How do you evolve your volunteer program for the volunteers of tomorrow whilst meeting the needs of your volunteers today? Sam Clift, Volunteer Resource Manager at London Transport Museum talks through achieving senior management buy-in, involving volunteers in strategy planning, getting volunteers on board with organisational change and using technology and volunteer support to make volunteering more accessible and inclusive. Sam can be contacted at sam.clift@ltmuseum.co.uk or alternatively at his LinkedIn page: http://linkedin.com/in/sam-clift-0363a821 Tips I learned from Sam: Court senior manager buy-in by chiming with their priorities. Keep volunteer value continuously in view. Technology can be embraced by volunteers. One change can create looking at other ways to change and grow. Use incentives to make changes more palatable. Involve volunteers in strategic roles. Be honest about limitations. Elevate volunteers to mentor roles. Find new ways to embrace inclusion. Meet challenges head-on.
Thank you to Sam for his hard work and insights and for sharing his program with us. And here’s to an exciting new year.
I always loved giving gifts that capture the quote a person loves, or features the phrase a person uses a lot. It’s about recognizing that person as a unique individual.
A few folks have encouraged me to share some of this stuff and it got me to thinking. We, volunteer managers are all working hard to bring volunteer management into the 21st century. As a unique profession, we should be proud of who we are and have some lighthearted fun.
And so, VolunteerPlainTalk is now on Zazzle. There are more new designs and as they become available, I will add them to the sidebar and to a new page in the top menu.
Who are we? We are fun-loving, believers in good, inspired by the smallest gestures, able to see the potential in everything, fans of complex human beings, inquisitive thinkers and just plain great folks to be around. Thanks and happy gifting!
What can we learn from a volunteer turned activist turned founder of her own non-profit organization? Turns out, a heck of a lot. Listen in as Elizabeth Robinson, founder of Community Cats of Palm Coast shares insights on effective social media, creating roles that engage volunteers, and the problem with silos. Please visit Community Cats of Palm Coast, give them a like and check out their interactive posts that get the community involved.
“So, you’re a volunteer manager; what do you do, exactly?” We’ve all been asked the question and then that moment follows when we pause and mutter, “ummmmm,” because we really can’t explain volunteer engagement and impact in a few short sentences. Could we explain it in a paragraph or two? A book? An encyclopedia? Probably not, at least not in-depth. So, where does that leave us? Always shrugging our shoulders and feeling misunderstood because no one gets volunteer engagement the way we do?
Maybe we’re approaching this explaining challenge with too many expectations. Maybe we should look at it differently. Instead of an all or nothing approach, i.e. “you get it or you don”t,” why don’t we aim for something more attainable like an appreciation of volunteer engagement and impact. Maybe before we introduce folks to a college course on volunteer management, we should help them appreciate it first.
Think of all the things we appreciate but maybe don’t fully comprehend or understand, such as,
Our vehicles: Sure, we basically get how cars and trucks and SUV’s work, but do we truly understand electric motors versus combustion engines (and what is the four stroke process again)?
A good bottle of wine: Ok, we can pretend all we want, but do we really know what a hint of oakey or buttery (or waxy for all I know-yes I buy wine in the box) means?
Our animal friends: Do we really know why our dog won’t play with the green Frisbee but loves the yellow one or why our cat loudly meows down the hallway at night (jeesh, that can be unsettling) at unseen forces?
No, we pretty much appreciate things without having to know all and everything about them. We can do the same with volunteer management because what do the three examples above have in common? We appreciate transportation and fine wine and animals because they enhance our lives. Vehicles transport us around, open the world to us. Wine gives us pleasure. Animal friends provide us with companionship, entertainment, love etc.
In short, we appreciate the things we deem beneficial. So, the five words to untangle volunteer management from not being understandable to at least being appreciated are: “What’s in it for me?”
The more we show people how they benefit from volunteer involvement, the more appreciation they will have for volunteering, volunteers and the people who make it all happen (that’s us in case you weren’t sure). That’s why I believe we must add volunteer impact into our volunteer engagement conversations because impact holds the key to showing benefits. Instead of continually trying to “educate” others on the complexities of engaging volunteers, let’s show them the “what’s in it for me” volunteer impact first.
Volunteer impact is the concrete result of a volunteer’s time, talents and efforts. And since we, volunteer managers see all the positive results, we can translate these results into impact.
For example, traditional volunteer reporting says to the manager of fundraising, “our volunteer Jenny spent 26 hours last month helping make phone calls and putting together donation packets.” Then we normally add, “we need to keep Jenny engaged so that she continues to do this job.”
But by emphasizing volunteer impact, we point to the benefit of having Jenny volunteer by saying, “because our volunteer Jenny came in regularly last month to make phone calls and put together packets, the fundraising staff was able to spend 26 more hours on cultivating key donors. Last month they brought in 2 new large donations by donors who are now pledging to give regularly.”
Volunteer impact shows a direct correlation between a volunteer’s efforts and beneficial results. A volunteer impact equation looks something like this:
The key here is the addition of outcomes that dive deep into meeting mission goals and objectives.
Instead of skimming the surface by equating hours with money saved or time spent, volunteer impact directly connects a volunteer’s time to the goals of organizational missions. For example:
volunteers create valuable time for staff to accomplish critical work (because volunteer Sheri spent 6 hours this week training event volunteers, our event staff was able to spend 6 more hours preparing for the annual fundraiser, thus assuring a smooth event. The positive comments from attendees include, “such a wonderful event, the volunteer ushers provided us with so much information on the organization. We are impressed.”)
volunteers spend unhampered time working with clients, thus aiding staff in creating an atmosphere in which clinical staff can better do their jobs (because volunteer Juan spent 8 hours last month sitting with our client, Emanuel, clinical staff was able to spend 8 uninterrupted hours with Emanuel’s children, thus equipping the family with the coping tools they need to navigate their situation)
volunteers are “eyes and ears” for busy staff and can alert staff to potential problems, thus reducing valuable staff time spent in fixing problems and free them up to meet objectives (our volunteer Nan, during her docent shift was alerted to a hazard outside an exhibit and due to her quick reporting, saved us from a potential accident with legal implications. This gave staff the ability to quickly rectify the situation in keeping with our objective of providing a safe environment for learning and return to their crucial duties)
Using a volunteer impact equation means going beyond volunteer hours. The equation deep dives and reveals the impact of time donated and is the key to appreciating volunteers. It’s a fundamental shift. Instead of appreciating volunteers for the giving of their time, we are appreciating volunteers for the beneficial impact their volunteer hours have on our missions.
It is up to us to restructure our reporting and connect our volunteers’ time with mission impact. In the examples above, what is the impact?
Jenny’s time resulted in the cultivation of 2 new donors (mission goal: increased donations to continue the work)
Sheri’s time resulted in (documented by comments) a well run event and increased awareness (department objective: well-run event to increase awareness)
Juan’s time resulted in a family’s increased ability to cope (mission goal: equip families with the tools needed to cope)
Nan’s time resulted in a potential accident and lawsuit thwarted (organizational objective: provide a safe environment for learning)
Reporting impact requires a strong connection with staff and departments utilizing volunteer services so that we are privy to goals, objectives and direction. This is actually a good thing, for the more we connect with staff within our organizations, the more we receive helpful feedback, input and suggestions for volunteer involvement. From these connections, we can structure volunteer roles for maximum support. And, when it comes time to report on volunteer hours, we can then show the direct correlation between a volunteer’s time and the attaining of mission goals.
Existing in silos no longer serves us or our volunteers. As leaders, we can demonstrate the way for our organizations to grow is through partnerships between departments. Based on showing how our volunteers meet and exceed objectives and goals, we can then advocate for more volunteer involvement and for better organization wide engagement of our volunteers.
If we work towards an appreciation of volunteerism by answering five simple words, “What’s in it for me,” then, we just might begin to hear 5 other words, “We need to engage volunteers.”
We, volunteer managers (Leaders of Volunteers) are misunderstood. Sigh, tell me something I haven’t heard over and over, right? I’ve bemoaned it for years like an alarm clock set for eternity.
So, in the fault derby of life, who can we pin this misunderstanding on? CEO’s? Non-profit staff? The volunteers themselves for being so darned accommodating? Media? Our parents, for not making us more lovable? The eternal great red fireball that is the mystery of life? (that’s where I pretty much assign blame to everything anywayso take that red fireball).
I’m only going to explore MY experience here. I cannot begin to imagine your experiences nor can I pretend to know your circumstances. And I’m sharing my experience in hopes that it may in some small way give you a perspective on yours.
I can look back now and say with confidence, that it was my fault. Much as I hate to admit it, it was. Why? Because I did not explain volunteers and volunteer management well enough. Not really. Oh yeah, I shook my fist at the sky and preached to everyone I happened upon (funny,they never liked it much when I followed them into the bathroom, still rambling on about volunteer needs, but that’s another story). I did formal educational pieces, pop-up vignettes, wrote emails, and trotted volunteers of every shape and size out (“see, this is volunteer Rhoda, she does so much for us but did you know that Rhoda is also studying biophysics?”) all aimed at “educating” staff on engaging volunteers. It felt like describing the ocean and its ecosystem by bringing in a kiddie pool as an example. Wait, I think I did a post on that….yep, it’s Volunteer Management: A Kiddie Pool or an Ocean. It felt overwhelming. How do you explain something so all encompassing?
But, there was one critical element that I missed and I’m hoping you don’t miss it too. I thought the magic of volunteer wonderfulness was obvious and that my job was to cattle prod others into acknowledging it. By prod I don’t mean physically shaking someone, although my fingers would twitch a lot when explaining for the tenth time that volunteers have lives outside our organization.
Here’s the thing I’ve learned. People don’t like being harped at (shocking, I know). They don’t like being hounded about their shortcomings. Non-profit people are overworked and incredibly busy. Being reminded that you “don’t get it” is an additional wearisome burden. And who responds well to an additional burden? ….(ok, I KNEW you were going to say “we always do!“)
What could I have done differently ? So much. That’s why I’ve spent the past couple of years sorting it out. What I discovered is the basis for my book, “The Disruptive Volunteer Manager.” (I know, it’s a shameless promotion, I suppose).
Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in our emotions that we can’t see the logic. We, volunteer managers work in complex human emotions like Reese’s works in peanut butter, so it’s no surprise our own emotions are at a continual heightened state. It’s hard to be empathetic all day long and turn off all those emotions in order to look at things logically. But we have to. For our own sanity. For our ability to get things done. For the good of our programs.
I finally began to turn off my own personal emotions and deal with things in a constructive manner. I functioned so much more efficiently and felt so much clearer for it. It really wasn’t all about me and my tender feelings. It was about advancing the program by separating my feelings from the work.
We have to take the people skills we employ when engaging volunteers and use them to engage our organizations. We have to treat fellow staff in the same engaging manner we use to interact with volunteers. How? By asking the same type of questions we ask when working with volunteers:
What drives staff motivations? (and how can we use that to get our message across?)
How does staff and management best receive a message? (and how can we frame our messages in the way they will welcome them?)
How can we best show the benefits of volunteering? (and show how clients, staff and our organizations benefit from a strong volunteer presence.)
How can we eliminate the us vs. them mindset and forge an alliance? (and establish a workable partnership within our organizations?)
When we look at where our frustrations come from, we then see where we need to enact different approaches. What is your reaction to these challenges?
A volunteer showed up late for an assignment.
The head of fund-raising and events never mentioned the volunteers who worked at the gala, but praised everyone else.
A civic club is dragging their heels on a promise to volunteer.
A staff member suggests that “volunteers are not qualified to work with clients.”
You’ve arrived at a remote location to give a presentation to a large group of potential volunteers and find that the audio-visual equipment they provided does not work.
In a meeting, you present stats on volunteer involvement and the CEO cuts you off because the meeting is running too long.
Ok, for me, scenarios 1, 3, and 5 are annoying. I’d laugh about them later and move on. But 2, 4 and 6……frustrating to the point where I’d let it fester and build up. I’d sneak into the restroom, hunched over and muttering, then come out of the stall and snap, “what are you lookin at,” at the person who just walked in. Which of the above challenges do you think would fester with you and why?
What happens when we emotionally cling to the idea that we are misunderstood? We can suffer from a confirmation bias which means we look at everything for evidence that supports our theory. Any time someone doesn’t praise volunteers becomes an “aha, it’s true, they don’t get it” moment. And this can push us further into feeling underappreciated. Then, our goal morphs into “force them to understand,” versus “help them understand.”
Which of these two strategies would a LoVols (leader of volunteers) employ with a volunteer who was struggling to fit into the program?
Get frustrated and mad. Think about that volunteer at night right before going to sleep and wonder if that volunteer is purposefully trying to make life harder. Fantasize about leaving that volunteer to figure things out on their own while murmuring, “oh yeah, I tried to tell you that you only sign in for the hours you’re here, but noooooo, you don’t think I have anything worthwhile to say!”
Think about how to best reach the volunteer. Ask, what does this volunteer need from me to succeed? How can I best show this volunteer what they need to know so that they contribute meaningful work and reap personal benefits?
Well, if you chose the first one, I’m not sure you are in the right profession.
Leaders of volunteers are passionate people. We are passionate about volunteerism, the volunteers themselves, the possibilities for good to great work and the idea that we can and do make a difference. We want everyone to be passionate about volunteers.
Honestly, it’s head-throbbing trying to figure all this out, isn’t it? Why do we feel we are so misunderstood? Why does every volunteerism conference use a catchy title such as, “It’s Time for a Change” and then we lament that nothing ever changes?
I think we may very well suffer from our own form of the “tortured artist syndrome.” You know, like Vincent Van Gogh. Because I’m no clinician and have no business analyzing anybody, (I was once told by a friend’s therapist to stop practicing without a license, so yeah, I knowI have a problem) I’m going to call it, “the tortured volunteer manager syndrome.”
In actuality, we are artists. We paint in volunteerism. We write in helping others. We sculpt in engaging volunteers to find themselves. We strum the strings of magically pairing human beings to meaning. We design programs from human potential. We perform in possibilities. What we do is an art. It’s not coordination, it’s not traditional management and it’s not easily discernible or explained. It’s the art of volunteer engagement.
Next time: Must we cut off an ear and pump our fists at the sky?
A partnership is defined as: the state or condition of being a partner; participation; association; joint interest. (source: dictionary.com)
A recent article in The Republic points out that companies are beginning to understand employees want flexibility in their volunteering beyond the one-time corporate volunteering day. According to the article, Una Osili, associate dean for research at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy says, “I think for some nonprofits they can leverage those one-time moments to expose employees to long-term opportunities.” Osili further says the key for not-for-profits involved with those one-time volunteer days is to find a way to turn the experience into a long-term relationship with the not-for-profit and the company’s staff.
So, a company approaches you with a request to volunteer and your first thought is “Oh jeez, the amount of work is going to kill me.” Yeah, been there, a bunch of times. But it doesn’t have to be this way if you are prepared up front. Strategizing corporate volunteering begins with asking these two important questions: “Who” and “Why,” because establishing a relationship with a corporate partner hinges on the people who participate and the motivation to volunteer in the first place.
A recent letter writer to Alison Green’s popular “Ask a Manager” site complained that she felt forced to volunteer and her company’s volunteering campaign was mainly for PR. Alison Green answers: ” Some companies do have a strong culture around volunteering — which can sound sort of heart-warming from the outside, but in reality often means “we pressure our employees to work for free on causes that we choose, in order to build good PR for the company.” It’s crap.”
The comments from Ask a Manager readers are enlightening. Many abhor being coerced into volunteering. A few speak positively about their company’s policy that allows them to volunteer at the charity of their choice, no questions asked.
For us, it boils down to creating partnerships with companies in the same way we do with individual volunteers. We look for motivations and the opportunity to build a sustainable relationship. That’s a hugely different mindset than thinking, “just get me through this one day of group volunteering and I can get back to the real work.” Looking for an opportunity to partner changes the mindset. When a company approaches, have a list of questions ready to determine whether their participation will be a good fit. The questions we ask individual prospective volunteers can be modified for this purpose such as:
Why did you choose our organization?
Has anyone in your company benefited from our services?
What do you hope to accomplish here?
What volunteering have you done in the past? How was it received? What feedback did you get?
Is this mandatory or optional?
What benefits do you believe your employees will receive by volunteering with us?
This is not an inquisition, but rather an attempt to help a company determine whether a sustainable partnership is a good fit. But don’t stop there. Go beyond speaking to the group organizer. When employees show up to volunteer, approach them individually and ask what they think of the volunteer experience. Find out if they feel “voluntold” or if they are voluntarily participating. After all, our aim is to encourage the company to come back again, or donate, or advocate or encourage their employees to volunteer individually or help in other ways and if the employees who participate rate their experience poorly, then the chances are the partnership will fail.
Once you determine the company’s Who and Why, then offer the What, When and Where options that work for you. Don’t be afraid to control the corporate volunteering experience. Why? Well, let’s look at it this way. How does it look when a leader of volunteers (LoVols) runs around, hair on fire, trying to accommodate a group? Yeah, it looks like the LoVols is just a hamster on a wheel instead of a professional who is in charge of their program and is offering a great experience. It looks like he/she can’t wait for the day to end. Hmmm, that’s not exactly the start to a great partnership.
Now, how does it look when a LoVols welcomes a group with a choice of well thought out options? It instills confidence in that volunteer manager’s ability to provide a worthwhile experience versus a haphazard day. And that is where a strategic plan works.
Think about this. Let’s say you were planning your son’s birthday party. You call up your local skating rink and say, “um, yeah, my son’s birthday is this Saturday. I’m inviting 30 kids but don’t know how many will actually show. I must have the party from 2-4pm and need special music. Oh, and make sure there’s a clown with balloons.” You would never think to do that, so why do we think it’s ok for a group to call up a LoVols and request time, location, number of participants and activity? Without clear options, chaos ensues. And chaos does not encourage sustainability.
Why would we expect a corporate group to know what volunteering activity provides the most meaningful experience for not only their employees, but for our organizations? Corporate groups are looking to us to mold their day of volunteering into something worthwhile. It’s time we take that responsibility to heart and set the parameters that work for everyone.
If we, leaders of volunteers want to be treated as professionals, then we must stop thinking that running around letting circumstances control us is good management. Instead, we must establish a professionally structured program, one that offers the best experience for volunteers, makes a difference in our clients’ lives and supports our missions in measurable ways.
Formulate your corporate volunteering strategic plan on paper. Next time: What goes into a strategic plan?
I’ve always wanted to see a shareable pamphlet entitled “Volunteer Management, The Cliffs Notes.” It would list all the things we want organizations and senior management to know about volunteers and volunteer management. Here’s 10 of them:
10. Volunteers do not sit by their phones waiting for us to call. We don’t just “order up” when staff asks for eight volunteers who can work twelve-hour shifts, outside, tomorrow at 8 am. No one wishes it were that easy more than we, volunteer managers. Take volunteer Charles for example. Asking him to volunteer at the last minute when he has a job, other volunteering activities, managing his elderly mother’s affairs, and a family is unrealistic. He can’t drop everything to help us. It takes a wise volunteer manager to know how to sustain volunteers’ involvement so that volunteers are not overwhelmed and look forward to coming in to help.
9. Managing volunteers is not like managing staff. Volunteer managers engage two to ten times the number of paid staff. Instead of a paycheck to dangle, volunteer managers must inspire volunteers. Volunteers typically spend 4 hours a week volunteering while staff spends upwards of 40 or 50 hours a week working for the organization. That’s at least ten times the amount of “plugged in time” staff has over volunteers. Therefore, volunteer managers must be able to “plug-in” volunteers every time they arrive on scene, motivate them to keep that connection and keep them informed of changes and updates.
8. Volunteers are everyone’s responsibility. Staff doesn’t necessarily see working with volunteers as part of their jobs, but any staff can make or break a volunteer’s experience. Let’s make a comparison. What if the CEO cultivates a donor and then another staff member comes along and insults or ignores or abuses that donor? There would be heck to pay. We need our administrations to set the same tone for the treatment of volunteers.
7. Volunteer managers are real managers. No matter what titles are given, coordinators, specialists or team members, volunteer managers are as much a manager as anyone on staff. Volunteer engagement skills are a not a “jack of all trades, master of none” haphazard bunch of chaos skills, but rather a carefully constructed combination of the ability to inspire, listening with empathy, the ability to match talents with opportunities, and so much more.
6. Volunteers want meaningful work. But organizations often need meaningless stuff done. Who will do it? Volunteers do not want to only do things the staff doesn’t want to do, they want experiences that make a difference. And since we don’t pay them, we should consider meaningful work as pay. But, a great volunteer manager with awesome engagement skills can lead volunteers to occasionally do tedious work if tedious work isn’t all that is offered.
5. Volunteers want sincere appreciation from more than just the volunteer department. Volunteers see through the once a year speech at a luncheon that is just lip service. Volunteers want CEO’s and staff to acknowledge their contributions. They want to be included in reports, grant applications, websites, and media coverage as contributing members of the team.
4. Volunteers are not just elderly ladies drinking tea. Volunteers are diverse in every way, including age, background, culture and experience and it requires major skills to manage a group of diverse people. But even if some volunteers are older, they are former executives, professors, leadership experts and full of wisdom and great ideas. And they’re more than willing to share their wisdom for free.
3. Volunteer managers are not lap dogs. Are volunteer managers treated that way by staff? Is there an “order up” culture in which volunteer managers are expected to get volunteers without having any meaningful input into volunteer requests? Volunteer managers have their fingers on the pulse of the organization and are privy to every aspect of the mission via volunteer involvement. A volunteer manager has ideas and solutions that will move the organization forward.
2. Volunteers are aware and talk. When a volunteer hears negative speak from staff, or sees something less than perfect, they talk, to each other, to friends, relatives, and the cashier at the Quick-Mart. Volunteer managers keep volunteers motivated and inspired and mediate constantly to make sure the volunteer’s concerns are resolved and their experience is positive. In this world aching for transparency, volunteers are the town criers who can proclaim the worth of an organization or do damage to its reputation.
1. Volunteers don’t stay forever. No, they don’t. Does staff stay until they die? Neither do volunteers. We should recruit, train and cultivate our volunteers just as we do staff, but not expect them to continue until they’re carted off in an ambulance. And, just like staff, sometimes we don’t want volunteers to stay, so that’s why the volunteer manager’s professional skill-set is crucial. A volunteer manager’s professional resolution to a challenging situation is an organization’s best chance to avoid legal woes and negative publicity.
So, there you have it. Ten things organizations should know about volunteer management.
For years, volunteer departments have mainly operated in an old school linear manner. It reminds me of the first video games. If volunteer management were a video game, it would be the equivalent of a linear game like the original Super Mario Brothers or the game Pitfall. Move along a predetermined line (no allowance for straying off that line) to complete the course.
A linear volunteer department operates very much like a linear video game: Request for volunteers->recruit volunteers->fill tasks->complete assignment.
That linear model worked for volunteers in the past, but the modern volunteer wants to play a different type of game. The modern volunteer is not looking for a narrow experience along a predetermined route, but rather they have more of a sandbox mindset in which their volunteering encompasses a much broader world of possibilities.
Modern volunteers find meaning in creativity and want the freedom to explore their skills and passions. They are looking at a bigger picture, and are interested in organizational transparency and their own secondary reasons to volunteer. It’s no longer considered ‘selfish’ to want more from their volunteering experience. Showing impact to both modern volunteers and to their organizations can no longer be determined by linear boxes checked such as time spent or dollars saved.
The challenge for leaders of volunteers is in making a sandbox mode work for us. It has to work from both the volunteer perspective and from the organizational perspective. Changing from a linear model and setting a new normal takes courage, conviction and the will to succeed.
Let’s first look at a sandbox from the volunteer perspective. How is this different from the old linear model?
Volunteers are looking to utilize their skills and passions versus fitting a predetermined role.
Volunteers are more interested in how organizations are perceived, how they behave and how they utilize resources versus assuming that the organization does good work just simply by existing.
Volunteers rely on social media for information, appreciation, instruction and ease in finding a fit versus a more lengthy and time-consuming process.
Volunteers expect organizations to earn their loyalty versus signing on for the long haul.
Volunteers crave flexibility and shorter assignments versus commitments.
Volunteers want fulfillment from learning new skills to exploring job opportunities versus just filling a task.
Volunteers want meaningful recognition, an accounting of their contributions and input into organizational direction versus symbolic appreciation.
This doesn’t mean that we have to discard every volunteer role and start anew. It means we must be aware of how modern volunteers view volunteering and prepare to integrate them into our programs. And here’s where a sandbox mode fits beautifully within a volunteer initiative: The testing ground.
Does your organization struggle with a challenge? A volunteer pilot program can work on the challenge without hiring extra staff or overloading existing staff with new duties.
Do you have volunteers with a particular skill or talent or interest? A volunteer pilot program can introduce new ways to engage volunteers and at the same time create new avenues to help clients and the organization.
Does your organization strive to increase awareness? Engaging corporate groups, or students or episodic volunteers can expand the scope of community awareness and increase donations.
Does your organization struggle to find funds for expert training and consultation services? Engaging skilled volunteers to teach corporate leadership, productivity, wellness and other subjects is a win-win for willing volunteers and the organization.
We, volunteer managers can start small and introduce the sandbox one step at a time. Then, with each positive gain, we can introduce another pilot program or innovative solution and lay the foundation to create a new normal, one in which volunteers are viewed as more than a linear character on a straight line.
The key is to show the impact of each new pilot program or innovative solution. It’s akin to earning coins, or tokens or points in a video game and these “volunteer initiative tokens” can be spent on opening up an organizations’ perception of volunteers and volunteer programs.
Next time: Sandboxes are not infinite and not open world. How to balance the other side of the concept so it works for us.
You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along’ …Eleanor Roosevelt
Ok, maybe we, volunteer managers don’t live through horror. (unless you consider that time when that group who asked for volunteer orientation had no AV equipment except an ancient TV so there was no way to show the super duper PowerPoint and then for four grueling hours you had to wing it…) But seriously, do you ever want to go back in time? Are there things you wish you had done differently? Me too.
If I could turn back the volunteer manager clock I would:
Call that volunteer who had to quit because she got sick instead of telling myself that I would get around to calling her.
Be more patient with that volunteer who had so many questions and even burst in on my annual job review.
Not drive that volunteer home that one night. (cause it got real creepy……….. real fast).
Stop that volunteer from talking to the press at that event (or at least tell the reporter our organization had no official position on the mayor’s race)
Not tell that story in front of the CEO about running over a donor’s mailbox when I picked up a donation. (I ran it over with a truck-but I did pick up the letters from the street)
Not get so frustrated with staff who were also overworked.
Keep that volunteer from bringing in their special yummy, homemade tuna casserole, the one that made everyone sick. (I think it was tuna, but then again, it kinda had this weird smell)
Explain volunteer management in better, more impactful ways.
Listen to my inner voice and not let that teen volunteer bring her boyfriend in with her because….(well, I just turned my back for a minute, I swear!)
Carve out more time for me to prioritize and progress.
Not tell everyone in a meeting that I was going back to my home planet. (You had to be there and frankly, any planet except this one seemed better at the time)
Not take a new volunteer to that house where they were engaging in a side business (hey, who knew?)
Not accept that mysterious heavily taped up box at the thrift store…. (I don’t think the stains ever really came out of the carpet)
Sure, we’d all love to go back and make everything perfect, because I believe that we, volunteer managers tend to be perfectionists. (gasp, no, ya think?) We inwardly seek to create:
the perfect volunteer experience for every volunteer.
the perfect client experience so every client is satisfied.
the perfect appreciation so every volunteer feels engaged.
the perfect understanding so our work is valued.
and for the above to be perfect, then we have to be perfect.
But if we were perfect, we wouldn’t learn, or grow or move forward. A cherished friend (yep, one of the volunteers-yeah, yeah, my perfect boundaries are not so perfect) told me that I should be thankful for the experiences that taught me something instead of bemoaning them. How else would I get better?
Volunteer management means every day, we have millions (ok, maybe hundreds) of interactions and experiences. Each and every one teaches us something we can use for the next. That is why our “jobs” are in reality, a continuous journey.
We all wish we could change some things, from having more patience with volunteers to standing up for ourselves in meetings. Past experiences can haunt us. Dwelling on them can prevent us from moving forward. There’s no shame in admitting, “hey, what I did there was far from perfect, but you know what? I’m learning and dang it, I’m getting better.”
Courageous leaders are not perfect. We’re not perfect. I think Mrs. Roosevelt nailed it all those years ago:
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts…Eleanor Roosevelt
Anyone in volunteer management will tell you: I’m not the same person I was a year ago. No, I’m better. I’m smarter and stronger. And with each passing day full of experiences, I’m learning.”
So, when you wish you could go back and “fix” things, do this instead. Say to your past self, “thanks for teaching me. I’m a better volunteer manager today because of you.”
Words are pictures formed in the mind. The art of communication is drawing those word pictures so the other person sees things our way.
If we, volunteer managers want to change the perceptions of us, our work and our volunteers, we need to eliminate words and phrases that negatively picture us. We need to adopt communication that rewires the way people perceive us and our work.
Consider this conversation:
Senior manager: “Where are you on getting those volunteers for tomorrow’s event?”
Volunteer manager: “Well, I couldn’t get all five volunteers, but I did manage to get three.”
or this conversation:
Staff member: “Were you able to place a volunteer with our client?”
Volunteer manager: “I tried everyone but right now, no one is available. I’ll try again next week.”
or this one:
Volunteer: “Were you able to get the answers to my questions?”
Volunteer manager: “There’s a couple of people I still have to talk to and they are hard to pin down. I’m doing the best I can.”
I used these phrases all the time. They just naturally came out. So, what’s wrong with them?
Phrases like I can’t,I tried, and I’m doing the best I can, are apologies.
What are the natural reactions to these apologies?
I can’t or couldn’t: “You let us down.”
I tried: “You should have tried harder.”
I’m doing the best I can: “You should do better.”
How many times have staff said things like, “Why don’t you just go down to the senior center and recruit those people?” Or “well, if you just put an ad in the paper, I’m sure folks would come.” Each time we say, “I couldn’t” or “I tried but,” we draw a picture that says: “I’m sorry, I failed.”
This does not mean shifting blame to anyone else, especially volunteers. It means don’t apologize, but rather answer in a positive and explanatory way. Let’s look at the first conversation again.
Senior manager: “Where are you on getting those volunteers for tomorrow’s event?”
Volunteer manager: “I have three of our best event volunteers lined up and ready to go. Two of them rearranged their schedules after I made clear the importance of the event. All other qualified volunteers explained they have prior commitments they cannot break. I have new orientation this month and we will have even more volunteers for future events.
A bit wordy? Yes, I’ll give you that. But communicating with non-apologetic positive explanations eliminates the notion that the volunteer manager can’t get the job done.
Structure your non-apologetic communication to include three things:
Always use “I” with the positives:
“I have three of our best event volunteers lined up.”
“…after I made clear the importance of the event.”
“I have new orientation this month.”
Explain the work being done:
“All other qualified volunteers explained they have prior commitments.” (It’s obvious you contacted all the volunteers)
“…after I made clear the importance of the event” (shows the amount of work you did with each volunteer)
Reasons:
“All other qualified volunteers explained they have prior commitments they cannot break.”
“…we will have even more volunteers for future events.” (not enough volunteers to choose from at this point in time)
Rewiring people’s perceptions of us and our work is never easy, but with a shift away from apologetic responses (emphasis on the personal) to professional communication (emphasis on the work–positives, explanations, reasons) we can uplift ourselves and therefore, our programs.
So, rethink the ways you communicate information and save your apologies for the times you actually do something wrong.
volunteerplaintalk 