granddaughter the other night. Love that movie and hearing her sing “I just can’t wait to be king” is hilarious. I started thinking as I watched the jungle unfold, “what would a volunteer manager Disney movie be about?”  Well, it might be a bit like this:

    In this Disney movie the volunteer manager is a cute, spunky rabbit, “Willing” or “Willie” for short who gathers all the woodland creatures together to save the forest. There’s the socially challenged skunk, “Clingy” who shyly wants to fit in somewhere. She is shunned by the other animals and wants to spend all of her time with the rabbit and become best of friends. ‘Clingy” the skunk even gets the rabbit’s cell phone number and thinks nothing of texting or calling “Willie” at home during rabbit dinner.

    Then there’s the old wolf, “Change”, a predator really who, now that he’s older and lost his mate and most of his pack, would like to do something to help the forest. He’s been alpha male his whole life, cheated on his mate, fought with the other wolves and lived to serve his needs. Now, he’s aging and afraid of death. He is docile, more like a dog than a proud wolf but his heart is strong. He obediently accepts whatever the rabbit gives him and checks in constantly to make sure he’s done the job correctly. “Willie” both admires and fears “Change”, and shivers when “Change” smiles, because his teeth are still sharp.

    The squirrel, “Nutso” is busy, always gathering nuts and running from tree to tree. “Nutso” chatters and says yes to anything the rabbit asks, then scurries off across the branches. The squirrel seldom follows through, but scampers back in and asks, “why didn’t you call me Willie? I would have come running?”  The squirrel is full of great ideas and even greater excuses. Willie finds “Nutso’s” half-eaten nuts buried everywhere.

    The owl, “Stable as Hell” is the wise bird who shows up occasionally. How the rabbit wishes there were 50 wise owls because “Stable” not only does what is asked of him, he gives the rabbit good feedback. He only gives what is asked and then flies off, those great wings fanning the leaves as he goes. “Willie” chases after “Stable” as he flies away, tripping over a half-buried nut, bruising his rabbit paw.

    The deer, “Meekly” is quiet, preferring to work in the back and would rather support all the other creatures. The deer is shy by nature and the rabbit needs to encourage the deer. Without praise and acknowledgement, “Meekly” can’t tell whether she has done the job correctly. The rabbit needs to be close at hand to answer the deer’s questions and assure the deer that she is needed. While “Willie” is sitting by the deer, “Clingy” becomes jealous and storms out.

    Then there’s the hunters, “the bean counter gang” who come with guns. The rabbit has to protect all the woodland creatures from the hunters who will destroy the work with their mean comments and refusal to integrate the animals into their world. They complain bitterly, destroy nests, forcing the animals to rebuild elsewhere. “Willie” is on constant lookout for these humans. There is one human “Exceptional Staff Member” though, who hikes quietly into the forest and brings food and water and does no harm, so the rabbit is hopeful there are others like him.

    At night, “Willie”, exhausted, returns to the rabbit hole where the rabbit family awaits. It’s time for a rabbit aspirin and a glass of carrot wine. There is the rabbit spouse and the rabbit children and homework and chores and family gatherings.  “Willie” loves it when rabbits from other parts of the forest call and share advice and stories. There are tales of the snake and the hawk and the very sick mouse. As “Willie” snuggles down into the burrow, she dreams of a perfect forest. “I’ll get there one day” she mutters as the rabbit alarm shrieks. “Willie” sits up, her mind reeling with the many tasks facing her. The hunters will be out in force today. Stretching, “Willie” picks up her phone and makes a note to stop and buy two more bottles of carrot wine.

    -Meridian

  • Boo! Why Are We Afraid to Talk About Certain Things?

    What goes bump in the night? A volunteer who creates problems? Too many volunteers and not enough work at a project site? Staff who consistently don’t follow through? Volunteers who undermine the work?

    As I watched a video championing volunteers and their service, I found myself sensing dread. I felt an unseen cold hand touch my shoulder. It’s the hand of realism.  And my hair moved ever so slightly as the words filled my ear, “in a perfect world. But you don’t live in a perfect world, do you?”

    Ahhh, that voice, so chilling and unwelcome. When I took this job, I signed up for sunshine and roses, didn’t I? I signed up for kittens and puppies, not the ghostly vapors that run chills up the spine. And why are these ghostly vapors so frightening? Because I think I’m the only one who has these problems.

    When all you hear is inspiration it’s like drinking apple cider laced with honey and powdered sugar. I’ve eaten the bag of Halloween candy, from the candy corn to the gooey marshmallow chocolates . And I’ve had the stomach aches that go with this overindulgence.

    Please, instead, inspire me with acknowledgement of the monster challenges we face. What about the volunteers who have no job, just want to get out of the house and have no real connection to the mission? What about the overzealous volunteer who calls and stops in constantly? What about the volunteer who is so inappropriate but wants to volunteer and your heart breaks for them? And no, don’t tell me that you just find a spot. I’ve done that and the amount of work I had to put in was frightening, not to mention I had to shield them from caustic comments. What about uncooperative staff who drive volunteers away and then turn around and complain when they can’t get a volunteer? What about administration who only hears the occasional complaint from some third cousin’s next door neighbor? What about respect?

    No, please stop putting caramel on my apple. My apple has bruises on it so don’t just cover it up. You can pretty it up all you want, but underneath the bruises are still there.

    I like inspiration and I find it all day long. But I also live in a real volunteer world. And, I don’t want to go into a haunted alley saying, “oh look, what are those creatures over there? They must be grown up puppies and kittens!”

    Volunteer management is like the B movie where the ditsy girl or the self-absorbed tough guy get trapped in a cabin full of zombies. They have wandered in unprepared for the onslaught of brain-eating creatures. (Ok, I just wanted to use that metaphor). Having to rely solely on their wits and the kitchen knives they frantically rooted out, these hapless souls battle for their lives. Some make it out because they adapted, and some don’t.

    I’ve been a volunteer manager long enough to make it out. But I fear for those who are new to our profession. They may only be hearing the talk about puppies and kittens. For them, when the zombies attack, their only weapon will be gooey marshmallow candy.

    Brains, anyone?

    -Meridian

  • In My Clinical Opinion…

    One of my good friends who is a volunteer coordinator has a volunteer, Janelle that we frequently discuss. The other day we were talking about Janelle and my friend was describing Janelle’s erratic, over the top behavior. See, Janelle is a very talented artist and wants to help that organization start an arts program for disadvantaged youth. Great idea and my friend would love to see this program flourish.

    So, what’s the problem? Well, Janelle is unique. My friend said that she had tried to describe Janelle to a counselor and the counselor said that if you are not clinical then you shouldn’t use clinical terms like “manic” or “delusional”.

    Hmmm. So, as she was trying to non-clinically describe her frustrations with Janelle and the torrent of over the top ideas that Janelle throws at her, I said, “so, she’s nuts, right?”

    Ahhh, can we say that? Well, last I checked, nuts is not a clinical term. And if you practice volunteer management, you have created your own clinic. In our clinic, there is the crazy volunteer, the insane volunteer and the volunteer whose elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor.

    There, I said it. Janelle is just one example of the many volunteers we deal with everyday. She is that perfect shiny apple you pick up off the fruit stand. It is a work of art. And then you turn it over and find that bruised spot that indicates some rotting inside. Do you put it back or do you just eat around that spot? You know what I’m talking about. We take volunteers in all shapes, sizes, agendas and craziness levels. How deep and troublesome is their bruised spot?

    Can my friend create a successful arts program while working with a “nuttier than a fruitcake” volunteer? I have all the faith in the world in her. Why? She’s smart and she’s resourceful. She’s eaten enough fruit to know when a grape is just not worth saving. I think Janelle will be fine. Just watch out for the fruit flies, those little harbingers of fruit going unmanageably bad.

    No, I’m not going to tell a volunteer that he’s flipping out of his mind. But, since I can’t diagnose them except in volunteer manager terms, I’m stuck with “wack-a-doodle” and “one fry short of a happy meal”.

    I love having my own little clinic. I think I’ll call it ‘The Fruit Basket.” All fruits and fruitcakes welcome!

    -Meridian

  • Proceed Until Apprehended

    I just finished creating a new voice mail message, one that replaces the really nice one I have on my phone line now. The new message sounds like this:  “Thank you for calling the volunteer department. I am currently on the phone or assisting other volunteers. Your concerns and questions are very important and I will return your call in the order in which it was received. Current wait time expected is between 2 days and 3 weeks.”

    No, I didn’t really change my voice mail message but sometimes I think it might be the wisest thing to do. When a volunteer calls (or stops in) and wants to discuss a problem, concern, idea or suggestion, it often requires the input or permission of someone either higher up or in another department to enact change. While the volunteer waits on the volunteer manager to solve or answer, the volunteer manager waits on other staff to give a go-ahead. This can literally take weeks. It may be because everyone is afraid to make a decision, or the suggestion doesn’t seem as important as everything else on the plate. No matter the reason, there is a time warp when it comes to volunteer needs. If management wants the volunteer department to create something, they want it post-haste. But when the volunteers want to create a great project, it sits on the pile of things to consider, often languishing for weeks.

    I’ve had a number of volunteers come up with really innovative ideas. I’ve had volunteers wait, get frustrated and then fade away. Sadly, the clients and the organization suffers. Right now I have this really dynamic volunteer who wants to create and run with an idea she deems awesome. She has the expertise to run the project. She has the backup man-power. She has the time to do it and she believes in it. So, what’s the problem?

    Organizations can run like bloated larva inching across road. We can be bloated with committees and oversights and liabilities that truly cripple creative thought. We may all be afraid to take a chance, yet when we see news of some organization winning an award for an innovative idea, we all look around and say, “why don’t we do that?” It’s a vicious cycle, one in which the volunteers cannot understand what takes us so long to make a determination. They shake their heads and walk away in frustration.

    I’ve noticed over the years that the successful projects are the ones I don’t tell anyone about until they are up and running. I encourage the volunteers to do a pilot project and we work out the bugs together. When I present the already running project to upper management, I get a “good job.” If a project doesn’t work out, we can contain any damage because we’ve started small.

    You have to give your volunteers credit, not free rein. You have to give yourself credit too. If you oversee the beginnings of a great idea, you can manage that idea so that it works within the parameters of your organization. Showing people a well thought out, proven project works better than pitching an idea. Ideas are shadowy things, full of pitfalls and danger. There’s a great deal of work you will do in the beginning, but if you believe in the outcome, the rewards will far outweigh the initial work involved making sure it runs properly.

    I’m going to tell this volunteer to run with her idea, but in a very controlled and confined space. With success, we can present it to the powers that be and if history serves me correctly, we should be ok.

    Yes, the motto is proceed until apprehended, but you know as well as anyone what your volunteers are capable of accomplishing. Rely on their desire to do what is right for your clients and proceed, cautiously, but with the conviction that you will succeed.

    _Meridian