Steve McCurley shm12aol'com

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Steve McCurleyshm12_at_aol.com

• Increasing Volunteer Retention

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Question 1

• Why do people decide to start volunteering?

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Question 2

• How do people pick an organization at which they
  will attempt to volunteer?

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Question 3

• What goes into the decision by the volunteer to
  continue volunteering at an organization once
  they have begun, or to discontinue volunteering?

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National Health and Medical Research Council of
Australia 2003

• Maintenance of a stable, long-term volunteer
  workforce should be a major goal of volunteer
  management to save time in recruiting and
  training and to retain the confidence of paid
  staff in the volunteers.

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Volunteer Retention in USHager and Brudney, 2004

• Of the volunteers that worked with your
  organization one year ago, approximately what
  percentage would you say are still volunteering?

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US Retention Rates

• 100 - 17 of respondents
• 0 - 3 of respondents
• Median 80

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New Zealand Volunteer Fire BrigadesUMR Research,
2001

• More than half are concerned about volunteer
  turnover.

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Canadian Survey of Volunteer ManagersEnvironics
Research Group, 2003

• Retention is third in list of challenges faced
  by volunteer programs.

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UK Survey of Sports VolunteersLeisure Industries
Research Centre, 2003

• Retaining volunteers is increasingly difficult,
  and currently there is one lapsed volunteer for
  every two active volunteers.

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Some comments about retention

• Over time, volunteers move naturally in and out
  of volunteering
• Programs may have very different retention rates
• High retention rates are not always a good thing

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Volunteers in New ZealandFeeney, 2001

• Volunteering with different organizations at
  different times of their lives depending on their
  interests and family commitments was seen to be a
  general pattern. People often started
  volunteering by becoming involved with their
  childrens activities then moving to more formal
  roles within those organizations. Volunteers
  might work at several organizations at the same
  time but usually with varying levels of
  commitment.

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Retention Rates

• 3.71 years (Community Literacy of Ontario, 1997)
• 643 days (AIDS volunteers, Houston, 1993)
• 2.6 years (CASA program, 2001)
• 4.5 years (Volunteer Ambulance Officers,
  Tasmania, 2001)
• 60 more than 10 years (UK sports clubs, 2003)
• 37 more than 10 years (Meals on Wheels, New
  South Wales, 2003)

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Attrition Rates

• 48 turnover per year (4H leaders in New Mexico,
  1981-1988)
• 1300 volunteers approached program only 50
  eventually volunteered (homeless shelter, London,
  2001)
• 30-50 turnover in first year (Volunteer
  Ambulance Officers, Tasmania, 2001)

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Basic Rules of Retention

• Retention doesnt happen in a vacuum.
• Dont waste the volunteers time.
• Let volunteers do the work they want to do.
• Thank volunteers for their efforts.
• Dont automatically assume youve lost a
  volunteer.

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Why Volunteers QuitUPS Foundation, 1998

• 26 Charity was not well managed
• 23 Charity did not use volunteers time well
• 18 Charity did not use volunteers talents well
• 16 Volunteers tasks were not clearly defined
• 9 Volunteers were not thanked

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National Survey on VolunteeringUK, 1997

• 71
• Things could be better organized.

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Survey of Hong Kong VolunteersThinkTank Research
Consultancy, 1997

• Bad feelings with organisations served also
  caused a stampede for volunteers.

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Canadian VolunteersLasby, 2004

• 8 of Canadians report that a previous bad
  volunteer experience kept them from volunteering
  currently.

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Volunteer Ambulance Officers, TasmaniaFahey
Walker, 2001

• 74 of those who had resigned indicated they
  would consider re-joining if asked

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At what point in the relationship with the
volunteer are you most likely to lose them?

• First month
• First six months
• End of first year/end of term of commitment
• Longer term

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Hobson Malec, 1999

• 49.3 received offer of assistance
• 69.3 did not receive name of person answering
  phone
• 26.4 were not referred to appropriate contact
  person
• 48.7 were not asked for contact details in
  contact person not available
• 70 of those who left contact information did not
  receive a return call

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• Your biggest retention problem may occur before
  you even see a prospective volunteer.
• It may ensure that you never see them.

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Initial Contact

• Phone call
• Website
• First visit to agency
• Interview
• Orientation or training session
• First day on worksite

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Tips for Initial Contact

• Train the staff on friendliness and procedures
• Return contact quickly
• Cover unasked questions on Website
• Make agency accessible
• Pay attention to what the volunteer wants to
  know, then to what you need to know
• Explain all procedures and timeframes
• Find a way to maintain contact during the Gap
• Create a sense of immediate inclusion

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Institute for Volunteering Research, UK 2003

• Several respondents told us they had been
  discouraged from volunteering because
  organisations took so long to respond to an
  initial inquiry, process an application or place
  the respondent once they had been recruited.

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Answering the Unasked QuestionFederal Emergency
Management Agency, 1995

• Potential recruits may have a number of concerns
  about themselves and the EMS organization they do
  not express. The interviewer must ensure that all
  these unasked questions are addressed
• What do I really have to do? Can I manage it? Do
  I have the skill? Can I handle it emotionally?
• How much time will it demand? Is there enough to
  keep me interested? Will it put pressure on my
  regular job or family?
• What danger will I be in? What are the risks?
• Who benefits? Why should I do this?

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Big Brothers/Big Sisters CanadaNorthstar
Research Partners 1999

• Feeling put on the spot
• On first contact, too much information was
  required from the volunteer none was given the
  volunteer
• Agency seemed to be looking for an ideal -
  creating feelings of inadequacy in terms of skill
• Agency wanted to fill an opening not find out
  what the volunteer really wanted to do

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First Month

• If youve ever taken a new position in which you
  were unfamiliar with the type of work, what did
  you focus on during your first month on the job?
  What consumed your attention?

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Tips for First Month of Service

• Reality-based training - case studies, real
  experiences
• On-the-job training and assistance - real,
  usable information on what to do
• Supportive materials and adequate equipment
• Support from co-workers and mentor
• Proactive supervisor contact
• Second placement interview and review

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McCurleys Rule

• Nobody volunteers to fail.

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Effectiveness of Volunteer Mentors4H, Florida,
1999

• Drop-out rates for the three annual Master
  Gardener basic training programs prior to the
  Mentor program were 26, 17 and 27 for years
  1995, 1996 and 1997.
• The trainee drop-out rate for 1998 was 2 -
  following the creation of a mentor effort.

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First Six Months

• Reality vs Expectation
• Assignment Fit
• Life Fit
• Social Fit

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Big Brothers/Big SistersOntario 1993

• most Big Brothers said their matches fell short
  of their expectations and felt their
  relationships ended up being more of a struggle
  than they had anticipated. Some of the more
  common suggestions from volunteers for agencies
  to reduce the rate of early match closures
  included utilizing more scenarios or situational
  questions during orientation informing Big
  Brothers of the realities of volunteering
  (i.e., potential problems, work involved)
  encouraging more interactions between new and
  experienced Big Brothers and maintaining more
  contact and support of volunteers within the
  first year of the match.

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Tips for First Six Months

• Clarification of reasonable expectations no
  surprises
• Buddy system
• Supervisor availability and contact
• Symbols for belonging

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First Anniversary/End of Initial Commitment

• Bonding
• Accomplishment vs Expectation
• Opportunity for Growth

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Tips for End of Commitment

• Celebrate term of service
• Show results or share accomplishments
• Give tokens to symbolize relationship
• Review interest and offer options
• Develop a volunteer growth plan

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Longer Term Involvement

• Social Fit
• Life Fit
• Assignment Adjustment

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Tips for Long Term

• Create sense of empowerment over work
• Make true believer in cause of organization
• Encourage social interaction with staff and
  volunteers
• Be attuned to changes in volunteers outside life

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Big Mistake

• If the only person in the organization the
  volunteer bonds with is the volunteer manager,
  what happens if the volunteer manager leaves the
  organization?

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McCurleys Rule

• If you dont know who your volunteers are, why
  should they care who you are?