Hot
Topic Archive
March
2007
The
power of experiential learning
By OzVPM Director Andy
Fryar with guest Hot Topic contributor Gillian
Wilson (pictured)
I’m
a junkie!
I
love nothing more than exploring the alternate ways
that others run their volunteer programs (...yeah
OK so I need to get a life!). Seriously though, I’ll
always pick up a brochure about the volunteer program
of the museum or art gallery I am visiting. I’ll
compulsively look for the ‘volunteer’
section of any organisation’s website I am visiting
and you’ll always find me up to my neck in the
exhibits section of any conference I attend.
Learning
from others is such an easy way to improve your knowledge
base and improve the programs that you lead.
However,
my favourite professional development activity, by
a mile, is to physically visit other volunteer programs
of all shapes and sizes. This is a pursuit that has
led me to agencies of all shapes and sizes the world
over – and has led to me implementing for myself,
some of the more innovative ideas I have witnessed.
Amongst
the long list of organisations I have had the privilege
of visiting are hospital based programs of all shapes
and sizes, cancer institutes, community based respite
facilities, national volunteer centres, local volunteer
referral agencies, sporting clubs, membership cooperatives,
disability agencies, schools, churches, museums, performing
art centres, companies with employee volunteer programs
and government departments responsible for volunteering.
It
has exposed me to ideas I would otherwise have never
had for myself and has reinforced the fact that volunteering
occurs in a wide range of alternate situations.
In
addition to my work with OzVPM, I also work as the
CEO of the Lyell McEwin Regional Volunteer Association,
a hospital based program in the northern suburbs of
Adelaide , where we have a steady stream of visitors
from all around the world.
Recently,
we hosted a visit by the co-author of this Hot Topic,
Gillian Wilson, from the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne
. Gillian’s visit was a lot of fun and not only
did she learn greatly from the experience, so did
I. Upon her return to Melbourne , Gillian penned some
thoughts about her visit, and I wanted to share those
in this hot topic to encourage more of you to exchange
ideas in the way Gillian did.
So
here are Gillian’s thoughts:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember
when you used to return to school following the holidays,
when the teacher would ask you to write an essay on
the things you had done over the summer?
Well,
I would like to share with you what I did for a couple
of days over the summer……………………..
Let
me give you a brief history.
I
am a solo worker in a large inner city hospital in
Victoria – Australia . I have been working in
this position for six years as the Manager of Volunteers,
slowly establishing the volunteer program from around
25 volunteers to the current level of 150.
It
is easy for the years to start to repeat themselves
– information sessions, interviews, training
days, police checks – all good practice standards
but also all to easy to become a ‘formula’
that you operate to. I am lucky enough to be able
to attend network meetings and a few conferences and
seminars (especially when Andy and Martin [Cowling]
have been able to get “the overseas experts”
in) and this has always helped me to stretch my thinking
a little.
In
mid 2006, I decided that I wanted to start thinking
about my program in other ways, but I was so locked
into the day to day grind that I found this difficult.
I approached my Manager and mentioned a desire for
supervision / mentoring, but there was no-one within
the hospital who came close to knowing or understanding
my position
It
was at this point I spoke to OzVPM’s Director
Andy Fryar, who visited me a couple of times while
he was in Melbourne . In addition to OzVPM, I knew
that Andy also worked as the Executive Officer of
Lyell McEwin Regional Volunteer Association, and so
I thought his insights would be valuable. We discussed
the possibility of Andy coming to spend a few days
with me at ‘The Alfred’ so we could together
look at a strategic plan for the future directions/changes
for The Alfred volunteer program.
And
this is when I had one of those ‘light bulb’
moments. I said to Andy, “why don’t I
visit your hospital and see what you do instead!!!”
Andy offered to arrange a visit to a couple of additional
hospital programs (Flinders Medical Centre and Royal
Adelaide Hospital ) and a date for the visit was set.
It was as simple as that!
I
cannot express how beneficial the experience of being
able to investigate other programs was in aiding my
thinking of how I have run my own programs and ways
I may be able to do things differently. I am sure
other volunteer managers can also benefit in the same
way.
The
program managers in all the hospitals I visited were
honest and were only too willing to share with me
both the good and the bad. They were of course all
very proud of their programs and this helped me in
getting to know the programs and how they were run.
So
what did I learn?
* I learnt that, gosh, I’m actually doing an
OK job – not too dissimilar from the places
I visited
* That even after many years (20+) in this sector
that I can still learn lots from others
* That because of this long involvement, I know what
questions to ask
* I gained valuable ideas about different plans and
programs I can implement into my own volunteer programs
* That seminars, workshops, conferences and network
meetings all have a place but sometimes to really
understand a program, it is valuable to have a one
on one meeting with other managers
* That others can be very generous with their time
* We should all be willing to look after each other
and that the sharing of information is something we
should treasure
* That exchange of this kind should be promoted more
widely as a valuable learning tool
I’d
encourage anyone to make contact with and go and explore
other volunteer programs whether across the street
or across the world. The benefits are vast and the
contacts invaluable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So
you can see from a first hand perspective the value
of professional exchange in this way. Thanks Gillian
for being willing to share your experiences.
Let
me finish by making a few additional points about
professional exchange:
It
need not be expensive.
While
Gillian’s experience did occur over two days
and involve interstate travel, it can just as easily
be achieved by taking a few hours out of your annual
vacation or tacked onto the end of a conference while
you are already in a new place (it’s worth saying
here Gillian combined her visit with a stay at the
beach and a weekend in the Barossa Valley wine country)
Don’t
be afraid to ask!
In
all the years I’ve been visiting programs I
have never yet had someone say no! The truth is most
people are more than happy to ‘show off’
what it is that they do.
Exchange
of ideas can be short or long term.
Some
years ago now I had some involvement in an exchange
that involved a volunteer manager from Australia exchanging
jobs with a Canadian colleague for 8 months. (see
http://ozvpmbookstore.com/store/solo.php?fzg_navGrpBtn=93-021-E-1
for more details). Whether conducted over minutes
or months, all exchange is valuable
It
need not be a positive experience to be valuable.
Even
visiting somewhat ‘primitive’ programs
can be very valuable in reinforcing all the things
you are doing well in your own agency
Exchange
need not be physical.
Clearly
the focus of this Hot Topic is on physically visiting
other programs, however, exchange can also happen
using the myriad of new technologies available today
Opposites
can attract.
While
there is good reason to visit similar organisations
to your own, there is also great value in visiting
volunteer programs from different areas of volunteering
to your own
OK
over to all of you.
•
Have you participated in physically visiting other
volunteer programs?
•
What were the advantages / disadvantages of doing
so?
•
What are / have been the barriers that may have stopped
you from participating?
•
What were the benefits to you?
Let’s
hear your stories
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