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| May 1999 As this is the middle of Spring conference season, I have been on the road quite a bit these past weeks. Being in the field is a wonderful reality check, although it can be depressing as well as inspiring. For some reason I have hit a wave of workshops in which participants have struggled with what to do with volunteers. Ironically, it seems to be hardest for folks to imagine putting high-powered volunteers to work effectively. Of course, if these same community members offered checks for $10,000, no one would have trouble spending the cash! But actually having to deal face-to-face with someone able to contribute services of that high a VALUE is something else again. While not a startling revelation, I have become more and more convinced that a major reason employees are hesitant to accept high-skill volunteers is a lack of creativity in creating assignments for volunteers to accomplish. The problem is two-fold. First, whether conscious or not, too many staff have low expectations of the skills or qualifications of potential volunteers, and so design work posing minimal risk if not done properly. Second, volunteer projects are most often carved out of the daily (or periodic) activities of the paid staff, defining volunteers as assistants focused on the same goals and strategies as the employees. Both of these approaches are seriously flawed. Worse, they lead almost inevitably to conflict. Consider:
Id like to offer a suggestion. Gather a few people together in your office and run a think tank called What If.... The object is to try to wipe the slate clean and see what would happen if you started from scratch. Answer the following questions
You can see how these questions open up new possibilities. Do any
of the ideas suggest completely new ways volunteers might be put to
work? If nothing else, try to avoid the staff assistant
scenario. Im not saying its wrong to assign volunteers
to help employees. Its just limiting. Try: what do our clients
or their families need that no employee is ever going to be able to
offer, but that would strengthen the service they receive from our
organization?
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