Readers of this Update work with volunteers in many different ways. Usually this Tip focuses on volunteers working alongside paid staff, but there are many all-volunteer groups out there. You might be the officer of a membership association or civic club, or you may be the paid staff liaison assigned to connect with an auxiliary, friends group, or other self-led volunteer body.
In their effort to get and keep new members, all-volunteer groups rarely step back to assess how they do their work - and whether their processes are keeping pace with the demands of today's volunteers. The following are some key questions to open discussion with group leaders. They can be used at board meetings - perhaps one or two at a series of meetings - or as the focal point of a retreat or special think tank convened to consider the future of the group.
- Are we adding new members and growing according to our goals? Or... Are we losing current members faster than we are recruiting new ones?
- What's the difference between why members join at the start and why they stay? Why do some members lose interest or fade away? Are they right to leave?
- How welcoming are we to newcomers, really? What exactly do we do to show them they are welcome - beyond greeting them at their first meeting?
- How current is our information about long-time members? Have they been "typecast" into certain roles or expectations? Do we know how their skills (or lives) have changed over the years?
- Are we able to get members to run for office or to accept other leadership roles (without pulling teeth)?
- Do we have and enforce a rotation policy? If not, what does that mean for future leadership development?
- Do we have any "entrenched" long-time members who - if we're honest - turn others off? How do we deal with these sorts of issues?
- Are our members so devoted to past and current programs and projects that they resist change or innovation? How do we deal with that?
- What happens when someone has a new idea? Do we have a process for genuinely considering suggestions and options for the "minority opinion" to be heard or for individuals to pursue different options?
- Are we having fun?
This last question is seriously about fun! If volunteers are no longer enjoying their service, something is wrong. It is definitely possible to work hard and still have fun, but if the joy is gone, the future of the group is bleak.