Best practices in staff and volunteer relations
April 26, 2004
By Louise Chatterton Luchuk
Last week, during National Volunteer Week, we celebrated the volunteers
who help countless Canadian organizations fulfill their mandates. When
those organizations also have paid staff, effective volunteer-staff
relations are essential. But as with any other connection, healthy volunteer-staff
relationships don't just happen. Certain best practices foster good
working relationships and, in turn, strengthen an organization's capacity
to serve.
Organizational commitment is key
"The first key to success is an organizational commitment and philosophy about
volunteer involvement," advocates Barb Gemmell, CAVR, of Gemmell
Training and Consulting, which specializes in leadership development
and volunteer resources management. "Positive volunteer-staff relationships
cannot happen until the whole organization is committed." To this
end, Gemmell recommends that volunteer-involving organizations work through
and adopt the Canadian
Code for Volunteer Involvement.
She also points out that in many organizations the professional manager
of volunteer resources recruits and screens volunteers - and may be involved
in the orientation and training phase. Beyond that, other staff take care
of the ongoing volunteer management functions. In still other organizations,
there isn't a single designated professional to support volunteers. Rather,
volunteer management is a component of many individuals' job descriptions.
It is important, Gemmell says, that any staff who work with volunteers
have appropriate professional training so they are up to date with volunteer
trends, the expectations of today's volunteers, etc.
Gemmell is herself a volunteer with an organization in Winnipeg, where
there is a healthy cohesiveness between volunteers and staff. "It really
works when everyone is committed to the value of volunteers. Where I volunteer,
it's the culture of the organization and it's a pleasure to volunteer
there. The manager of volunteer resources is the professional resource
but the whole group stays current about trends. Volunteers are part of
the team and the category of pay has nothing to do with the results."
Volunteer and HR departments working together
Teresa Howe, CHRP, approaches the question of effective volunteer-staff
relations from a different desk - as the manager of human resources. Currently,
she is the principal consultant for Workplaces That Work! Prior to that,
she directed the HR function at a nonprofit organization recognized as
one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for a record four consecutive years.
According to Howe, ensuring policies and procedures are in place for volunteers
- just like with employees - is a key ingredient for success. Howe sees
this as an area where the HR and the volunteer departments could work
hand in hand. "There tends to be an isolation attitude and the two departments
operate separately. But we can certainly learn to help one another," she
says. She also advocates that volunteers be included in staff training
and updates as a way of developing a team approach to volunteer-staff
relations.
In a unionized environment, cooperation is a MUST
Effective volunteer-staff relations just won't work if the various departments
in a unionized environment work in isolation. For that reason, Colin
Thacker, coordinator of volunteer services at the North
Bay Psychiatric Hospital, solicits the input of staff, clients, volunteers,
and union representatives. From the time that the initial need for a potential
volunteer is identified, up to and including the acceptance of a new volunteer,
hospital staff and other stakeholders have a say in the process. "They
[staff] are the last to knock the system because they are so involved
and therefore you avoid grievances." Thacker is also careful about the
words he uses and avoids terminology like "job specifications" because
some union members consider that these words suggest that volunteers are
replacing paid staff.
Thacker strives for clear expectations of volunteer roles and open communication
through, for instance, monthly and annual reports to union representatives.
He invites union representatives to volunteer appreciation functions so
they can offer greetings to the volunteers. "Unions have a lot of potential
input into volunteer programs because they themselves involve volunteers,"
points out Thacker. That is important common ground.
Making the transition from volunteer to staff member
At one time, Tracy Edmonds Leckie was a volunteer in a totally
volunteer-driven organization. Now she finds herself in the position of
being one of the first staff members in the same organization. The ALS
Society of Manitoba began approximately twenty years ago as a monthly
support group run completely by volunteers. Three years ago, Edmonds Leckie
- who lost her father to ALS - joined the society as a volunteer for a
new fundraiser, the Walk to Defeat ALS. The event was pivotal for the
Manitoba group. They raised $100,000 and suddenly had money to tackle
gaps in service and provide more than monthly support meetings. The ALS
Society hired Edmonds Leckie as their director of development and volunteer
coordinator after going through a formal search.
"It became clear that we needed staff because volunteers could not be
expected to put in the time now needed to provide expanded client services.
There is also a limit to what volunteers can do in terms of liability.
We can train volunteers to a point, but when it comes to hands-on care
like tube-feeding and ventilating, it's beyond what we can ask," explains
Edmonds Leckie. Although it can't be said for all nonprofits, within her
organization staff and volunteer roles are clearly distinct.
Valuing volunteer contributions
Edmonds Leckie credits her initial experience as a volunteer with a high
level of responsibility as critical to her success as a staff member interacting
with volunteers. "From this background I see the strong value of the contributions
of volunteers. I was a volunteer doing important work. I was only frustrated
when I was not considered on the same level as staff [within the broader
context of the national organization]. I never want to place a volunteer
as subordinate to a paid staff person." Edmonds Leckie works hard to ensure
that volunteers feel their opinions matters and that their contributions
are recognized, regardless of the fact that the organization now has paid
staff.
Commitment, communication, clear expectations of roles, value placed on
the contributions of both paid staff and volunteers these are some of
the best practices that foster healthy volunteer-staff relationships.
When organizations do not develop strategies to encourage positive relationships,
there can be a lot of tension. When they take the time to foster effective
relations, the result is a strong team united in its efforts to fulfill
the organization's mission.
Louise Chatterton Luchuk is a freelance writer and consultant who combines
her love of writing with experience at the local, provincial and national
levels of volunteer-involving organizations. For more information, visit
www.luchuk.com.
