Creating and Maintaining a Successful Volunteer Force

2013 Creating and Maintaining a Successful Volunteer Force

By Martha Wiley, with statistics compiled by Jody Allen; edited by Heather Widener Virginia Association of Museums 01/22/2013

Creating and Maintaining a Successful Volunteer Force

By Martha Wiley, Student, VAM Certificate in Museum Management Program All museums rely on volunteers in some capacity. At times, volunteer management presents some unique challenges. It can be relatively easy to recruit a volunteer, but what to do with that volunteer once you have them? As a frequent volunteer myself, I know first-hand the frustration when you show up to work and then stand around while the supervisor scrambles to find you something to do – the one thing a volunteer wants is to feel useful and sometimes museum staff can end up making volunteers feel like they are causing more work rather than offering help. With effective volunteer management, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Armed with questions derived from two AASLH webinars1, I interviewed two effective volunteer managers. First up was Scott Teodorski, a naturalist park ranger at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, where I work. Scott has been with the National Park Service for decades and has spent his whole career working with volunteers in various capacities, from using them in interpretive programming to directing them on

A long-time park volunteer, Andy helps with

clean-up day. Being a regular has its perks, like the uniform shirt and hat Andy is wearing.

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specialized resource management projects. Currently he is THE volunteer manager at the park and in 2011 he had nearly 300 volunteers signed up and working; he feels that working with volunteers is “one of the more rewarding things” in his life. Seventy percent of his volunteers are return volunteers, living within one day’s drive of the park.

Next up was Michelle Ganz, librarian and archivist at Lincoln Memorial University and the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum on the campus. She’s been in that position for about five years and, working within an academic setting, had different experiences than Scott. Unlike Scott, Michelle generally has her volunteers, students especially, for just one year and so doesn’t always have the time to observe and develop their interests as Scott does.

First of all, it helps if the volunteer manager has worked as a volunteer themselves. Both Scott and Michelle have worked as volunteers. Michelle began helping at her local museum when she was 10 years old, knowing from a young age that her passion lay in museums and libraries.

Scott has volunteered in various community groups over his life and enjoys the feeling of being part of a team and giving back to the community. For Michelle, she found that being given a rigid set of instructions was too restricting. Both agreed that volunteering gave them an idea of what works and what doesn’t work with volunteers.

The AASLH webinars stressed the importance of having a good volunteer recruitment plan in place. For Michelle, this isn’t necessary – working at a university assures her a steady stream of volunteer labor, and LMU requires every student needing financial assistance to complete ten hours of volunteering per semester. Scott is somewhat limited by working for a federal agency – he can’t pay for advertising, so it’s been mainly word-ofmouth and people who approach the park looking to help. He is planning to start targeting specific groups, such as A park volunteer leads a tour in period clothing.

Friends organizations and corporate partnerships.

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Although she doesn’t need to recruit, Michelle does promote volunteering opportunities at the museum. She’ll talk with student groups, inform them of ways to help the museum, and when someone expresses interest, she sets up an interview to determine a good match for their interests and the museum’s needs. Generally she will assign student volunteers the more routine jobs, like processing collections, which then frees her up to work on more complicated jobs, like answering reference questions. She feels volunteers need to prove themselves before being entrusted with more complicated or sensitive tasks. When a volunteer has established credentials and shown commitment (some students show up once and then never come back), she’ll entrust them with a more sensitive task; she currently has one Museum Studies student working on a cataloging project in the vault.

Scott sees himself as a sort of “matchmaker,” and after an initial meeting with a potential volunteer, will work closely with park division chiefs in order to fit the volunteer’s interests with jobs needing to be done. He is working to develop Position Descriptions; for example, helping process archives for the cultural resource division, or clearing trails for the Facility Management division. In this way, he sees himself as a facilitator rather than a supervisor.

A museum volunteer cleans a case front.

Demographics of volunteers for the two institutions differed. For Michelle, most volunteers are college students, and a few retired adults. On the rare occasion when she does have an interested youth, she admits it can be a challenge finding them something to do. Scott, on the other hand, has volunteers of all ages, although he is trying to specifically attract tech-savvy 3

high school and college students as using social media becomes an integral part of promoting the park and its programs.

Michelle doesn’t have a formal evaluation or recognition process in place for her helpers.

The museum does give a couple of parties per year for their student volunteers, and she might take an adult volunteer out for lunch to show appreciation. In the national park, however, hours are tracked and feedback sought from whatever staff member is working with the volunteers. Scott holds biannual volunteer picnics, and does attempt to sit down with regular volunteers as much to get their input as to give his. He feels that the recognition and rewards are very important, part of his stressing that volunteers not be taken for granted.

Another point brought up in the webinar was calculating how much time and money is spent by staff on a volunteer program. Michelle feels that she spends less than ten percent of her time working with the volunteer program, but with Scott, that number can take up as much as one third of his time, and at times, he wishes he could spend more time with them.

Challenges faced by the two also differ. Whereas Michelle doesn’t have a problem with difficult volunteers, Scott has had to both turn down potential volunteers and terminate active ones for transgressions or problems. Michelle would like to see her building become more handicapped-friendly so she can better accommodate those volunteers who are mobilityimpaired.

When asked what lessons they had learned, Scott didn’t hesitate. “Don’t take volunteers for granted! We make a big mistake in not learning from our volunteers. We need to recognize their level of expertise and knowledge, and help them make the best use of their time.”

Michelle points out a few more takeaways:

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Spend some time volunteering yourself – reflect what you liked and didn’t like about the experience to help you shape your volunteers’ experience.

Develop detailed Position Descriptions – being able to choose and know what is expected of them will help your volunteers better meet your needs.

Have regular recognition “ceremonies” – even a box of doughnuts one morning to say “thank you” will help keep morale up

Volunteerism in Virginia Statistics 2  

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~1.7 million people volunteered in 2010.

While the majority of volunteerism in Virginia occurs with religious institutions, over one in four volunteers are working with an educational institution. The smallest slice of the pie is divided between “Sports / Arts” (the association of which makes little sense), and represents only a little over 3% Over 228 million total hours of service. $4.9 billion of service contributed Ranked 24th for volunteer rate in the nation In Virginia, more than 13,000 people participate in national service each year through 1,400 national service projects and programs. This year, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) will commit more than $13,700,000 to support the national service initiatives (Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and other programs) in Virginia.

What Encourages the Spirit of Volunteerism?

Trends in volunteerism nationwide indicate that volunteerism rises with education level obtained, and that volunteerism is higher in communities with a greater number of nonprofit organizations. It is also notable that volunteerism decreases when a community faces high foreclosure rates, and volunteerism declines when unemployment rises. Therefore, fluctuations in the economy and the overall financial health of the workforce has a direct effect on volunteerism. There are things you can do at your institution, however, that encourage volunteerism: 5

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Be welcoming. If you are seeking volunteers, try a non-threatening, informal information session for people who are considering volunteering.

Have a plan set – When people decide to volunteer, they’re ready to start helping immediately. By having tasks prepared beforehand, your volunteers will be able to get more done, and in return, will feel more accomplished.

Show your appreciation – Make your volunteers know you appreciate their help.

Empower your volunteers with words of encouragement.

Be flexible and patient. It might take a while to find the right volunteer. You may need to re-think schedules to accommodate a volunteer’s work or family obligations. Work with your staff and volunteers as a team to create a volunteer program that works for everyone.

Use technology – Social media is incredibly popular in today’s society, especially amongst youth. Take advantage of services like Facebook and Twitter by using them to recruit and help spread the word about your organization.

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“Are You Ready for Volunteers?,” March 28, 2012, and “Developing a Successful Volunteer Recruitment Program,” April 17, 2012.

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Virginia data from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Volunteering in America. Accessed on 11/28/12 at: http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/VA

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