Module 5: Promoting Organizational Trust by Minimizing Risk

What?

Regardless of intent, the attitudes and behaviors of any member of an organization serve to advertise the mission and values of the organization as a whole.  Volunteers are no exception to these perceptions and should be made aware of the importance of their behavior in the promotion of public trust and confidence.  The internet and various other media outlets are playing an increasing role in trust and confidence levels and all organizations should include media inquires and personal social media accounts in their policies and procedures manuals or handbooks.

 

So What?

The behaviors of paid and non-paid staff are oftentimes the only source for which the public has to determine an organization’s level of trust.  A loss in trust can result in lack of consideration for grants or funding, inability to attract donors, inability to entice competent paid or non-paid staff, and the inability to develop interest in partnerships with other organizations.  Perceptions leading to a loss of trust include appearance of volunteers, improper screening and selection of volunteers, incompetent volunteers, and unruly volunteers (Tremper & Kostlin, 1993).  The Volunteer Management Handbook provides an extensive list of risk management tips which includes a situationally specific dress policy, recruiting and screening advice, training and evaluation procedures, and performance management suggestions (Connors, 2012).  Tremper and Kostlin continue with precautions regarding unsanctioned press contact.  The authors remind organizations that simply providing volunteers with the names of official spokespersons can minimize unintentional escalations of seemingly benign situations (1993).  Large organizations frequently employ many such officials and will provide lists of media contacts by department such as this one.  Tremper and Kostlin also suggest providing prepared statements should the media spokesman be unavailable; these statements can be posted in easily accessible communal areas or even laminated and carried around with volunteer identification for easy referral (1993).

 

Now What?

Any organization utilizing the services of volunteers will always be under their client’s and other members of the public’s watchful eye.  Zoological institutions are no different and are constantly revising procedures and policies to ensure honesty and transparency.  Every facility where I have worked has had a dress code for staff and volunteers alike.  This dress code not only delineates who is a member of the organization, but also serves to inform guests of who is authorized to enter restricted areas and to what level they may be interacting with the animals or guests.  Through proper recruiting, training, and review of feedback, we ensure a high caliber level of compassion for the animals in our care.  Demonstrating this compassion by following established policies and procedures to guests is thereby maintained without conscious decisions to do so.  Unfortunately, there are many individuals with preconceived notions of zoos and zookeepers that do not align with our goals.  Easy access to media outlets, especially through social media, facilitate the rapid dissemination of these ideas.  By following reminders of various best management practices of seemingly innocuous actions, including posting photos to personal or organizational media accounts, to both paid and non-paid staff alike, we can help to promote better understanding for everyone.  

 

References:

Tremper, C., & Kostlin, G. (1993). Public Relations Issues in Volunteer Programs. In No surprises: Controlling risks in volunteer programs (Ch 6). Nonprofit Risk Management Center. https://canvas.vt.edu/courses/131776/pages/assigned-readings-5?module_item_id=1393714

Connors, T. D. (Ed.). (2012). The volunteer management handbook: Leadership strategies for success (2nd ed). Wiley.

 

Module 4: Competent Volunteers

 

What?

Any institution utilizing volunteers is well aware of their vital roles.  The challenge comes when recruiting competent volunteers. Fortunately, there are now software or internet-based volunteer resources management systems available complete with competence validation.

 

So what?

The Volunteer Management Handbook (Connors, 2012) dedicates chapter 8 to tips and considerations for volunteer administrators when recruiting competent volunteers. Included is a list of challenges presented during the recruitment phase which is followed by recommended guidelines for deciding which volunteer resources management system (VRMS) would best help navigate these challenges.  Efficiently recruiting volunteers, volunteer development, and roles of volunteers are some of the challenges that can best be evaluated through competency-based evaluations.  The components for recruiting competent volunteers are screening, interviewing, and assigning, which aid the volunteer administrator in choosing which volunteers to add to the organization and where to include them.  When screening potential volunteers, the administrator should create a volunteer job description with clear objectives based on knowledge, skills, and attitudes.  Then, by providing volunteers access to the VRMS, they can preform a self-assessment of these objectives and indicate their level of confidence.  The results provide a volunteer administrator with feedback on how much training and support each potential volunteer would need and therefore allow them to decide if the organization is willing and able to provide that level of support.  At this point, the administrator can make selections for interviewing the volunteers.  The interviews allow the administrator to confirm each volunteer’s level of confidence in their self-assessed competencies.  Those volunteers not accepted into the organization should receive feedback regarding why they were not selected and steps they can take should they want to reapply in the future.  Volunteers who have been selected now must be assigned roles within the organization and provided any additional education necessary.  To best support the volunteers in their organization, administrators must provide on-going educational and development opportunities via meetings, workshops, or certifications (Culp III, 2012).  Budgetary constraints may be of concern for administrators, but there are many free online development opportunities including LinkedIn Learning and TED Talks. 

Now what?

Prior to reading about VRMS, I was not aware of any programs available to volunteer administrators.  However, I now realize that I was quite familiar with similar resource management systems intended for paid staff.  Based on the descriptions provided in The Volunteer Management Handbook (Connors, 2012), I understood that many of the public sector jobs I have had use these resource management systems to sift through the vast number of applications for each position.  I had also never considered the possibility of not accepting all volunteers who applied.  I was more of the mindset: the more, the better.  I now understand being selective in the recruitment of volunteers not only provides improved work function for the organization, but also provides an overall positive organizational culture.  I just learned that my current facility has recently acquired a VRMS and am looking forward to talking with the administrators more regarding its benefits.  I also agree that providing on-going training is essential to building the trust and support of the volunteers.  In the zookeeping field, we are always striving to improve our standards of care for the animals.  San Diego Zoo Global Academy provides many courses and certifications that I refer to frequently and now feel we should incorporate into our volunteer programming as well.

 

References:

 Connors, T. D. (Ed.). (2012). The volunteer management handbook: Leadership strategies for success (2nd ed). Wiley.

Culp III, K. (2012). Overview of the GEMS Model of Volunteer Administration (Generate, Educate, Mobilize and Sustain). Journal of Extension, 50(6).

Module 3: Volunteer Training

What?

              Any organization utilizing the service of volunteers must provide the volunteers with an orientation and on-going training to develop a positive organizational culture.  Providing training indicates an investment in volunteers which leads to more engagement and higher retention rates.

 

So What?

              Chapter 10 of The Volunteer Management Handbook is dedicated to training volunteers.  The author advises considering learning styles and generational differences when developing the program (Connors, 2012).  One way to connect with potential volunteers is to treat them as individuals, not just another face in the crowd.  However, planning an orientation or initial training session tailored to individual needs becomes difficult when the relationship is too new to identify individual characteristics within the group.  When considering the three basic styles of learning, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, the program can be tailored to fit the needs of many individuals at once. Brugmann suggests a manager would be wise to have an understanding in teaching techniques such as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (2016).  Generational differences arise due to major life events in a person’s youth.  A successful volunteer manager will not only understand these differences but embrace and incorporate them into their training sessions providing further individualization.  Providing a well thought out and inviting learning environment, including considerations for scheduling, parking, space, seating, breaks, and evaluations invites a feeling of belonging to the organization.  Brugmann reminds managers to not get caught up in providing too many activities that they forget the basics of the training plan (2016).  By providing clear and concise goals and objectives, the manager can relate the importance of volunteer work to the mission of the organization.  The Volunteer Management Handbook suggests providing an orientation, to deliver a general overview of policies, and training, to deliver methods for accomplishing specific tasks, and continues with a section regarding coaching as a form of ongoing training (Connors, 2012).  By providing training or coaching throughout a volunteer’s tenure with the organization builds upon the relationship and strengthens a positive organizational culture.

 

Now What?

              I am not currently responsible for the volunteer training program in my present role as a zookeeper.  However, I work alongside volunteers every day and these readings have reinforced the idea of continual training or coaching.  By understanding the various learning styles and generational differences of the many volunteers within our organization, I can tailor my coaching to meet the needs of each individual.  Additionally, as I support the volunteer manager(s) in my organization, or in the future when I play a more integral role in the development of the training plan, I can help develop a positive learning environment.  I would certainly suggest to any program to follow the orientation, training, and coaching model.  By splitting these sessions up, it provides a more focused session without overloading the volunteers.  Perhaps a fun suggestion at the end of the orientation would to be suggest volunteers do a self-assessment of their personal Learning Styles and bring the information back to the training sessions to further develop the relationship between volunteer and organization.  This would not only prove insightful for the volunteer but would allow the organization to match the volunteer with a mentor of similar learning styles furthering engagement and inclusivity within the organization.

 

References

Connors, T. D. (Ed.). (2012). The volunteer management handbook: Leadership strategies for success (2nd ed). Wiley.

Brugmann, K. (n.d.). The Art of Training Volunteers. Google Docs. Retrieved June 7, 2021, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vsv6rdaS6kUbtKi2kLhVNcmb-ZknO7YFwXOJqdY--Zo/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=110210153644119270930&usp=embed_facebook

Module 2: A Team Approach to Volunteer Management

 What?

Campbell and Ellis (2004) suggest how volunteer administrators should structure their management team from within the organization.  Included in these recommendations are experienced volunteers, secretaries, receptionists, maintenance staff, public relations, human resources, top administrators, and program staff.  There is no need for one person to reinvent the wheel when there are other departments already preforming similar tasks.  A team approach to managing the volunteer program allows the organization the opportunity to tailor their program needs to individual volunteers. 

 

So What?

Volunteer administration is tasked with cultivating an organizational culture to ensure volunteers thrive within their organizations.  Given the potential for a rather large group, Campbell and Ellis (2004) concede this is a daunting task for one individual who may have other job requirements outside the volunteer program.  By involving additional members to the team, administrators can properly delegate tasks to best ensure necessary and accurate time and resources are utilized in all aspects of program development.  Having the support of top administrators within the organization exemplifies how all staff should view and participate in the volunteer program.  By utilizing other departments, recruiting, training, reviewing, motivating, recognizing, and even progression of volunteers and their journey within the organization is simplified by modeling and adapting programs already established for paid staff.  Adding an emphasis on volunteer feedback cultivates a feeling of inclusion within the organization’s mission. By thinking creatively regarding the resources already at their disposal, volunteer administrators can promote an exceptional and supportive culture for staff and volunteers alike.  In her article What Would the Perfect Volunteer-Involving Organization Look Like?, Ellis (2012) expresses that recognition of untapped potential of varied skills provided by volunteers allows the organization to provide a better product or service.  Through a flurry of activity involving support from top administrators to front line staff, she describes a welcoming and nourishing environment is apparent to any volunteer coming through the door.  Such a positive organizational climate leads to higher retention rates and superior service from and within the organization.

 

Now What?

            At present, I am not in a volunteer management position, but now, despite this, I realize the importance of my supporting role.  Keeping in mind the steps suggested in 5 Ways Your Nonprofit Can Create Coveted Volunteer Roles (Samuelson, 2015), I hope to have a positive influence on our organizational culture.  Currently, I can suggest volunteer job descriptions based on the daily needs of our facility.  Also, I can boost a relationship between our current volunteers and social marketing team to produce stories through our social media accounts to inspire new volunteers.  In the future, I hope to be in a more managerial role where I can use the vast technological resources at my disposal for positive two-way communication with volunteers.  I will then also be better suited to offer appropriate individualized recognition of the great work provided by our volunteers.  The animal care field is an ever changing and evolving one and in constant need of unique perspectives.  By thinking ahead and promoting an enticing culture, I can ensure more long-term support from a diverse group of volunteers.

 

References

Campbell, K. N. & Ellis, S. J. (2004). The (Help!) I-Don’t-Have-Enough-Time Guide to Volunteer Management.  Energize, Inc.

Ellis, S. (2012, January). What Would the Perfect Volunteer-Involving Organization Look Like?  Energize.  https://www.energizeinc.com/hot-topics/2012/january

Samuelson, H. (2015, April 7). 5 Ways Your Nonprofit Can Create Coveted Volunteer Roles. Candid. https://learning.candid.org/resources/blog/5-ways-your-nonprofit-can-create-coveted-volunteer-roles/