volunteerplaintalk

Tag: volunteer retention

  • The Honestly Honest Truth

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    Brad sighed. “I haven’t had a response from our volunteer, Ashwan in several months. He hasn’t answered emails or phone calls, or come to our monthly meetings. He was a good one. I just don’t know what happened. Did we do anything wrong?”

    This frustration ranks up there along with wondering why I was never employee of the year. Why do good volunteers fade away? Why don’t they tell us the truth about why they leave? Why aren’t they honest with us? We’re really nice people and we listen, right?

    Well, maybe because we need to be more than honest with volunteers right from the start. We need to be honestly honest.  Oh sure, we say to them, “hey, this volunteering might not be for everyone,” but doesn’t that just smack a bit of sanctimonious superiority? Doesn’t that just have an undercurrent of “oh, our volunteering is only for the good volunteers, and that’s probably not you?” If someone said that to me, I’d be looking for the nearest door and planning my exit move too.

    Maybe the breathy tales of our great volunteers can be a bit, well, off-putting for new volunteers. Who wants to have to live up to a Gandhi or a Mother Teresa?

    Maybe, instead of peppering our new volunteer training with story after story of long-term volunteer successes, we could also talk about volunteers who leave and how that’s ok.

    Maybe we could say things like:

    “Take our volunteer Shirley for example. She only stayed with us for three months, but we are so grateful for those three months. We still keep in touch with her. No matter how much or long you are with us, when you’re done, you’re done. Only you know when that is. And that’s ok. All volunteers leave and each volunteer that leaves has made a huge difference and trust me, we are grateful for each one.”

    “Volunteer Craig left after he tried a few different positions and found that they weren’t what he was looking for. Let’s be honestly honest here. We MAY FAIL YOU. Yes, that’s right, we may not intend to, but we may seem to take you for granted, or fail to use your skills. We’re human too and we want to fix things, for you and for other volunteers, so please, tell us when something is not right, because we are not perfect. Craig discussed this with us and we fixed some things because he shared his experience.”

    “Believe it or not, we don’t expect you to stay forever! And believe it or not, losing interest or moving on is something we experience all the time. That happened with our student volunteer, Sheri. She finished her degree and moved on. She got what she wanted from her experience here and took those skills with her when she left. That’s great! You are growing and changing and so are we. Nothing remains the same and if you find yourself feeling restless and wanting to move on, let us know. We want to have the opportunity to talk about it with you. Please don’t rob us of the chance to say thank you.”

    “If you find volunteering elsewhere a better fit for you, let us know so we can send a great recommendation along with you. All volunteering is good work and we are not in competition with other organizations. Our volunteer Marvin found that another organization was a better fit for him. We were so pleased that he took his volunteering to the next level. He comes back and helps us with special events and we love to hear about how he’s doing.”

    Every volunteer leaves a lasting impression on us. And while we strive to make volunteers comfortable with us, they may not be comfortable enough to share the reasons they leave. They may just think that our conception of a good volunteer revolves around how long they stay. Then, when they fade away, we lie awake and night and wonder why.

    So why not be honestly honest from the beginning and try to make it easier on them. And ultimately, easier on us too.

    -Meridian

  • A Corporate Volunteering Interview Part 2

     

    corporate-volunteering-interview

    Part 2 of the interview with Sadie on corporate volunteering-the day of the event.

     

    VPT: So, on the day of the event, you and several other employees met up at the location. How did it go?

    S: Well, we had an issue with parking. There were street parking spots, but a sign said ‘two hour parking only.’ We parked anyway. It was a four-hour shift so we figured we would have to come out and move the cars. Later, when we asked, they told us that the city had waived that rule and we could stay in our spots.

    VPT: After you parked, you went in and what happened?

    S: The building was a warehouse type of building and we had no idea how to get in.

    VPT: What did you do?

    S: We went around back, found a back door and went in through there.

    VPT: And then what?

    S: We found the makeshift kitchen where there was coffee and donuts and we announced ourselves to the people in there. They asked if this was our first year and we said yes, so they got another person to come and train us.

    VPT: Were they volunteers or staff? How did you know they were part of the event?

    S: I honestly don’t know if they were paid or not. But they wore stick on name badges.

    VPT: Did they greet you?

    S: They seemed stressed. It felt like they didn’t know what to do with us. They consulted the printed out sign up sheet and saw that we were listed so they said they would try to find a spot for us.

    VPT: What did the training consist of?

    S: About two minutes worth of what we were supposed to do.

    VPT: And that was….

    S: We were to walk around with the clients. They would have a shopping cart and we would go from station to station where they would pick out toys according to how many children they had and their ages. Then we would escort them to the stations where they would get boxes of donated food. I will say, the person who showed us what to do was very nice.

    VPT: How were the stations?

    S: The stations were very well set up, and organized. You could tell they had done this many times before.

    VPT: Were you given any information on how to act around the clients, anything about sensitivity or confidentiality?

    S: (laughs). At one point we were told to try to get stories of hardship from the clients so that we could direct them to a station that had extra toys. They had more toys than they needed, so I guess that’s a good thing.

    VPT: Did someone check in with you during your shift to see if everything was ok.

    S: Not with me, I don’t know about the others.

    VPT: And you were there for four hours.

    S: Longer. One of our group, Justin, who was helping at a food station, was told he could not leave until his replacement showed up. After thirty minutes of waiting, we just left. Some of us rode together and had to go.

    VPT: Did anyone acknowledge you when you left?

    S: No. Justin told his station manager and we left.

    VPT: How was it working with the clients?

    S: That was great. The people were very grateful and appreciated our being there to help.

    VPT: Were you comfortable with the clients, given you had minimal training?

    S: Surprisingly, yes. It felt very natural.

    VPT: Did your firm get any acknowledgement, thank you, write-up, mention on website, anything?

    S: No, nothing that I am aware of. In hindsight, we should have worn company t-shirts or brought something for them to use. They didn’t ask, though.

    VPT: Did you have some sort of follow-up meeting with your fellow employees after the event?

    S: No, we probably should have done that. But I did check in with them individually.

    VPT: What feedback did you get from the other employees?

    S: They thought it was worthwhile. They felt like they made a connection with the people being helped.

    VPT: Will you be back next year?

    S: Yes.

    VPT: What will bring you back?

    S: As much as I didn’t appreciate how it was run, it is about the people I was helping and it makes me feel good to help them. I wasn’t able to volunteer until I was a point in my life where I felt I was able to help others. Now that I can do that I feel like I’m also able to take on obstacles such as the people running the show. Maybe they started off like me, caring about the people more, and they never transitioned over to caring for the volunteers that help the people in need. I’m not sure, but I do feel like it comes with the territory.

    VPT: Anything else?

    S: Second reason I’ll go back is because it might not be the best environment to make me feel appreciated, but I’m comfortable now. I do have a busy life and I chose this organization for a reason. To find another one like it is time-consuming and what if it was just the same or worse? I feel comfortable at this organization now and next year I will be able to walk in, do what I came to accomplish and leave.

    VPT: Thank you Sadie for sharing your experience with us.

    Huh. Well, that was definitely eye-opening. So, I guess the takeaway is we should be relieved when volunteers put up with us because it’s just too darned time-consuming to find another place to spend their time and talents. And luckily for us, that new place might be worse.

    And hey, here’s a thought. Maybe we should thank the people we serve for being needy. Maybe we could just give them a reward for keeping our volunteers coming back. We could call it the “Sob Story of Retention” award.

    Or maybe we could just do better.

    -Meridian

  • A Corporate Volunteering Interview

    corporate-volunteering-interview

    I was really lucky to catch up with and interview Sadie, a busy mother and professional who took charge of a corporate volunteering event this past December for her financial firm. Here is the interview:

    VPT(volunteerplaintalk): Thank you for speaking with me today. I understand that you took the reins on a corporate volunteer project over the holidays?

    S: Yes, my firm allows us 4 hours of paid time to volunteer and I wanted to do something myself around the holidays because it felt like the time to give back. And because our 4 hours does not accrue for the following year, so I either had to use the time or lose it.

    VPT: How were you chosen to head up the corporate volunteering event?

    S: Quite by accident. I was just looking to fill my 4 volunteering hours.

    VPT: So you had planned on only volunteering yourself?

    S: Initially, yes, along with one of my friends.

    VPT: Did you find the organization you chose on your own or did they reach out to you?

    S: I found it on my own. It is a local toy drive put on by a local city organization and my mom had done something similar in Florida and I thought it would be a festive, holiday experience and I know that there is actual work that needs doing during the holidays to pull off these events.

    VPT: How did you end up doing a corporate volunteer event?

    S: Well, I approached my HR department to see if this organization would count towards my 4 hours and they told me that a number of employees hadn’t yet taken advantage of the volunteering hours for the year. They asked me if I would take charge of making it a corporate volunteering event and I agreed.

    VPT: How did you feel about taking charge?

    S: I really didn’t mind, because at our firm, we run projects, and so we are often in charge of other team members. But I will say, that there is more pressure when you are trying to create a worthwhile experience for a group. You don’t want to waste your fellow volunteers’ time.

    VPT: So, how did you set up this volunteering event with the organization?

    S: Well, I went to their website and saw that groups could volunteer. There were several categories, including sorting toys and food, setting up and also volunteering to help the people shop on the giveaway days of the event. I wanted our group to volunteer on the day they actually gave away toys and food to needy people, because I thought that it would be very meaningful for us.

    VPT: And how did you sign up?

    S: There was a place on the website to sign up for a particular date, so I did that with the names of the members of my group. I signed up two groups on two successive days. I also called the number listed on the website and left a message, because I wanted to make sure that my sign-up was recorded and I did have a few questions.

    VPT: And what did you ask when they returned your call?

    S: I never did get a return call.

    VPT: What? No one called you back?

    S: No, no one did.

    VPT: Did you try again? Did you get a confirming email?

    S: I called again and left a message. I did not get an email either.

    VPT: Were you worried at that point?

    S: Yes, very. I was now responsible for my co-workers’ volunteer hours, and time was running out on the year.

    VPT: What did you do?

    S: Well, I was very busy, what with all the family things to do and at work we had some projects with deadlines, so I waited for some sort of acknowledgement.

    VPT: Did it come?

    S: Luckily, yes. When I was about to look for another volunteer opportunity, I received an email asking me to sign up again through a website called signup genius. I clicked on the link and re-signed the  two groups for two separate days.

    VPT: Did you get a response then?

    S: Yes, an automated one from signup genius saying thank you and confirming.

    VPT: But no personal response?

    S: No, none. I did get a reminder from signup genius, so that was helpful.

    VPT: Was that enough?

    S: It would have been reassuring and helpful to get a personal phone call or email, but I just trusted that we were good to go.

    VPT: And did you inform your group that you were good to go?

    S: Yes, I forwarded the confirmation email to them with their names listed.

    VPT: Did you meet with your group before the event?

    S: No, we did not meet. It seemed pretty straightforward.

    VPT: Did you have an idea of who and where to report to on your volunteer day and what role you would have?

    S: I was in the day one group, so I could inform the group on day 2 of anything they needed to know. But, no, I had no idea who we were supposed to report to or where. I did have the address, though.

    VPT: And so, in good faith you just…

    S: (laughs) We just showed up.

    VPT: And how did it go?

    S: Well, parking was a real issue and we couldn’t figure out how to get into the building..

    Sorry to cut it off here, but the interview is longer than one post. Next time-what happened on the day of volunteering: The conclusion of Sadie’s interview.

    Thanks and have a great week!

    -Meridian

  • Mrs. Most Perfect Woman of ItsaMadeUppa County Pageant

    mrs-most-perfect-woman-of-itsamadeuppa-county-pageant
    Purity Pirate

    “Well heck,” Ivan said, “the surprises in volunteer management just keep surprising me.” He adjusted his purple framed glasses. “I just had this one volunteer, Julie, who took orientation a couple of months ago. It was a great class, full of people ready to help. They had different interests and skills, and varied ages, but they all got along; we laughed and cried together. It was great and I had high hopes for all of them. Now ours, being that we work with disadvantaged children, is a very intense training. And Julie stood out. She was passionate, and entertaining, really a big personality. She is married to a prominent doctor, and you know how it is. I figured that not only would I have her as a volunteer, but also I would have her telling her influential doctor husband about our program and maybe I’d get some quality speaking engagements out of it as well. So I was pretty pumped about her joining our group.”
    Ivan paused. “I paired her with one of my most accomplished volunteers, Sal, who took Julie out on visits. Then, about two weeks later, I get a call from Sal who tells me that all his calls and texts to Julie are going unanswered. So I try and nothing. I asked Sal if anything upset her, but he can’t think of a thing, as a matter of fact, he found her enthusiastic. So, now I’m worried. I send emails, even a written letter and still nothing. Short of becoming a stalker, I just leave her a message that we are very much interested in her continuing with us and I leave it at that.”
    Ivan picks up a newspaper clipping on his desk. “Then, last week, one of our volunteers, Della, was at the county fair and sees the pageant for the married women of our county and she tells me that one of our volunteers won. So, I said, who was it and she says, Julie, the new volunteer.” Ivan holds up the newspaper picture. “Here she is and in Julie’s interview she gushes about volunteering with us. Then the article goes on to list other organizations that she is involved with.” At this point Ivan laughs. “I wonder if she did the same thing to them too. But I guess I should take this as a compliment, I’m just not sure.”

    Yep, there it is. Should we feel used, or do we take the robbing of our reputation as a compliment, shrug our shoulders, furiously work our worry beads and go on?

    Well, there are going to be volunteers who use us to their own gain. Resume padding job seekers, corner cutting students, court avoiding offenders, ebay selling thrifters and even parent hood winking teens all can find a nice warm blanket of self benefit by tacking us on to their veneer. These thankfully few and far between folks are truly different from the volunteers who come to us for other more varied and sometimes multiple reasons.

    These Reputation Robbers are singly focused on our good name as a means to their end, and want the name recognition without doing any work. I remember the first time I was plundered by a Purity Pirate. I was so mad that I pumped my fist into the air and yelled, “how dare you!”(at the blank wall of course. The pirate was long gone, having snatched up all the loot he needed, then he paddled away in his rowboat. I think I can still hear him laughing.)

    Well, these experiences teach us to expect volunteers to exhibit altruistic motivations but to prepare for occasional leeches on our work. I’ve been burned more than once. It hurts to think that you can be duped, but it happens. So, here are a few things to do if we think that a potential volunteer just wants to write a book, using our clients as subjects, entitled, “I Personally Saved This Hapless Non-Profit From Disaster.”

    Do Not Sign Off: Don’t sign off on work done if the work is not done. Ever. And don’t succumb to those sad little baby alligator eyes that see right through your easy kind nature.

    Do Not Be Pressured: A senior manager has a neighbor who has this niece, Lita that needs to complete 30 hours of community service. That’s an entire month of your time! Yes, I can do math, well basic anyway. But 30 hours becomes:

    Meeting with Lita after she is two hours late and trying not to reach across the table and choke her when she asks whether she’ll be paid.

    Calling her repeatedly when she does not show up as scheduled and getting her brother on the phone who makes Lita look like the responsible one.

    Trying to explain to her again and again in a nice way (oh heck, just trying not to scream at her to get out) that signing in and leaving does not constitute hours volunteered.

    Continually assuring all the other volunteers who happen to work alongside her that you have not, in fact gone completely insane.

    Re-doing the event packets Lita totally messed up. It’s the night before the event and you have to miss your best friend’s birthday celebration.

    Wooing back the volunteer who quit because he happened to be there the day Lita laughed at the name of an elderly client in front of the client’s son. So, in order to convince the volunteer to return, you host a ‘bagel while begging’ two hour coffee brunch. And then you spend the rest of the day on severe caffeine jitters, pacing the halls, barking at volunteers to “stop looking at me!”

    Walking down to the reception area every couple of hours when Lita is actually on property because the receptionist needs you to come up and tell the little pack of Lita’s friends that they cannot hang out here.

    And having these surreal phone interruptions with Lita’s parent who chastises you for not making Lita “like it there.”

    So, yeah, I stand by it-that’s a month of your professional life that you can’t get back.

    Put Policies in Place: Having policies will not stop all reputation robbers and thankfully most folks who need something from us are not purity pirates and honestly want to do something meaningful with their time spent. But, well thought out policies can be used effectively, especially if you discover one of these pirates has sneaked into your midst.

    As for Lita? How about policy #2, paragraph #1, sentences #3 and #4: ‘A volunteer shall be counseled if said volunteer does not exhibit the necessary attitude and respect for the mission and program. After due counseling, said volunteer may be dismissed at any given time so as to protect our clients  from undue stress.’

    Arggh.

    -Meridian

  • Director of First Impressions Volunteer

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    Director of First Impressions Volunteer: Wow. What a concise, succinct way to advertise for a front desk or receptionist volunteer. The ad then goes on to talk about how important it is for clients to experience a first impression that is compassionate and helpful. Gosh, I want to be that volunteer.

    So, what verbiage appeals to prospective volunteers? Is it silly, eye-catching titles or serious, touching the heart ads that bring volunteers in? And does the same ad appeal to millennials and baby boomers, working adults and students, community service needing and weekend warrior potential volunteers alike? And anyway, are there foolproof ads that once you’ve created them, you can then just magically sit back and answer the ringing phone?”

    Clearly, marketing has a tremendous impact on companies that sell goods and services. If we think of ourselves as selling goods (enhanced life experiences) and services (ways to help the community), then we can think of our potential volunteers as consumers who can pick and choose where they will spend their valuable time. So, how do we market to them?

    Here are just three creative ways to frame a volunteer ad:
    1. Describe the benefit to the organization.
    2. Describe the benefit to the client served.
    3. Describe the benefit for the volunteer.

    So, let’s take a simple job title such as “volunteer receptionist” and re-imagine it in the above three ways:

    “Director of First Impressions:” The word ‘director’ exudes importance, and ‘first impressions’ neatly describes how this organization genuinely cares for their clients and is striving for excellence with every paid and/or volunteer position.

    “Imagine How Hard It Is To Need Our Help:” This immediately frames the position in the eyes of the client and elicits an empathetic feeling for those who are being served.

    “Where Else Can You Feel Like You Have Thrown Out a Lifeline:” This ad goes right to the heart of volunteerism-making a difference.

    And what law says we can’t use all three ads for one position at the same time? Who knows which approach will attract the kind of person you are looking for because ads exist to quickly capture attention. All three ring true; they are just different ways of framing meaningful volunteer roles in punchy descriptions. If you can combine all three ways without becoming too verbose, then by all means, give it a go.
    But can we even go further and be even more creative?  Why can’t we inject some playfulness? How about an ad that asks, “What Intergallactic Volunteer Character Are You?” (Or another current and popular theme). Create a description for a few popular characters, such as:
    The Scavenger Captain: You’re roguish and free wheeling, this job is flexible. We won’t tie you down!
    The Robot Sidekick: You’re diplomatic and precise, this job needs your attention to detail.
    The Galaxy Princess: You’re strong and smart and destined to lead our rebellion against hunger.

    Want to advertise for a thrift store volunteer? How about “Are You the First One at Garage Sales? Come, Help Sort Through Our Treasures Where It’s A Garage Sale Everyday.”

    Do you need something very specific? Celebrate it! Web help might become, “If You Know What This Is, Call Us: 01101000 01100101 01101100 01110000.”

    There are catchy volunteer ads out there that say, “show off your basketball skills,” “do you love cats and acting,” “do you walk by homeless people not knowing what to do,” “be the role model she’ll remember always,” “50% of school age children in our town go to bed hungry.” A few great ads tell a personal story: “Meet Ed. He will sit alone in his room today unless a volunteer comes to visit. Will you be that volunteer?” “Sarah received a scholarship in part because she volunteered. If you can you use a scholarship, call us!”

    Do you have multiple locations? Tack the location onto the ad so that potential volunteers know they can stay close to home or work or school. You can say, “Be the Role Model She’ll Always Remember in Springfield” or “Calling All You Bristolians Who Dress Up Their Dogs.”

    And if your program has won an award or has been feted in any way, use that to your advantage: “Join our award-winning volunteer program!”

    Refresh your ads frequently. Keep statistics on the more successful ads so that you can start to track what is working and for whom it is working.

    You can also put together a focus group of volunteers to come up with creative ads that they believe will appeal to their peers. Marketing students are also an excellent resource for help in crafting creative and appealing ads.

    Well, then, how can we jazz up that soul-sucking Data Entry Volunteer ad? (and you know what always surprised me, there are people who want to do this kind of volunteering because it’s sort of like washing dishes by hand, it gives them a chance to just quiet the mind).

    “Monotonous, Repetitious Data Entry Volunteer Job For That Amazing Person Who Knows This Work is Critical.  Help Our Clients While Decompressing in a Calm Environment. We’ll Play Some New Age Music.”

    -Meridian

  • Bringing Home the Volunteer Kitten or Puppy

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    I remember the day my husband gleefully arrived home from work with three homeless and abandoned kittens. He just beamed when the kids scooped them up and cuddled each mewing fluff ball of pending responsibility. Yes, that moment of blissful love and connection comes with a hefty requirement attached for they will grow to be cats and require a life-long commitment.

    Fortunately, volunteer managers don’t bring volunteers home. (Well, sorry, but I will throw a fellow volunteer coordinator under the bus and mention that she began to take a recently widowed volunteer into her home to have dinner with her and her family and it spiraled out of control from there.)
    But, other than physically, do we symbolically bring our volunteers home when we start friending them on social media? And what are the implications for being connected to our volunteers beyond the workplace?
    Not too long ago, volunteer coordinator Tami was so stressed that she burst into tears. “I had this huge event that I worked months on getting the best volunteers for and on the day of the event, when I arrived and asked where our lead volunteer Agnes was, the other volunteers told me that Agnes had to go out-of-town last-minute with her husband. I just about died! I asked the volunteers why Agnes didn’t call me to let me know and they said that Agnes had posted it on social media and probably assumed I knew. What a horrible day that was trying to fill in for Agnes while doing all my other tasks. It was a day I never want to repeat.”
    Or how about Lena, who spent so much time involved in her volunteers lives beyond their volunteering that her evenings were spent liking posts and commenting on cute photos of Granddogs’ shenanigans.
    Or Jessup, who befriended so many volunteers on social media that he started following anyone who followed him in case he might snub one of his volunteers and ended up with a hacked account .
    Or Marley who learned one of his volunteers was cheating on his partner while innocently going through posts.

    Hmmm, it’s a great big involved world out there, so what do we do, ban all volunteers from interacting with us after hours? No, of course not, that’s not only unreasonable, it’s just not us. We care about our volunteers and realize that what happens in their lives impacts their volunteering. We don’t wish to be the cold authoritarian manager and so we come to respect volunteers as they relate to us: Associates, neighbors, peers, fellow do-gooders, and yes, friends. Then the question becomes, can we keep these relationships separate and confined to working hours?
    Connecting with volunteers on personal social media is like bringing home that first soft and warm innocent-eyed waif. But imagine bringing home 20 or 50 or 100 little caterwauling waifs. There are laws against this sort of thing for a reason. Here are a few things to consider when connecting on social media with volunteers:

    How is official information communicated? Do your volunteers rightfully think that you know they will not be able to make their volunteer committment because they posted their illness or vacation on social media? Having a policy in place on how official volunteer absences are communicated will eliminate the chaos of word of mouth or “I just figured you knew” scenarios.

    Will every volunteer be treated in the same manner on social media? What about those volunteers who don’t subscribe to social media or rarely post their children’s first soccer game or their latest duck in puff pastry with pomegranate red wine reduction recipe? Will they feel left out? What about the volunteer who posts every detail of their lives? How will you pick and choose which posts to like?

    How much valuable time and precious energy do you spend on keeping up with volunteers’ personal lives? Let’s face it, we are human and only have so much energy to expend on our jobs, our families, our friends, our interests, our education, our health and our well-being. When we start spending more and more time on keeping up with volunteer pursuits outside of volunteering, what aspect of our lives are we cheating?

    Is it possible that your social media connection can become a place to publicly whine or complain? If you are always “available” via social media, why wouldn’t a volunteer message you or worse, post a complaint? Then will other volunteers chime in until you have some real or imagined dirty laundry aired for everyone, including potential volunteers, board members, other staff and administration to see?

    What we do know can hurt us: Too much information can color the way we view our volunteers. What are their political or religious beliefs? How do they treat their family and friends? What are their attitudes towards other people and topical issues? Would this knowledge make us think more or less of them and how do we handle that?

    How much of our personal lives do we want our volunteers to know? Social media is a two-way street. Do we want our volunteers to know about the escapades we share with our close friends?

    How do we view our role as a volunteer manager? Are we friendly supervisors, good buddies, caring peers, empathetic coaches or a bit of all? In reality, we are in charge and we manage the volunteers’ experiences. The more professional our approach, the better the experience for all volunteers.

    Next time you want to bring that adorable little cuddly volunteer home with you, just keep in mind there are serious commitments and pitfalls associated with that warm and caring intention. Always striving to keep professional relationships with volunteers not only benefits them, it benefits us as well.

    Unless you really want a household full of cats.

    -Meridian

  • Oh BTW, Get 42 Permanent Volunteers By Next Month-Part 2 Looking Back

    Oh BTW, Get 42 Permanent Volunteers By Next Month-Part 2 Looking Back

    We have to be prepared for it. One day you’re working hard placing volunteers when bam, you’re now in charge of a new program. Your focused energy now has to be refocused. Your carefully managed time has to be completely reworked. Your priorities which you have so meticulously set have to be reset. It happened to me and I survived and here is a quick perspective regarding the project that was handed to me a long time ago.
    First off, the Good:
    Ok, I learned that I was fairly capable after I waded through all the self-defeating voices and just got on with it. I’ve found over the years that equating my work with my worth just held me back. Once I realized that no one concocted this project in order to make me fail, I could logically begin to actually put a plan in place. Tip: Personalizing thoughts can sabotage efforts, so focus on the task at hand in a logical, non-emotional way.

    Now, the Bad: So I have to admit, I fantasized about all the accolades I would receive when I accomplished this gargantuan feat. But, I wasn’t exactly crowned prom queen. Results were ongoing, fluid and expected, therefore in organizational speak, I did not go above and beyond, even though I felt that I did. Tip: Be careful as to your expectations, but don’t go all “aw shucks” and downplay the results. Frame them in terms of volunteer accomplishments and benefits to organization and clients. Then ask for a raise.

    And then, here are just a few Useables:
    Cross-training volunteers is the same as having extra volunteers. When assessing a volunteer request, I learned to look to all volunteers and not just those on a particular list. I’d ask kitchen volunteers to go into homes of patients in their neighborhood (stop by on the way home? Please?) (Mind you, all volunteers got the full patient training). Nursing home volunteers who I knew did not attend a worship service would be asked to come in once in a while on a Sunday or Saturday. Everyone was cross trained so that they could fill in when necessary.
    Volunteer staying power sometimes is really about finding each other. I learned to make sure that the members of groups working together as a team were compatible with each other instead of simply filling time slots. It took more effort and sometimes a time slot would remain open longer, but after losing volunteers due to mismatched teams, I realized the effort was crucial. Members of cohesive groups encourage each other, fill in for each other, and create that camaraderie that keeps them coming back.
    When you have a big ongoing project, you at least have something to offer volunteers who are interested in volunteering with you instead of putting them on hold. In volunteer training, I used to tell the story of two new volunteers, Della and Debbie who told me that absolutely under no circumstance would they ever work in a kitchen. Well, you guessed it, they tried it temporarily, loved it and not only gave 12 years to the kitchen project, they did fundraising, trained new volunteers and filled in for other jobs.
    Don’t pigeonhole a job: So, sure, kitchen work didn’t sound like meaningful stuff for many volunteers who wanted to work with patients, but we were able to expand the kitchen role by having volunteers take trays into rooms, and chat with families about menu choices which led to some real meaningful conversations. Some volunteers started in the kitchen and moved “up” to working exclusively with patients.
    You have to honestly believe that every job matters and not just try to “sell it”. Why did it matter that volunteers were cooking for patients? Well, heck, the meal the volunteers prepared may have been the patient’s last real meal and shouldn’t it have been made with care? Besides, the patient’s family would see the pretty garnishes on the plate, see the homey touches in the food, and see the hand written signatures on the place mat. But do those tiny actions by volunteers really matter? Oh, wow, did I learn that it’s the smallest things that matter the most. Once I began to experience the project in terms of how it impacted real people, my recruitment pitch changed drastically for the better.

    Somehow, in some way, make it your own. When you initiate a project, you already have ownership and buy-in. When you are handed a project, you need to find a way to make it your own so that your enthusiasm and commitment is akin to a project you created. Since I was handed no real guidelines to follow, I quickly made it my own by giving my project a title and mission statement, thereby taking it from the cold ‘Volunteer Dietary Project’ to ‘Homelike Meals Made by Caring Volunteers.’ It was a simple but very powerful transition from an antiseptic concept to a vibrant and purposeful one that I could get behind.

    Big results come from big work. The effort may take a great deal of time and energy, may go forward then backward, may sometimes look impossible, but with the skills already honed from managing volunteers, a project can succeed. We, volunteer managers are stronger and much more capable than we might think.

    -Meridian

  • Oh BTW, Get 42 Permanent Vols By Next Month-Part 1

     

    Oh BTW, Get 42 Permanent Vols By Next Month-Part 1

    Is this the new volunteer manager job security? A dear colleague and friend to this blog, Eileen from Volunteering Counts in Dudley borough (volunteering counts.org.uk) has astutely pointed out in one of her comments that volunteer managers everywhere should be prepared to undertake new volunteer roles when budget cuts force them to supply volunteers for underfunded programs.

    Ok, sure, but how prepared? Well, I had been on the job at a hospice for less than a year when my supervisor decided to rotate the volunteer coordinators into each other’s regions and so I found myself taking my cute inspirational signs off my newly decorated office wall and settling into a care center location. Here I would be in charge of home team volunteers,  nursing home volunteers and care center volunteers for a 14 bed facility. I felt energized, perfectly jazzed until one afternoon, I was summoned to a meeting with the care center supervisor who informed me that dietary would now be volunteer run.

    “Excuse me,” I choked out.

    “Yes, volunteers will be preparing patients’ meals and you will be in charge of meal plans with the help of a dietician, and you will also be responsible for food procurement, safety, health inspections and training of the volunteers in food management.”

    I think I wet my pants a little at that point. (Maybe that’s why I kept a pair of clean skivvies in a locked drawer all those years)

    I honestly can’t remember every emotion I experienced at that moment. I think I couldn’t feel my fingers. I mean, Saturday evening, Friday evening, Sunday morning, all the traditional time slots that were hard enough to fill on occasion-now I had to fill those permanently? Why hadn’t I listened to my mother and found a real profession?

    Here’s the thing. Volunteer managers everywhere must be ready to have these types of requests dropped into their laps at any time. For most volunteer managers, a great deal of volunteer involvement is determined at meetings in which the VMs are not in attendance. Ideas for expansion, cutting costs or projects are often hammered out in board meetings and sent careening down the slope of middle managers until the edicts land in the laps of stunned volunteer coordinators. And sometimes, these ideas are conceived as a last gasp effort to save a program-“I know, we’ll get the volunteers to do it.”

    I went home and cursed my supervisor. Why me? Honestly, I was terrified, completely afraid that I would never be able to accomplish this task. I calculated that I needed to put at least 42 permanent volunteers in place for all three meals a day, seven days a week. And the God awful hard truth was that it became a long slog.

    When handed a huge project, especially with deadlines, every last millisecond of a volunteer manager’s time, energy and creative focus shifts away from other crucial duties and to the project exclusively. In order to maintain the ongoing programs, a VM has to find some balance and deputize seasoned volunteers into leadership roles.

    When you can’t do everything, you can’t do everything. Identifying key volunteers in preparation for the possibility a big project will materialize is proactive volunteer management and will save your sanity. Ease volunteers into taking leadership roles in existing programs and by ease I mean work alongside them until they are comfortable and you are comfortable in how they handle their roles. But, in my experience, don’t “turn over” a program to someone else if you are in charge. The VM must still be the ultimate person in control and checking in continuously (asking questions, offering support, intercepting challenges) establishes your leadership continuum.

    So, did my project succeed? Yes, it did. It’s still going 20 years later in multiple care centers.

    Was it bone crushing hard?  Oh, goodness, yes, even the smallest of things. I still get throbbing headaches when I smell spilled Ensure and when I see food handlers without gloves.

    Did it take time? I think I missed my son’s graduation from middle school, but he won’t say.

    Would I do it again? If I was younger, yes.

    Was I blissfully optimistic or sadly pessimistic about the possibilities? It depended upon the day I was having. Or whether or not I took my medication.

    Did I learn anything of value? Oh, goodness, so much about so many things.

    Can you share these things? Of course, I will, I promise-the good, the bad and the useable-next time:

    Coming in part two,  A perspective: Takeaways from a huge arse-busting project.

    (At least at this point, you know I survived intact!) (Well, maybe physically anyway.)

    -Meridian

  • Greetings From the Volunteer Manager Olympic Games!

    Olympic rings

    Just when I was fantazising about meaningful recognition for volunteer managers, I saw the grainy ad for a volunteer manager competition in Rio and I was so excited! Finally, there would be a world-wide stage celebrating volunteer leaders’ skill sets  Immediately, I turned in all my frequent flyer miles and along with selling some of my furniture, I managed to book a flight aboard a cargo plane headed for Brazil!

    I arrived in Rio, anticipation shining brighter than my neon party outfit. I asked my cab driver to take me to Copacabana, the site listed on the black and white three-fold brochure clutched in my hand. As it turned out, it wasn’t at the world-famous Copacabana Beach, but the Copacabana Bar and Grill just a few rural kilometers out-of-town. Unfazed, I paid the driver and entered the local watering hole. “Out back,” the bar keep grumbled and I pushed open the screen door to the parking lot where several people sat on folding chairs. They were either family members of the teams or it was part of a drinking game, I’m not sure which but anyway, the games were about to begin!

    The teams of volunteer managers stood nervously in the shade of a large billboard, awaiting their events. Under a cloud of dust from cars arriving at the bar, the announcer who doubled as the bouncer gave us the rundown on the rules and introduced the judges-two lost ladies that happened to stop and ask for directions to the soccer stadium.

    The first event was the volunteer intervention floor exercise. Each team had to go through a series of difficult manuevers to council a volunteer who had broken the rules. “Volunteers” were chosen from a group of bar patrons who were promised free drinks after the event.

    Team Great Britain was awarded extra points for keeping the scandalous behavior out of the news, while team USA was given a point deduction for letting the “volunteer” believe that she did nothing wrong as evidenced because she kept saying that her probation officer could vouch for her . Team Japan won by a fraction of a point when they completed the difficult two and a half intervention twist by getting the “volunteer” to promise to never do it again and to also work on a Saturday night.

    The next event was the volunteer recruitment 200 meter medley. The teams were given six “volunteers” to recruit and each team member had to use a different technique to entice the bar patrons/volunteers to join their organization. Team Brazil, who had the bar crowd filtering in and out of the bathroom on their side, were loudly cheered when one team Brazil volunteer manager delivered an animated recruitment pitch. She was actually gesturing wildly with her hands which looked like she was dancing to the music.

    Team Canada surged ahead when one of their VM’s showed a heartfelt video of volunteer testimonials, but they lost the feed when the beer truck ran over their plug. Team Australia eventually won when the “volunteers” thought they heard a Team Australia VM say “we’ll give you a big time trip to Hollywood.” In actuality he was trying to shout over the band’s rendition of “the Girl from Ipanema” that volunteering is “living a life of good.”

    The third event was the volunteer task 5 minute dash. Each team was asked to provide “volunteers” based on requests from the marketing department, the fundraising department, the client services department, the office support department and the community relations department. The teams had to decide in five minutes which request was the most important and therefore to be filled first. Team Argentina filled the client request immediately while team Hong Kong took a chance and chose fundraising but team New Zealand won when they figured out that the request from office support was the most important, because the head of office support was the CEO’s sister.

    When it came time for the medal ceremony, it seemed that all the teams were tied so no medals were awarded, mainly because there was no certificate copier in the bar  So the teams decided to have lunch and a peer group meeting, which made more sense than anything done that day.

    All in all it was an enlightening experience to swap volunteer management tips and stories with leaders from all over the world all the while we were being mistaken for parking lot attendants.

    Looking forward to 2020 in Tokyo when a new event will be added: The volunteer volleyball tournament where VMs from different organizations bounce volunteers back and forth with each other in a sharing gesture meant to enhance the volunteers’ experiences. It’s a holistic concept, but then so is the ever evolving cultivation of volunteers, so I guess we’ll have to see who medals on that one.

    Glad to be home now, still getting glitter, or maybe broken glass from one of the bar fights out of my hair. I guess even though we, volunteer managers don’t always get proper respect or rarely invited to the big games,  I’m just proud to be part of this great profession.

    The Olympics are a celebration of hard work and dedication. One day, hopefully, volunteer managers will step onto bigger stages and be given the recognition they earn every day. At least, it will be fun to show off our skills.

    Gold medals to all of you!

    -Meridian

     

     

  • They Laughed at My Wall of Binders Until…

    binders

    “I took over from a really nice older lady,” volunteer manager Meghan says, “but one thing I couldn’t understand is why she kept all these reports and sign-in sheets from meetings that were two and three years old. I shredded those in an attempt to keep a cleaner office. Then one day we needed to find a volunteer log from a couple of years ago. I had to admit that I got rid of it.” Meghan’s eyes got bigger, “I mean, what were the chances that we would need it?”

    Oh, the stacks and stacks of paper we create. Information on prospective volunteers, sign-in sheets from meetings, policies reviewed, applications, surveys, new volunteer interviews and volunteer logs are just some of the records kept in volunteer management. But are they necessary?

    For years I was teased about my “pack rat” behavior and folks laughed at my bookcase full of binders that held all the signatures and information I gathered. The binders were in addition to the personal files on past, present and future volunteers that were kept under double lock and key in several file cabinets. These files included background check results,  addresses and phone numbers.

    Did I need it all? Most of the time, no, but once in a while, it proved pretty handy,

    So here are just a few of the occasions when my “pack rat” binders helped out.

    Lawyers for a family needed access to care center front desk sign-in sheets to see if a prohibited family came to visit a client.

    A volunteer was reprimanded for breaking new policy. She claimed she and other volunteers were never informed until the policy she signed at a volunteer meeting was produced.

    The executive director wanted to know if his neighbor actually came to a volunteer informational session.

    A new volunteer insisted that she came to an advanced training but remembered that it was a meeting when shown the sign-in sheets for that training.

    Auditors arrived unexpectedly and requested proof of volunteer trainings. (the actual signatures of volunteers)

    Odd stats concerning volunteers were needed to apply for a grant application.

    A representative from a group of workers that volunteered wanted to know who actually signed in so that they could recognize those employees at the annual company picnic.

    Newer volunteer reporting systems have replaced many of the old binder systems. But the point is, the proof that signatures provide may just come in handy one day. Keeping records of meetings and asking volunteers to sign new policies help keep track of those who are and those who are not yet informed of important regulations. And if a volunteer does not attend an important informational meeting, then a copy of the meeting minutes and policies can be mailed or emailed to the absent volunteer with a request of acknowledgement. (and a friendly encouragement to ask questions or give feedback so that you can explain those regulations).

    While reports and sign-ins may not be flashy volunteer management, they do serve a useful purpose. Signatures are legal proof that you have done your due diligence when it comes to the proper training, conducting educational meetings for and providing necessary information to your volunteers.

    It’s no easy day when you have to prove something and you cannot. Binders and folders on hard drives do not take up that much room.

    Besides, when the CEO wants to know if her second cousin once removed was informed of the new dress code, those boring but carefully maintained wall of signatures will give you the answer in a pretty impressive short amount of time.

    Who’ll be laughing at the binders then?

    -Meridian