Hot
Topic Archive
August
2003
Breaking
down the 'grass ceiling' of volunteerism
by
Andy Fryar
A
good friend of mine - a volunteer program manager
- was recently successful in obtaining a new position.
Anyone
looking to create a career path knows that any new
position needs to meet certain criteria, in order
to be deemed beneficial in moving a person 'onward
and upward'.
So
let's take a look at that criteria in the case involving
my friend:
- Did my colleague achieve a promotion?
Yes.
- Did she achieve a higher salary?
Yes.
- Will she have greater responsibilities?
Yes.
- Will she have further opportunities
for career path growth? Yes again.
And
finally, the most important question of all:
- Is her new role in volunteer program
management?
Sadly
the answer to this final question is a resounding
NO, and unfortunately it is a response that is becoming
an all-too-common problem in the world of volunteer
program management.
In
the last year alone I can immediately think of several
colleagues, who have all but given up on trying to
find more senior roles in the world of volunteerism,
and as a result, have spread their wings and found
work further afield.
Not
only is this a frustrating problem, it is also a serious
one.
A
lack of growth opportunities means the sector is constantly
losing the knowledge base and intellectual capital
developed by those who have been working with volunteers
for a number of years. This in turn leads our field
of endeavour to being one where the number of 'newbies'
is proportionally higher than it would be for other
professions.
Ever
noticed how training courses in the 'basics' of volunteer
program management are always full?
Now
don't get me wrong, I have no difficulty with new
people entering the world of volunteer program management
- in fact I welcome them. The high influx of new VPM's
is one of the reasons I established OzVPM. It is also
one of the reasons OzVPM is proving so successful!
However,
with so many people 'learning the trade', we never
seem to be able to gather the critical mass of experienced
managers we need to tackle some of the harder and
bigger issues that impact our profession.
So
where does the problem lie?
Largely,
I believe it is attitudinal.
The
work of volunteers, and by association volunteer program
managers, is too often perceived to occur only at
a 'grass roots' level. For the uninitiated (and this
often translates to 'senior decision makers'), this
perception leads to the false belief that volunteers
pretty well manage themselves. Sure you need someone
to get them involved and then started, perhaps you
even need someone to take care of those pesky risk
management issues, but surely a low to middle level
manager can process all of that!
While many women have experienced the frustration
of the so-called glass ceiling - the invisible barrier
that precludes women from attaining senior management
positions, I believe that volunteer program management
suffers a similar fate.
It's
what I term the 'grass' ceiling - the mistaken belief
amongst senior level executives, that volunteer management
need never rise above the grass roots level at which
it is seen to operate!
The
problem of the 'grass ceiling' is compounded 100 fold
by our seemingly endless inability to advocate effectively
for our profession and for where we should be positioned
in our own organisations. We never get to the point
where we are able to advocate comfortably for role
development and promotion, which basically means,
that when we leave our jobs, the next person who comes
along has to start again at the same level as we did!
It
continues to astound me that volunteer program managers
will go out of their way to tell senior management
how great a job their volunteers are doing - and yet
never make as much as a whisper about the importance
of their own role.
The
end result of course, is that we have an incredible
amount of organisations where the role of the volunteer
manager is comfortably pegged forever at a low to
middle level income. This in turn makes career growth
and movement for VPM's incredibly difficult.
Those
few VPM's who are lucky enough to have well paying
and recognised roles are not going anywhere fast -
firstly because there is nowhere else for them to
go and secondly because they recognise a good thing
when they see it! For the rest of the sector, these
jobs are like gold and only come along on a very occasional
basis.
The
other choice of movement for VPM's is of course a
sideways one - managing volunteers at a similar level
in another organisation. While this may be an option
for a little while, a career without growth can become
frustrating and too often leads to an exodus from
volunteer program management altogether.
So just what can we all do to reverse this trend?
Here
are a few ideas:
- Make a point to challenge the conventions
in your organisation. This does not need to be an
all out war, but try and think of ways you can highlight
the importance of your role and department to senior
management. Try and make some small change each
year.
- Be seen and be heard. Make sure
management get your newsletters. Nominate for committees
where you might not normally be seen. Ensure management
are invited to volunteer functions.
- Develop allies. Remember that in
all of this, there lies the conundrum that the board
of management of your organisation will most likely
be volunteers themselves.
- Join AAVA - the Australasian Association
of Volunteer Administrators. There is strength in
solidarity.
- Network. Find out what others are
doing and use that to your advantage.
- If you have never done so, read
Susan Ellis' book 'From
the top down' , and then give it to your CEO
or line manager as a gift
While
I am delighted with the promotion of my colleague,
the fact that she is to be lost to volunteer management
is a real tragedy, and while I wish her well, I'd
prefer to know that she had many other options within
the volunteer management sector.
The
grass ceiling strikes again!
So
let me ask you all a few questions:
- What experiences have you had
in regards to finding suitable roles in the world
of volunteer management?
- Do you agree with the 'grass ceiling'
theory?
- What role do you think a professional
association like AAVA can play in regards to volunteer
management developing a greater career path?
- What other ideas or strategies
have you employed to raise the profile of the volunteer
department / manager in your organisation?
Let’s
hear from you
It's
not too late!
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