Organizational Culture: Staff and Volunteers

1
Chapter 9

• Organizational Culture Staff and Volunteers

2
Understanding Organizational Culture

• Who are we, and why are we working toward these
  particular goals and objectives includes
• -Acknowledging the relevant history associated
  with the event
• -Sharing a vision of the events potential
  impact and future importance understand the
  message of the event
• -Producing a sense of identity, pride, and
  belonging
• -Ideally, the event committee should reflect
  the values of the agency and the demographics
  of the community that it serves

3
Event Committee Characteristics

• Committee members may have expertise in
• Marketing
• Volunteer management
• Entertainment management
• Concession and food service
• Facility and operational management
• Finance and fundraising
• Liability and risk management
• Particular expertise and set of experiences that
  match the type of event being planned

4
Event Committee Characteristics

• General skills and characteristics
• Unbridled enthusiasm
• Optimism
• Eagerness to get involved
• Ability to take on responsibilities and complete
  tasks

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Creating a Task-Based Committee System

• Define working committees based on needed tasks
• Encourage timely communication on all levels
• General meetings cross-fertilization of ideas
• Web-based reporting system - reinforces the need
  to share ideas
• Committee goals linked with the marketing goals
  create a synergistic relationship between the
  committee goals ultimately contributing to and
  supporting the marketing plan

6
Staff Involvement in Volunteer-Based Projects

• Gradually introduce the volunteer element into
  the agency, selecting events with a limited scope
  
• Full- and part-time staff must be involved in the
  assessment of the need for volunteers and the
  development of specific and complementary job
  descriptions, and the structuring of the
  volunteer force into the workflow of the
  organization

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Buy-in Process for Existing Employees

• Volunteer workers may be seen as threat
• Existing staff members must understand the
  culture of their organization and their formal
  and informal roles within the organization
• Craft volunteer jobs that will benefit the
  workplace
• Volunteers can help to reduce the opportunity
  costs associated with staging a special event

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Overview of Volunteering

• Over 100 million individuals donate more than 19
  million hours a year with a value of over 150
  million annually
• Majority of volunteer activity is of a short
  duration and is associated with a particular
  event
• Volunteering is a necessary component of
  successful event management

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Overview of Volunteering

• Volunteers can be considered a natural extension
  of the organizing agency
• Events often extend beyond a normal workday to a
  full weekend or week-long series of activities
  putting additional responsibilities on full-time
  employees
• Volunteer activity must be viewed as a major
  opportunity for increased positive public
  relations for your agency

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Overview of Volunteering

• A well-designed volunteer program increases the
  perceived good will of an agency
• Volunteerism is a great opportunity for agency
  growth by expanding the workforce and increasing
  exposure for the agency or event
• Volunteerism incorporates new personalities and
  talents into the makeup of the organization

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The Volunteer Coordinator

• Volunteer coordinator becomes the face of the
  agency for the many volunteers who choose to
  offer their time and expertise
• Volunteer coordinator may actually be a volunteer
  
• Volunteer coordinator should be communicating the
  personality, style, attitudes, and beliefs
  necessary to succeed with the agency

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Volunteer Management

• Job Development
• Recruitment
• Interview and Placement
• Training
• Supervision
• Recognition, Retention and Record Keeping
• Volunteer handbook - identifies organizational
  goals and objectives, policies and procedures

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Volunteer Job Development

• Identifying what is being accomplished by whom,
  and at what cost, in order to determine the need
  for volunteers
• Volunteer jobs may address areas that staff
  cannot or are not interested in incorporating
  into their existing workload
• Analyze the event requirements in order to
  determine manageable work units for volunteers

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Volunteer Job Descriptions

• Developed in order to match volunteer skills and
  interests with the needs of the organization
• Meaningful and significant to both the volunteer
  and the organization
• Should include defined objectives and
  responsibilities, required skills, time
  requirements, training needs and lines of
  communication

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Typical Areas of Work for Event Volunteers

• Administrative activities
• Admission and gate control
• Concessions
• Entertainment and technical areas
• Finance management
• Gopher (go for this, go for that)
• Information and customer service
• Marketing
• Operations and site management
• Sponsor management
• Ticket management
• Volunteer management

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Recruitment

• Determine human resources available in a
  community
• Develop a gradual building of interest on the
  part of the potential volunteers
• large businesses or corporations
• civic organizations
• retired individuals
• schools

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Interview and Placement

• Assess the ability of the individual to fit into
  the organization in a meaningful way
• good fit - someone who is reliable,
  enthusiastic, willing to accept responsibility
  and is realistic about their role within the
  organization
• Determine ability to work productively,
  motivation, level of knowledge, strengths and
  weaknesses, personality characteristics

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Interview and Placement

• The interview should be the time to initiate a
  positive rapport with the candidates, to show
  appreciation for their interest in your
  organization, and to highlight the positive
  outcomes of their involvement
• Review the agency requirements outlined in
  specific job descriptions
• Background or reference check may be required

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Training

• Volunteers must be developed
• Adequately publicized, organized, and
  well-attended orientation meetings support this
  effort
• Reach out to new volunteers
• Review and inculcate event values and procedures
• Integrate the volunteer into the workplace
• Create a sense of readiness and competence

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Volunteer Meeting Agenda

• Introduce volunteers to the agency and its
  representatives
• Explain goals and objectives of the event
• Describe the role and scope of supervision
• Review the rights and responsibilities of the
  volunteers
• Summarize and highlight the volunteer manual
• Identify and explain the lines of communication

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Volunteer Meeting Agenda

• Review accident procedures
• Determine schedules
• Explain dress code, attendance and absenteeism
  policies
• Describe performance evaluation procedures
• Review progressive discipline policies
• Determine parking and access to the site
• Explain allowable activities when off duty
• Describe exit interview procedures
• Plan for recognition and celebration of
  accomplishments

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Supervision

• Volunteers are risky business and they are not
  free.
• Volunteer positions require different levels of
  expertise, have varying impacts on the safety and
  success of the event, and thereby require
  different levels of supervision.
• Identify the level of supervision needed for each
  volunteer position to be included in the job
  description

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Supervision

• Volunteers must be aware of the level of
  responsibility and authority associated with
  their position and the resources at their
  disposal in order to successfully complete their
  work
• These directives must be presented to all
  volunteers and included in the volunteer handbook

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The Art of Delegation

• Identify the highest and best use of volunteer
  resources
• Match jobs to individual capabilities, interests,
  and strengths
• Volunteers must fully understand what a
  satisfactory job entails
• Continuous performance appraisal is preferably
  combined with a post-event evaluation

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Volunteer Evaluation

• Consistent levels of communication with
  volunteers raises the level of accountability
• Post-event evaluation or exit interview is
  recommended
• Alterations to the job descriptions, resource
  allotments, and levels of supervision may be
  undertaken based on evaluation results

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Progressive Discipline

• Often overlooked in volunteer management
• Discipline comes from the Latin discipulus, a
  pupil or follower
• This suggests leading others and thereby
  nurturing a sense of follower-ship on the part of
  others
• Discipline is not punitive but corrective - help
  individuals change behaviors and follow
  procedures

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Progressive Discipline

• Infractions are generally identified in terms of
  severity, including minor, moderate and major
  infractions
• Thorough investigation of the reported infraction
  must take place
• Substantial evidence that an infraction was
  committed must be gathered
• Policies must be fair and administered in a
  non-discriminatory manner

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Progressive Discipline

• The volunteer must be given ample opportunity, in
  a nonthreatening environment, to fully explain
  and defend their actions
• Accurate record keeping of all actions and
  meetings is necessary
• Degree of discipline must be in proportion to the
  infraction

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Progressive Discipline

• Progressive discipline is effective if
• -All actions are properly documented through
  the use of disciplinary action forms
• -Appropriate letters are sent to the
  individual involved in the investigation
• -Accurate minutes are taken for all meetings
  and investigative actions
• -Proper documentation of remedies used

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Steps in a Volunteer Progressive Discipline Policy

• Counseling that is recorded
• Verbal warnings that are recorded
• Written warnings
• Dismissal
• Law enforcement intercession if needed

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Recognition, Record Keeping, and Retention

• People are motivated by different reasons when
  offering their assistance - intrinsic and
  extrinsic motivational factors
• Volunteers are motivated by achievement,
  affiliation and power
• Demographics, socio-economic status, and
  individualistic vs. community-based value systems
  may also play a role in satisfying volunteer
  motivations

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Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale

• Purposive a desire to contribute and do
  something useful
• Solidarity a desire for social interaction and
  group identification
• External Traditions following family traditions
  of volunteering
• Commitments linking external expectations of
  the volunteer experience with personal skills
  related to the tasks

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Understanding Volunteer Motivation

• Volunteers are motivated by doing something
  worthwhile that will benefit society, a desire to
  socialize and be a part of the community, to gain
  new skills and the expressed desire for tangible
  material gains
• Reward systems are most effective if they
  reinforce the basic needs satisfaction scenario
  of each volunteer

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Rewarding Volunteers

• Non-monetary rewards for volunteers can be
  fostered through adequate planning and leadership
  
• Verbal praise
• Opportunity to develop relationships and
  friendships
• Recognition in the media
• Free tickets or T-shirts
• Certificate of participation
• Opportunity for involvement with celebrities

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Rewarding Volunteers

• Items such as pins, certificates, souvenirs of
  the event such as event staff T-shirts
• Video of the highlights of the event
• Post-event activities - wrap-up party, formal
  recognition dinner, presentation before the city
  council
• Verbal praise is both cost effective and very
  much appreciated

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Record Keeping

• Volunteers typically sign in, record their hours,
  and are usually recognized on an annual basis for
  the number of hours that they have donated to the
  organization
• Total number of volunteer hours accumulated
  during the event has a real economic value
• Standardized work shifts makes the record-keeping
  process much easier to manage.
• Volunteers respond favorably to the recognition
  of the number of hours or shifts worked

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Retention

• Reward systems help to create a tangible bond
  between the volunteer and the event
• Sense of association with a successful event is a
  powerful retention tool
• Positive feelings can be reinforced through
  off-season contact by way of a newsletter, blogs,
  planning meetings for next years event

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Why Volunteers Dont Return

• Competing interests from home and work
• Event may lose meaning for the volunteer
• Feeling of a lack of appreciation, ambiguity, or
  confusion regarding their volunteer
  responsibilities
• Organizational shortcomings