Hot Topics

Responses to:
“I Don’t Have Time”

Submitted on 25 September 2006 by Rafael Valenzuela, Catholic University College, Volunteer Program Manager, Lima  Perú
As a Social Psychologist, and Volunteer Manager (with my technical skills involved -yet underpaid) I would like to point out a classic experiment (Deci & Ryan) that showed how extrinsic motivators (e.g., money) can decrease intrinsic motivation (that is essential to volunteering). Volunteers should be "recognized" for being the way they are and for wanting to help (intrinsic), not "rewarded" (extrinsic) for completing a task, nor paid. Every volunteer group has its particular form, depending on culture and history in its background. In this sense, student-volunteers want to "learn and gain experience" and to "do something different and interesting", having the possibility to participate in creating the activities they perform.

Percieved Autonomy Support fosters their pro-social behavior and
compromise (Gagné). Volunteers should be encouraged to be creative and proactive. For volunteering, the concepts of "self" and "identity" are very relevant, because the intrinsic motivation is closely related to the perception "I have of myself". One should explore the subjective triggers of specific volunteer groups´ motivations one wants to foster. Also the concept of Values (Schwartz) showed significant correlations with volunteering here in the Catholic University in Lima, so we used it to develop messages "in line" with the associated motivations to get improved recruitment. Very happy to have found this page and posted to share.

Submitted on 24 July 2006 by Carl Bromley,
Local4All.com and multiple nonprofit organizations, Kittanning, PA USA
Kudos to those of you who use volunteers as recruiters. As a volunteer for our local Blood Services Committee for the American Red Cross, my first few calls for a new blood drive are aimed at finding someone to call their friends, family, and neighbors to fill all the volunteer positions.

Success? Imagine making one ten-minute phone call that scheduled four walkers for an upcoming community blood drive... That's right, I recruited one recruiter! Within two hours I had a return phone call with the names and phone numbers of my four volunteer walkers.

Did I need to call them? Only to say "Thank you"... my recruiter took care of all their questions for me! Her training was part of the first ten-minute call.

Submitted on 24 July 2006 by Kathleen Richardson, Southeast Steuben County Library, Volunteer Coordinator, Corning NY
Our board has been receptive to the ups and downs of time needed to establish and fine-tune our volunteer program. What started in 2001 as a 20-hour position quickly increased to 25, then reverted to 20 last year. This year I realized sixteen hours would work with our 100+ volunteers per year (65 average per month). We're open fifty-five hours weekly and it's important to make personal contact with every volunteer as often as possible, so my schedule varies day to day, week to week.

My job description states that I maintain a volunteer program through recruitment, training, and recognition of volunteers. When I started the job, I thought it meant I was to do all recruitment, training, and recognition. I quickly revised my thinking and came to see it as my job to arrange for recruitment, training, and recognition…meaning find others to do a lot of the detail work. This is a big time saver. I used to do trainings. Now staff members train volunteers assigned to them. Several volunteers pitch in and help with my work. In the beginning, an IT manager worked at home to set up a volunteer data base. Volunteer assistants help me with time records, program scrapbooks, and volunteer recognition of all kinds, including the annual event.

Because I see the volunteers themselves as the greatest recruiters, I focus a large part of my time in contact with them. This library serves seven communities, and recruitment campaigns are not necessary. There’s always someone who wants to help out. This gives me time to address local service groups, work with schools that approach us about group volunteering opportunities, and develop materials for our on-site volunteer display board.

Submitted on 7 July 2006 by H. Roberts, PLNJ, Inc., President
Keyport/NJ USA
At PLNJ, we've begun using job shadowing as a new recruitment tool/time management tool. Typically a veteran volunteer, handling a specific program area, recruits three new volunteers to "shadow" their day to day duties. In so doing, new volunteers are closely trained, delegation takes on a team-minded energy and everyone's time is more easily respected and accommodated.

What I've learned from job shadowing is that we can never place enough importance on the value of time spent learning a key role at an agency. Respecting that we all value time invested in mission, professional growth and client services makes for a stronger, smarter organization. I've enjoyed reading the posts this hot topic has inspired so far. I'd love to hear how fellow VM's evaluate and/or measure the amount of time needed to perform various volunteer tasks given the recruitment challenges and benefits corporate volunteer partnerships require.

Submitted on 5 July 2006 by DJ Cronin, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Manager Volunteer Services, Brisbane Australia
I feel that taking time out for oneself is also very important. A few years ago, I found myself getting stressed with the amount I was supposed to do on a daily basis. I was running around the place like a headless chicken. Thus I was not enjoying my role and see now that my time management skills back then were poor and that I simply worried too much about pleasing everyone at the same time.

Did the volunteers notice? – you bet they did. One day on the verge of quitting altogether, I observed a colleague who worked with me. She always seemed calm as a breeze and seemed to carry with her a genuine peace which I was envious about. I dared to ask her what her secret was. “Why worry so much?” was her answer. Her view was that worry was an unnecessary condition. “Does worry change your current situation and if not, then why worry at all? What will be, will be”.

From then on I slowed down – not on the work front – but slowed down the incessant rapid thinking that went with it. I began to take more time out for myself on a daily basis. At lunchtime, instead of scoffing down a sandwich at my desk, I took a walk and sat on a park bench for half an hour. I read Eckhart Tolles’ slant on being in “the Here and Now”, I observed people pass by; I looked at the trees and noticed the clouds in the sky. I breathed! I stopped taking work home with me. When my day was over, it was over. No longer would I allow my mind to wander to work matters when I sat down to eat with my family. I stopped racing around at work and sat and spent time listening more to volunteers and their stories. I began finding out a little more about their lives. For sure, I would always spend some time with volunteers but I wasn’t really present. You can sit and listen to a person all day but not hear what they are saying if your mind is busy! I had volunteers come into my office and say to me that it was wonderful to see me more relaxed and happy. I never realized how stressed I might have seemed but I believe we seldom do when we are lost “in it”.

Was it an overnight transformation? – certainly not. Do I still let my mind get too busy and worried? Of course, on occasion. But now I have an insightful book on hand to browse through, or a park bench somewhere to visit. I can if I choose, surrender myself to stillness. You know the worn out cliché that says “stop and smell the roses”. I’ve tried that, and they smell good!

Submitted on 3 July 2006 by Kate Power, Greenpeace International, International Volunteer Coordinator, Amsterdam The Netherlands
I think the Media Volunteer Centre is a great example of a project built around very quick (15 minutes and less) and very easy volunteering tasks. http://www.webdesignfromscratch.com/mediavolunteer/

Volunteers take a couple of minutes to update the database of environmental media contacts, which saves each environmental group from having to replicate the work.

So it means more efficient use of staff and volunteer time, more cooperation across the sector, and it keeps the cost of the database low. cool!

Submitted on 3 July 2006 by Don Rhodes, Don Rhodes & Associates Limited, Advocate, Omakau. Central Otago. New Zealand
Great Hot Topic..........because it is an issue for every organisation around. I am a business consultant and constantly find managers in particular , lamenting the shortening of our days. Everything you have included in this article is very good, and can I add just one small additional comment.......

Focus on doing the job rather than the time at the job. In other words, many companies now find that if they give people a task and with that a timeframe in which to complete the task, we tend to manage a little better. Not always possible I freely acknowledge, but amazing how we still hang on to the perception things must be done between 9 and 5 or whatever. Keep up your excellent work. Cheers.

Submitted on 3 July 2006 by Debbie Anderson, Niagara Health System, Coordinator, Volunteer Resources, Niagara Region, Ontario Canada
I declare that I am not a master of time in anyway! What I have learned though is that it is essential to share the tasks of managing our hospitals volunteers. Any department that requests a new volunteer/position understands and receives training about managing their own volunteers. If they don't commit staff time to this function, I don't place volunteers there.

The other is having a dedicated team of skilled volunteers in my office. One manages the database, one checks references, a few photocopy and package mailouts. They all answer the phones and voicemail, send out requested applications, confirm hours of service and help with the necessary daily tasks. I couldn't do my job without them. Doing more and more with less and less resources, including time, means that we often have either too many volunteers reporting to us or we have to many job responsibilities outside of volunteer management. We have to adapt new ways and let go of some of the responsibility to others to keep sane and create the philosophy that volunteerism is part of the organization, not just part of the Volunteer Resources office.

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