Volunteering undervalued?

Recently I’ve been thinking about how I describe the Volunteer work I do to others. I mainly use the word ‘unpaid’ instead of the word ‘volunteer’. My reasoning is that the minute I describe the work I do as Voluntary people seem to view it less favourably than my paid work.

I would be interested to know your thoughts on the following:

• I s Volunteering undervalued?
• If the Voluntary sector put greater emphasis on the more skilled work their Volunteers did would this help?
• Do we need to make the image of Volunteer work more professional? What would this mean? Pros and Cons? Would this increase the value society places on Voluntary work?
• Do we need to view and hear more stories about the work Volunteers do e.g. in newspapers, on the web, in magazines? Would this change perceptions of ideas about what Volunteers do and how the Volunteers themselves perceive their work? 
• If Voluntary work was held in higher esteem by society what would this mean for the sector? Would Volunteers be easier to attract?
• Is there a particular stigma or perception about board/committee work? Is this partly why these positions are difficult to fill?

I look forward to some great discussion on this topic.

Cindy

Benefits of Volunteers working at multiple agencies

Like many Volunteers I work for more than 1 agency. One of the exciting things about this is the cross pollination of ideas that occurs. Networks, training and ideas gathered in 1 area support the work done in others.

Soon I will be attending a work shop on event planning (as part of my Volunteer work at Volunteering Canterbury). The skills learnt in this workshop will be very useful for my other work at Living Streets (they help organise an annual walk to work event).

• How many Volunteers at your agency work in another?
• What do you know about the work they do in these other agencies?
• How might the experience they gather be shared better than it is now?
• What are the boundaries of what is appropriate for a Volunteer to share between agencies?  

 I would love to hear your thoughts.

Cindy Carmichael (Volunteer IT Angel at Volunteering Canterbury)

Are Volunteers being used?

We were disappointed to note that a recent Government Report on Support for Volunteering referred to ‘organisations that use volunteers.’  Nobody likes to feel ‘used’ and we encourage all our readers to carefully consider how the words we use can affect perceptions.  ‘Involve’ or ‘engage’ much more accurately describe the contributions volunteers make.      Ruth G.

“Just a Housewife”

This is the name of a short story in a book by Tessa Duder, titled “Is she still alive?”.  Fictional, it give a great account of how much one New Zealand volunteer can do, and what the rewards might be.  Recommended reading for anyone involved in supporting volunteers.       RuthG

21st Century Volunteering – Beyond the Stereotypes

At this workshop led by Martin J Cowling, we considered the different generations of volunteers, how they are represented within our organisations, and how best to recruit, manage, and reward each generation.  While the descriptions below are generalizations, workshop participants of all generations agreed that they were accurate.

Silent Generation  (aged 64+)

• started or expanded most of our voluntary organisations
• 60% of the volunteers in social services
• read newspapers and listen to the radio
• prefer systems with structure (e.g. accurate minute-taking)
• seek appreciation of their experience
• like consistency, courtesy, and respect
• will be loyal to an organisation

Saying ‘no’ to a Volunteer

One of the hardest things to say to a volunteer is “No, you can’t work for us.”  At the February 2008 meeting of the Volunteer Co-ordinators’ Network  in Christchurch Mary Woods facilitated a discussion on this subject.

There are three main occasions when we may need to say “no”.

*At selection time – provided we have good processes in place this will usually be the easiest occasion.
*When a volunteer has started behaving out of character due to illness or a life crisis, and where such behaviour is likely to be temporary.
*Where a volunteer is losing some of their ability and there is reason to believe this is not reversible.

Before we say “no” we need to be very clear about the reasons and these must be specific and valid.  Fundamentally the reason for saying “no” is because the volunteer can no longer fulfill their role adequately. This becomes obvious when the volunteer:
 Makes mistakes (perhaps for physical, medical, or emotional reasons)
 Is unreliable – doesn’t turn up at the agreed time
 Risks the safety of clients or self (perhaps because they forget)
 Presents badly, causing a negative experience for public or clients
 Acts outside guidelines/their authority
 Is rigidly resistant to change
 Has a different personal agenda to that of the organisation

Supporting a Volunteer Driving Network

This topic was discussed at a meeting of the Volunteer Co-ordinators’ Network led by Dianne Boyce, Volunteer Co-ordinator at the Cancer Society of N.Z. Canterbury/West Coast Division.

Each area of the Cancer Society has a person responsible for co-ordinating drivers.  In Christchurch there are 155 drivers all of whom undergo regular (five-yearly) AA driving assessments, and have a formal role description.  Ideally rosters are set a week in advance, but circumstances can often change at the last minute, and the Society plans to increase use of cellphones and texting to allow for this.  Volunteers use their own cars.  Driving patients’ cars is not allowed, even though patients sometimes request this.  There is a formal policy relating to volunteer drivers, mileage is reimbursed by the Society, and drivers may not accept any gift directly from the patients.  Since taking on her role Dianne has held a brainstorming meeting of volunteers, and plans to survey drivers and initiate focus groups to review the service.

If you are responsible for supporting volunteer drivers and would like to discuss any issues, Dianne is happy for you to contact her.

The Co-ordinators’ group discussed reimbursement of mileage, with rates currently paid ranging from 35 cents to 59 cents per kilometre.  Some new sources of volunteers are young people returning from overseas and people retiring early to outlying lifestyle blocks.  Co-ordinators are finding it easier to do referee checks by e-mail than by telephone, and it was noted that results from these come much more quickly than Criminal Records obtained from the Ministry of Justice.

Don’t forget there’s a section on “Volunteers Transporting Passengers” on the Resources page of the Volunteering Canterbury website.  Ruth G

Voluntary Sector Report

Statistics New Zealand have released a report showing that the effort donated to non-for-profit institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand by more than one million volunteers can be equated to 2.3% of GDP.   These volunteers work an average of 5.1 hours per week, considerably more than in Australia or Canada.  31% of the population aged over 12 years is volunteering within one of our 97,000 not-for-profit institutions, while countless others volunteer in less formal ways.  The full Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account 2004 report can be found on the Statistics Department website.  Ruth G.

The Context of Volunteering

Volunteering happens in many contexts.  In July Mary Woods facilitated a workshop designed to explore the challenges and the possibilities that arise from these contexts.

Tensions and challenges were attributed to both internal and external factors. The internal issues can be summarised as:
• confusion arising from lack of clear and up to date role descriptions
• time management pressures dealing with needs of clients and volunteers
• resistance to change
• inappropriate or lack of communication
• people in the same role – one paid / one volunteer
• lack of recognition for the role of volunteer
• dealing with volunteers who are experiencing life changes

External pressures came from:
• legislation and compliance issues e.g. Police checks, Health and Safety Issues, and the paperwork needed for volunteers
• increasing technology
• charity model vs community development
• unrealistic community expectation
• resistance to ethnic growth / change
• loss of identity / identity threatened
• seismic shifts with changes of personnel
• shorter term projects wanted which leads to higher turnover 

 Possibilities arising from changes in our times:
• ageing population is the Third Age – these people are a great resource because of their life experience. Better health going into older age means more lifestyle choices
• social conscience
• bigger pool of volunteers
• more money but bigger commitments outside of volunteering
• more informal volunteering – grandparents as parents
• technology leads to potentially wider availability.
• greater ethnic diversity producing a multi cultural society which will encourage connectivity and social cohesion.

Why Volunteers?
All agreed on importance of having volunteers in their organisations. “They bring mana to the organization and grace of relationships between volunteer and client“ was one response. 

3. Strategies

The strategies produced to get the best possibilities out of internal situations started with including volunteering in strategic and operational plans. Practical steps that flowed from this were: 
• Work to common goal by decoding what that is and working backwards to what needs to be changed. This leads to acceptance as to why change is required.
• Start from scratch – what works? what doesn’t?
• Do an audit of volunteer roles by listing tasks for roles and assessing skills required for them.
•  Update or create new role descriptions with boundaries and guidelines outlined to be signed by both parties.
• Include formal appraisals

Other actions suggested were:
• Appoint volunteer coordinator or identify a person who will be responsible for volunteers.
• Recruit.
• Retain – ensure training, orientation and supervision of volunteers and professional supervision of co-ordinator. 
• Learn people’s motivation and ensure that it can be utilized.
• Reward – intrinsic and extrinsic

Strategies to deal with external issues were:
• Be aware that commitment must be a two way thing. Groups involving volunteers need to keep an open door policy and promote themselves accordingly.
• Recognise, accept, value and celebrate diversity. Ways of doing this are by seeking volunteers from other ethnic groups to support clients, providing services and resources that they need; publishing newsletters in more than one language; targeting different age groups e.g. schools, universities, libraries etc.
• Provide ‘user friendly’ technology training frequently for volunteers to keep up with this rapidly developing reality.
• Educate the community on value of volunteering

In summary:
Listen to the history of your group
Enable others to hear and understand by including them in your planning
Communicate in a variety of ways
Keep reviewing on a regular basis

Meeting social needs while getting the task done

Volunteer Co-ordinators met in Christchurch in March to consider this topic and came up with the following suggestions:

It’s important to provide opportunities for volunteers to interact socially
Some ways of doing this are:
• Volunteers might work together in pairs or a group
• Ensure volunteers feel that they are part of the team
• Have regular tea breaks (with the paid staff)
• Plan a social half hour before each training session
• Ensure volunteers are invited to all the organisation’s social functions
• Make time for informal communication
• All staff (volunteer and paid) go out together, e.g. movies
• Host a BBQ or pot luck meal at your own home
• Allow time for a brief catch up at the beginning of the work shift (or at tea time)
• Ensure the team is large enough to cover for time that may be spent socializing.

Other comments were:
• Clear role descriptions and orientation will help to minimise interruptions to the work.
• It’s important to keep a balance between the organisation’s needs and the workers’ needs for social contact.
• When recruiting a volunteer check what their social needs are likely to be and organise accordingly.  Regularly review whether their needs are being met.
• Volunteers need to be involved in setting the boundaries.
• There can be conflict when the organisation’s mission is to care for people and/or meet social needs
• In some cases, e.g. at Drop In centres, client/volunteer boundaries may be blurred. 
• Sometimes you may need to refer the volunteer elsewhere for them to get their needs met.
• Group maintenance needs are different from crisis response.
• The attitude of/role modeling by co-ordinators is crucial           Ruth G