Responses
to May 2008 Hot Topic
Who
Rules the Roost???
Response
posted on July 4, 2008 by Helen Geltch, Family Services
Coordinator, Sids & Kids ACT, Australia
Hi
– I also agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments
expressed in this month’s hot topic. I believe
that we do no-one any favours by expecting and accepting
lower standards from volunteers than we do from paid
workers – most of all our clients. I would be
interested in knowing more about the disciplinary
procedures that Hazel Maynard spoke about in her response
– I am in the midst of developing such procedures
now.
Response
posted on June 1, 2008 by Susan Williams, Volunteer
Coordinator, Murray Mallee Community Health Service,
Australia
I
find it difficult to turn away an individual who wants
to volunteer – even when I am concerned about their
capacity to be a really useful and productive member
of our volunteer group. Working in a health setting
I sometimes asked to talk to clients who wish to become
volunteers. Some do have the capacity to be a real
asset, while I know others who really want to help
will end up being more of a liability.
There
are several reasons I can think of as to why I find
it hard to say no. One of those reasons is I think
that everyone has the right to contribute in some
way if they want to, no matter how small that contribution
may be, another reason is that I have a couple of
volunteers who really do not contribute a whole lot,
but who as a result of becoming a volunteer have really
improved their social and emotional health.
While
I can think in my head and say to work colleagues
that we are not a “baby sitting service”, I feel that
occasionally this is what has happened. How do I find
a balance, and dare I say it – become “tougher” without
sounding offensive to people if I really want to say
no to them.
I
would be thrilled to have some advice/suggestions
– please!
Response
posted on May 22, 2008 by Liz Scarfe, Manager, Volunteering
Resources, Villa Maria, Australia
Well
I couldn’t agree more with the sentiments in your
hot topic. For me, the main issue at the core of these
management problems is our attitudes to conflict. If
I have a “conflict-negative” attitude, I will do everything
I can to avoid conflict (which includes not setting
clear boundaries, let alone ensuring people adhere
to them) and if conflict does arise, I will do everything
I can to avoid not having to deal with it. Developing
an attitude of “conflict-acceptance” is a step in
the right direction; I will accept that conflict is
inevitable, will have the courage to set boundaries
and also deal with breaches of them, even though I
find it stressful. Even better though, is the “conflict-positive”
attitude where I see every conflict as a gift and
opportunity to growth and learning for all involved.
One
other thing about boundaries I was told once was not
to create boundaries that stop things happening, but
that create the conditions that allow what you want
to happen, to happen. i.e. “What boundaries do we
need to have in place to allow xyz to emerge/succeed
etc?” as opposed to “What things do we need to make
sure don’t happen around here?” It seems a semantic
point but I think it really makes a difference.
Response
posted on May 6, 2008 by Jennie Holdom, Volunteer
Coordinator, Catholic Care, Australia
Having
just read your thoughts on “who rules the roost?” I
can empathise with those volunteer managers who have
volunteers who resist change, training, etc.
But
I agree with everything you have said. If the program
benefits from the change and it is necessary and we
endeavour to explain in reasonable terms the need
for this change then we should not be apologising
for making the required changes. As professional people
we need to become adept at managing change and sometimes
this means that some people will be unhappy. I think
this state of apologetic behaviour can in some cases
be traced back to how much power or say we have, in
how we manage the volunteer projects in our organisations.
I
have to ask the question do you as volunteer managers
have the same power to make deci
sions
and direct how volunteers are involved in your organisation
as other managers who manage staff in your organisation? We
need to ensure we are professional in our work ethics
and management skills so we can demand the respect
of staff and our volunteers. Believe in yourself or
others won’t.
Response
posted on May 6, 2008 by Maryanne McKay, Palliative
Care Volunteer Coordinator, Port Macquarie, Australia
Hi
Andy
Yes I agree…!!!!...I am very lucky as I work in Health
and have a line manager who "gets" what a Volunteer
program is all about….we aim to treat our Volunteers
in a manner as similar as possible to paid staff…with
the main difference being -Volunteers are not paid
$$$ to be involved…thanking you…
Response
posted on May 6, 2008 by Lyn Parker, VSMP Coordinator,
Australia
Yes,
I agree wholeheartedly with your article. I have had
in the past a lot of problems getting the volunteers
to attend extra training , (which they requested)
and various functions put on for their benefit and
as you say I believe it was because I was coming from
that position of weakness.
I
have since then held Team Meetings and referred them
back to their Initial Training where it is made clear
that these things need to have some priority as the
outcomes can affect the reason they volunteer with
this program and also keeps them in touch with each
other. I am always respectful of a volunteer’s family,
social or work commitments but if you are going to
commit to volunteering then it has to be a commitment
to all of it and not just the bits that are convenient.
Response
posted on May 6, 2008 by Hazel Maynard, Acting Retail
Operations Manager, St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria,
Australia
Hi
Andy
It’s
timely (for me) that you have raised this topic. I
agree entirely that we have spent too much time as
a sector avoiding the realities of volunteer management
– that is, human nature is such that volunteers like
any other sector of the population will not always
have the right motivations for doing what they do
nor will they necessarily adhere to the policies and
procedures of our agencies. Why do we tolerate behaviour
from a volunteer that would be unacceptable from an
employee? There is an accepted standard of behaviour
for employees, so why not for volunteers? In the main
we as practitioners have a reactive, head-in-the-sand
response to issues, rather than accepting it as inevitable
that at some time in our agency’s existence, there
will be volunteer performance issues (which would
be much easier to resolve and manage if procedures
were in place to deal with them).
We
recently introduced policies and procedures for volunteer
discipline and dismissal - a scary prospect for a
long-established, faith-based agency. Our reality
is that with five thousand plus volunteers across
ninety-eight sites, we have a number of behavioural
and performance issues. We are fortunate that ninety-nine
percent of the volunteers are with us for the right
reasons and without them we would not exist. However,
the remaining one percent causes a number of problems,
ranging from dishonesty to bullying to breaches of
OH&S regulations, and we owe it to the majority
to deal with the one per cent.
But
more importantly, I believe, it is vital to have those
frameworks for discipline and dismissal in place not
to punish volunteers but in order to protect
volunteers’ rights, and to ensure, fairness, equity
and consistency in dealing with performance issues.
If we don’t, we will continue to have a two-tier system
in our agencies where employees have rights and the
expectation of fair practices, whilst volunteers do
not.
Our
policies and procedures have recently been rolled
out at workshops for volunteers and employees in leadership
roles, and have been incredibly well-received. As
part of their induction and orientation, new volunteers
are made aware of the existence of these policies
and procedures right from the start - existing volunteers
are receiving training in each of their work sites. My
initial trepidation at introducing these policies
and procedures has been unwarranted – in fact, it
is seen as a key development in our agency’s evolution
and an example of strong leadership in our volunteer
program.
I’d
be happy to share more detailed information with anyone
who is interested or thinking about this development
for their own programs.
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