Volunteer Management: Trends

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Volunteer ManagementTrends

• National VOAD Conference
• May 20, 2009
• Katie Campbell, CVA

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Headlines What Do They Tell Us?

• Are Paid Workers in Danger of Being Usurped by
  an Army of Volunteers?
• Volunteer Crime-Fighters Past Prime at Age 16
• Border Chief Reaches Out to Volunteers
• Bartering Comes Back

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Headlines What Do They Tell Us?

• Boomer Volunteers Often Give Up Duties
• Dont Call Them OldCall Them OPALS
• From Ranks of Jobless, a Flood of Volunteers
• The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

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The Serve America Act

• Expands the focus of the National Civilian
  Community Corps (NCCC) to include disaster relief
• Encourages service partnerships with other
  federal agencies and increases participation of
  disadvantaged youth to 50 of program
  participants by 2011.
• Establishes an alumni corps of former AmeriCorps
  members to respond in emergencies.

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Facts and Figures

• Take the Quiz and Test your Knowledge!

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Facts and Figures

• 1. What percentage of the U.S.
• population (age 16 and older)
• volunteered in 2006?
• A. 26.7
• B. 28.8
• C. 49.3
• D. 51.6

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Facts and Figures

• 2. On average, what percentage of
• U.S. volunteers who served in 2005 continued
  in 2006?
• A. 54
• B. 66
• C. 75
• D. 81

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Facts and Figures

• 3. Most volunteers do not perform service
• activities that relate to their professional
  or occupational skills.
• TRUE or FALSE?

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Facts and Figures

• 4. What percentage of adults ages 51-59
• are regularly accessing the internet?
• A. 51
• B. 59
• C. 72
• D. 81

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Facts and Figures

• 5. A larger percentage of adults volunteer
• through religious organizations than through
  any other type of organization.
• TRUE or FALSE?

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Facts and Figures

• 6. What percentage of nonprofits train
• their paid staff to work with volunteers?
• A. 19
• B. 36
• C. 53
• D. 72

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Facts and Figures

• 8. Smaller organizations tend to make
• greater use of a greater variety of
• volunteer skills.
• TRUE or FALSE?

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Facts and Figures

• 8. What percentage of nonprofits regularly
• recognize the contributions of volunteers?
• A. 35
• B. 55
• C. 80
• D. 97

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HOW are PeopleVolunteering?

• SMASHED (Society of Mature Adults Seeking to
  Help, Entertain Donate)
• Ages 25-35
• Combine social fun with service
• Willing to fundraise
• in their own way

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HOW are People Volunteering?

• Self-initiated, social entrepreneurs
• Starting new nonprofits
• Low confidence in established organizations
• All ages

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HOW are People Volunteering?

• Self-directed teams
• A group of volunteers who have day-to-day
  responsibility for managing themselves and the
  work they do with a minimum of outside
  supervision.
• Service delivery, problem-solving, projects,
  leadership teams

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HOW are PeopleVolunteering?

• Skills-based assignments
• Using the same skills as a volunteer that are
  used in ones paid occupation.
• More common legal, sales/marketing,
  education/teaching
• Less common arts/design, media, entertainment,
  health care, public safety, management,
  office/admin. support

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HOW are People Volunteering?

• Via the Internet
• Blogging and listservs have surpassed email
• Internet portals are critical to the visibility
  of volunteer opportunities
• Websites must include clear pathways to engagement

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HOW are People Volunteering?

• Voluntolds
• Mandated by schools, colleges, courts,
  government, or physicians
• Short-term and long-term
• Diversity of backgrounds
• and skills

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Changing Generational Characteristics
Traditionalists
Boomers
Gen-Xers
Millennials
Self-reliant and independent questions
authority, respects competence, not titles
Entrepreunrial Self-confidence, sense of
individuality and uniqueness
Suspicious of organizations anti-authoritarian
motivated by self-fulfillment
Valued civic duty, respect for authority,
blending in, following the rules, organizational
loyalty
Increasing Individuality
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From Collective to Reflexive
Volunteering

• Collective Volunteering
• Collective action through
• membership in nonprofits,
• clubs, churches, etc.
• Reflexive Volunteering
• Reflexive (self-referential)
• action, based on individual
• interests, motivations and
• needs.
• Hustinx and Lammertyn, 2003

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Shifting ourManagement Paradigm
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Appealing to Boomers

• Describe the specific challenges your
  organization faces
• Emphasize the degree of independence and
  flexibility you can offer
• Re-think your interview questions
• Ask them to recruit others they are connect to
• Use updated language in messaging
• Organize work in collaborative teams
• View highly skilled volunteers as consultants
• Offer opportunities to connect with top leadership

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Embracing a New Language

• OLD NEW
  
• volunteer management . volunteer engagement
• recruitment .. cultivation, networking
• placement ... negotiation, agreement
• supervision .. support
• recognition .. acknowledgement
• retention sustainability
• formal, informal civic engagement
• Source Boomer Volunteer Engagement, by
  Fixler, Eichberg Lorenz, 2008.

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New Perceptions of Our Role

• How we view our role
• and describe it to others
• Talent Manager
• Translator
• Facilitative Leader

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The Myth of the Rugged Individualist

• I think I am starting to get it.
• I have to give up some control, dont I?

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Our Choices