Managing the Volunteer Process Originally Presented By Dr. Timothy F. Johnson, President Leadership 101, LLC Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Agenda Session One Session Two Identifying The Motivated Volunteer Motivating Your Volunteers for Service Preparing The Staff, Other Volunteers For New Volunteers Training Volunteers For Success Session Two Establishing Service Description Understanding The Episodic Volunteer Recognizing Your Volunteers Managing Risk Management Evaluating And Promoting Volunteers Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Recruitment or Retention What comes first? Recruitment or Retention Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Is Your Organization Ready? Agency Evaluation Community Assessment Agency Needs Assessment Establish Volunteer and Staff Relations Create a Service Description Aligning your agency needs with the skills of your potential volunteers Understanding and Supporting your volunteer Motivating and inspiring the volunteer Providing training and inclusion in Agency mission Limitation and Liabilities Insuring Agency and Volunteers are protected (i.e. insurance/safe environment) Knowing your volunteers limitations (i.e. background check/mental and physiological health) Evaluating your volunteer Promotion, Reassignment, or Dismissal

Organizational Readiness Self-Evaluation Sample

Agency Evaluation Recruitment Self-Evaluation Sample

Preparing the Staff and Other Volunteers for New Volunteers There needs to be an understanding that; Staff and volunteers who are asked to lead volunteers must clearly understand the organization’s expectation of them. People who are competent supervisors of salaried and non-salaried staff share key skills and characteristics. Although principles of leadership for volunteers and staff are very similar, there are some unique aspects of volunteer supervision. Depending on formality, size and style of the organization, type of service, etc., supervision systems and methods can be quite varied. Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Volunteer and Staff Relations Evaluation Sample

Major Challenge: Delegation Many difficulties in delegation arise from: Our attitudes toward releasing work It is important for the staff to understand and appreciate the potential benefits of delegation for them, the volunteer and the organization. Not understanding what delegation is By understanding and practicing the cardinal rules of effective delegation the chances of success are enhanced. Lack of organizational rewards for effective delegation The key to effective delegation often lies in deciding on the proper level of control to release when delegating a task to someone. Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Training Volunteers for Success Assess the work requirements and abilities of volunteers Orientation with staff, current volunteers (integrate) Communicate your expectations clearly Assess their understanding Build confidence and success Encourage decisions and suggestions Be reasonable and flexible Build Openness and accessibility Provide responsibility Monitor progress Expect improvement, not perfection Provide feedback and recognition • Assess the work requirements and abilities of volunteers. Do they have the skills to assume the new responsibility? If not, what must you do to train them? Do their skills provide the right “match” between the tasks required and their abilities to accomplish your demands? • Communicate your expectations clearly. Specifically state what it is you need accomplished. Is there a time requirement? Describe what it is you want done, by what time, and to what standards. This not only helps you achieve your goals but also provides the necessary guidelines for volunteers to be successful. Virginia Office of Volunteerism h toll-free: 866.239.4VOV h 804.692.1950 h email: vol2@dss.state.va.us web: www.dss.state.va.us/community/volunteer EFFECTIVE DELEGATION TECHNIQUES Virginia Office of Volunteerism h toll-free: 866.239.4VOV hin Richmond: 804.692.1950 h email: vol2@dss.state.va.us web: www.dss.state.va.us/community/volunteer • Assess their understanding. Ask volunteers to explain the assignments, as they understand them. What areas are still unclear? Have you accurately communicated the tasks to be accomplished? • Build confidence and success. This can easily be accomplished by providing challenging yet responsible, work-related projects. Help volunteers gain confidence by giving them tasks in which they can exercise their personal and professional judgment while enjoying the strong probability of meeting your demands. • Encourage decisions and suggestions. Volunteers will often avoid taking responsibilities because they are unsure of their skills. To counter this, elicit suggestions and reinforce the initiative they display in making decisions. Remember people support what they help develop. • Be reasonable and flexible. Effective volunteer leaders keep assignments within reasonable expectations of what can be accomplished, both in time and in quantity. Anticipate interruptions and obstacles and make adjustments where necessary. • Build Openness and accessibility. Recognize that volunteers may be reluctant to report unfinished projects or failures to you. Encourage them to bring problems to you early. • Provide responsibility. When you delegate a task, be sure you give the responsibility and authority that goes with it. . Without the proper resources and support, volunteers and the delegated projects are doomed to failure. When you provide opportunities for volunteers to contribute to projects, their confidence and enthusiasm for these projects increase. • Monitor progress. Check with volunteers on the progress of their assignments. Do not wait until the project due date to evaluate their success. Your interest in monitoring the progress of the assignments reflects your concern for their performance. Effective volunteer leaders know that they have to “inspect what they expect.” • Expect improvement, not perfection. If tasks or assignments can only be done one way and that way is your way, then you are much better off to do it yourself. Otherwise, you will continually set volunteers up for failure and stifle their willingness to risk displaying initiative. In addition, it should be remembered that “success is improvement, not perfection.” • Provide feedback and recognition. The most important motivation for people is feedback on their efforts. However, all too often, volunteer leaders forget to compliment their volunteers for specific task completion. Verbal compliments are effective and appreciated, but for some volunteers written messages count double. Remember that when you let those around you shine, you shine with them. Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Exercise Partner with someone and describe how your organization processes from potential volunteers to active and engaged volunteers? Each team will report out their process What works and why? What doesn’t work and why? What changes (if any) need to be made and why? Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Motivating Your Volunteers For Service Who is responsible for inspiring your volunteers? Scenario 1: If a volunteer has a high need for achievement and he sees little to accomplish or "win" in his service, he may choose to set up a win-lose situation with those in authority. i.e. A volunteer might go to the board of directors every time there is a disagreement, seeking to get the decision overturned. This so-called "unmotivated" behavior meets the volunteer’s need for achievement, providing a challenge, thereby creating an opportunity for the volunteer to win. Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

The Inspiring Environment Create a volunteer experience that allows individuals to meet their motivational needs in ways that are productive for the organization and satisfying for the individual. Remove barriers to success by designing satisfying work experiences and create systems that allow the volunteer to meet their needs. Make sure the volunteer receives their “paycheck” for the valuable contributions they make to the work of the organization. “This is the essence of volunteer retention” Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

What Motivates Your Volunteers? I know my volunteers are motivated…….? I ask open ended questions like……? Our agency works hard at……? I know I have a successful volunteer program….? Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Modern Motivational Concepts Understanding who volunteers and why. Identifying what motivates a volunteer can lead to effective job placement, supervision, and recognition. Simultaneously meeting the needs of the staff, organization, and volunteer. Retention of volunteers is enhanced by recognizing their changing motivational needs. Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Identifying The Motivated Volunteer People are motivated to volunteer by a variety of reasons. Many organizations never ask why a person is volunteering. What someone prefers not doing, is what someone else may love. If your motivational needs are taken care of, you will most likely continue to volunteer. Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

BREAK Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Recap From Session One Preparing The Staff, Other Volunteers for New Volunteers Inspiring Your Volunteers for Service Training Volunteers for Success Identifying The Motivated Volunteer Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

Screening Volunteers Evaluation Sample

Establish Service Description Good volunteer service design is pivotal to the ultimate success of a volunteer program Understanding trends in volunteering should impact the service design and re-design in your organization Expanding the ways volunteers are utilized within your organization will enable it to more effectively reach its mission Service descriptions should include all essential information Leadership101 University Professional Development Workshop Series

What should be included in a Service Description? Volunteer Title Duties/Responsibilities Expected Outcomes for Volunteers Qualifications Training Responsible to Time required Length of time commitment

Service Description Considerations Clear understanding of what is expected Marketing tool for recruitment Guide for screening Basis for supervision and evaluation Contract between volunteer and agency Volunteer services understood by co-workers

SAMPLE VOLUNTEER SERVICE DESCRIPTION Volunteer Service Title Contact Person Phone Email Position Responsibilities Skills Needed Training Required This position could be filled by a (check all that apply): Youth (min. age ) Senior citizen Non-English speaker Person at home Family unit Court referral Group of volunteers Person with a disability Time commitment expected: Short term Beginning Date Ending Date Ongoing Starting Days and hours needed: Mon. Wed. Fri. Sun. Tues. Thurs. Sat.

Understanding The Episodic Volunteer An Episodic Volunteer is defined as an individual who volunteers on a sporadic basis Provide assistance annually for an event Students seeking real-world experiences Professionals who provide one day of volunteer service to a special project Individual looking for something to do for a few hours

Key Influencers Episodic Volunteering influencers are; Increase in the number of women joining the labor force. People changing jobs quite rapidly. Employers relinquishing responsibility for their employees and their communities. Mass media and culture becoming international, and accessing information through the internet.

Recognizing Your Volunteers Recognition is an ongoing, integral part of the management process. Recognition can be formal or informal and can be given often. Recognition should be meaningful to the recipient. Recognition can be creative and fun to give and receive.

Exercise How does your organization recognize your volunteers? How often? What is done for Long Term Volunteers versus Episodic Volunteers? How involved is the staff when it comes to recognizing the volunteers they personally supervise?

Managing Risk Management Preventive risk management is essential for all organizations serving the community. All staff must be familiar with and follow agency policies and procedures for risk management. All staff must understand potential risks unique to their organizations and know preventive strategies in service design, screening, training and supervision to address and minimize these risks. Organizations need written/shared procedures regarding liability and emergency situations.

Risk Management Sample Survey

Liabilities To Volunteers Agency To the agency due to action by volunteers What’s at risk? People Property Income Goodwill

Liability Waiver Example

Evaluating and Promoting Volunteers Successful performance reviews provide for a periodic opportunity for communication between a person who assigns work and the person who performs it. There are numerous benefits to volunteers and organizations when volunteer performance reviews are incorporated into the volunteer management system. At the heart of a good volunteer performance review is a clear delineation of volunteer responsibilities/success indicators and a shared view of the outcomes and factors contributing to those outcomes. Outcomes from volunteer performance reviews can range from “applause” to dismissal - by the organization or volunteer.

Sample of Volunteer Evaluation

Summary Know Your Needs, Know Your Volunteers Keeping Them Happy, Keeps Them Engaged Your Staff and Seasoned Volunteers are Critical to Your Overall Volunteer Program Success Training Begins with the Posting of Service Opportunity In Order for Them to Get to Where They Are Going, They Need to Know Where They are Headed Episodic Volunteers are the Future Recognition Starts with the Application There are Risks Involved in Volunteering Evaluate Them. They Expect It and Need It

What Are Your Questions?