Public Sector Volunteer Management: Best Practices and Challenges 9780367567163, 9780367567194, 9781003099123

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Routledge Studies in the Management of Voluntary and Non-Profit Organizations

PUBLIC SECTOR VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES Aminata Sillah

Public Sector Volunteer Management

In order to effectively and consistently provide services to citizens, local governments have had to come up with creative ways for offering services demanded by their citizens. One popular approach became the creation of volunteer programs as local governments became increasingly reliant on volunteers. Volunteers are one means by which local governments help to increase meaningful engagement with citizens and help meet the increasing needs for public services with limited resources. On a broader scale, volunteers in public agencies provide a variety of services to fill gaps in creating and sustaining collective societal goods that otherwise might have been limited due to fiscal stress on local governments or eliminated. Public Sector Volunteer Management: Best Practices and Challenges adds to the understanding of how management practices may affect retention of volunteers. It provides an opportunity to add much-needed data to any discussion concerning volunteering at the local government level from the perspective of volunteer coordinators and aims to provide in-depth research on local government volunteer management practices. This book focuses on best practices identified as necessary for successful volunteer management in the public sector, specifically in a local government setting, making it a valuable text for researchers, academics, and students in the fields of public and nonprofit management, leadership, and human resource management. Aminata Sillah is an Assistant Professor at Towson University, USA.

Routledge Studies in the Management of Voluntary and Non-Profit Organizations Series Editor: Stephen P. Osborne University of Edinburgh, UK

Voluntary and nonprofit organizations are playing an increasingly significant role, worldwide, in the provision and management of public services. Drawing together significant and groundbreaking research, this series will be essential reading for students of public policy and management as well as the thinking manager. Topics covered include the management of innovation and change, financial management, performance evaluation and management and organizational development and project management. Also available from Routledge: The Management of Non-Governmental Development Organizations An Introduction David Lewis Financial Management in the Voluntary Sector New Challenges Paul Palmer and Adrian Randall Strategic Management for Nonprofit Organizations Roger Courtney Regulating Charities: The Inside Story Edited by Myles McGregor-Lowndes and Bob Wyatt Philanthropy in Practice Pragmatism and the Impact of Philanthropic Action Ekkehard Thümler Transformational Leadership and Not for Profits and Social Enterprises Edited by Ken Wiltshire, Asatha Malhorta, and Micheal Axelsen Organizing Logics, Nonprofit Management and Change Rethinking Power, Persuasion and Authority Tracey M. Coule and Carole Bain Internal Evaluation in Non-Profit Organisations Practitioner Perspectives on Theory, Research, and Practice Louise M. Kelly and Alison Rogers

Public Sector Volunteer Management Best Practices and Challenges

Aminata Sillah

First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Aminata Sillah The right of Aminata Sillah to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN: 978-0-367-56716-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-56719-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-09912-3 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123 Typeset in Bembo by MPS Limited, Dehradun

Contents

List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgment Preface 1 Introduction: Introducing Concepts

vii viii ix x 1

2 Public Sector Volunteer Management

22

3 Theoretical Frameworks to Study Volunteer Management

34

4 Best Practices in Volunteer Management

47

5 Local Government Volunteer Management

53

6 Volunteer Programs in Local Government

63

7 Citizen Engagement

73

8 Volunteer Retention and Turnover

77

9 Virtual Volunteering

82

vi

Contents

10 Global Volunteering

86

11 Case Studies—Texas

89

Appendix Index

147 160

Figures

4.1 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6

Best Practices of Volunteer Management Process Human Relations Challenges Bureaucratic Best Practices Themes Volunteer Program Components Study Participants’ Perception of the Most Challenging Components of Volunteer Management Programs in This Study Number of Homeless Individuals in Texas That Are Sheltered and Unsheltered from the Years 2016 to 2020 Number of Homeless Individuals in Dallas, Texas, Sheltered and Unsheltered from 2016 to 2020

51 99 111 119 127 137 137

Tables

1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 4.1 5.1 5.2 7.1 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5

Volunteers by State, Numbers, and Hours Types of Volunteers Public Sector versus Private Sector States and Total Number of Local Government Units Nonprofit Organizations versus Government Agencies Involvement of Volunteers Identified Main Best Practices by Various Authors Benefits of Including Volunteers in Local Government Volunteer Concepts and Organizational Challenges Citizen Participation Literature Review Summary Participant Demographic Characteristics Local Government Volunteer Management Practices Community Engagement Opportunities Provided by Local Governments Challenges Associated with Coordinating Community Engagement Activities for Volunteers Volunteer Opportunities at The Bridge

3 15 23 25 29 49 58 60 75 95 96 97 97 142

Acknowledgment

You can’t birth a book without owing a debt of gratitude to many. This work represents a version of my dissertation at University of North Texas. During the course of the years, I came across several volunteer coordinators who wanted to know more about my work and findings. The material is oriented toward the challenges of coordinating volunteers in the public sector. I am grateful to several people for their assistance in birthing this book. To the volunteer coordinators who give their time in answering my many questions and pointing me in the right direction. A very hearty thank you to Federickia Washington, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Tennessee State University for her case study contribution. Thank you to Morrie, Aisha Saran, and Abdul Malik Kebbeh for their patience and support.

Preface

The genesis of this book is not unusual. The idea arose seven years ago while working on a case study research on public sector volunteer management. It was very hard to find information and material that covered public sector volunteer management. The plethora of material out there is focused on the nonprofit sector and the material is oriented toward challenges in that particular sector. I was hard-pressed to reach out to colleagues for advice in turning the research into a manuscript. There is an increasing concern with managing volunteers in the public sector and its sustainability. Rapid changes in society and the unpredictable financial health of local governments are concerning enough to try to understand how to include volunteers in local government. Getting beyond volunteer inclusion, managing volunteers and planning for their long-term engagement are challenges that concern not only volunteer coordinators, but local public officials and policymakers. Public Sector Volunteer Management is a book that provides in-depth research on local government volunteer management practices. The book speaks to best practices in volunteer management, public sector volunteer programs, and the management of these public volunteer programs. In my opinion, this book provides insights from volunteer coordinators that is meaningful for scaling up programs in local government. There are many books out there that focus on nonprofit management, on the theory and practice of nonprofit organizations, public service provision and management, accountability, and other related issues, yet few books have really looked at public sector volunteer management especially utilizing a case study from local government. The perspective of local government coordinators is taken into consideration and this provides meaningful and added data to the scholarship on volunteering in the public sector. Volunteers freely give their time to make a difference and enable organizations to continue to provide services. Volunteers are not only found in the nonprofit sector lending their support, they can also be found in the public sector. The scale and the range of services provided by volunteering is extensive. While almost all volunteering is local, volunteers have to be managed and coordinated well in order to get the full benefit of

Preface xi

volunteers. Volunteer management is about improving the experiences of the volunteers and those receiving the services of volunteers, it is about improving the quality of services and engaging individuals within their community. Volunteering is not about replacing paid staff nor is it cheap labor. The book focuses on best practices identified as necessary for successful volunteer management in the public sector, specifically in a local government setting. Public Sector Volunteer Management provides an opportunity to look at the contextual forces behind the involvement of volunteers in local government. These forces can be political, economic, and cultural. Although local government volunteer programs also have a mission of engaging citizens, the practices actually used may directly conflict with their mission. This book adds to our understanding of how management practices may affect retention of volunteers. Further, this provides an opportunity to add much-needed data to any discussion concerning volunteering at the local government level from the perspective of volunteer coordinators. This perspective is important and meaningful because while a plethora of literature exists on nonprofit volunteer management little is known about the challenges in managing public sector volunteers, and what needs to be done to retain them. It is believed that many students reading this book will be from varied backgrounds. Some may have substantial background and experience in volunteer management and others may just be starting off in the volunteer management field especially in the public sector. There may also be others who have knowledge of volunteering but lack the understanding of the intricacies and nuances involved in managing volunteers. Based on the diversity and background of students who may be using this book, I have sought to provide an overview of volunteer management, theoretical concepts, and practical applications. The author also recognizes that not all aspects of volunteer management in the public sector will be captured. The focus of the book is volunteer management in the public sector. The book focuses primarily on the category of volunteers that work in the public sector in the provision of public goods and services. The book is laid out so that chapters are independent of each other but flow in a seamless way. This makes it easier for readers to find chapters that interest them and for them to directly read those first. Chapter 1. Introduction: Introducing Concepts The book begins by introducing the American spirit of volunteerism and the history of volunteerism. In this chapter, I look at the nature of volunteerism and the size of volunteer labor in each state. The chapter identifies the various types of volunteers and the benefits of volunteering.

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Chapter 2. Public Sector Volunteer Management In this chapter, I look at how volunteer involving organizations sustain considerable costs not only recruiting and training volunteers, but also replacing them. Though there are monetary costs associated with involving volunteers, nonmonetary costs tend to impose the highest burden. Following the exit of volunteers from an organization, continuity and organizational morale is affected. In addition, because volunteer turnover rate is high, this has contributed to the view by paid staff that volunteers are transients who are subject to high levels of absenteeism. It becomes apparent there may be public sector human resource management issues that are unique from those in the nonprofit realm. The increased expansion of public services coupled with shrinking budgets makes it necessary and important to highlight some of those issues. Chapter 3. Theoretical Framework to Study Volunteer Management There is a presumption that people volunteer for purely altruistic reasons. Nevertheless, studies have shown that “pure altruism” does not exist. This chapter looks at theories that have been used to explain why people volunteer. Gratification and satisfaction achieved by volunteers are not accidental but expected from the beginning. “There is no evidence to justify a belief in some ‘absolute’ form of human altruism in which the motivation for an action is utterly without some form of selfishness”. Hence, looking beyond altruism to organizational theory is necessary to explain volunteer behavior. Chapter 4. Best Practices in Volunteer Management There is general consensus that professionalization of a field leads to the creation of standards that, in turn, leads to best practices that all others rally around. Research has suggested that successful volunteer programs are carefully planned and implemented using best practices that are thought to be necessary for ensuring the retention of volunteers. This chapter focuses on volunteer management and the various best practices that have been used to manage volunteers. Chapter 5. Local Government Volunteer Management Many local government agencies depend on volunteer labor, yet volunteer management practices at the local government have received relatively little attention. Despite the economic value and social contributions of volunteers, not much is known of volunteer program management at the local government level and why or how best practices are used. Chapter 6. Volunteer Programs in Local Government Local government volunteer management programs are organized and managed by elected City Managers. Local government volunteer programs

Preface

xiii

involve costs and legal complexities organizations must take into account before introducing volunteers into the workforce. Local government volunteer programs are different from philanthropic groups because the budget, policies, procedures, and purposes of the program are set forth and governed by specific regulations and statutes. Chapter 7. Citizen Engagement Few can dispute that volunteers provide added services that the government would have eliminated or reduced due to fiscal problems. Community projects are supported by collective action that are not under the scope of a nonprofit organization but housed under a municipal government. Collective action binds the community together for a common purpose and volunteerism serves as the bridge for individuals to move beyond wanting to do good for their community to accomplish the needs of their community. The supply of volunteers is contingent on people coming forward in the spirit of community responsibility and commitment. Chapter 8. Volunteer Retention and Turnover As indicated by McCurley and Lynch the first six months of the volunteer experience is critical to retention, because it is during this timeframe that the greatest loss of volunteers occurs. This is not necessarily an unusual statistic as compared with the 50% of hourly workers who leave within the first 120 days, and 50% of all senior managers hired from outside firms who turn over within the first 18 months. In practical reality, most employees have 90 days to prove themselves as a new hire. In the public sector volunteer retention is the result of making volunteers feel good about themselves and the task assigned to them. Chapter 9. Virtual Volunteering While the act of volunteering is not new, virtual volunteering is a new phenomenon that exploded on the scene with the advent of technology. It has become even more attractive as the world has been going through unprecedented changes in the way we interact with each other. In a world rich with information due to technology, the internet has become a tool that organizations use to attract and recruit volunteers. Chapter 10. Global Volunteering In western countries, when we provide tutoring in the local library through their volunteer program, we are seen as volunteers. However, in other parts of the world, volunteering can take many shape. In Nigeria for example, helping others, which also includes family and friends, can be seen as volunteering, in Morocco everyone is a volunteer.

xiv

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Chapter 11. Case Studies—Texas This chapter of the book provides a case study that broadens our thinking of volunteer management from the perspective of volunteer coordinators. It looks at several volunteer programs in North Central Texas and question their use of identified volunteer management best practices.

1

Introduction: Introducing Concepts

Chapter Objectives • • • •

Examine the history and spirit of volunteerism in America Understand the different types of volunteers Understand who volunteers are and where they volunteer Examine the benefits of volunteering

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • • •

Be able to recognize the different types of volunteers who exist globally Understand the general characteristics of volunteers especially those who volunteer in local government Know the benefits of volunteering, and understand why people choose to volunteer Understand the concept of volunteerism and why it is such an important part of the American social fabric

The Spirit of Volunteering in America This is a book about the management of volunteers in the public sector. This begs the question: what are the challenges to managing volunteers in the public sector? Are there best practices to effectively managing volunteers in the public sector? If management of volunteers was easy, there would not be a need for a book of this nature. The pervasive nature of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has revealed the importance of volunteers and the unabashedly multi-dimension of DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-1

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Introduction: Introducing Concepts

volunteering in sustaining communities and improving civic engagement. Globalization of volunteer efforts has made it possible for remote and densely populated areas around the world to get help from dedicated individuals. The fact is, there is a deep and enduring need to help, however, volunteerism has several features that mark it as a distinct form of helping. One of these distinctive features is that volunteers actually seek out opportunities to help and make a difference in their communities. In most American cities, volunteerism plays an important role in service delivery. It is how citizens translate their ideas into action. For a long time, we have known that people seek out opportunities to help others as a way to satisfy their own needs. Their motives vary and as budgets in local government and volunteer-involving institutions tighten, the demand for service in education programs, recreation services, healthcare, and human service is pivoting in the opposite direction. There has been an increase in the demand for services that do not correlate with the decrease in funding, making organizations to become increasingly dependent on the services provided by volunteers. It might be surprising to some that most government agencies spend about 80% of their budget on operating expense, and that the salaries and benefits of staff comprise constitute the major expenditure. It is not surprising then that volunteer programs in local government seek volunteer labor to offset the expenses. Faced with dramatic revenue reductions and service reductions, local governments have responded by being creative out of necessity. They have looked afresh at what they need to do and how they need to do it to sustain service delivery levels. As cities were still recovering and emerging from the most of us have seen or encountered, they were hit with the pandemic. Changes are still occurring as school systems figure out a way to reopen underutilized schools while support programs for the vulnerable are being co-produced with nonprofit organizations. The pandemic has been a game-changer for many local governments and their utilization of volunteers. While this is forcing many local governments to take a look at how they do things, how long will this really last before we are back to being bureaucratic and bloated? When we study the annals of volunteering in American social thought, it is often along the lines of: (1) What motivates people to volunteer? (2) Who volunteers? (3) Where do people volunteers? (4) Where are volunteers located? (5) And how much time are volunteers giving to organizations? While these questions might seem simple, answering them can be rather complex and perplexing. To really answer these questions, we need to study volunteerism and its sprint as it relates to the United States. But where do we find these volunteers? Volunteering trends in the United States are captured in national surveys that act as barometers that capture the charitable behaviors of Americans. It captures American attitudes about issues that influence their motivation to volunteer such as age, social-economic status, and race.

Introduction: Introducing Concepts 3 Table 1.1 Volunteers by State, Numbers, and Hours State

Volunteers

Volunteer Hours (Millions)

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

1,051,579 222,054 1,648,684 698,889 7,883,285 1,432,025 913,927 243,160 226,786 3,876,534 2,123,245 307,113 493,161 2,824,541 1,810,274 1,022,936 811,231 978,627 929,382 425,346 1,724,702 1,815,262 2,332,772 1,965,924 546,788 1,529,792 323,866 589,714 572,181 391,510 1,863,865 436,758 4,012,580 2,810,233 218,019 3,052,430 964,701 1,448,752 3,506,834 264,459 1,217,735 240,638 1,652,732 6,036,702 1,152,208 185,306 2,243,147 2,086,604 411,915 1,718,821 147,341

84 24.6 160.9 72.9 688.6 121.8 71.5 24.4 19.4 340.7 187.9 29.1 48.6 206.5 166.5 56.2 61.1 96.6 81.1 39.2 181.9 141.3 185.9 137.2 40.7 133 28.8 53.8 78 36.6 162.7 41.1 295.4 265.3 15.6 278 94.5 177.7 341 22 109 18.9 137.7 563.3 133.9 16.1 231.7 202.2 36.8 164.3 13.2

4

Introduction: Introducing Concepts

Table 1.1 depicts the number of volunteers by state and the number of volunteer hours. A fundamental argument can be made that the answer to these questions begins with the simple understanding and acceptance that people volunteer for a myriad of reasons. As a behavior, volunteering has been studied by scholars and researchers to understand why an individual would commit the time and energy to help an individual or institution without monetary compensation. Powerful ideas such as helping others and working to benefit society are key tools that provide insights into the spirit of volunteering. While others may baulk at the idea that volunteer’s “benefit” from helping others, we must look at these benefits not as monetary but as helping fulfil a need the volunteer may have. Volunteering in the United States is an embodiment of the spirit and willingness of Americans to bring their ideas and interests together to help individuals and institutions. These essential ideas are an indicator of values and policies Americans want to see in their communities. When we look at past research, we see that social capital—our social connectedness or social networks increases when communities come together to help each other. Researchers have argued that there is a high relationship between social capital and a community’s quality of life as measured by indicators such as low crime, community vibrancy, parent’s involvement in schools, and healthy local economies. Volunteering in the United States, therefore, debunks the idea that Americans are individualistic and interested in maximizing their own utility. Americans have been committed to others who have shaped the social fabric of our society moving away from the notion of American individualism which is the basic underpinning of our society. By actively engaging with institutions and helping others, the Darwinian ideology of self-interest comes under scrutiny when looking at volunteer behavior. It begs the question of why so many people reduce their accumulation of money to help others. As it stands, Americans are generous and donate their time generously to help others. Following the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina in 2005, many citizens gave of their resources including time to help their fellow Americans. Arthur Brooks, in Who Really Cares provides us with an eye-opening account by noting that we volunteer because we feel responsible for others. This is an example of prosocial tendencies that pushes us to help others. These tendencies of course will peak and ebb and will need encouragement from time to time. Feeling responsible for others is often heightened through our involvement and engagement in our communities. When organizations aim to recruit volunteers, they need an understanding of who are those really giving their time. At the local government level, the importance of volunteers cannot be overstated because of the support they provide in alleviating the fiscal stress of their communities.

Introduction: Introducing Concepts 5

However, in recent years, volunteer rate has declined. In fact, in 2015, the United States Department of Labor reported that volunteer rate had declined by 25.9%. This was an almost 2% decrease from 2011 (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). Some might argue that the decline is not new and should not be alarming as the same trend was seen in 1983 when 46% of surveyed Americans noted their intent to volunteer. In 2000, there was a dramatic decrease in the number of Americans who intended to volunteer to 17% (Burt & Taylor, 2001). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014) has also lamented the decline in volunteer rate. This decline is an indication that volunteer labor should not be taken for granted. The effect of the decline in volunteer involvement has had a severe impact on both the organization and the community it serves. This country relies to a great extent on this act of volunteerism to address social, economic, educational, and other communal needs that either cannot be met or are not being met by the other two sectors of society, namely government, and the private sector. Recently those who have embarked on studying the various aspects of volunteerism have come to recognize that to gain a more introspective understanding of who volunteers and the conditions and platforms that create that environment of volunteeristic dedication it is of great import to study helping and volunteering that is both planned and sustained over time. (Bereson, 2006) The contributing factors to the decline in volunteerism may be associated with cuts in budget, fiscal stress, lack of funding, and the complex issue of volunteer work-life balance imbalance. There is also the consideration that many volunteers are only able to give very limited time to organizations as they attempt to navigate between personal, societal, social, and community responsibilities. In Bowling Alone, Putnam indicates to us that volunteering is low because there is disconnect and distrust that we display toward each other and this causes us to withdraw from public life as well as volunteer organizations. Management practices need to be in place to understand why volunteers are exiting organizations and what needs to be done to keep them coming back. The importance of creating sustainable volunteer management practices lies in the fact that without the service and support of volunteers, many volunteer-involving organizations would be unable to conduct business and serve their purpose within their various communities. Historical Roots of Volunteerism

For many, when we think of volunteers, it conjures up images of people taking time out of their day to help their community. Indeed, most people

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Introduction: Introducing Concepts

who volunteer do take time to help others. The spirit of volunteering has not always followed a straight path, there have been peaks and valleys. There is a myriad of information on the origin of the word. The word volunteer, comes from the Latin word voluntarius, meaning willing or of one’s own choice. This Latin verb originated from the Latin noun voluntas, meaning will or desire (Paley, 2020). In the 1600s, people in France would voluntarily sign up for the French military. Hence, the word volunteer comes from the French “voluntaire”—one who volunteers. For a while, volunteering was associated with the military but today we associate the word with community service. However, the history of volunteerism in the United States is rich yet complex. For instance, the Colonist banded together to survive the harsh New World, forming support groups to help each other plant crops, build houses and fight diseases (Paley, 2020). This makes volunteerism an important part of American history that continues to impact our workforce. For instance, Ellis and Campbell in their book, By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers highlighted some interesting ways on how volunteer agencies were available to provide assistance and offer help for people at every juncture of American history. The history of volunteerism in America provides an opportunity to unbundle and reflect upon various ways volunteers have made sacrifices when donating their skills, time, and services to fellow Americans. There is profound interest here in that Benjamin Franklin developed the first volunteer firehouse—Union Fire Company in 1736. This is an idea that has become the country’s norm, as more than 70% of all firefighters today are volunteers (Ellis, 1989). He also organized other volunteer activities including the Philadelphia Public Library, and the volunteer militia. Further, during the Revolutionary War, devoted citizens volunteered to organize boycotts against British imports and raise funds for the war efforts, and of course there were the civilian colonist (minutemen) who were volunteer militia (Ellis, 1989). During the Civil War, volunteers played important roles. Women groups such as the Ladies’ Aid Societies would make bandages, shirts, towels, tents, bedclothes for soldiers. Volunteerism is a woven part of the fabric of American democracy and society and the origins of the word provide insights to volunteers into the importance of the work they are doing. This was made abundantly clear by French political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831 in his seminal work Democracy in America during his study tour of the penal system in America. While visiting various parts of the United States, he observed the American propensity toward volunteerism. He observed: In the United States, as soon as several inhabitants have taken an opinion or an idea they wish to promote in society, they seek each other out and unite together once they have made contact. From that moment, they are no longer isolated but have become a power seen

Introduction: Introducing Concepts 7

from afar whose activities serve as an example and whose words are heeded. (Alexis de Tocqueville, 1831\)1838 During the latter part of the 1800s, organizations started to prop up that depended on the energy of volunteers. By the 19th century, we began to see some examples of organized volunteering, such as the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) which first opened its doors in London in 1844 and has since engaged in a wide variety of charitable activities, including providing athletic facilities, holding classes for a wide variety of skills, proselytizing Christianity, and humanitarian work. The first YMCA was opened in the United States in Boston in the early 1850s. The social ills during the 1800s in American cities gave rise to the progressives and the social reform movement around issues of poverty, women’s rights, child labor, the inclusion of women in civic, life, and the abolition of slave trade. The mass mobilization around these issues and many others led to the establishment of social institutions like the American Red Cross in 1881, and the first United Way in 1887. Following this pattern and as the need for volunteers increased, other volunteer organizations emerged in the 1900s such as the Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, and the Rotary Club. Other volunteer organizations included the Bureau of Volunteer Service which emerged in 1919 as a direct response for the increased need for volunteers. The National Committee on Volunteers also came into effect in 1932. A couple of decades later, the Association of Volunteer Bureaus emerged in 1951, and the American Association for Volunteer Services in the 1960s (Ellis, 1989). In the 20th century, the idea of a conventional volunteer program started to take roots and flourish shaping volunteer-involving organizations in the United States. Interestingly enough, we started to make efforts to coordinate volunteers in response to the Great Depression when millions of Americans were out of work, the economy was in a freefall and systemic poverty was very high. This led to the formation of the Volunteer Bureau in Minneapolis, MN in 1919 and became part of the Volunteer Centre National Network, which today reaches 170 million people in thousands of cities across the nation. During the Second World War, volunteers were active in the military and on the home front. Many Americans volunteered in collecting supplies entertaining soldiers on leave and caring for those who were injured. After the war, major developments including the Peace Corps and President Lyndon B Johnson’s “War on Poverty” in 1964 started the expansion of volunteer opportunities that continues today. Over the years, volunteering has become an essential part of what America stands for. Millions of Americans donate billions of hours of their time for national and local causes every year. Today nearly one in four Americans, an estimated 77.4 million people, have served as volunteers. Technology has also played an important and huge role in engaging volunteers allowing people to find volunteer opportunities in their

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Introduction: Introducing Concepts

communities and even globally. Technology has also created the possibility of virtual volunteering, where organizations can utilize the skills of volunteers irrespective of location. Another area that is growing in the volunteering ecosystem is micro-volunteering, where people volunteer to perform small tasks online, usually to promote a campaign or raise awareness for a cause. This is very popular for organizations trying to draw attention to their cause. Volunteering has changed with the times but the spirit of volunteering is as old as the United States. We can safely say that volunteering is part of our present as well as our past. And looking at how Americans volunteer and why, it’s clear that while the “how” has changed throughout history, the desire to help one another will always be a part of the nation’s legacy. We can look at the United States as a huge reservoir of volunteer talents.

Volunteerism For many people, government connotes waste and disconnects from the realities of their daily lives. Yet, people are willing to volunteer for their local government even when they feel their government is wasteful and involved in all aspects of their lives. In fact, some local government programs have more volunteers than they have jobs for the number of people willing and wanting to volunteer. When citizens engage with local government as volunteers, it becomes valuable for their communities because they expand not only the quality of public service, but quantity without exhausting public monies. We use the word volunteerism a lot in this book, yet many rarely stop to ask themselves what it means, what it seeks to do, or who does it. The word has its origins, as far back as the 12th century, with the notion that people help each other. However, we still cannot exclude the idea that people have been helping each other even before the term officially made its presence. Musick and Wilson have defined volunteerism as prosocial, altruistic, unpaid behavior to benefit a person, community, group, cause, and usually takes place through an organizational context. In reality, there is no clearcut definition that incorporates all aspects of volunteering. We tend to aggregate many different activities and situations into this concept. We are reminded that the context within which volunteerism occurs varies as well as the types of activities and time frame; some can last an hour, a day or some can be ongoing. Volunteerism is important because it is how we translate our democratic ideals of freedom into results. It is worth noting that volunteerism has a tremendous impact on the American society—both on individuals providing the service and those receiving it. The altruistic action of volunteerism has a broader purpose of reciprocity of bridging and bonding communities and neighbors in a common cause. This is an important ingredient in setting the foundation of a healthy civil society. The United States Department of Labor indicates that volunteers grew in

Introduction: Introducing Concepts 9

2018 to 77.3 million people, 30.3% of the population. The infusion of this energy into the fabric of American society has to be done in a way that is meaningful to those receiving the service and those giving the service. Despite the importance of volunteers and especially because of their potential to make a difference, volunteer rates have declined in recent years in the United States. For instance, the Department of Labor reported that in 2015 the volunteer rate dropped to 24.9%, a decrease of 1.9% from 26.8 % in 2011 (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). The volunteer rate per resident has also dropped substantially from 36.8% in 2002 to 32.1% in 2014 (National and Community Service, 2015). The decline in volunteer involvement is of concern to a country that relies on the energy and impact of volunteers to their various communities. As Americans, we depend to a great extent on volunteerism to address our varied social, economic, educational, and other communal needs. There seems to be consensus that volunteering is an American tradition, however, the outlook on volunteer retention seems to be bleak. Many will tell you that Americans lack the public spirit that they had in the past with the invasion and pervasive nature of technology and other competing activities. But would the “many” be right? Volunteerism can therefore be done in a managed way and sometimes in an unmanaged way. Managed volunteering, which is the focus of this book, is provided through organizations in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. For instance, managed volunteering takes place when volunteers are sent to homebound individuals. On the other hand, unmanaged volunteering is a more sporadic and episodic in nature. Think about the help that takes place between friends and neighbors in times when there are manmade disasters. A volunteering society brings opportunities to mine ideas from diverse minds and organizations for the benefit of society, but it also poses challenges to cities and volunteer management. This book is meant to be practical and reflective. It is reflective in looking at volunteer management best practices and its (in) adequacies in addressing the needs of the public sector. It is also practical in that it provides guidance to volunteer coordinators and those working with volunteer-involving organizations. Given these realities, we look at some of the terms we will be using in this book. Best practices, Overman and Boyd (1994) stated that best practices are “the selective observation of a set of exemplars across different contexts in order to derive more generalizable principles and theories of management” (p. 69). For instance, cities reputed to have good budget practices may be examined to find commonalities in their budget systems. This common element is then taken and applied to other cities to improve their budgeting outcomes. Volunteer programs, especially those in local governments, are often managed by a volunteer coordinator. Volunteer coordinator refers to a person responsible for managing and involving volunteers in the organization effectively and efficiently (Humphrey-Pratt, 2006). Volunteer

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management refers to public and nonprofit management practices pertaining to volunteer recruitment, retention, and training (Ellis, 2006). For this book, it is local public sector management practices for organizations using volunteer management practices for recruitment, training, and retention. Volunteer retention refers to the ability of an organization to keep its members active through various means such as recognition of group members, leadership development, and training ( Jamison, 2003). On average, research has shown that volunteers tend to last nine months with an organization. Retaining volunteers who have been recruited and trained by the city is important to the credibility and success of the program. Thus, retention should be of importance to the continued success of the program. However, in order to retain volunteers an understanding of what their needs are is also important. Who Is a Volunteer?

It is easy to define who a volunteer is if you are content with being simplistic—a person who helps others. Such an inane definition, while correct, does not do justice to who a volunteer is and what they really do. I believe that there are nuances in defining a volunteer that should capture the robustness and expansiveness of the concept. By doing this, we capture the subtlety in richness as well as gain an appreciation of volunteers. A volunteer refers to an individual who offers himself or herself to service knowing there will be no monetary compensation. The services rendered benefit a third party as well as the volunteer. To volunteer means to establish a relationship between two people—the one giving the service and the one receiving the service. Volunteer is a term that is generally used to combine myriad situations. Let’s look at a situation in which a person volunteers for two years to help their local library and a person who organizes a one-time book sale for the library. We can legitimately term them both as volunteers based on the proffered definitions of who a volunteer is. They both have met the required specifications of volunteers as they perform their tasks with free will, receive no remuneration, and their acts benefit others. Looking closely at these two individuals, we notice that they performed tasks that were fundamentally distinct, hence, using the term volunteer is very general and does not express the specific information in the distinct nature in the length of their service, the impact, or the motivations. Such lack of clarification makes it difficult to generalize from different studies on volunteers, measure with any accuracy the incidence of volunteering, or make policy recommendations. We can take it further and see how the lack of clarification can be confusing by comparing it to the private sector. For instance, there are clear distinctions between the various categories of employees. An employee can be a clerk, a janitor, or a CEO. The approach

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to employee classification, including paid employee classification is very clear and not monolithic. The principal focus here is on establishing the difficulty in defining the term volunteer. When researchers study the various aspects of employment, they deem it necessary to make classifications of employees into distinct categories. They do this classification to help them understand issues related to recruitment, compensation, contract, management, and so forth. Similarly, approaches to studying volunteers should not be approached as if it is a monolithic activity. Efforts should be made to define the different types of volunteers by delineating them. But do researchers actually want to differentiate between the volunteer who reads to children in the local hospital, the volunteer who delivers meals on wheel, and the volunteer to sits on the board of the orchestra? A more formal definition of a volunteer is “a professional or nonprofessional person who provides a service to a welfare or development organization, usually without reimbursement” (White Paper for Social Welfare, 1997). Volunteers are therefore a significant human resource that is used by nonprofit, private, and public organizations. There are several commonalities that volunteers are said to possess as indicated by Claassens (Claassens, 2019). These include: • • • • •

Is willing to offer his/her time Is strongly motivated to donate energy and skills for the accomplishment of tasks in whose purpose he/she believes Provides a service or performs a specific task through some kind of formal structure Receives no remuneration and does it out of his/her own free will; and In the course of the process of service, earns moral credit

We look at Cnaan and Amrofell (1994) who presented a framework for classifying the domain of volunteer activity. The classification they provided demonstrated the complexity of the volunteer world. They argued that in order to compare different volunteer activities the activities should be compared on a range of facets which include length of commitment, benefitted target group, type of task performed, level and nature of supervision, and benefit to the volunteer. This classification, however, fell short because it focused on the internal structure or management of the volunteer experience and did not address the question of what activity may be called a volunteer activity. At the end of it all, volunteer is a social construction and many definitions are offered that do not fully capture the full range of the term. The Fair Labor Standards Act defines a volunteer as “an individual who performs hours of service for a public agency or organization for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation for services rendered.” Since the context of this book

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is volunteering in the public sector, it is apt to look at how states and national agencies view and define the term. In South Carolina, state law defines a volunteer as “any person who freely provides goods or services to any agency or instrumentality of government without financial gain.” We note these legal definitions as well as the multitude of the meaning of the term. The running themes in the definitions are contribution to society in one form or another without monetary compensation. Although there is no financial return for volunteering, we saw from Farmer and Fedor (2001) that volunteers do expect other considerations for the work that they do. It is probably fair to say that volunteers expect a recognition for fulfilling a need within their communities. In a simplified form, we can argue that money is the main measurement of the value of volunteer work, however, volunteers offer their services because of their own sense of obligation, a way to fulfil a need and improve the lives of others and not monetary rewards. There is something to be said regarding people working without pay in a society whose mainline assumption is that people work for money, and people choosing work of their own free will in a world where work is often chosen for us by others or mandated by chronic indebtedness. (Scheier et al., 2001) In order to get a clear picture on who volunteers, volunteering research tends to explore the rate of volunteering, demographic factors and factors that encourage volunteerism. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service women volunteered at a higher rate than men, 29.5 and 23.2 respectively. Most likely to volunteer were middle-aged adults between the ages of 35 and 44, 31.6%. These volunteers represent the Generation X, (those born roughly between 1965 and 1979). Baby Boomers (those born between 1945 and 1964) are actively recruited by volunteer-involving organizations. This age group are offer many retirees who are looking for ways to stay connected, engaged, and active through—volunteerism. Teens, 16 to 19, had a volunteer rate of 27.4%. The age group with the lowest volunteer rate was among young adults, aged 20 to 24, at 18.9% (Wilson, 2000). It is becoming evident that volunteers come from a variety of ages. In examining the rate of volunteering, research assesses demographic factors that can help explain volunteering rates. Many local governments will expend their energies in ensuring that they have the right volunteer energy to accomplish goals and ensure that tasks are completed efficiently. For instance, knowing that as age increases so does the likelihood of volunteering and that volunteering peaks at middle age or that high-risk volunteering skews toward younger population are important to understanding the who of volunteering (Wilson 2000; Wiltfang & McAdam, 1991). Gender is a critical factor in determining the rate of volunteering. In the

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United States, women are slightly more likely to volunteer than men. Interestingly, this pattern of volunteering pattern does not repeat in Europe as volunteering rate differed from one European country to the next (Gaskin & Smith, 1997). There are also racial differences that have to be taken into consideration when discussing volunteering rates. It has been noted by Hodgkinson and Weitzman (1996) report that whites tend to volunteer more than blacks. What explains this difference could be a mix of several factors including differences in levels of education, income, or occupations of blacks. Another important factor in this scenario is that racial differences can also impact the type of volunteer work that people will engage in (Wilson, 2000). This is part curly important because black volunteers tend to be volunteer within their communities and focus on the needs of their communities (Sundeen, 1990).

Types of Volunteers Suppose I asked you to describe a volunteer to me. What do you suppose your response would be? Looking at previous research, we find that the mental imagery of a volunteer that has been posited is that of a middle or upper-class white woman, middle-aged or even older. This model volunteer is also usually well educated, has a college degree, and has substantial amount of time on her hand (Omoto & Snyder, 1995). It has become easier to describe a volunteer and this is due partly to prior research that has attempted this arduous task. Volunteers are the building blocks upon which the voluntary sector rests and the public sector relies on. Consensus about the different types of volunteers is fleeting. However, scholars have agreed upon six types of volunteers based on the literature. Volunteer types include episodic volunteer, spot volunteer, regular volunteer, marginal/mandated volunteer, and virtual volunteer. These categorizations of course are based on the patterns of participation, motivation, and level of commitment. Categorizing is also a way to understand the driving forces behind or motivation of the volunteer and in turn will help in placing the volunteer in the right position to get the best out of the volunteer experience, as well as the resources needed to include the volunteer in the organization. When volunteers are categorized, it makes it easy for volunteer coordinators to recruit from specific pools of candidates for specific positions or tasks that need completion. Suppose an individual wants to participate with organization in a casual way by helping with a park clean up or a single-day fundraising. This individual can be categorized as a spot volunteer. The level of commitment is limited to a day and is not usually repeated. Further, the spot volunteer does not need any specific or special skills to participate. Episodic volunteers, on the other hand, may volunteer more than once. However, the commitment is not continuous because they limit their

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volunteer participation for a specific time of the year and also for a short period of time. An episodic volunteer may choose to serve in a soup kitchen around the holidays. Students are also a great example of episodic volunteers as they may volunteer their time during their summer break. Regular volunteers (Core) are those who make the commitment to be involved with an organization. Their motivation and commitment is rewarded by the sense of accomplishment from the work. Regular volunteers tend to go through the formal process of volunteer work and the positions may include job descriptions and responsibilities. Marginal/Mandated volunteers include those volunteers who have been pressured, encouraged, or mandated to volunteer. Individuals in this category include students who need volunteer hours to graduate high school, and community service that has been court-ordered. Virtual volunteers are those who complete volunteer work at a distance from the physical location of the organization they are working for (Cravens & Ellis, 2014). The great thing about this type of volunteering is the ability to engage without leaving the comfort of your home to contribute time, energy, and experience to volunteer-involving organizations. This type of volunteering has increased in recent years with the advancement in technology and social media. The medium used in this type of volunteering is technology which can be in the form of email, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, and other social media tool to serve the organization. Another aspect of virtual volunteering is that it provides organizations and volunteers globally with a way to make virtual connections (Table 1.2). We can further categorize volunteers based on their backgrounds or expectation of volunteering. Some examples include Youth, Student Intern and Work Experience volunteers. When classifying volunteers based on their backgrounds, organizations may use different names to call the groups. Youth volunteers usually is an individual who is under 18 years old. Although volunteer opportunities start much earlier than that age, parental consent is usually required for those who are underage. Student volunteers is an individual attending higher education who receives credits for their service. According to Perry (1996), although they may be paid but the amount of the payment is considerably smaller than the average salary level of paid employees. Hence, normally student intern is considered as a “special” volunteer in some organizations. Work Experience volunteers include those who become volunteers in order to gain or increasing experience in a particular field. The main factor differentiating them from Student Intern is that volunteers in this group will not receive credit from their educational organization (Perry, 1996). The local community is an important population with various demographics with respect to volunteerism. Volunteers are one means by which local governments can help to increase meaningful engagement with citizens and help meet the increasing needs for local government services with limited resources

Challenges • Managing volunteers who spend very little time with an organization • Assigning them tasks that can be completed during their assigned time slot • Keeping them engaged

Regular Volunteers

Marginal/Mandated Volunteers

Likely to participate Likely to participate only consistently over time when pressured, encouraged, or mandated to • Low retention rate • Removing personal • Managing them to see and burnout bias toward some their added value to the organization (big picture) • Keeping volunteers court-mandated engaged and chalvolunteers • Ensuring volunteer enrichment and variety lenged with mean- • Encouraging voluningful assignments teers to see the value of in task assignment (avoiding monotony) • Finding new ways to their work to the or• Competing events encourage and ganization recognize volunteer • Engaging volunteers efforts • Competition from other events • Converting episodic volunteers into regular or core volunteers

Participation is very limited Participation can be for a and short term few hours on an event day

Duration

Episodic Volunteers

Spot Volunteers

Topic

Table 1.2 Types of Volunteers

• Lack of face-to-face contact. • Virtual volunteering requires skills, especially in the use of technology. • Access to technology can serve as a barrier.

Participation can vary from short term to long term

Virtual Volunteers

Introduction: Introducing Concepts 15

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(National League of Cities Report, 2009). On a broader scale, volunteers in public agencies provide a variety of services to fill gaps in creating and sustaining collective societal goods that otherwise might have been limited due to fiscal stress on local governments or completely eliminated.

Benefits of Volunteering There is a close connection between volunteering and an increase in benefits to volunteers and the communities they serve. This points to the fact that volunteering is not only about an activity that gives the volunteer occasional feelings of happiness. Etzioni (1990) notes that “The beauty” of civic service “is its ability to serve two or more functions simultaneously” by allowing volunteers to “do more” and “grow in profound ways.” There are four areas that research has indicated being substantial benefits of volunteering: livelihoods, health and personal growth, civic and social engagement, and economic and social development (Morrow-Howell et al., 2015). Volunteering according to the Corporation for National and Community Service (2006) has the potential to strengthen livelihoods by building skills and providing pathways to employment, particularly pathways for young people. It is not a farfetched idea to note that young people volunteering is linked to them getting some skills for preparation for the job market. It provides exposition to mentors, career paths, and an opportunity to build and develop skills needed in future job opportunities. Volunteering also provides the opportunity to build social capital and a solid social network. The capital built can be very useful in leveling the playing field especially for those who find it difficult to obtain employment (Spera et al., 2013). Volunteering can be particularly beneficial to those who have been unemployed for a long time to find work. Further, social skills are developed as volunteers learn to interact with people from diverse backgrounds. Although it is a rather grand generalization, some young people pursue volunteering opportunities to boost their college admission applications and improve their employability. The prosocial behavior of volunteering extends beyond lines on resumes especially for millennials who report wanting to add value to their communities by contributing to their communities in meaningful ways.

Conclusion Volunteers offer valuable services where they serve and organizations thrive on their contributions. While the services of volunteers are not paid for, it is important that they are managed in an effective and efficient way. Volunteering can be cost-effective but it is extremely important to note that it is not cost-free. A well-managed volunteer program will require an infrastructure to be effective and efficient. At the local level, it is, therefore,

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necessary for government to support the infrastructure that will allow for the training and placement of these volunteers in various local government units. This is of actual benefit to government, because when government is informed about the citizens who volunteer, they are more likely to introduce policies that affect them directly. One of the benefits of volunteering is that it helps create a cohesive society by bringing people together who want to work for the good of their community, build trust, and create social bonds. Another important benefit of volunteering is that it adds value to the services provided by government. Volunteers easily supplement the work of government whether it is volunteering to help look for a missing child, volunteer in the public library, or provide service to the police in the form of public safety cadets. Exercise

Casey Kasey liked to joke that his name would get him in any door as long as he kept quiet until he was in. Casey was joking with other volunteers as he stacked chairs in the activity center of the local Community Recreational Center. As the Volunteer Coordinator of the Centre, Karen Bay watched the activities and volunteers moving around the space. There were over 20 volunteers moving around and getting the space ready for the senior prom. The Senior Prom was an annual event held to give people in their golden years who did not attend their official school prom due to a variety of reasons to do so now. Karen held her clipboard and tried to coordinate everyone and manage their time. She had another 20 groups coming in to replace Casey’s group. Casey’s group had signed up for three hours. The next 20 coming in will be there for four hours and she was very familiar with them. They were her core volunteers. These were the volunteers she knew she could always count on to show up when needed. The Centre was venerable and has served the community for over 30 years. It was widely known around town simply as the Centre. Many in the community had held their prom, bat mitzvah, and special milestone parties at the center. The upkeep of the Centre rested with a small paid staff of two and an army of volunteers. The city has been in some budgetary constraints, yet the demand for services continues to increase while resources are limited. Karen understood the logic of turning to volunteers, but she was frustrated as she looked at Casey and his cohort who continued to joke and moved at what she thought of as too slow. How could she ensure that they did the work the right way, enjoy their social interactions so that they came back to volunteer with her? These thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to mentally categorize the different volunteers coming into the Centre. “Ms. Karen, where do you want me to place this chair?” a volunteer who Karen recognizes as a court-mandated volunteer asked. Karen pointed

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to her left and looked down at her clipboard to match the nametag worn by the volunteer to the list that had been sent over from the local Community Service Referral Program. “Excuse me, I’m looking for a Karen Bay,” a woman asked Karen as she walked around the hall looking at the transformation taking place. There were volunteers stringing up balloons and decorations, some putting table cloths on the tables and others on the stage area setting up the DJ equipment. “I am Karen Bay. How may I help you?” Karen gently responded. “I’m here to volunteer and was asked to see you by someone out front” the lady answered Karen. This was what Karen was afraid of. She didn’t mind people walking in and wanting to volunteer, what she didn’t want was the one-off volunteers who while very good, could take the spot of others she had to turn away because she was at capacity for this event. Questions to Consider

1 2 3 4

What factors should Karen consider as she manages the various volunteers? How would we categorize Casey? What motivates him to volunteer? Is the Centre a natural fit for volunteers like Casey? If you were Karen Bay, how would you have organized this event with the number and variety of volunteers on hand? Does turning volunteers away have an impact on the success of a volunteer program?

Discussion Questions 1 2 3

What are some of the reasons people choose to volunteer? What are the general characteristics of a volunteer? Which type of volunteer volunteers the most? Why?

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Overman, E. S., & Boyd, K. J. (1994). Best practice research and Postbureaucratic reform. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 4, pp. 67–84. Paley, B. (2020). The origins of the word “Volunteer”. The Public Administration Times. Perry, J. L. (1996). Measuring public service motivation: An assessment of construct reliability and validity. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 6, pp. 5–22. Spera, C., Ghertner, R., Nerino, A., & DiTommaso, A. (2013). Volunteering as a pathway to employment: Does volunteering increase odds of finding a job for the out of work? [Report]. Washington, DC: Corporation for National and Community Service, Office of Research and Evaluation. Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (2001). Optimism, pessimism, and psychological well-being. In E. C. Chang (Ed.), Optimism and pessimism: Implications for theory, research, and practice (pp. 189–216). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Sundeen, R. A. (1990). Citizens serving government: The extent and distinctiveness of volunteer participation in local public agencies. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 19, pp. 329–344. 10.1177/089976409001900404 The White Paper (1997). “The White Paper - Decision Time on Community, Voluntary Sector and State Relationships” Poverty Today, December 1997/January 1998, No. 38, ISSN 0791 0096. Willis, E. (1991). Managing volunteers. In J. Batsleer, C. Cornforth, & R. Paton (Eds.), Issues in voluntary and non-profit management. Wokingham: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annual Review of Sociology. 26(1), pp. 215–240. Wiltfang, G. L., & McAdam, D. (1991). The costs and risks of social activism: A study of sanctuary movement activism. Social Forces. 69, 987. Wymer, W. W. (1999). Hospital volunteers as customers: Understanding their motives, how they differ from other volunteers, and correlates of volunteer intensity. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing. 6(2/3), pp. 51–76.

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Public Sector Volunteer Management

Chapter Objectives • • • • •

Understand volunteerism in the public sector Examine volunteer management in the public sector and the various models of volunteer management Understand managing volunteers in public organizations Examine the difference between public and nonprofit volunteer programs Understand the challenges in public sector volunteering

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • • • •

Be able to recognize what the public sector is and why the public sector attracts volunteers Know the differences between volunteer programs housed in local governments and the nonprofit sector Understand the intricacies of managing volunteers in the public sector and the challenges posed Be able to understand volunteer management in the public sector especially at the local government level Be able to assess the different models of volunteer management

The Public Sector Every country in the world have economies that are divided between the private, public, and the nonprofit/nongovernmental sector. The public sector is made up of all government organizations in the United States. These include the federal government, state governments, and local DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-2

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government. The public sector is focused on the provision of public services which includes education, welfare, the legal system, employment, natural resources, and health services. What falls into the category of the public sector is generally understood to be those programs, goods, and services that enhance the public good. Further, the programs and services that meet this criterion are a matter of broad debate. Agencies at the Federal level such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Department of Labor are part of the public sector. State provision of services such as insurance regulations, unemployment services, and children and family services is also part of the public sector (Table 2.1). The definition of the public sector in the United States may not necessarily be applicable to the rest of the world. In many countries in the global north including Europe, health care coverage and higher education are included in the classification of the public sector because they are funded or the public sector provides oversight of these. Communist countries for instance classify a majority of services as being part of the public sector. Unlike the private sector whose purpose is to find a profitable market for their products and keep shareholders happy regardless of societal values, the legitimacy of public organizations depends on the public values being provided. Thus, the main purpose of the public sector and public organizations is benefitting society. The importance of the public sector has been a topic of interest globally for many decades. Which is not a surprise because the primary purpose and values of the public sector are attractive to certain people (Perry & Hondeghem, 2008). Indeed, this has interesting implications for volunteerism such as pro-social motivations. It is therefore important that public sector organizations link these pro-social motivations to the purpose and values of society. This may be a prerequisite for a successful volunteer management program. The foundation of public sector volunteer management may therefore lie in the values and purpose of the sector. Local government is part of the public sector. A local government is an entity that provides services to meet a variety of needs in a specific Table 2.1 Public Sector versus Private Sector Public Sector

Private Sector

Types of Organizations Types of Goods Provided

Government

For-profit businesses

Public goods that benefit all

Ownership Profit-Making? Types of Workers

The public No Civil servants

Private goods that benefit individuals, businesses, organizations Individuals, shareholders Yes Employees and independent contractors

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Public Sector Volunteer Management

community (Padovani & Young, 2012). By this definition, local governments do not have powers only those vested in them by the states. States through enabling legislation establish local governments and determine how much authority to give each local government entity. Local governments can be created through various paths. Some come about through the direct action of citizens and some through state statutes. Direct action by citizens usually comes about through a charter. Since local governments are below the states in stratification, they do not have much power but what they lack in power they make up for in responsibility (Table 2.2).

Volunteerism in the Public Sector For many, the idea of volunteering and the location of volunteering has been associated with the nonprofit sector. Very rarely do we think of volunteers in the context of the public sector. The donation of time, efforts, and enthusiasm has been given to nonprofit organizations and not public agencies. However, citizens do give their time to their local governments. Volunteerism in government takes many forms. It has been promoted for example by mayors, presidents, and other government officials. Some local governments have their fire service staffed by an all-volunteer force and some communities make use of volunteer social workers and teachers to provide services to their communities. When local governments have faced challenges, they have often turned to their citizens as volunteers to help carry the burden of service provision. Each time, citizens have answered the call to fill the gaps. President Bush initiated programs to recruit volunteers, and serve the needy. Examples include the AmeriCorps, USA Freedom Corps. As Omoto and Snyder noted, millions of Americans volunteer in one form or the other every year. Americans volunteered nearly 6.9 billion hours, worth an estimated $167 billion in economic value in 2020 as noted by the Independent Sector. Though nonprofit organizations get the bulk of this donated time and energy, government agencies get four billion hours (onefifth) of donated time toward government activities (NACO, 2010). This pool of volunteer labor has proven to be incredibly valuable to volunteerinvolving organizations as 80% of them use volunteers to meet their administrative and program needs and provide services. One key element that has led to the tremendous success of public sector volunteering is that local governments have a very large pool of volunteers to pull from. Citizens want to volunteer their time and assist their government and local communities in the delivery of essential public services. Further, they are an economic resource and have led to government saving large sums of money by reducing the cost of delivering services. Volunteers in local government enable the government to get more banks for every tax dollar that is collected. There is universal agreement that when people act together for the good of their community voluntarily, it creates bonds and trust that encourage

Public Sector Volunteer Management Table 2.2 States and Total Number of Local Government Units State

Total Local Government Units

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

1,195 179 658 1,541 4,444 3,141 625 334 2 1,712 1,380 21 1,170 6,918 2,638 1,941 3,792 1,322 516 834 344 858 2,863 3,643 969 3,768 1,226 2,538 189 541 1,338 1,013 3,450 970 2,664 3,897 1,830 1,510 4,830 129 671 1,916 906 5,343 619 729 517 1,900 651 3,096 794

Census Bureau, 2017 Census of Governments.

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Public Sector Volunteer Management

cooperation which in turn creates social capital. Social capital is defined here as: “The networks of relationships among persons and institutions in a society, together with associated norms of behavior, trust, cooperation, etc., that enable a society to function effectively.” After all, we can view social capital as the central nervous system for creating an inclusive community. In fact, people who see themselves as powerless and find themselves on the fringes on society can actually get things done if they volunteer together as a community. Volunteers in government begin with looking at two important elements. First, the government workforce is already well established with paid staff. Researchers have long worried about the tension between volunteers and employees who occupy government offices, and how to deal with this tension between talented volunteers and employees. Employees tend to be territorial even if they do tend to have more experience doing what they do. On the other hand, recruiting and retaining volunteers into local government has proven as a growing challenge because of lack of proper management of the volunteers. The fundamental challenge lies in matching the skills of volunteers with the changing strategies and procedures of local government operations. This is especially important at the local government level where the work of government is dependent upon establishing, leveraging, and maintaining partnerships with the many partners on which local government depends on to get work done. The fundamental struggle is not only to recruit but also how to reward the skills that volunteers bring into local government. This means that local government has to be strategic in how to include volunteers in a meaningful way and design volunteer programs that will prevent political interference.

Sample of Roles Performed by Volunteers Greet visitors Enhance public safety Protect the environment General administration Disaster preparedness and response CASA—Court Appointment Special Advocates Beautification

Library helpers Help in parks and green space Code Enforcement Recreation Senior Services Mentoring

The widespread utilization of volunteers shows that there is considerable evidence to connect volunteerism and the social well-being of individuals. Rehnborg (2005) observed that volunteers are engaged in “museums (31%), cultural and arts programs (27%), programs for the elderly (17%) and in the delivery of public safety” (p. 97). Further, Nesbit and Brudney (2013)

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have also reconfirmed that the most common area of volunteer use is in culture and arts. Overall, most local governments use volunteers to provide some sort of public service. Other common areas of volunteering include public safety, youth programs, and education. Department(s) Museum Arts and Culture Support and Elder services Fire and Police Libraries Parks and Recreation Animal shelter Sustainability and Environmental Services

Who Volunteers in the Public Sector? The constrained resources and continuing and growing demands for services have required that local governments really look at how they serve their communities. Public sector volunteerism is popular but not widely known to be so. Brudney and Kellough (2000) indicated that a national survey of US citizens revealed that over 23 million people volunteer with government agencies. At the county level, this has resulted in an estimated $1.8 billion worth of services. The use of volunteers in cities and counties is second only to when government seeks alternative modes of service delivery through contracting with the nonprofit sector. Volunteer organizations in the public sector must attract and engage an array of citizens in the delivery of public services. For these organizations, they must have the ability to recruit and retain volunteers. With the economy on a downward spiral, and as cities experience budget cuts and increase demand for services, the need and reliance on volunteer labor will increase as cities struggle to survive. This is of importance because it provides another lens through which to view local government volunteers, who they are, what departments they are attracted to, and what motivates them to stay. Research has shown that people volunteer for different reasons and come from different walks of life. Examples include: • • • • • • •

Individuals wanting to fill gaps in their lives People who want to serve their communities and others Individuals seeking professional and personal growth Youth Unemployed individuals Retired people People interested in companionship

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• •

College students People who are passionate about the mission or purpose the organization serves

Volunteering in the public sector can be defined as a voluntary activity that is sponsored and organized by a government agency (Brudney, 1996). This is different from other traditional volunteering (for example, volunteering within a nonprofit setting), and the initiative to include volunteers often has been sponsored or housed within government agencies (Nesbit et al., 2017), formally structured, volunteers have been unpaid, and work has been intended to benefit government agencies (Brudney, 1999; Rehnborg, 2005). Recent research has demonstrated that “more than one-quarter of local governments have used volunteers to deliver public services” (Nesbit et al., 2013). Local government volunteers have benefited the community by increasing the quality/quantity of government services, reducing costs, engaging citizens in the community, increasing quality of life, and making substantial contributions to service delivery (Brudney & Meijs, 2009; Gay, 1998; Gazley & Brudney, 2005). The reasons for having government volunteers may not be the same for nonprofits, and the challenges in involving and managing volunteers may be different due to social, managerial, political, and financial reasons. For instance, where nonprofit organizations may raise funds for their programs, local government volunteer programs are given a budget that may or may not be adequate to support the needs of the program. Another challenge that nonprofits may face but may be different from local government volunteer programs because of the context in which they operate is that volunteer coordinators rarely have contact with representatives who make laws affecting their programs (Ellis, 2010). Other challenges have been summarized in Table 2.3.

Volunteer Programs/Organizations Volunteer-involving organizations as the name implies tend to focus on a particular area and are often associated with the nonprofit sector. They occupy a specific niche and tend to be issue focus—wanting to contribute to the local community or address the needs of specific segments of society. Taken as a whole, volunteer organizations offer an array of services and activities that touch almost every aspect of our lives (Corporation for National and Community Service, 2009). At the local government level, one of the driving powerhouses behind the inclusion of volunteers in local government has been National Association of Counties’ (NACo) Volunteerism Project. This project has promoted volunteerism to county government officials and provided assistance to counties that want to establish and maintain effective volunteer programs. In 1991, NACo conducted a preliminary survey of volunteer programs in local government.

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Table 2.3 Nonprofit Organizations versus Government Agencies Involvement of Volunteers Nonprofit Organizations

Government Agencies

Board of directors has legal authority to make Operate under authority of Federal State, county, or municipal law decisions and amend bylaws. Executives have the power to request Coordinators cannot change the law and governance changes and can influence rarely even have contact with board response to such requests. government Lawmakers. Are responsible for finding their own Must budget according to tax revenue allocated to them sources of funds and revenue and accept whatever donation they wish Can budget and raise funds for any need Expend funds that may be narrowly authorized and cannot always accept donations of funds, goods, or services Note: Adapted from Ellis (2006).

They produced a guide on how to establish volunteer programs in county governments. The project held meetings and workshops for elected and appointed officials, publicized various model of volunteer programs, and developed resources and materials for volunteer management. They produced a list of benefits of volunteer programs and involving volunteers as coproduces of government services below. Volunteer programs are a cost-effective strategy to fill gaps in service or initiate new projects: As we saw in the beginning of this chapter, volunteering builds social capital by bringing people together to help local government deliver services. There are cost-savings benefits of including volunteers in local government. While some may argue that the labor of volunteer is free, maintaining them is not. Many organizations including local government use volunteers to accomplish missions and goals. A challenge is ensuring that volunteers remain with the organization in order to sustain service delivery. It is important to make the distinction that unlike nonprofit organizations that are sustained by volunteer labor, the public sector is not sustained by volunteers. The volunteer program created by local government is based on the definition and discussions from different sources. Distinctive characteristics of a typical volunteer organization are defined as following: 1

Rely on volunteers to achieve its main goals: The first and foremost characteristic of a volunteer organization is that volunteers account for the central foundation in the organization’s operation. Although some may have paid staffs, volunteer organizations greatly rely on the human resource force of volunteers to achieve its main goals while even nonprofits might have a strong paid employee force because an

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2

3

Public Sector Volunteer Management

organization can be considered as a nonprofit as long as its operation is not aiming on making profit (Perry, 2004). Aim on providing benefits to the public community rather than focusing exclusively on their own members. Hence, membership in volunteer organizations generally does not result in specific benefits. In order words, volunteers do not receive financial or similar benefits as compensation for their contribution in volunteer organizations (Statistics Canada 2003). Have no restrictions on who can join. Volunteer organizations usually do not have many requirements for recruiting volunteers. However, certain volunteer organizations operating in special fields might require volunteers to obtain specific skills and qualifications in order to be able to fulfill the tasks and responsibilities (Statistics Canada 2003).

In local government, volunteer programs take on other characteristics based on the context within which they operate. The National Association of Volunteers in Local Government have been very instrumental in helping to provide some of the considerations that cities to understand before starting a volunteer program. These include the following considerations: 1 2

3

4 5

Support from leadership—the support of elected officials and top managers within the city are needed if the program is to succeed. Identifying what the needs of the city are—this is important to answer questions relating to how and what volunteers can do to help you accomplish your goals. It also helps identify if volunteers are needed for specific projects, tasks, or goals of the city that has not been accomplished and that requires volunteer energy to complete. Clearly articulating the vision and mission of the volunteer program—this exercise will help determine the structure of the volunteer program. Will it be a centralized or de-centralized model? Further, it forces us to think about who will manage the volunteer program. Will we need to identify a person in each department to be responsible or will we have one staff person to handle for the entire organization? Data—how data be tracked and collected. Considerations should be given to whether access will be used or creation of a volunteer database Risk management and safety—this will include screening, training, tools, supervision, safety equipment, and volunteer tasks

Organizational Models of Volunteerism Public organizations vary in the design and structure of their volunteer programs. Many usually begin very informally and then become highly structured and formal. Designing volunteer programs will vary in design or structure as well as in management and operational features. Many are highly structured and formal. Others are ad hoc in nature and, therefore,

Public Sector Volunteer Management

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considered informal. Valente and Manchester (1989) have helped us identify four models or approaches for distinguishing among volunteer organizations. These discernible models are (1) the ad hoc volunteer model, (2) the outside recruitment, internal government management model, (3) the centralized model, and (4) the decentralized model. Model 1: The Ad Hoc Model

The ad hoc model refers to either a local or state governmental entity identifying a specific need or problem that requires immediate attention. In this respect, a public sector organization would undertake a special project, within a distinct timeline, to address a well-defined problem area. Volunteers would likely comprise the majority of the workforce or assistance here, and governmental entities would provide management and various resources as required. Ad hoc study groups, for example, are often established by state and local governments to analyze problems and propose solutions. Voluntary participation is crucial in these cases in that they provide outside expertise and assist in building public support and acceptance of governmental proposals and actions. Model 2: The Outside Recruitment/Internal Management Model

This model is a familiar one. It represents a partnership or affiliation between a private or nonprofit entity and a governmental organization. As an example, this might conceivably be a partnership between United Way and a social service-type agency or program. United Way would provide for the recruitment and expenses associated with training, transportation, etc. of volunteers and these volunteers would in turn provide some form of services to social service clients within a government agency or department. Certain organizations are especially skilled and experienced in the recruitment and training of volunteers. This is particularly true of organizations such as the American Red Cross, Service Leader, and the United Service Organization (USO). Model 3: The Centralized Model

The centralized approach for volunteerism is one in which a single organization handles all or most aspects of volunteer recruitment, coordination, etc. for government locally or statewide, whichever the case may be. Valente and Manchester define the centralized approach as “a model that implies a jurisdiction-wide program managed by a central entity or staff, and operates from the state agency’s central office headquarters. The central model of volunteerism has several benefits”. It allows for improved coordination among competing governmental agencies for volunteers. It permits better use or management of scarce resources, allows for better

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Public Sector Volunteer Management

placement or match of volunteers to agency needs, and gives government an overall better profile or standing as regards its emphasis on volunteerism. Additionally, a central model provides for better data collection and analysis of the benefits that volunteers contribute to government services. The Kentucky Commission on Community Volunteerism is one such example of a centralized approach to volunteerism. The commission provides for a highly visible central site or contact place for volunteers, coordinates volunteer programs, channels federal and state funding for volunteer programs, and works with local governmental agencies as well. Model 4: The Decentralized Model

The decentralized model is that approach where a divisional or departmental unit operates and manages its own separate volunteer program(s). This may be a governmental intra-agency (e.g., a department of mental health) effort that implements its own volunteer programs among several work units. It could also be a single work unit effort within a larger agency structure (e.g., an alcohol and drug treatment center within a department of mental health agency). This decentralized model allows for greater agency or unit control and flexibility over its volunteer program(s). It can also lend itself more to informality and creativity and permit rapid adjustment to changing or unexpected circumstances. The downside, of course, is that chances for duplication of effort increase and the ability to move or exchange volunteers to other agencies (or programs) are much restricted.

References Brudney, J. L. (1990). Fostering volunteer programs in the public sector. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Brudney, J. L. (1996). Designing and managing volunteer programs (pp. 688–733. 10.1002/9781119176558.ch24 Brudney, J. L., & Duncombe, W. D. (1992). An economic evaluation of paid, volunteer and mixed staffing options for public services. Public Administration Review. 52, pp. 474–481. Brudney, J. L., & Kellough, E. (2000). Volunteers in state government: Involvement, management and benefits. Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Quarterly. 29, pp. 111–130. Brudney, J. L., & Meijs, L. C. P. M. (2009). It ain’t natural: Toward a new (natural) resource conceptualization for volunteer management. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38, pp. 564–581. 10.1177/0899764009333828 Corporation for National and Community Service (2009). Press Release: President Obama Signs Landmark National Service Legislation. http://www.nationalservice. gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=1301 Ellis, S. J. (2006). Creative volunteer roles. The Non Profit Times. Retrieved from https://www.energizeinc.com/art/creative-volunteer-roles Ellis, S. J. (2010). From the top down: The executive role in successful volunteer involvement (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Energize.

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Gay, P. (1998). Getting into work: Volunteering for employability. Voluntary Action. 1(1), pp. 55–67. Gazley, B., & Brudney, J. L. (2005). Volunteer involvement in local government after September 11: The continuing question of capacity. Public Administration Review, 65, pp. 131–142. 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00439.x National Association of Counties (2010). Volunteer toolbox. Retrieved from http:// www.naco. org/sites/default/files/documents/Volunteer%20Toolbox.pdf Nesbit, R., & Brudney, J. L. (2013). Projections and policies for volunteer programs: The implications of the serve America Act for Volunteer Diversity and Management. Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 24, pp. 3–21. 10.1002/nml.21080 Nesbit, Rebecca, Christensen, Robert, & Brudney, Jeffrey. (2017). The limits and possibilities of volunteering: A framework for explaining the scope of volunteer involvement in public and nonprofit organizations. Public Administration Review. 78. 10.1111/puar.12894 Omoto, A. M., & Snyder, M. (2002). Considerations of community: The context and process of volunteerism. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(5), pp. 846–867. 10.1177/ 0002764202045005007 Padovani, Emanuele, & Young, David. (2012). Managing Local Governments: Designing Management Control Systems that Deliver Value. 10.4324/9780203149980 Perry, J., & Hondeghem, A. 2008. “Editors’ Introduction.” in Motivation in Public Management: The Call of Public Service (Eds.). J. Perry, and A. Hondeghem. (pp. 1–14). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Perry, J. L. (2004). Bringing society in: Toward a theory of public-service motivation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 10, pp. 471–488. Rehnborg, S. J. (2005). Government Volunteerism in the New Millennium. In J. L. Brudney (Ed.). ARNOVA Occasional Paper Series: Vol. 4. No. 2. Emerging Areas of Volunteering. Indianapolis, IN: Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizaitons and Voluntary Action Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 75-001. Vol. 8, no. 5. U.S. Census Bureau (2017). Projections of the size and composition of the U.S. Local Governments population. Valente, C., & Manchester, L. (1989). “Volunteers,” service delivery in the 90s: Alternative approaches for local governments. A special report edited by C. Farr. New York, NY: ICMA.

3

Theoretical Frameworks to Study Volunteer Management

Chapter Objectives • • •

Understand the human relations and bureaucratic theories of volunteerism Examine the various theories that explain why people volunteer Understand human resource management theory in relation to volunteer management

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • •

Be able to recognize the importance of human resources management in the context of the public sector especially in volunteer management Know the differences between the various theories and how they relate to volunteer management Be able to understand how these theories may differ in the public sector when managing volunteer

Introduction One of the motivations driving this book was to provide answers to the thorny questions of how to better manage and retain volunteers at the local government level. Volunteer management is such an interdisciplinary and practical field of study that the idea of a single theory that can thoroughly explain volunteer management would be the unicorn of the discipline. There is a need for conceptual clarity and reliability in theoretical understanding of volunteer management. There is the temptation in a practical and applied discipline such as volunteer management to fall on common DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-3

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sense and experience to fulfil tasks. The truth is that common sense and experience are needed to accomplish tasks, but there are not adequate especially when the definitions of common sense and experience are subjective. The wisdoms of previous generations have been useful but they may not be right for subsequent generations. For instance, in the public sector, we have generally accepted the common sense wisdom from previous generations that bureaucracies are inefficient. The approach of this generation has been to follow a common-sense path of privatization, contracting out and deregulation. Over the past decades, the professionalization of the field of volunteer management has called for a more systematic pattern of inquiry about the substance of volunteer management. The human resources management has been examined which has allowed for better conceptual and theoretical forms of volunteer management analysis. This analysis has at some level created knowledge that is replicable and cumulative. One of the purposes of this book is to provide and describe a few theories that can contribute to our understanding of volunteer management. We look at the most important theories and make no claims that there is one universally accepted theory of volunteer management. We must begin by asking ourselves about the usefulness of theories in explaining volunteer management. As has been suggested by researchers, a theory is only as useful as its ability to describe, explain, and predict. A theory should therefore have the ability to precisely describe a real phenomenon. Theories, we can also argue, are abstract representations of a real-world event—so they have the ability to explain or depict real phenomena. As we describe, we must decide which element of the event to emphasize. Volunteer management is complex, and the description may be fuzzy depending on who is relaying the description. This makes the concept of description a limiting tool in explaining the phenomenon being described. There can be distortions embedded in describing a phenomenon so a useful theory will help explain the phenomenon. Explanation probably helps our understanding of why some people will see some events as more important than others. The important aspect of a description is that it seeks to answer the questions of what is happening, why did it happen? An explanation may not always help us understand the description or sharpen our clarity of the description. Ansel Adams said this best when he noted that there is a difference between seeing a picture and understanding a picture. In volunteer management then, descriptive feature of a theory helps us see and the explanatory feature helps us understand. Now that we understand that theory helps us describe and explain volunteer management, shouldn’t it also help us predict? The resounding answer is yes. Albert Hershman’s theory of changes in the social and political world provided us with many predictive qualities and is very useful. The issue usually is that we expect too much prediction in volunteer management because it is such a practical and applied field. We expect that

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Theoretical Frameworks

if we apply or follow the patterns of a theory, we will achieve the predicted results. However, this is not the case because specific results may not inexorably flow from the results. Volunteer management has been strongly influenced by classical human resource management (HRM) and theories. Theories are advanced and sometimes gain wide acceptance for a period of time. As we test these theories through research over time, we may find that the theories do not adequately explain the phenomenon under study. Some theories will therefore be relegated to the wastebasket of academic history. Other theories will be challenged, but will have an intuitive appeal to scholars despite evidence of their shortcomings. Theories that seek to explain volunteer management have been mostly developed by management, psychologists, and social psychologist scholars. The theories governing volunteer management and its practices have been the subject of intense debates among opponents and proponents of volunteer management. This could be due to the fact that volunteer management is also undergoing transformation and evolving into a more professional activity. As Sozanska et al. (2004) noted, while volunteerism is considered an unpaid service to the needy, researchers believe that since the launch of the International Year of the Volunteer 2001, organizations and individuals are seen to be engaged in volunteerism as professional organizations and professionals, respectively. Most studies on volunteerism are qualitative case studies or use a quantitative research design with descriptive rather than inferential statistics. The primary obstacle to the use of rigorous quantitative research designs is the absence of a systematic method for identifying local government organizations that use volunteers and collect reliable data. There is no list of local public sector volunteer programs, nor is there a standard practice for their use common to a significant number of local governments. National Association of Volunteers in Local Government (NAVLG), which is the only organization with registered local government volunteer programs, program coordinators and managers, lists members on its website; however, it is by membership and the universe of local government volunteer program is not all listed. Several factors combine to complicate the process of collecting data from a uniform sample for use in a quantitative research design. First, local government volunteer use tends to be “ad hoc” rather than highly organized. Second, many programs exist in a “silo” without a formal understanding across the administration that unpaid volunteers exist in a particular unit and no individual is responsible to track volunteers across departments. Finally, little historical data exists that tracks program metrics over time (Hager & Brudney, 2004). Few studies employed a quantitative design using inferential statistics (regression analysis, correlation, and means-testing), and most used a qualitative case study research design. In the absence of reliable data, the

Theoretical Frameworks

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qualitative case study method is appropriate. Qualitative methodology is used to “explore, explain or describe a phenomenon of interest” (Marshall & Rossman, 1999, p. 33). According to Creswell (2009), qualitative case studies allow researchers to gather information in a natural setting, generate a rich picture of the phenomenon to understand the phenomenon, provide insights, and generalize the results (Creswell, 2009). Qualitative study of public sector volunteer theory permits significant interaction with participants and maximizes the quantity of information available for analysis. Collection of qualitative data from multiple sources such as observations, books, articles, journals, interviews, and surveys is encouraged to provide a rich picture of the phenomenon and for triangulation (Creswell, 2009). Quantitative methodology on the other hand offers many advantages as noted by Leedy & Ormrod (2005): (a) there is a clear identification of independent and dependent variables, (b) the research problem can be clearly stated, and (c) there is the ability to achieve high levels of reliability because of the controlled observations and the reduction in researcher bias. Human Resources Management Theory

Volunteer coordinators manage the human resources—volunteers—in volunteer-involving organizations including the local government. The bottom line for government institution is citizens, and citizens are the most important input into accomplishing the goals of an organization. Unlike the private sector that produces things/products, local governments provide services that are beneficial to all. Human resources management involves the systematic “design of formal systems … to ensure the effective use of individual knowledge, skills abilities and other characteristics … to accomplish organizational goals” (Pynes, 2013, p. 3). As Pynes noted, human resources also involve the recruitment, selection, training and development, compensation and benefits, retention, etc. of individuals within an organization. In order to accomplish the stated mission of the organization then the listed activities have to be approached in a systematic way. It may seem like when discussing human resources management, it is from the employee perspective. However, many of the same principles can be applied to a volunteer management program. Since the context of volunteer management matters, it is there essential that the volunteer program is in compliance with the law There is a presumption that people volunteer for purely altruistic reasons. Nevertheless, studies have shown that “pure altruism” does not exist (Finkelstein, Penner & Brannick, 2007; Meneghetti, 1995; Smith & Gay, 2005). Gratification and satisfaction achieved by volunteers are not accidental but expected from the beginning. “There is no evidence to justify a belief in some ‘absolute’ form of human altruism in which the motivation for an action is utterly without some form of selfishness” (Smith and Gay,

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2005, p. 25). Hence, looking beyond altruism to organizational theory is necessary to explain volunteer behavior. One of the most interesting definitions of both volunteer management and HRM is they both very clearly outline management of peopleresources to deliver on organization objectives. Consequently, they both cogitate recruitment, selection, and induction; training, roles, and responsibilities; systems and policies. Cunningham (2009) paints a rather illuminating picture that the professionalization of volunteering over the past two decades driven by an increased pressure to promote management accountability has inundated the day-to-day management of volunteerinvolving organizations. This has seen a greater emphasis placed on organizations to implement HRM practices in the management of their volunteers. The big question here is whether human resources management practices are similar enough to be transferred to volunteer management especially in the public sector? Alfes, Antunes, and Shantz (2017) in The Management of Volunteers—What Can Human Resources Do? noted that: Putting HR into context ensures that researchers move away from a “one size fits all” toward a more tailored approach which takes into account that the management practices developed for volunteers need to match the volunteering environment to be effective. While best practices can give a first hint at which HR tools are likely to make a difference, they need to be adapted to the specific setting in order to deliver their full potential. With context in mind, we turn to issues of structure and how it can impact the management of volunteers. Volunteering has to fit into the organizational structure or challenges will arise. For instance, McCurley and Ellis (2010) describe the challenge of volunteering and how it fits into the structure of the organization. The resulting scenario is that volunteer programs may actually operate in silos out of the executive leadership units of organizations, be integrated into human resources department and don’t directly connect to any other part of the organization. Extant research has shown that is indeed the case in many states. In most cases, when there is no dedicated volunteer program in local government, the responsibility for volunteer management is not allocated to a specific area but rather each unit wanting to engage volunteers will have a volunteer management program. The local library wishing to engage volunteer will operate its own volunteer management program. The Parks and Recreation department will also take responsibility for its own volunteer management. This inconsistent approach to volunteer management and its location in an organization tends to put the foci on volunteer management as more of a service delivery model and deemphasizes other factors and motivations such as altruism that prompt individuals to volunteer.

Theoretical Frameworks

39

When it is clear what volunteer organization wants and can easily determine the value of volunteers’ services, volunteering involving organizations can be smarter about volunteer management. But, when the value of volunteers is undermined or not fully appreciated, then volunteerinvolving organizations are faced with challenges because they fail to understand that working with volunteers is building community, that each volunteer is an individual with unique needs not merely human resources. Volunteer programs need to understand that involving volunteers is an integral part of the organizational processes and the outcome as well. For volunteer management voluntary activities are not only about community building, but they encompass activities such as active citizenship and engagement. This is very important view because volunteer-involving organizations focus on the outcomes from the voluntary activities rather than actually focusing on the act of volunteering. Modern views of volunteering that seek to engage the volunteer provide challenges when we attempt to apply human resources management approaches due to what Curley and Ellis call the diversity and motivation of the volunteer work. There are few boundaries in volunteering with ages ranging from 5–95, backgrounds from school students to CEO’s; motivated by wanting to make friends, improve mental health, help others or change the world. In a majority of volunteer involving organizations the volunteer numbers exceed paid staff working in most cases working far fewer hours in a variety of ways from short term, single day and virtual service. The concepts, ideas, and arguments we lump together as human resources management are of a view that suggests the difference in recruitment in volunteer management and human resources management is that HR seeks to find the perfect candidate who is the right fit for the organization when funds are available to pay for wages. Volunteer management, on the other hand, is about reaching out to the community and engaging with them to contribute their time, skills, and energy in a variety of roles. The goal with volunteer management is to match the motivations of the volunteer to their roles. To attempt to understand the current climate involving volunteers, one must begin with understanding the complexities in volunteer participation along with the intense focus on the professionalization of volunteering and risk management over the past decades. We have seen professional organizations in the United States and around the world that provide accreditation and training of volunteers and volunteer management in local government. In the United States the National Association of Volunteer Programs in Local Government (NAVPLG) are leaders in the strengthening

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Theoretical Frameworks

volunteer programs through leadership, education, advocacy, networking, and information exchange. In addition, many people responsible for volunteer involvement do not have this recognized as a core part of their role as they are primarily engaged to deliver programs and/or services but with the support of large number of volunteers. McCurley and Ellis (2010) explains that “in many cases people are ‘anointed’ into the leadership of volunteers; they did not seek the extra responsibility and felt that they had little or no option when their administrator offered to them. Additionally, they continue to view their original job description as their priority and try to ‘squeeze in’ the volunteer program as their secondary set of tasks.” This occurs in many areas such as education, tourism, environment, and health. This is often as a result of funding where the cost of volunteer involvement is not factored in and recognized. With significant reforms in Aged Care and Disability where the focus is on individualized funding there is a growing concern that there will be a huge impact on the aged care sector if the definition of the “formal workforce” is not extended to include volunteers.

Human Relations Theory Human relation theories explaining motivation postulate that volunteers leave an organization because the expectations and opportunities they sought remain unmet, or because organizational processes, structures, and relationships that complement the volunteer experience are lacking (Blau, 1964; Cnaan & Goldberg-Glen, 1990; Maslow, 1970; Vroom, 1964). Reasons that influences individuals to volunteer, that is, factors that initially influenced them to start volunteering, may not be the same ones that urged them to continue. Human relations theory posits that the strongest motivational forces behind an individual’s behavior at work are based on the preservation and nurturing of social relationships with colleagues (Mayo, 1933). In a discussion of human relations theory, Shafritz and Hyde (1997) identified the main assumptions of the school of thought that include (a) people want to be made to feel valued and important, (b) people want recognition for their work, (c) people want to be controlled sensibly, (d) managers must discuss the plans they make for staff by taking their objections into consideration, and (e) managers must encourage self-regulation on routine tasks. Based on human relations theory, best practices associated with human relations include activities such as recognition, evaluation, training and support, and volunteer newsletter. Herzberg’s two-factor theory is an example of the human relations school and asserts that motivators leading to satisfaction include recognition and responsibility, while motivators leading to dissatisfaction include factors such as organizational policies, leadership style, and relationships with colleagues (Porter et al., 2003). Omoto and Snyder (1995) argued that good experiences correlate with commitment to

Theoretical Frameworks

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the organization. Recognition is a critical ingredient. Fisher and Ackerman (1998) defined recognition as a “public expression of appreciation given by a group to individuals who undertake desired behaviors” (Fisher & Ackerman, 1998, p. 264). We look at two theories here to help us understand volunteer management and retention in the public sector: (1) Bureaucratic theory and (2) Human relations/motivations theory. Although many reasons for retention have been offered, these theories offer arguments regarding why people continue to volunteer. One argument is premised on the idea that bureaucratic practices matter, and the second is that the cultivation of good human relations practices matters in retaining volunteers.

Bureaucratic Theory Bureaucratic theory posits that organizations prescribe clear structural arrangements and administrative practices designed to achieve specific goals and objectives (Downs, 1965). Bureaucratic theory is concerned with establishing operational control and facilitating efficient operations through (among other attributes) hierarchical structuring of organizational offices (i.e., centralization) and the division of organizational tasks into functionally distinct offices (Fry & Raadschelders, 2008). Weber viewed bureaucracy as the “most rational and efficient organizational form devised by man” (Fry & Raadchedlers, 2008, p. 36). Embedded in the elements of bureaucracy are the principles of formalization, instrumentalism, and legal authority (Weber, 1920). Formalization refers to the degree to which rules, procedures, and task assignments exist in written forms (Downs, 1965). These documents are written well in advance of people joining the organization and are meant for directing and regulating organizational behavior. Bureaucratic tools are used to achieve specific purposes. For instance, rules, positions, and interaction patterns may be designed to achieve organizational objectives such as retention. Bureaucratic best practices typically include among other things: formal record-keeping, screening, planning, performance management, support from high-level officials, training and support, budget for the volunteer program, reimbursement for work-related expenses of volunteers, and liability insurance. Human relations best practices typically include among other things: recognition, a recruitment newsletter for volunteers, training and support, annual evaluations, and orientation.

Why People Volunteer There is no doubt that it is important to understand the motivation surrounding volunteering. We have already established that volunteering is any activity that an individual offers freely to help another person and that a volunteer is an individual who offers themselves to service knowing there

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will be no monetary compensation. However, no one really knows exactly why people will choose to volunteer and work to benefit others with no compensation. For example, researchers have indicated that individuals will seek volunteer opportunities because of personal beliefs, altruistic nature to help others, develop professional and leadership skills, and network for future employment (Hibbert et al., 2009; Clary et al., 1998). Altruism has often been cited as the main reason why people volunteer (Omoto & Snyder, 1995; Hibbert et al., 2009). According to Hibbert et al. (2009), altruism is the idea that individuals will help others in order to benefit their communities without expecting any rewards. Individual motivation to volunteer is complex. Theories on what motivates people to volunteer offer ambiguities mainly on whether altruism or personal gain is the best indicator of volunteerism (Hair et al., 2000). Others (Finkelstien & Brannick, 2007; Mowen & Sujan, 2005; Penner, 2002) have indicated that volunteer functional motives, role identity, as well as dispositional factors are antecedents to volunteering. While there are various theories used to understand the motives behind why people volunteer, the most widely used ones are the functional theory around which the Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI) was developed (Clary et al., 1998); the volunteer process model by authors Omoto and Snyder (1995) and the role identity theory by Penner and Finkelstein (1998); Penner (2002) and Finkelstein (2009). Functional theory, according to Clary et al. (1998), concerns the personal and social functions that are served by volunteering. It assumes that people will volunteer in order to satisfy underlying social, as well as basic psychological functions which are termed motive functions (Clary et al., 1998). They further indicate that different people can perform the same volunteering activity in order to satisfy different functions. Understanding these functions is critical to sustaining volunteering. For example, Clary et al. (1998) note that volunteers can be recruited into an organization by appealing to their particular functions. The most widely used model in understanding volunteer motivation is the VFI. The VFI was developed by Clary et al. (1998), and has 30 questions that focus on the reasons why individuals choose to volunteer. Respondent scores on the VFI are calculated and linked to six factors that provide invaluable metrics in analyzing the various components that are core to volunteer motivation. VFI factors: values (associated with altruistic concern for others); career (attain careerrelated skills); protective (reduction of negative views about oneself ); understanding (acquiring new knowledge); social (gain or improve social relationships); enhancement (growth and psychological development). The functional theory has its weaknesses and strengths. A strength of the theory is that it provides volunteer managers with a clear understanding of the needs that volunteers want to fulfill. As is often the case, most leaders of volunteer programs have better understanding of fulfilling the mission of their organizations than in understanding volunteers

Theoretical Frameworks

43

and their motivations for volunteering (Herman, 2010). A weakness of the theory is that the theorists provide no explanations on how volunteer managers are to fulfill the six social and psychological needs of volunteers. For example, if one of the functional needs of the volunteer is left unfulfilled during the volunteer experiences, then the likelihood for the volunteer to disengage is high. On the other hand, meeting the functional needs of the volunteer increases the likelihood that the volunteer will remain with the organization (Clary et al., 1998). The volunteer process model is a theory developed by Omoto and Snyder (1995) that attempts to explain the motivation to volunteer and reasons why people who volunteer continue to stay with the organization. The authors divided their model into three phases: antecedents, experiences, and consequences (Omoto and Synder, 1995). Antecedent phase acts as a catalyst that pushes individuals to become involved in an organization. The catalyst can be anything from personal needs, social need, personality, or circumstances. The experiences which prompt or discourage an individual to volunteer are the focus of the second phase (Omoto and Synder, 1995). The authors note that when volunteers are satisfied with their experiences, they are more likely to continue with their involvement in the organization. The last phase of the theory is on consequences. For example, a volunteer past experience in the organization may influence his/her future behavior. This model has its strengths and weaknesses as well. A major strength is that it provides a clear understanding of why volunteers continue to stay with an organization. This can be important to volunteer managers with limited experience managing volunteers. A weakness of the model lies in the fact that the theory provides very little practical information on how to get volunteers to the organization in the first place. Role identity theory according to Finkelstein (2009) assumes that through repeated interactions and expectations, an individual forms multiple identities. Thus, the more others identify an individual with being a volunteer, the more the individual internalizes the role of being a volunteer. By identifying with and internalizing the role of being a volunteer, the role is then incorporated into the self-concept of the individual. Finkelstein (2009) notes that high degrees of identification and internalization with the role of being a volunteer correlate with the likelihood that the volunteer will remain with the organization. Penner (2002), on the other hand, postulates that the reputation of the organization, employee culture, and other dispositional factors such as beliefs, values, and personality traits affects a volunteer decision to stay or leave an organization. This theory also has strengths and weaknesses. It allows volunteer managers an opportunity on how to get volunteers to identify with the organization. A weakness is that not all volunteers within the organization hold a specific position to which they identify with. Thus, the theory may not be useful to some volunteer managers.

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It is important to have a good understanding on the motives of why people volunteer in order to match them well within the organization. This will satisfy their motivation and keep them with the organization. An understanding of volunteer motivations can also help with recruitment strategies and how the organization plans its budget.

Discussion Questions • • •

In small groups, discuss some of the reasons why you volunteer. Write these reasons down and then cross reference to see if you can identify a theme. Discuss any human resource challenges that volunteer coordinators may face in attempting to recruit you as a volunteer In your opinion, discuss how human resource management practices is important to volunteer management.

References Alfes, K., Antunes, B., & Shantz, A. D. (2017). The management of volunteers—What can human resources do? A review and research agenda. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 28(1), pp. 62–97. 10.1080/09585192.2016.1242508 Blau, P. (1964). Power and exchange in social life. New York, NY: Wiley and Sons. Clary, E. G., Snyder, M., Ridge, R. D., Copeland, J., Stukas, A. A., Haugen, J., & Miene, P. (1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 74, pp. 1516–1530. 10.1037/0022-3514.74.6.1516 Cnaan, R. A., & Goldberg-Glen, R. S. (1990). Comparison of volunteers in public and nonprofit human service agencies. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 19, 345–358. 10.1177/089976409001900405 Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Cunningham, L. L. (2009). Laswell’s value/institution categories. Paper present ed at the 2002 Association of Leadership Educators Annual Meeting. Lexington, KY. Downs, A. (1965). A theory of bureaucracy. The American Economic Review. 55(1-2), pp. 439–446. Retrieved from http://down.cenet.org.cn/upfile/55/2005324213 921126.pdf Fisher, R. J., & Ackerman, D. (1998). The effects of recognition and group need on volunteerism: A social norm perspective. Journal of Consumer Research. 25, pp. 262–275. 10.1086/209538 Finkelstein, M. A. (2005). Society for personality research. Motive, role identity, and prosocial personality as predictors of volunteer activity. Social Behavior and Personality. 33 (4), pp. 403–418. Finkelstein, M. A. (2008). Volunteer satisfaction and volunteer action: A functional approach. Social Behavior and Personality. 36 (1), pp. 9–19. Finkelstein, M. A., & Brannick, M. T. (2007). Applying theories of institutional helping to informal volunteering: Motives, role identity, and prosocial personality. Social

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Behavior and Personality: An International Journal. 35, pp. 101–114. 10.2224/sbp. 2007.35.1.101 Finkelstein, M. A., Penner, L. A., & Brannick, M.l T. (2007). Motive, role identity, and prosocial personality as predictors of volunteer activity. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 33, 403–418. Fry, B. R., & Raadschelders, J. C. N. (2008). Mastering public administration: From Max Weber to Dwight Waldo (2nd ed.), Washington, D. C.: CQ Press. Herman R. D. (2010). The Jossey‐Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. San Francisco, CA: Jossey‐Bass. Hager, M., & Brudney. (2004). Volunteer management capacity in America’s charities and congregations. A Briefing Report. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2010). Multivariate data analysis. Prentice-Hall. Hibbert, S., Piacentini, M., & Dajani, H. (2009). Understanding volunteer motivation for participation in a community-based food cooperative. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, 8, 30–42. 10.1002/nvsm.199 Hirschman, A. (1985). Against parsimony: Three easy ways of complicating some categories of economic discourse, economics and philosophy, London: Cambirdge University Press, Vol. 1(1), pp. 7–21. Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2005). Practical research: Planning and design. Upper Saddle River, NJ.: Prentice Hall. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1999). Designing qualitative research. (3rd ed.), California: International Educational and Professional Publisher, 35. Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality. New York, NY: Harper & Row. Mayo, E. (1933). The human problems of an industrial civilization. New York, NY: Mcmillan. McCurley, S., & Ellis, S. (2010). The marriage of HR & volunteer management: The odd couple?. Published e-Volunteerism. 11(1). Meneghetti, M. M. (1995). Motivating people to volunteer their services. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Mowen, J. C., & Sujan, H. (2005). Volunteer behavior: A hierarchical model approach for investigating its trait and functional motive antecedents. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 15, pp. 170–182. 10.1207/s15327663jcp1502_9 Omoto, A. M., & Snyder, M. (1995). Sustained helping without obligation: Motivation, longevity of service, and perceived attitude change among AIDS volunteers Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 68, pp. 671–686. 10.1037/0022-3514.68.4.671 Penner, L. A., & Finkelstein, M. A. (1998). Dispositional and structural determinants of volunteerism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 525–537. Penner, L. (2002). Dispositional and organizational influences on sustained volunteerism: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Social Issues. Pynes, J. (2013). Human resources management for public and nonprofit organizations: A strategic approach (4th ed). Wiley. Shafritz, J., & Hyde, A. C. (1977). Classics of public administration. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace. Smith, J. D., & Gay, P. (2005). Active ageing in active communities: Volunteering and the transition to retirement (Transitions after 50). London, UK: Institute for Volunteering Research. Snyder, M., Omoto, A. M., & Lauren Crain, A. (1999). Punished for their good deeds: Stigmatization of AIDS volunteers. American Behavioral Scientist. 42(7), pp. 1175–1192.

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Sozanska O., Tosner, J., & Fric, P. (2004). Management of Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations. Spaulding, J. (1995). Ansel Adams and the American landscape: A biography. Berkeley: University of California Press. Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Weber, M. (1920). Bureaucracy. In Shafritz, J., & Hyde, A. (Eds) Classics of public administration. (7th ed.), Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

4

Best Practices in Volunteer Management

Chapter Objectives • • •

Understand the best practices in volunteer management Examine the various management practices aim at enhancing the volunteer experience Understand the one size fits most volunteer management practice

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • •

Be able to recognize that while there are many elements to managing volunteers, there is not a one size fits all management practice that leads to volunteer motivation Understand the difference in main best practices put forth by various authors on the subject of volunteer management Be able to group the best practices into select management themes

Has the nature of volunteer management changed? How has volunteer management evolved over time? Have we lost the natural engagement outlook through the professionalization of volunteer management? When we think about the nature of work itself, we realize that it has evolved and we have created hierarchies in how we do things. It is very easy for humans to be engaged, because as humans we seek refuge in interactions and our intrinsic motivations. The academic research and practitioner literature addressing volunteer management appears to be in agreement that the most successful volunteer programs operate around a planned, established set of best practices (Brudney, 1999; Cuskelly et al., 2006; Fisher & Cole, 1993; Forsyth, 1999; DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-4

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Govekar & Govekar, 2002; Gratton & Ghoshal, 2003; Hager & Brudney, 2004a; Silverberg, 2004). Yet, local government volunteer programs appear to lack awareness of or knowledge about these best practices. There is a growing body of volunteer literature, however, that argues that volunteers differ from paid staff and that volunteer management should therefore re­ spond to the uniqueness of volunteers. Fisher and Cole (1993) noted that professionalization of a field leads to the creation of standards that, in turn, lead to best practices that all others rally around Research over the years have identified the following as the best practices in volunteer management (Table 4.1). These best practices can be narrowed down and broken into volunteer management themes. The themes are listed below. Volunteer Management Theme

Best Practices

Planning

a Provide role or job descriptions for individual volunteer. b Maintain a database of volunteers’ skills, qualifications, and experience. c Record keeping of volunteer service hours. a Match the skills, experience, and interests of volunteers to specific roles. b Fill key volunteer positions by matching position to volunteer skills. c Actively recruit volunteers from diverse backgrounds (e.g., minority ethnic groups, people with disabilities). a Verify the accreditation of all volunteers. b Conduct suitability checks of volunteers (e.g., child protection). a Introduce new volunteers to people with whom they will work with. b Conduct orientation sessions for specific groups of volun­ teers (e.g., committee members). c Organize orientation meetings for new or continuing volunteers. a Provide support to volunteers in their roles (e.g., assist with the resolution of conflicts). b Assist volunteers to access training outside the program. c Reimburse volunteers for “out of pocket” expenses. a Evaluate the performance of volunteers. a Recognize outstanding work or task performances of individual volunteers.

Recruitment

Screening Orientation

Training and Support Recognition Performance Management

Taken together, these best practices are on continuum from planning to get volunteers involved to managing their performance and recognizing them for their efforts. In fact, this is the model that is followed and pre­ scribed by many scholars. This linear process that touts the proposed vo­ lunteer recruitment-, retention-, and performance-improving instruments are inspired by human resources and management.

Orientation for new volunteers Training for employees who work with volunteers Active outreach to recruit new volunteers –– –– Reimburse work–related expenses Newsletter for volunteers Volunteers responsible for managing other volunteers Budget for the volunteer program Ongoing or in-service training for volunteers Support from high-level officials for the volunteer program

Written policies for volunteers –– Job/position descriptions for volunteers Liability Insurance Coverage for volunteers Annual or other evaluation of volunteers ––

Annual measurement of the impacts of volunteers Regular supervision and communication with volunteers –– –– –– –– –– ––

–– Training for paid staff in working with volunteers

Recognition activities, such as award ceremonies, for volunteers Regular collection of information on volunteer numbers and hours Training and professional development opportunities for volunteers Written policies Screening procedures to identify suitable volunteers Job descriptions for volunteer involvement Liability coverage or insurance protection for volunteers –– ––

Recognition activities for volunteers Formal record-Keeping on volunteers

Basic training for volunteers

Hager and Brudney (2004b)

Brudney (1999)

Table 4.1 Identified Main Best Practices by Various Authors

Recruitment –– –– –– –– –– –– –– ––

–– Screening –– –– –– Performance management Orientation

Training and support

Recognition Planning

Cuskelly et al. (2006)

Best Practices in Volunteer Management 49

50

Best Practices in Volunteer Management

As far as research into the efficacy of volunteer management practices arising from the human resource perspective is concerned, the results have been mixed. A growing number of scholars have argued that the transfer of HR to the volunteer coordination context is only half of the picture. A differentiated view that allows for the different categories of volunteers is called for. Otherwise, can we really manage a spot volunteer the same as an episodic, marginal, or virtual? These best practices offer an attractive description of an exceptional volunteer management and reflect the consensus of distinguished scholars and researchers who help to develop them. But it is never the less primarily a compilation of practical activities rather than one that is scientifically proven. Further, what exactly do we mean by effective volunteer man­ agement? There is no single definition of volunteer management effec­ tiveness. It is important to note that there is no “one size” fits all for these best practices or a silver bullet that ensures effective volunteer management. Various scholars and researchers have attempted to identify behaviours that are associated with the effective management of volunteers—that is, to identify those practices that if followed will lead to the effective manage­ ment of volunteers. There are a number of strategies in volunteer man­ agement that suggests that there are best practices that influence whether a volunteer leaves or stays. Yet, why, despite several volunteer management best practices, does volunteer management remain a challenge in the public sector? It has been suggested that few employees working with volunteers are trained in the unique subtleties associated with leading or working with volunteers. To commence my analysis for factors affecting volunteers in the public sector, I had a look at the concrete practices and instruments that have an impact on volunteers in formal organizations, and which are mostly influenced by the human resource management literature. There is general consensus that professionalization of a field leads to the creation of standards that, in turn, lead to best practices that all others rally around. Research has suggested that successful volunteer programs are carefully planned and implemented using best practices that are thought to be necessary for ensuring the retention of volunteers (Brudney, 1999; Cuskelly et al., 2006; Hager & Brudney, 2004). A cornerstone of a successful volunteer program has been structured around a set of management practices. These practices are thought to be necessary for ensuring the retention of volunteers (Brudney, 1999). Implicit in the idea of a set of best practices is an assumption that one size fits all. To apply best practices across the board would suggest that local government volunteer programs are similar in organizational structure, budget size, amount of citizen engagement, accountability concerns, and similar bu­ reaucratic procedures. Because volunteering is often seen as an extension of citizen engagement volunteer programs are often set up with the goal of engaging citizens. Further, local government volunteer programs can have

Best Practices in Volunteer Management

51

Planning

Recognition

Performance Management

Recruitment

Best Pratices

Training and support

Screening

Orientation

Figure 4.1 Best Practices of Volunteer Management Process.

legal restrictions concerning their use of volunteers, and in some cases legislation must be enacted to relieve them to expand the boundaries of volunteer use. Martinez (2003) reminds us about the importance of politics in shaping the controversial topic of volunteer tort liability and the role of the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. Indeed, empirical research by Horwitz and Mead (2009) suggested that legal immunity protections and “the political will to protect volunteers” (p. 620) are direct correlates of volunteer rates. The logical extension of an argument for best practices is that their application will lead to predictable outcomes such as low turnover and a citizenry that is engaged in local government affairs. Evidence to support this is lacking, however (Figure 4.1).

References Brudney, J. L. (1990). Fostering volunteer programsin the public sector: Planning, initiating, and managing voluntary activities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Brudney, J. L. (1999). The effective use of volunteers: Best practices for the public sector. Law and Contemporary Problems. 62, pp. 219–255.

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Brudney, J. L., & Meijs, L. C. P. M. (2009). It ain’t natural: Toward a new (natural) resource conceptualization for volunteer management. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 38(4), pp. 564–581. Cuskelly, G., Taylor, T., Hoye, R. & Darcy, S. (2006). Volunteer management prac­ tices and volunteer retention: A human resource management approach, in Sport Management Review (Sport Management Association of Australia & New Zealand), 9, 2, pp. 141–163. Fisher, J., & Cole, K. (1993). Leadership and management of volunteer programs: A guide for volunteer administrators. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Forsyth, J. (1999). Volunteer management strategies: Balancing risk & reward. Nonprofit World. 17(3), pp. 40–43. Govekar, P. L., & Govekar, M. A. (2002). Using economic theory and research to better understand volunteer behavior. Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 13, pp. 33–48. Gratton, L., & Ghoshal, S. (2002). Improving the quality of conversations. Organizational Dynamics. 31, pp. 209–223. Hager, M. A., & Brudney, J. L. (2004a). Net benefits: Weighing the challenges and benefits of volunteers. The Journal of Volunteer Administration. 23(1), pp. 26–31. Hager, M. A., & Brudney J. L. (2004b). Volunteer management practices and retention of volunteers. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Retrieved from http://www. urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/411005-Volunteer-ManagementPractices-and-Retention-of-Volunteers.PDF Horwitz, J. R., & Mead, J. (2009). Letting good deeds go unpunished: Volunteer immunity laws and tort deterrence. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies. 6 (3), pp. 585–635. Martinez, J. M. (2003). Liability and volunteer organizations: A survey of the law. Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 14, pp. 151–169. Silverburg, K. E. (2004). Understanding American parks and recreation volunteers utilizing a functionalist perspective, in Stebbins, R. A., & Graham, B. (Eds.) Volunteering as Leisure, Leisure as Volunteering: An International Assessment. (pp. 49–67). Cambridge, MA: CABI publishers.

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Local Government Volunteer Management

Chapter Objectives • • •

Understand the economic value of including volunteers in local government Examine the social contributions of volunteers in their communities Understand volunteer program management at the local level

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • •

Be able to recognize why local government agencies rely on volunteers Understand the best practices that are being used at the local level to manage volunteers Understand the economic value and social contributions of volunteers

The most recent data on volunteering indicates that over 77 million Americans volunteer their time to various organizations. Their time and energy have been estimated to be worth $167 billion annually. The takeaway from these numbers is that the basic building block of communities is its people who also volunteer to provide necessary services. And volunteer programs, especially, depend on these volunteers to maximize impact within their communities. Structure is the building block and management is the goal. Volunteer programs are repositories of expertise that local government needs to provide services and get complex work done. Managing and coordination of volunteer is thus a central challenge of volunteer programs. MacDuff et al. (2009) wrote, “Volunteer management DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-5

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is more complicated than ever before.” Managing a volunteer program is thus an essential component of its success and in meeting the goals of the program. But stating this sometimes seems like underlining the obvious or perhaps invoking that management is the magical key that will ensure that volunteer programs work successfully. Scholars have never found a magical formula that will guarantee a truly successful volunteer program. There are many barriers that stand in the way, including volunteer programs not being allocated adequate resources to accomplish their goals, the political context the program operates within. To accomplish their goals, volunteer programs must be provided with a budget to operate. The allocated budget should contain, among other items, the reimbursement for the volunteer work-related expenses (Connors, 2012). These enabling funds allow people from all economic and social strata to give their services freely. The complex mission of local governments and the intricate structure of volunteer programs should be linked. The way volunteer programs are structured matters a lot because they affect volunteer retention and motivation. Volunteer programs must be efficiently planned and managed to be successful. However, measures must be adopted to ensure that the program is not perceived as controlling (Wilson & Musick, 1999). Mandating volunteerism can be counterproductive, equally applying external pressure to perform some action will not necessarily lead to the behavior once the pressure is removed (Clary et al., 1996). Since volunteer coordinators cannot offer financial compensation, an understanding of what and why volunteers are motivated is central to the success and effectiveness of the volunteer program (Liao-Troth & Dunn, 1999). The inability of the volunteer program to inspire and engage volunteers leads to the problem of retention. Investing in a volunteer program, which is often led by a volunteer manager, is necessary in order to build a robust volunteer program. However, the investments should be viewed as having dividends that will serve the organization and have lasting benefits. A properly managed volunteer program and volunteer management is also vital to ensure the satisfaction of and retain volunteers.

Why Involve Volunteers in Local Government? Volunteers matter in organizations, of course, but in the traditional sense of volunteering, volunteers, and volunteerism, the focus has been on why people choose to volunteer and their motivations. In the public sector, research has tended to focus on what motivates government agencies to establish volunteer programs and who volunteers in local government and why. By the 1990s, scholars had focused on the differences between public and nonprofit volunteers. When local governments decide to involve volunteers in the day-to-day operations and management of city programs, the benefits can be vast.

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There still remains the question of why involve volunteers in local government? This is an important question because it helps local government and volunteer coordinators ensure that volunteers become an asset and not a liability, that they enhance the service of the city and that they are not there to replace staff. Further, from the perspective of government, involving volunteers directly into the activities of local government offered several possibilities such as the expansion of current services and cost reduction (Gazley & Brudney, 2005). Cost reduction holds a particular interest to government and the appeal lies in the notion that volunteers represent a way for governments not only to cut costs but also to increase democratic legitimacy by involving the public in the delivery of public services. Beyond cost reduction and adding value to city services, volunteers also bring benefits considering the diverse skills, experience, and expertise of the volunteer pool within communities than can help enhance public services. Here are a few classic examples: how many staff members do you have working on fiscal issues? The attention should now focus on recruiting retired, semi-retired, or even non-retired individuals with accounting backgrounds preferably CPAs to assist and help with these duties. We have to think about how the organization will benefit and move beyond simple volunteer tasks such as manning booths at city-sponsored events and greeting visitors in city-owned facilities. When the proper volunteer management is in place, the benefits of involving volunteers in local government tend to outweigh the cost and liabilities when considering the value that volunteers will be adding.

Example of the Impact of Volunteers in Local Government Let’s look at some examples of the impact of volunteers in local government. Volunteers in local government tend to: • • • •

Enhance the work of staff—they use their skills and knowledge to enhance the services being provided by the city. A retired social worker can help with case management and casework. Accomplish work that would otherwise not be done—volunteers increase the availability of services and at the same time reduce the cost especially with special projects. Allow residents greater ownership in their community—volunteers can also enhance the outreach of the community by providing support in outreach activities, fundraising, and community events. Build community—by providing social services, they reach the broader community, build capacity, meet the needs of individual citizens thereby making an impact on the lives of community members.

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What price do you place on the value of volunteers? This is a question that should not be taken lightly. It has already been established that volunteers are integral to local governments and that they should not be taken for granted. The millions of people who volunteer across the United States provide billions of hours through their services. The average value of a volunteer’s time in the United States is $28.54 per hour according to the Independent Sector (2021). This is a number that is hard to calculate because how do you really put a value on the selfless dedication of a person? However, this number provides organizations an opportunity to calculate the value of the time of volunteers. Research by International City/County Management Association (ICMA, 2010) has indicated that fiscal stringency in local governments has led officials to promote the use of volunteers in public service delivery to meet public needs and compensate for public sector cutbacks (Nesbit & Brudney, 2013). Other major events such as natural disasters also have increased the use of volunteers in public sector settings (Choudhury, 2010). Nesbit and Brudney (2007, 2013) also have identified population and jurisdiction size as having an influence on the use of volunteers, where smaller jurisdictions tend to use volunteers in public safety, and larger ones in health and human services and cultural and arts programs.

Considerations for Involving Volunteers What are some liability issues that local government and volunteer coordinators should be concerned about? The benefits of involving volunteers in local government efforts also come with concerns. Let’s be clear, there is no free lunch. Involving volunteers also means creating an enabling environment for them to thrive. This includes having the requisite resources, support, and structure to ensure their success. Just like you would provide the needed to retain your paid staff, the same is true of volunteers. When local governments are considering the involvement of volunteers in order to reap their benefits and not allow them to become a liability, they must consider the training, engaging, and supervision that goes into retaining volunteers. A major challenge in involving volunteers is managing and ensuring that they stay committed to the organization. They must also consider the cost associated with volunteers. Also, while volunteering provides organizations with cost savings, the use of volunteers and their management can be expensive due to costs associated with recruitment, orientation, training, supervising, task assignment, and overall support to volunteers. Limited organizational capacity, inadequate volunteer management practices, and difficulties in maintaining volunteer retention are concerns plaguing local government volunteer programs. For example, Hager and Brudney in a study on volunteer retention with the US postal service noted that two-fifths of volunteers

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stopped volunteering because of poor management practices rather than losing interest. This is an important distinction as the volunteer paradigm over the decade has shifted from being a hobby to one of civic responsibility. Volunteers bring to organizations a diverse set of skills that contribute in meaningful ways to the operation and sustainability of community projects and activities. Volunteering in the public sector is also an opportunity for volunteers to utilize their professional skills, socialize, and network. Regardless of their financial capacities, local governments in many communities are positioning themselves to reap the economic benefits of volunteers. As indicated before, definitions of volunteering vary, but it is normally associated with freely participating in an activity or event and in the public sector, it is formally structured. Volunteering in the public sector is defined by Brudney (1999) as: Voluntary activity that is sponsored and organized by a government agency. It takes place in a formal setting where volunteers are involved in ongoing responsibilities for service delivery or organizational maintenance for the benefit of agency clients and are unpaid for their time and work, which is not mandated or coerced. In order to effectively and consistently provide services to citizens, local governments have had to come up with creative ways for offering services demanded by their citizens. One popular approach became the creation of volunteer programs as local governments became increasingly reliant on volunteers. Volunteers are one means by which local governments help to increase meaningful engagement with citizens and help meet the increasing needs for public services with limited resources. On a broader scale, volunteers in public agencies provide a variety of services to fill gaps in creating and sustaining collective societal goods that otherwise might have been limited due to fiscal stress on local governments or completely eliminated. The National League of Cities (2009) in a report on the fiscal conditions of cities indicated that nine out of every ten cities were in a financial bind and faced significant shortfalls in coming years. This fiscal stress has its roots in the 1970s and early 1980s when local governments in the United States were faced with reduced public funding due to decreases in tax revenue. Even with the decrease in public funding, local governments were still expected to meet the growing demand for services by citizens. Volunteering is therefore regarded as a key strategy for providing support and services at the local level as well as community engagement and participation. A report conducted by International City/County Management Association (ICMA) noted that when faced with fiscal challenges, local government use volunteers to meet expanding needs and create meaningful engagement with citizens (Table 5.1).

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Table 5.1 Benefits of Including Volunteers in Local Government Volunteer programs are a cost-effective strategy to fill gaps in service or initiate new projects; Volunteers promote a positive image and learn about county government operations; Volunteers often become acquainted with their public officials and the goals and purposes of county programs; Volunteers bring a variety of skills and experiences to county government; Volunteers become advocates for programs and help seek donations of time, money, and materials from other members of the community; and Volunteer programs encourage civic participation. Source: The Volunteer Toolbox, NACo, 1990.

Volunteer Coordinator If there’s anything that almost everyone thinks they know about volunteer management and coordination is that there is no magical cure to motivate people to volunteer. Research articles are full of accounts from tension between staff and volunteers, lack of retention to politics. In truth, most volunteer programs work very well with the right volunteer coordinator, structure, and support from local government. A well-managed, successful volunteer program has volunteer coordinators who spend time managing and working with volunteers (Ellis, 1996). A volunteer coordinator is a person responsible for managing and involving volunteers in the organization effectively and efficiently (Humphrey-Pratt, 2006). These coordinators are essential to managing the volunteers and ensuring that volunteers are successfully onboarded into the program, retained and motivated. Successful organizations implement written policies to govern their volunteer programs and volunteers. Implementation of volunteer policy also helps volunteer coordinators to know their roles and responsibilities. The issue here is that we can no longer look at volunteers through the same lens from over two decades ago. Volunteers today are highly skilled professionals looking for a place to invest their social capital in the betterment of their communities. This investment means that volunteers have expectations of what they want and how they should be treated. This is why volunteer programs, no matter how large or small should invest in a volunteer coordinator to enhance the volunteer experience. When we look at a successful volunteer program, it is tied to the successful management of volunteers which ensures the maintenance of a sustainable volunteer base for a given program or activity (Pauline, 2011). Additionally, it is critical for volunteer coordinators to formulate strategies to motivate volunteers to ensure the sustainability of volunteers and their motivation. Volunteer coordinators need to train volunteers, ensure they are satisfied with their work, and show them appreciation for their work. Volunteer coordinators face the same issues as managers found in the nonprofit sector. Of course, nonprofit organizations are scarcely immune

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from the challenges of involving volunteers. Volunteer coordinators are the vital link between staff leadership and the volunteer workforce (Bennett & Barkensjo, 2005). It is good then to know that coordinators and volunteers need the support of paid staff. The willingness of volunteers, which is expressed in their motivation to donate their time, is a sign of their involvement as citizens in their communities as well as the potential of their future contribution. Therefore, managing these volunteers in an efficient way is important not only from the human resource perspective but from the wider perspective of citizen engagement. When done correctly, volunteer management should foster in volunteers the need to contribute to social changes in their communities Volunteer management is an important activity, but it is by no means the whole of the volunteer program in local government. Volunteer coordinators must use their skills, education, experience and make judgements about volunteers—their intent, fitness for volunteering within a department, compatibility ability. The volunteer coordinator is responsible for ensuring an effective volunteer program and for not only motivating volunteers but also retaining them. Of course, the responsibilities of volunteer managers as research have shown (National Council of Volunteer Manager) go beyond the managerial aspects including: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

research and write volunteer policies and procedures, including risk assessments liaise with departments or with organizations for which you’re recruiting volunteers (e.g., councils, libraries) to understand how they work, develop partnerships, and assess their needs generate appropriate volunteering opportunities and role descriptions based on the needs of the organization raise staff awareness of the role and the function of volunteers promote volunteering (internally and externally) through recruitment and publicity strategies and campaigns recruit and interview volunteers and ensure they are appropriately matched and trained for a position carry out pre-volunteering checks, including references and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where appropriate organize and provide inductions and training, as well as debrief interviews for departing volunteers ensure there is appropriate support and training for volunteers through regular informal contact and more structured reviews monitor, support, motivate, and accredit volunteers and their work celebrate volunteering by nominating volunteers for awards and organize celebration events offer advice and information to volunteers and external organizations through face-to-face, telephone, and email contact organize profile-raising events to attract new volunteers

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Table 5.2 Volunteer Concepts and Organizational Challenges Core Volunteerism Concepts Organizational Challenge Organizational Planning/ Visioning Recruitment Supervision and Management Evaluation and Recognition

• • • • • • • •

Why does the organization need volunteers? How do volunteers enter the organization? How is the work of volunteers guided to fit the goals of the organization? How do volunteers know that they are doing a good job?

attend committees and meetings manage budgets and resources, including the reimbursement of expenses keep up to date with legislation and policy related to volunteering and make any necessary modifications to accommodate changes work with multiple agencies across different sectors in order to establish good working relationships to influence decisions about volunteering generate income, write funding bids, and raise funds to make projects sustainable monitor and evaluate activities and write reports Maintain databases and undertake any other administrative duties. Provide data/information to the mayor and council members as requested about the volunteer program.

As a volunteer coordinator, you are interacting with various members of the community. As such, you need to be able to communicate well, present information in a skillful way, and have the ability to network. Having experience in managing projects or volunteers may not be required but it is an excellent skill to have. The ability to inspire, influence, problem solve, and motivate is something that volunteer coordinators will need. One important skill to have is the ability to work with the limited resources that will be at hand. Further, fundraising in the public sector might be constraint because of legal issues, however, fundraising skill is a needed asset especially when networking and getting the private sector within the community involved with local issues. There are other skills that volunteer coordinators will need creativity, technology, political awareness, and an understanding of the public sector and volunteer management (Table 5.2).

References Bennett, R., & Barkensjo, A. (2005). Internal marketing, negative experiences, and volunteers’ commitment to providing high-quality services in a UK helping and caring charitable organization. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 16, pp. 251–274.

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Brudney, J. L. (1999). The effective use of volunteers: Best practices for the public sector. Law and Contemporary Problems. 62, pp. 219–256. Brudney, J. L., & Kellough, J. E. (2000). Volunteers in state government: Involvement, management, and benefits. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 29(1), pp. 111–130. Choudhury, E. (2010). Attracting and managing volunteers in local government. Journal of Management Development. 29, pp. 592–603. 10.1108/02621711011046558 Clary, E. G., Snyder, M., & Stukas, A. A. (1996). Volunteers’ motivations: Findings from a national survey. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 25, pp. 485–505. 10.1177/0899764096254006 Connors, T. D. (2012). The volunteer management handbook: Leadership strategies for success (2nd ed.) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Corporation for National and Community Service. (2001). Assessment of long-term impacts on service participants: A profile of members at baseline. Washington, DC. Corporation for National and Community Service. (2006). Educating for active citizenship: Service-learning, school-based service and youth civic engagement (Youth Helping America Brief No. 2). Washington, DC. Ellis, S. J., & Campbell, K. N. (2006). By the people: A history of Americans as volunteers (3rd ed.) Philadelphia, PA: Energize Incorporated. Gay, P. (2008). Bright future: Developing volunteer management. London: Institute for Volunteering Research. Gazley, B. (2013). Predicting a volunteer’s future intentions in professional associations: A test of the Penner Model. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 42(6), pp. 1245–1267. Gazley, B., & Brudney, J. L. (2005). Volunteer involvement in local government after September 11: The continuing question of capacity. Public Administration Review. 65(2), pp. 131–142. Humphrey-Pratt, C. (2006). Volunteer recognition: Matching motivation to rewards. Volunteer Alberta. International City Manager’s Association (ICMA) (2010). Build a successful volunteer program to drive growth and recovery, in Focus: Strategies and solutions for local government managers. 42(2), pp. 1–24. Retrieved from http://ww w.extension.iastate.edu/ communities/sites/www.extension.iastate.edu/files/communities/Build_a_Successful_ Vol unteer_Program_to_Drive_Growth_and_Recovery.pdf Liao-Troth, M. A., & Dunn, C. P. (1999). Social constructs and human service: Managerial sense making of volunteer motivation. Voluntas, 10, 345–361. 10.1023/ a:1021486408619 Macduff, N., Netting, F. E., & O’Connor, M. K. (2009). Multiple ways of coordinating volunteers with differing styles of service. Journal of Community Practice. 17, pp. 400–423. 10.1080/10705420903300488 National Association of Counties Report (2010). National League of Cities (2009). City Fiscal Conditions in 2009. Research Brief on American Cities, September 2009. Retrieved from http://www.nlc.org/documents/ Find%20City%20Solutions/Research%20Innovation/Finance/city-fiscal-conditions2009-rpt-sep09.pdf Nesbit, R., & Brudney, J. L. (2013). Projections and policies for volunteer programs: The implications of the Serve America Act for Volunteer Diversity and Management. Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 24, pp. 3–21.

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Pauline, G. (2011). Volunteer satisfaction and intent to remain: An analysis of contributing factors among professional golf event volunteers. International Journal of Event Management Research. 6(1). Available at: http://works.bepress.com/gina_pauline/5/ Perry, J. L., & Hondeghem, A. (2007). Motivation in public management: The call of public service. Padovani, E., & Young, D. (2012). Designing management control systems that deliver value. Rebecca, N., Rimes, H., Christensen, R. K., & Brudney, J. L. (2016). Inadvertent volunteer managers: Exploring perceptions of volunteer mangers’ and volunteers’ roles in the public workplace. Review of Public Personnel Administration. 36(2), pp. 164–18. Rehnborg, S. J. (2005). Government volunteerism in the new millennium. In J. L. Brudney (Ed.), ARNOVA Occasional Paper Series: Vol. 4. No. 2. Emerging Areas of Volunteering. Indianapolis, IN: Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action. Wilson, J., & Musick, M. (1999). The effects of volunteering on the volunteer. Law and Contemporary Problems. 62, pp. 141–168.

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Volunteer Programs in Local Government

Chapter Objectives • • • •

Understand why local government establish volunteer programs Examine the various ways volunteers can be included in the work of government Understand the value-added of volunteers Examine the cost of involving volunteers in local government work

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • •

Know the different volunteer management between volunteer programs housed in local governments and the nonprofit sector Understand the different reasons why local government and nonprofit organizations involve volunteers in their programs

Why would government encourage volunteerism? While a significant majority of volunteer time is donated to religious organizations and nonprofits, 22% of all volunteers donate their time to city and county governments. The use of volunteers at the local level has become pervasive as local governments seek to capture the potential economic and social benefits of volunteers use. The justifications for encouraging volunteerism in the public sector have been discussed for its potential to improve costeffectiveness of public agencies, tap into citizens’ skills and expertise, and encourage coproduction—the active engagement of citizens in the delivery of public services (Gazley & Brudney, 2008; Wilson, 2000). Volunteering in the public sector usually takes place in a formal setting with volunteers involved in service delivery or the maintenance of the organization and are DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-6

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not paid for their time and effort. Volunteers add value to the local economy and leverage local government infrastructure to deliver incremental community services, and attracting; retaining, sustaining, and growing this resource is of interest to government officials (Brudney & Meijis, 2009). Many local government agencies depend on volunteer labor, yet volunteer management practices at the local government have received relatively little attention. Even with the increase in public sector volunteerism, extant literature indicates high levels of dissatisfaction. A study on volunteerism in the public sector found that 40% of volunteers reported dissatisfaction with how they were managed (Young, 2008). Although 35% of those 65 or older involve themselves in volunteering, a substantial proportion of those discontinue their service within one year (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2014). Despite the economic value and social contributions of volunteers, not much is known of volunteer program management at the local government level. Volunteer management in US local government is typically a very informal and understudied practice. Creating a culture for volunteerism that helps people to see the value of serving in their local communities is typically not problematic for local government. The challenge lies in ensuring that they remain engaged and stay volunteering with their government. If local government institutions aspire to use volunteers, it is essential that they understand why individuals desire to volunteer in the first place. Hager and Brundey (2011) provide us with the argument that volunteer management practices denote ways that volunteer coordinators can actually nurture volunteer programs. However, inherent conditions faced by volunteer serving organizations such as volunteer pool and location are conditions that can be beyond the control of the organization. Volunteers have accounted for a significant portion (25–30%) of government workforce. Much of this labor force has been provided for city and county governments (Nesbit & Brudney, 2011). Contrary to the naïve belief that volunteers are free, there are costs and legal complexities organizations should take into account before introducing volunteers into the workforce. Volunteering in the public sector is a voluntary activity that is sponsored and organized by a government agency. This is different from other traditional volunteering (for example, volunteering within a nonprofit setting), and the initiative to include volunteers often has been sponsored or housed within government agencies. Recent research has demonstrated that “more than one-quarter of local governments have used volunteers to deliver public services” (Nesbit et al., 2013, p. 39). Local government volunteers have benefited the community by increasing the quality/quantity of government services, reducing costs, engaging citizens in the community, increasing quality of life, and making substantial contributions to service delivery (Brudney & Meijs, 2009; Gay, 1998; Gazley & Brudney, 2005).

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The reasons for having government volunteers may not be the same for nonprofits, and the challenges in involving and managing volunteers may be different due to social, managerial, political, and financial reasons. For instance, where nonprofit organizations may raise funds for their programs, local government volunteer programs are given a budget that may or may not be adequate to support the needs of the program. Another challenge that nonprofits may face but may be different from local government volunteer programs because of the context in which they operate is that volunteer coordinators rarely have contact with representatives who make laws affecting their programs (Ellis, 2006). While the volunteer programs in local government have paid staff, their reliance on the service and support of volunteers has made it easier for staff to concentrate on pressing community issues. Without the service and support of volunteers, these organizations would be unable to conduct business on a day-to-day basis and serve a purpose within the community. The management of volunteers is set up in large measure to retain them “To a large extent, the life expectancy of a volunteer organization depends on its ability not only to enlist volunteers, but also to retain them” (Yanay & Yanay, 2008). In Volunteers Today: Finding, Training and Working with Them (1967), Harriet Naylor highlighted the challenges of recruiting, training, supervising, and retaining volunteers in the public sector. Naylor developed position descriptions for volunteers and stressed the importance of matching volunteers with appropriate assignments and taking a strategic approach to volunteer management. Boyce (1971) developed a volunteer program model that came to be known by its acronym as “ISOTURE”: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Identification: finding people with the competencies and attitudes essential to fill specific volunteer positions Selection: studying the backgrounds of potential volunteers and motivating them to fill selected positions Orientation: orienting volunteers in the role expectations of the position Training: supporting volunteers’ efforts to acquire and develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to improve the quality of their performance Utilization: providing opportunities for volunteers to put acquired KSAs into action in the most appropriate ways Recognition: recognizing and rewarding sound volunteer performance Evaluation: determining results of volunteer performance (pp. 3–4)

The most interesting aspect of volunteer management in the public sector has been the energizing push to put forward as many management practices that can be legitimized with the volunteer management context. The sources of contemporary literature on volunteer management can be found in schools of management or human resources studies. Most have provided

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similar but often varying ways on how to use the same management concepts. The emanating literature stresses the importance of recruiting the right volunteers like professionals and evaluating the volunteer program. In 1991, Penrod promulgated the LOOP model of volunteer management. In the Penrod (1991) perspective, effective volunteer management means addressing issues related to locating, orienting, operating, and perpetuating volunteers. As far as Penrod was concerned, the way to guide volunteers is through effective leadership and as such an effective volunteer coordinator should be able to use the LOOP model and succeed Locate—locate or identify the right volunteer for a specific job. This will also include having a job description that will make identifying the right volunteer for the right task less daunting. Orienting—this stage is about inspiring and guiding the volunteer to get their task completed. This is important because it allows the volunteer to see the value and impact of the work they are doing. Operating—it is at this stage that volunteer coordinators focus on developing the volunteers including their needs and their growth. Perpetuating—should focus on evaluating volunteers and recognizing their efforts. Evaluating and recognizing volunteers signals the care of the volunteer program and this in turn prolongs the engagement of the volunteer with the program. Persistent within all these volunteer management models were recruitment, orientation, training, screening/selection, supervision, evaluation, recognition, and retention. What determines an effective volunteer management program? There have been impressive studies (Safrit, 2012; Brudney, 2008) that have worked with volunteer coordinators to develop a list of volunteer resource management practices. For instance, Safrit et al. sent their list to over 2057 members of the Association for Volunteer Administration, asking them to rate nine of their developed constructs of volunteer management. Of the nine, seven were the most listed: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Professional development—this will involve the professional development of staff who will be working with the volunteers Volunteer recruitment including selection Volunteer orientation including training Volunteer recognition Program maintenance—the program maintenance will include conflict resolution, training, and volunteer recognition Resource development (fundraising and marketing) Program advocacy—volunteer program advocacy will include the program leadership team, evaluation, needs assessment, etc.

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When evaluating the effectiveness of volunteer programs in local government, the evaluation has often focused on the management of the program, availability of resources, the structure of the program, as well as the volunteer recognition and retention. Inputs from these researches have echoed similar theoretical prescriptions and there seems to be an overlap of findings. But how do we know that a volunteer program is working and meeting its goals and the goals of the community? In the public sector, an evaluation is usually conducted to determine the efficacy of the program. McCurley and Lynch (2011) have suggested five broad areas of which a volunteer program can be evaluated—mission, outputs, customers, standards, and outcomes (p. 265). In its simplest form, “evaluation is an assessment or judgment of the value or worth of an endeavor or initiative” (Brudney and Nezhina (2012). It is, therefore, necessary to evaluate the volunteer program so that it can be improved upon. This helps ensure that the impact is being assessed. As Safrit notes: Evaluation is a critical, if not the most critical, component of managing an overall volunteer program and subsequently documenting the impacts and ultimate value of the program to the target clientele it is designed to serve as well as the larger society in which it operates. (Safrit, 2012, p. 389) Volunteer-involving organizations sustain considerable costs not only recruiting and training volunteers, but also replacing them. Though there are monetary costs associated with involving volunteers, nonmonetary costs tend to impose the highest burden. Following the exit of volunteers from an organization, continuity and organizational morale is affected. In addition, because volunteer turnover rate is high, this has contributed to the view by paid staff that volunteers are transients who are subject to high levels of absenteeism. It becomes apparent there may be public sector human resource management issues that are unique from those in the nonprofit realm. The increased expansion of public services coupled with shrinking budgets makes it necessary and important to highlight some of those issues. Research relating to the subject of volunteer management addresses questions such as why people volunteer (their motivations), why volunteers are important (impact of volunteers on services), and what volunteers do (roles and tasks) (Haski-Leventhal & Bargal, 2008). Many local government agencies depend on volunteer labour, yet volunteer management practices at the local government have received relatively little attention. Despite the economic value and social contributions of volunteers, we do not know much about volunteer program management at the local government level and why or how best practices are used. The International City/County Management Association (ICMA, 2012) has indicated that fiscal stringency in local governments has led officials to

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promote the use of volunteers in public service delivery to meet public needs and compensate for public sector cutbacks (Nesbit & Brudney, 2013). We can also add that major events such as natural disasters have also increased the use of volunteers in public sector settings (Choudhury, 2010). The population and size of the jurisdiction also has an influence on the use of volunteers, where smaller jurisdictions tend to use volunteers in public safety, and larger ones in health and human services and cultural and arts programs (Nesbit & Brudney (2013, 2018). The link between public volunteerism and the role of local government agencies in attracting and managing volunteers is important to understanding the complexities involved in managing public sector volunteers. For example, in a study examining the link mentioned above, 37 volunteer program administrators were recruited to participate in an email survey. The study found that although volunteers are widely valued by public agencies, most agencies underutilize their capacities in attracting and valuing their contributions due to lack of knowledge in administering proper volunteer management strategies (Choudhury, 2010). Most of the respondents in the study indicated lack of knowledge of best practices in volunteer management. In addition, it was found that matching volunteer interests to organizational needs was a significant challenge for managers. The insights provided by this study make it imperative that local governments evaluate their capacity in order to properly manage volunteers. The lack of investment in attracting volunteers stands out as a fundamental weakness in the management capacity of local public agencies to effectively attract, use, and value volunteers as an integral part of their operation (Choudhury, 2010). An example of this weakness is the lack of written job descriptions for volunteer positions. Public agencies have also been underutilizing volunteers in emergency management and homeland security-related programs (Choudhury, 2010). These tend to be areas that volunteers flock to during times of need, and the mismanagement of volunteers, in turn, may lead to issues such as help not reaching the most vulnerable (elderly). The value of volunteers has been well established over the years by various organizations including the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Volunteers augment the work of government in the provision of public goods and services. Some scholars have come to view volunteers and volunteer labor as a means through which government can address community issues and social problems that are of interest and concern to volunteers. Understanding how best to manage volunteers in the public sector is important. However, what we have seen is the lack of research-informed practices to help in this endeavor. The management practices used in for-profit organizations are ineffective for managing volunteers in the public sector (Garces-Foley, 2010). The glaring issue is that context matters. The public sector and the private sector are uniquely different (Garces-Foley, 2010).

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As a field of study, volunteer management, as noted by Wang (2004), acts as an activity that encourages volunteer motivation, commitment, and development. What this implies is that there needs to be someone, a volunteer coordinator who oversees all aspects of volunteer involvement in an organization including what (Stepputat, 1995) notes as “functions and activities that require coordination with paid staff members.” Managing volunteers also means managing diversity—which is the process of actively managing obvious as well as subtle prejudice and discrimination; valuing differences among others; and creating relevant polices, strategies, and practices that will allow organizations to maintain competitiveness for the future (Taylor et al., 2006). As volunteer management continues to advance within volunteer-involving organizations, there needs to be more push in regards to coming up with conceptual models. The prominent volunteer management models out there are all similar or contain the same factors. Among the effective volunteer management was one pushed by Kent (1992) and Farmer (1995) which includes: Assessment of Needs Recruitment Retention and Recognition

Orientation (Training and Monitoring) Risk Management (Audit and Screening

(1) Assessment of needs of the organization should be conducted in order to ascertain such things as the number of volunteers needed, tasks to be performed and what skills are necessary in order to perform the tasks; (2) Recruitment, which involves devising a plan to identify and acquire volunteers; (3) Risk management audit, interviewing, and screening follow, for assessing the risk with each position and create job descriptions; (4) Orientation, training, and monitoring volunteers to ensure that they understand their roles, receive the help they need in performing them, and conduct ongoing evaluation in order to provide feedback on volunteers’ performance; and (5) Retention and Recognition developing techniques, events, and programs that acknowledge volunteers’ contributions Managing volunteers is not static. It is imperative that once volunteers have been properly recruited and placed in a volunteer role that is mutually beneficial to both the volunteer and the organization or government unit, understanding how to retain those volunteers is crucial (Voida, Harmon, & Al-Ani, 2012). Since no compensation or any type of monetary gain exists in volunteering, volunteer coordinators must use creative methods to ensure the retention and commitment of volunteers. One way to warrant sound engagement and retention of volunteers is to ensure that effective and efficient volunteer management practices such as recruitment, recognition, and retention are in place within the organization (Binder, 2010).

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Note: Adapted from Farmer (1995). Task

Issues

Recruitment Who will recruit and how? What quality control is needed? Communication Who will recruit and how? What quality control is needed? Documentation What records will be kept about volunteers (names, addresses, phone numbers, schedules, attendance, tasks, training)? Who will keep records? How will records be kept? Recognition What kind of recognitions will be given? Who will plan and carry out social events?

Volunteer Management, therefore, is not only a mix of tasks but also involves the personal characteristic of the volunteer. Volunteer coordinators are tasked with overseeing, organizing, and coordinating activities of this nonpaid human resource and helping the organization achieve stated outcomes. The perspective of the volunteer coordinator has to be taken into consideration. Effective volunteer management should consider their ability to manage volunteers and their level of competency and understanding of volunteer management practices. Further, effective volunteer management should consider the volunteer perspective on how their needs are being met and how and why they decide to commit to an organization. When we look at volunteer management from the perspective of the volunteer coordinator, volunteer management is considered effective if it helps the organization meet its objectives. At the operational level, volunteer management is effective if it can assess the level of competency and personnel needs on volunteers by the organization. As long as volunteerism continues to be in existence, the need for volunteer management will continue to be a necessity. On the other hand, while volunteerism has been around for centuries, volunteer management is relatively new in comparison. Scholars such as Nesbit and Brudney (2018) have noted that volunteer management will be impacted by future trends by the year 2050. They note one significant trend will come with increased challenges in managing volunteers due to natural changes in demographic and population. It is therefore worth noting that managing volunteers is a balancing act of policies and procedures in the public sector. The public sector has been creative, but it will need to be flexible in order to practice successful volunteer management because of advancements in technology, individual lifestyle changes, high unemployment, as well as changing demographics.

References Binder, J. (2010). Bridging the generation gap. Marketing Health Services. 30(2), pp. 22–24. Boyce, M. V. (1971). A Systematic Approach to Leadership Development. Washington.

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Brudney, J. L., & Meijs, L. C. P. M. (2009). It ain’t natural: Toward a new (natural) resource conceptualization for volunteer management. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38, 564–581. 10.1177/0899764009333828 Brudney, J. L., & Nezhina, T. G. (2005). What is old is new again: Achieving effectiveness with Volunteer Programs in Kazakhstan. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 16, pp. 293–308. 10.1007/s11266-005-7726-y Brudney, J. L., & Lee, Y. (2008). Volunteer programs. In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 638–641). Detroit, MI: Macmillan. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (2014). Volunteering in the United States – 2014. Washington, D.C.: BLS, U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from http://www. bls.gov/news.release/pdf/volun.pdf Choudhury, E. (2010). Attracting and managing volunteers in local government. Journal of Management Development. 29, pp. 592–603. 10.1108/02621711011046558 Cravens, J. (2015). List of Volunteer Management Software. Retrieved May 30, 2015 from http://www.coyotecommunications.com/tech/volmanage.html. Ellis, S. J. (2006). “Donors and Volunteers ‐ More Alike than Different.” Arts Insights, Fall 2006. Farmer, L. S. J. (1995). Managing volunteers through managing yourself. Book Report. 13(4), p. 19. Garces-Foley, K. (2010). Multiethnic congregations. Waco, TX: Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University. Gazley, B., & Brudney, J. L. (2005). Volunteer Involvement in local government after September 11: The continuing question of capacity. Public Administration Review, 65, 131–142. 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00439.x Gazley, B., & Brudney, J. L. (2008). Volunteer involvement in local government after September 11: The continuing question of capacity. Public Administration Review, 65, 131–142. 10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00439.x Gay, P. (1998). Getting into work: Volunteering for employability. Voluntary Action. 1(1), pp. 55–67. Hager, M. A., & Brudney, J. L. (2011). Universalistic versus contingent adoption of volunteer management practices. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA), Toronto, ON, Canada, November 16–19. Haski-Leventhal, D., & Bargal, D. (2008). The volunteer stages and transitions model: Organizational socialization of volunteers. Human Relations. 61(1), pp. 67–102. 10.1177/ 0018726707085946 International City/County Management Association. (2012). ICMA survey-profile of local government service delivery choices. Kent, J. (1992). Effective Organizations: A Consultant’s Resource, published by the Skills Program for Management Volunteers, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 1992. McCurley, S., & Lynch, R. (2011). Keeping volunteers: A guide to retention. Philadelphia, PA: Energize. Naylor, H. H. (1985). Beyond managing volunteers. Journal of Voluntary Action Research. 14(2–3), pp. 25–30. 10.1177/089976408501400207 Nesbit, R., & Brudney, J. L. (2011). Volunteer use in local government service delivery. In ICMA (Ed.), The municipal year book (pp. 31–40). Washington, DC: International City/ County Management Association.

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Nesbit, R., & Brudney, J. L. (2013). Volunteer use in local government service delivery. In The municipal year book (pp. 79–88). International City/County Management Association. Nesbit, R., Rimes, H., Christensen, R., & Brudney, J. (2013). Inadvertent Volunteer Managers. Review of Public Personnel Administration. 36. 10.1177/0734371X15576409 Nesbit, R., Christensen, R. K., & Brudney, J. L. (2018). The limits and possibilities of volunteering: A framework for explaining the scope of volunteer involvement in public and nonprofit organizations. Public Administration Review, 78(4), pp. 502–513. Penrod, K. M. (1991). Leadership involving volunteers: The L-O-O-P model. The Journal of Extension. 29, pp. 9–11. Safrit, D. (2012). Evaluating impact of volunteer programs. In The Volunteer Management Handbook: Leadership Strategies for Success (2nd ed., pp. 392–405). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Stepputat, A. (1995). Administration of volunteer programs. In T. D. Connors et al. (Eds.) The volunteer management handbook. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. Taylor, T., Darcy, S., Hoye, R., & Cuskelly, G. (2006). Using psychological contract theory to explore issues in effective volunteer management. European Sport Management Quarterly. 6(2), pp. 123–147. Voida, A., Harmon, E., & Al‐Ani, B. (2012). Bridging between organizations and the public: Volunteer coordinators’ uneasy relationship with social computing. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems – Proceedings. 10.1145/ 2207676.2208341 Wang, P. (2004). Assessing motivations for sports volunteerism. Advances in Consumer Research. 31. Yanay, G. V., & Yanay, N. (2008). The decline of motivation?: From commitment to dropping out of volunteering. Nonprofit management and leadership. 19, pp. 65–78. 10.1002/nml.205 Young, J. L. (2008). Nonprofit organizations: Challenges and collaborations. Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 37(3), pp. 565–567.

7

Citizen Engagement

Chapter Objectives • • •

Understand the concept of civic engagement Examine the various definitions of citizen engagement Understand the relationship between citizen participation and volunteering

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • •

Be able to recognize the importance of citizen engagement in building community Understand how citizen engagement can be seen as

Research concerning civic engagement is spread across disciplines such as sociology, political science, and education, making definition, how to sustain it, and what factors lead to it difficult. While there is a lack of consensus on the definition of civic engagement, this definition provided by Ehrlich (2000) personifies what civic engagement is: Working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes. (p. vi) This definition includes citizens involved in both political and communitybased activities. Further, it focuses on behaviors that can be measured. According to Zukin et al. (2006), citizen engagement has two mutually dependent dimensions: individual and organizational. The core of individual DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-7

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citizen engagement is the creation of citizens who know how to use their skills, expertise, and knowledge to better their communities, while the organizational core of citizen engagement is the creation of an infrastructure that links citizens to their community through a reciprocal relationship (Zukin et al., 2006). Local governments have an affirmative obligation to create opportunities for citizen involvement in the administration of their local community (Roberts, 2004; Stivers, 1990). Local governments make institutional arrangements for citizen involvement by creating volunteer programs to facilitate information flow between citizens and local government programs (Thomas, 1999). Citizen engagement as indicated by Callanan (2005) has an element of interaction of citizens with administrators, concerned with public policy decisions and public services. In this sense, citizens are regarded as having significant influence on important decisions in their community (Roberts, 2004). Putnam (2000) noted that citizen participation such as voting, volunteering, and participation in community and social activities has been declining. Texas, for example, ranks 42 out of 50 states and Washington D.C. in volunteering and civic engagement (Volunteering America, 2013). The low rate of volunteering in Texas could be attributed to gated communities and residents giving monetarily to causes rather than physically getting involved. Few can dispute that volunteers provide added services that the government would have eliminated or reduced due to fiscal problems. Community projects are supported by collective action that are not under the scope of a nonprofit organization, but housed under a municipal government. Collective action binds the community together for a common purpose (Brudney & Meijs, 2009), and volunteerism serves as the bridge for individuals to move beyond wanting to do good for their community to accomplish the needs of their community. The supply of volunteers is contingent on people coming forward in the spirit of community responsibility and commitment (Sagawa, 2010). Awareness of community problems and public support is important for change to occur. For example, citizen watch groups working with law enforcement have been important catalysts in improving neighborhoods. Thus, citizen participation through volunteering can create the leadership needed to affect change (Sagawa, 2010). The design and management of volunteer programs to promote citizen participation should take into consideration opportunities that facilitate the interaction with volunteers within the community and government agencies. The literature addressed several factors that may facilitate this relationship, such as information sharing (Thomas & Streib, 2003), developing civic skills like serving on community boards (Wilson, 2000), and fostering of trust (Thomas & Streib, 2003), as shown in (Table 7.1). Further, participation can be seen as a form of volunteering because the act of participation is un-coerced and the volunteer experience often

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Table 7.1 Citizen Participation Literature Review Summary Participation Category

Definition, Author

Serving on community boards Collaborating with peers

Participation is defined as developing the civic skills of citizens ( Wilson, 2000) This type of participation is seen as having community-building focus for the purpose of spurring individual or collective action as well as building or sustaining democracy ( Brudney & Meijs, 2009) Views citizen participation as part of the decisionmaking process a process where information is collected and disseminated in compliance with the law, facilitating fairness, and negotiating between interests to arrive at a better decision ( Creighton, 2005) Participation from this perspective is seen as making use of formal and informal social networks/ relationships for mutual gain ( Callahan, 2005)

Decision making

Interaction with public officials

Note: Adapted from Brudney & Meijs, 2009; Callahan, 2007; Creighton, 2005; Thomas & Streib, 2003; Wilson, 2000.

represents a tendency to be social and thus affects their engagement within their community. In order to determine what makes a participating citizen, citizen participation is looked at from the perspective of volunteering for this research.

References Brudney, J. L., & Meijs, L. C. P. M. (2009). It ain’t natural: Toward a new (natural) resource conceptualization for volunteer management. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 38(4), pp. 564–581. 10.1177/0899764009333828 Callahan, K. (2005). Elements of effective governance: measurement, accountability, and participation. Auerba Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, 2007 pp. 149–189. Callahan, K. (2007). Elements of effective governance: Measurement, accountability, and participation. Auerba Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, 2007, pp. 149–189. Creighton, J. L. (2005). The public participation handbook: Making better decisions through citizen involvement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint, 2005, pp. 7–25. Ehrlich, T. (Ed.). (2000). Civic responsibility and higher education. Phoenix, AZ: American Council on Education/Oryx Press. Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster. Roberts, N. (2004). Public deliberation in an age of direct citizen participation. The American Review of Public Administration. 34, pp. 315–353. 10.1177/0275074004269288 Sagawa, S. (2010). The American way to change: How national service & volunteers are transforming America. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Stivers, C. (1990). The public agency as polis: Active citizenship in the administrative state. Administration & Society. 22(1), pp. 86–205.

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Thomas, J. C. (1999). Explaining citizen‐initiated contacts with municipal bureaucrats: Lessons from the Atlanta experience. Urban Affairs Review. 34, pp. 667–690. Thomas, C., & Streib, G. (2003). The new face of government: Citizen-initiated contacts in the era of e-government. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 13 (1), pp. 83–102. doi: 10.1093/jpart/mug010 Volunteering in America (2013). Volunteer rates. Corporation for National & Community Service. Retrieved from http://www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/rankings.cfm Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. The Annual Review of Sociology. 26 (1), pp. 215–240. doi: 10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.215 Zukin, C., Keeter, S., Andolina, M., Jenkins, K., & Delli Carpini, M. (2006-05-18). A new engagement?: Political participation, civic life, and the changing American citizen. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 Dec. 2021, from https://oxford.universitypressscholarship. com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195183177.001.0001/acprof-9780195183177

8

Volunteer Retention and Turnover

Chapter Objectives • • •

Understand volunteer retention and turnover Examine the various management practices aim at enhancing the volunteer experience Understand the relationship between motivation and volunteer management practices

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • •

Be able to recognize that retention remains an issue even when volunteers are being managed Understand that volunteer management is people management Understand why volunteers stay with an organization

When you own a business, you do not start hiring people before you have figured out what you will need them for, how long, and in what capacity. You write up a job description or many job descriptions based on the size and needs of your business because they are the blueprint that will help you recruit, manage, and retain them. The same principle applies to volunteers. It must be understood that in order to talk about volunteer management, volunteers, the context of the volunteer experience, and volunteer coordinators must also be studied. Volunteer management has continued to be the thorny issue in the retention of volunteers. Volunteer management concepts have been presented as if they can be used to solve the issue of volunteer retention in volunteer serving organizations. Over the years, researchers have assumed a positive relationship between volunteer management practices and retention. DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-8

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While best practices for managing volunteers have been identified retention remains a problem for many organizations. So, although specific retention strategies are known, there appears to still be lacking either application of the practices or some other factors that lead to poor retention rates. When one considers volunteer coordination as people management, then it is easy to draw a parallel and pinpoint some similarities between employee and volunteer turnover. Employees leave because of job dissatisfaction and when the job does not meet or fails to meet their personal needs. This begs the question if we can predict turnover when employees alienate themselves and do not get involved with their organizations. When volunteers choose not to continue with an organization, this can cause a pause or halt in certain services, economic loss, and affect the morale of other volunteers. In 2007 for instance, 21.7% of people choose not to volunteer or donate their time to volunteer-involving organizations. This according to Eisners et al. (2009), led to a loss in volunteer time and services that equated to $38 billion in annual labor. Retention is an organization’s ability to maintain volunteer participation and reduce high volunteer turnover. We look at McCurley and Lynch (2005), who have asserted that the first six months of the volunteer experience are critical to retention, because it is during this timeframe that the greatest loss of volunteers occurs. This is not necessarily an unusual statistic as compared with the 50% of hourly workers who leave within the first 120 days (Krauss, 2010), and 50% of all senior managers hired from outside firms who turn over within the first 18 months (Smart, 1999). In practical reality, most employees have 90 days to prove themselves as a new hire (Bauer, 2010). In the private sector volunteer retention is the result of making volunteers feel good about themselves and the task assigned to them (Lynch, 2000). McCurley and Lynch (2005) suggested that when the volunteer experience is good and the volunteer feels good, then the likelihood of them continuing is high. However, whenever there are factors beyond the control of volunteer coordinators, turnover occurs. Volunteers may leave the program because of various reasons such as relocation, full-time employment, becoming a parent or full-time student, or because they experience illness ( Jamison, 2003). Turnover listings are sometimes defined as inactive volunteers ( Jamieson, 2003). Inactive volunteers are those with prior connection with the organization they volunteer with but have reduced their number of hours (per week or month) within the last year or have stopped volunteering completely for the organization. Retention is tied to recruitment. It is important to recruit the right volunteer successfully because this will prevent turnover. Volunteer programs want to avoid high turnover rates because this can disrupt service delivery and the smooth operation of the volunteer program. The adverse effects of turnover can further hinder training and placement of volunteers. Turnover rates can be high because volunteer can vote with their feet and

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move to another volunteer organization that provides them with the basket of opportunities that meets their needs. Gidron (1984) identifies variables related to volunteer retention in his study and profiles characteristics of stayers and leavers. A typical “stayer” was reportedly well prepared for his job; given a task which he considered interesting, challenging, and well-suited to his skills and knowledge; derived sense of accomplishment and achievement from his work; and performed in an environment of meaningful interaction with peers. (Gidron, 1984) Interestingly, the rhetoric for joining an organization and exiting changes. Researchers have found that the reasons volunteers give for joining an organization are not the same continuing with the organization. Once this is understood, volunteer programs have to clearly state their purpose so that they can recruit, retain, and maintain the volunteer. When this is done, volunteers will clearly see their value in relation to what they get out of the volunteer experience. When volunteer programs state the purpose, they are doing something—they are limiting the number of candidates that can apply for that particular task. Volunteers can determine if they have the skills and time to volunteers. Volunteer management structure, programs, and practices are necessary for creating effective local government volunteer capacity (Hager & Brudney, 2004). The capacity of an organization to manage volunteers can be linked to outcomes that include retention. Thus, the literature suggests that the quality of the volunteer management affects retention. Organizations must plan and budget for such activities as orientation, training, assigning tasks, supervising, evaluating, supporting, and retaining volunteers (Dicke & Ott, 2003; Forsyth, 1999; Hunter, 2004; Slaughter & Home, 2004). Wymer and Starnes (2001) argued that retention is an especially crucial issue when organizations need volunteers with specific skills, or use those who must be intensively trained for the long term. Yanay and Yanay (2008) examined the relationship between management practices, motivation, and volunteer retention rates. This was a twoyear longitudinal study of emergency hotline volunteers. They discovered that after volunteers participated in training activities that were motivationally enriching, they failed to derive any personal gains or benefits from remaining involved in the organization and as a result, they quit volunteering with the organization. The implication from this research finding is that retention can be negatively affected when organizations do not offer volunteers motivationally enriching activities. Research by Hustinx and Handy (2009) attempted to understand volunteer retention and recruitment by focusing on the volunteer’s attachment to a multipurpose and multi-branch organization. In order to answer the question on

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whether volunteers were attached to an organization as a whole or whether they developed allegiances to a program or the regional unit within which they participate, the Red Cross in Flanders, Belgium was used as the research site. Survey questions and face-to-face interviews were conducted as a means to gather data. The findings indicated that when recruiting volunteers into complex organizations, managers should be careful of using the mission of the organization as a means to attract volunteers. Further, the research found that when volunteers are retained through continued volunteering, they have a better appreciation of the mission of the organization and form an allegiance with the organization as a whole. The choice of volunteer management structure, programs, and practices is necessary for creating effective local government volunteer capacity. The capacity of an organization to manage volunteers can be linked to outcomes that include retention. Thus, it has been suggested that the quality of the volunteer management affects retention. Organizations must plan and budget for such activities as orientation, training, assigning tasks, supervising, evaluating, supporting, and retaining volunteers (Dicke & Ott, 2003). Wymer and Starnes (2001) argued that retention is an especially crucial issue when organizations need volunteers with specific skills, or use those who must be intensively trained for the long term. To sustain any form of relationship long term, the rewards must exceed the cost or balance out in some form. Researchers have labelled this as social exchange. This theory can be used to best explain why people continue or stop volunteering. It should be clear that retention is not only about who leaves and who stays. Retention like other management tools in the HRM toolshed comes with complexities that must be understood. Volunteers as we have noted are motivated differently and as such will be motivated to leave for different reasons. We have to look at their core values, needs, and ambitions to predict longevity with an organization. People volunteer for different reasons, therefore volunteer programs will not be able to meet the universe of volunteer needs out there. Therefore, volunteer coordinators have a hand in ensuring that each volunteer is supported as best as they can and that their needs are met. While volunteer recruitment is tied to retention, the two should not have the same focus. One is designed to get the volunteer into the organization and the latter to keep and sustain their motivations. Understanding the needs of volunteers and their motivations is therefore a start in the right direction of building and sustaining a long lasting volunteer program.

References Bauer, T. N. (2010). On boarding new employees: Maximizing success. Alexandria, VA: Society of Human Resource Managers Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/ about/foundation/products/documents/onboarding% 20epg-%20final.pdf

Volunteer Retention and Turnover 81 Dicke, L. A., & Ott, J. S. (2003). Post-September 11 human resource management in nonprofit Organizations. Review of Public Personnel Administration. 23(2), pp. 97–113. doi: 10.1177/0734371X03023002002 Eisner, D., Grimm Jr, R.T., Maynard, S., & Washburn, S. (2009). The new volunteer workforce. Stanford Social Innovation. Review from www.handsonnetwork.org/ resources/download/1389 Forsyth, J. (1999). Volunteer management strategies: Balancing risk and reward. Nonprofit World. 17(3), pp. 40–43. Gidron, B. (1984). Predictors of retention and turnover among service volunteer workers. Journal of Social Service Research. 8, pp. 1–16. 10.1300/j079v08n01_01 Hager, M., & Brudney, J. (2004). Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers. Hunter, A. T. (2004). Why volunteer for the environment? An exploration of environmental volunteer motivation, satisfaction and retention. (Master’s Thesis). University of Victoria: Victoria, British Columbia. Hustinx, L., & Handy, F. (2009). Where do I belong? Volunteer attachment in a complex organization. Administration in Social Work. 33, pp. 202–220.10.1080/ 03643100902769129 Jamison, I. B. (2003). Turnover and retention among volunteers in human service agencies. Review of Public Personnel Administration. 23(2), pp. 114–132. Kraus, A. D. (2010, April). On boarding the hourly workforce. Poster presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) 25th annual conference, Atlanta, GA. Lynch, R. (2000). Volunteer retention and feelings of connection. e-Volunteerism: The Electronic Journal of the Volunteer Community. 1(1). Retrieved from http://www. e-volunteerism.com/node/826 McCurley, S., & Lynch, R. (2005). Keeping volunteers: A guide to retention. Olympia, WA: Fat Cat Publications. Slaughter, L., & Home, R. (2004). Motivations of long term volunteers: Human services vs. events. UNLV Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Science. 2, pp. 1–12. Smart, B. (1999). Top grading: How leading companies win by hiring, coaching, and keeping the best people. Upper S addle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Wymer, W. & Starnes, B. (2001). Conceptual foundations and practical guidelines for recruiting volunteers to serve in local nonprofit organizations. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing. 9, pp. 63–96. 10.1300/J054v09n01_05. Yanay, G. V., & Yanay, N. (2008). The decline of motivation? From commitment to dropping out of volunteering. Nonprofit Management and Leadership.

9

Virtual Volunteering

Chapter Objectives • • •

Understand the concept of virtual volunteering Examine the ways in which volunteers can participate in an online/virtual space Understand how technology can hinder and increase volunteering

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • •

Be able to recognize that volunteering is not static Understand that managing volunteers also occurs in the virtual environment Understand that virtual volunteer management also requires the use of volunteer management practices

Volunteering is a global phenomenon that occurs in all countries across the world, and many consider it a communal practice. However, one can argue that the nature of volunteering has been transformed because of modernity. This shift may have several factors, but at the heart of it all is the increase in the use of technology. Technology is influencing how people seek out and engage with experiences that they find fulfilling. While the act of volunteering is not new, virtual volunteering is a new phenomenon that exploded on the scene with the advent of technology. It has become even more attractive as the world has been going through unprecedented changes in the way we interact with each other. In a world rich with information due to technology, the internet has become a tool that organizations use to attract and recruit volunteers. Considering how DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-9

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pervasive technology has become and how pervasive it is in our lives, it is no accident that it has an impact on our behaviors—our pro-social behavior. Virtual volunteering is can be understood as a form of volunteering that is distinctive in that the procedures all occur online. This is particularly important as technology has changed the way we live our lives and most especially how businesses and organizations interact with citizens. Virtual volunteering is a relatively new activity that has seen a tremendous demand in its use particularly since the outbreak of the global pandemic beginning at the end of 2019 and continues as this book is being written. The online volunteering phenomenon is a little over three decades old according to research. However, in the 1990s, online volunteering became more widespread as the public use of internet also increased. The unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 including imposed social distancing measures on countries globally to limit the spread of the virus has had negative impact on leisure activities such as recreation, travel, sports, and tourism. Conversely, one activity that is inherently linked with feeling good that has been impacted by the COVID-19 virus is volunteering in the traditional sense. Traditional volunteering has taken a hit causing organizations to turn the nontraditional route of engaging with volunteers via technology. Given the public conditions of COVID-19, traditional volunteering has come under threat as it means people meeting in person to fulfill their activities and obligation. The threat can be associated with government policies to limit spread and the social distance imposed on organizations leading to cancellations and postponement and sometimes even the shutting down of events completely. During the height of the pandemic we saw how technology opened up different pathways to volunteers wanting to share their skills, knowledge, and experience. Unpaid altruistic activities moved online allowing resource-strapped organizations not to come to a complete standstill. When we think of volunteering, it traditionally involves face-to-face meetings with volunteers connecting with each other and participating in activities that they have shared interest in. As Wilson (2012) notes, when volunteers meet in person, they give some of their time and experience, in a coordinated manner, to support a particular need or cause of interest. Volunteers form relationships based on their shared space and time. They have a volunteer coordinator who structures and places them in various spaces where these relationships are fostered. What we don’t clearly understand is if these shared beliefs, values, and relationships have the same meaning or given the same importance online. A central focus on the research in technology has been its pervasiveness. However, access to and the diffusion of technology in many parts of the global south and global north has been uneven. There is disparity in technology access in the rural and urban areas due to various factors

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including accessibility, capacity, funding to purchase and maintain the technology. Even with these shortcomings in certain parts of the world, the need to volunteer virtually is not diminishing. As Cravens (2000) indicates, technology is affecting the way people connect, form networks, volunteer and build community. Others have suggested that the changes in technology have allowed young and technically savvy volunteers to help organizations in their pajamas and allow volunteers to choose from a wide range of opportunities (Amichai-Hamburger, 2008; Hustinx et al., 2010). Historically, volunteer management in the public sector has focused on managing volunteers based on policies in a structured environment. The focus tended to be on using best practices of volunteer management. Volunteer coordinators have policies that support the face-to-face interactions with volunteers. With technology and virtual volunteering, there has been an increase in online volunteering requests. The question now becomes if the models designed to manage volunteers in person also work in an online environment. Can we use the volunteer management best practices in the online environment? Some examples of volunteer activities conducted online include: • • • • • • • • • •

Proposal and grant writing Translation Website design Fundraising Research Facilitation of online forums or moderation Professional development Curriculum development Mentoring Publication

Countries in the global South tend to have limited experience in managing a structured volunteer program as opposed to the North. These countries lack the capacity to create opportunities to effectively manage volunteers and this inhibits their ability to successfully integrate volunteers in the virtual world. The lack of capacity is not the only impediment they have to contend with, there is also the lack of resources which is acute in many of the volunteer-involving organizations in the global South. Further, volunteers are rarely used in local government if at all. The local Red Cross in some of the countries may seek volunteers during disasters and during times of need. However, we have not heard of any structured volunteer programs in local government specifically set up by countries in the global South. The United Nations Volunteer Program has been successful in recruiting volunteers to serve around the world, but that model is different from the

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local government intentionally involving volunteers to bridge service gaps and needs. Involving volunteers online provides organizations with a great opportunity at cost savings, inclusion of a diverse group of people, and opening the organization to new ways of doing things. The staff of the organization also benefits from the interaction with volunteers from around the world. However, involving volunteers virtually means that there should be mechanism in place to track and monitor the work because volunteers out after receiving an assignment. Supporting volunteers virtually when you don’t have the bandwidth and resource can be limiting. Volunteers want to be involved and have an open line of communication, this can also take away from an organization that is already skating on the line resource line.

References Albirini, A. (2008). The Internet in developing countries: A medium of economic, cultural and political domination. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology. 4(1), pp. 49–65. Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2008). Potential and promise of online volunteering. Computers in Human Behavior. 24(2), pp. 544–562. Bargh, J. (2002). Beyond simple truths: The human-internet interaction. Journal of Social Issues. 58(1), pp. 1–8. Bennet, J., & Gibbs, S. (1996). NGO funding strategies: An introduction for southern and eastern NGOs. Oxford: ICV A/INRAC. Bertola, V. (2010). Power and the internet. Journal of Communication & Ethics in Society. 8(4), pp. 323–337. doi: 10.1108/1477996101109333 Cravens, J. (2000). Agency surveys 1997–2000 in “Virtual Volunteering Project: Message and Survey Archive.” www.serviceleader.org/old/vv/admin/, The Virtual Volunteering Project, University of Texas at Austin. Cravens, J. (2004). Online volunteering @ UNV: A future? Internal document. Bonn, Germany: United Nations Volunteers program. Cravens, J. (2005). Overview of and philosophy behind UNV’s online volunteering service. Internal document. Bonn, Germany: United Nations Volunteers program. Hustinx, L., Cnaan, R., & Handy, F. (2010). Navigating Theories of Volunteering: A Hybrid Map for a Complex Phenomenon. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour. 40. 410–434. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5914.2010.00439.x Stebbins, R. (1996). Volunteering; a serious leisure perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 25(2), pp. 211–224. doi: 10.1177/0899764096252005 Stebbins, R. (2009). Would you volunteer? Social science. Public Policy. 46(2), pp. 155–159. doi: 10.1007/s12115-008-9186-1 Stern, M., & Dillman, D. (2006). Community participation, social ties, and use of the internet. City & Community. 5(4), pp. 409–424. doi: 10.111/j.1540-6040.2006.00191.x Wilson, J. (2012). Volunteerism Research: A Review Essay. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 41(2), 176–212. doi: 10.1177/0899764011434558

10 Global Volunteering

Chapter Objectives • • •

Understand volunteering as a global concept Examine the way volunteering is experienced and conceptualized in different environments Understand the relationship that volunteering has with various cultures

Learning Objectives At the end of this chapter you should: • • •

Be able to recognize that volunteering is a global phenomenon Understand that volunteers come in all forms and that ideas of who is a volunteer is varied by country Understand that volunteer management in some parts of the world is not a structured activity

Global Volunteering There are many millions of people around the world who volunteer their time and talent to support causes that they find important to them. Every year, these volunteers expend billions of hours’ worth in volunteer labor. For instance, 12.5 million Canadians or 46% of the population aged 15 and over volunteered in 2007 contributing a staggering 2.1 billion hours. This number will be the equivalent of almost 1.1 million full-time jobs as Statistic Canada indicated. The picture is not so different in Europe as approximately 25% of the population or four million people volunteer on consistently in the Netherlands, in 2006 England received 17.9 million volunteers. Together, British volunteers contributed 3.8 billion hours of voluntary work in 2003 (Cravens, 2006). DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-10

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Generally, volunteers fulfill many roles within an organization including administrative support, event organizing, and many others. They serve as teachers, mentors, as well as coaches. Volunteers are often seen as the core of volunteer organizations as their talents, skills, and expertise are relied upon to meet organizational goals. Generally, we have used the term volunteer in the West to incorporate in many situations. That said, many people will meet the specifications of being a volunteer as long as they are performing a task with free will receive no monetary compensation, and the task or act actually benefits others. We have come to associate work without pay as volunteering without distinguishing between the type of work being performed and the individual. In western countries, when we provide tutoring in the local library through their volunteer program, we are seen as volunteers. However, in other parts of the world, volunteering can take many shapes. In Nigeria for example, helping others, which also includes family and friends, can be seen as volunteering, in Morocco everyone is a volunteer as we saw in the INVOLVE 2006 study. Voluntary action is helping and again helping. In Morocco, everybody is a volunteer, because everybody helps each other. You don’t call it voluntary “work” because it is a part of life. (INVOLVE project 2006) Globally, the idea of volunteering is seen differently by different cultures. When we volunteer in the West, we tend to do so within a structured environment. This is not the case in countries in the global south where volunteering and volunteers differ considerably. In Somali, a volunteer noted as part of the INVOLVE project: Volunteering exists, but not so organized. You help each other in the family, the neighborhood, the clan. You have very large families, next to your immediate family and to help each other is an obligation, also from a religious point of view. (INVOLVE project 2006) There are a lot of societal ills around the world and volunteering can play a fundamental role in addressing some of the challenges that we face in society globally. Environmental challenges, the growth of megacities due to urbanization, and migration all need champions to push the agenda through and make them focusing on issues.

References Cravens, J. (2006). Involving international online volunteers: Factors for success, organizational benefits, and new views of community. International Journal of Volunteer Administration.

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Hodgkinson, V. (2003). Volunteering in global perspective. In P. Dekker, & L. Halman (Eds.), The Values of Volunteering: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, (pp. 35–53). New York: Springer. Hustinx, L., Handy, F., & Cnaan, R. A. (2010). Volunteering. In R. Taylor (Ed.), Third Sector Research (pp. 73–89). New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-5707-7_8 International Labour Organization (ILO) (2018). ILO Development Cooperation Progress Report, UNV/ILO Partnership for the Measurement of Volunteer Work (unpublished).

11 Case Studies—Texas

Case Study 1 VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES: A CASE STUDY OF VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS IN NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS. The North Central Texas region is a very robust area that boosts 16 counties. This case study was conducted with 20 volunteer coordinators from 20 local government volunteer programs in the North Central Texas region. Finding these volunteer coordinators and programs was not as easy as it seem. There is no list of local public sector volunteer programs, nor is there a standard practice for their use common to a significant number of local governments. However, the National Association of Volunteer Programs in Local Government (NAVPLG) is a membership organization that local government volunteer programs may decide to join. The main purpose of NAVPLG is to strengthen volunteer programs through leadership, education, advocacy, networking, and information exchange (NAVPLG, 2014). Currently, the association has 114 members representing various states and cities within the United States. NAVPLG provides a natural setting for recruiting participants because they advocate best practices in volunteer management. An internet search of NVAPLG revealed that only three out of the 114 current members were located in North Central Texas. These three volunteer coordinators are in Plano, Allen, and McKinney, Texas, and each agreed to participate and provide introduction to other non-NAVPLG members in the North Central Texas Region (NCTR). There are 16 counties in the NCTR—Allen, Arlington, Carrollton, Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Grand Prairie, Irving, Lewisville, McKinney, Mesquite, Plano, and Richardson. This area has a rich tradition of volunteerism and home to one of the first local government-managed volunteer program (Sillah, 2017). Volunteers in Plano (VIP) is a program that has been used as a model by other local government around the country. Local government volunteer coordinators are in a better position to describe what works in volunteer management and retention in local DOI: 10.4324/9781003099123-11

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government volunteer programs, and whether and to what extent there are disconnects between theory and implementation of volunteer management practices. These volunteer coordinators were of particular interest because of the context in which they manage volunteers. They are a specialized group of individuals working in cities that are proactive enough to have stand-alone volunteer programs. They are uniquely situated in that they provide resources to various city agencies and departments in the form of volunteers. They communicate with almost all levels of city government and leadership in meeting the needs of the city. This group of individuals may also be able to provide answers to why retention remains a problem even when best practices to volunteer management are utilized. Further, they are responsible for controlling and managing human resources issues that may arise with volunteers. Because of their unique position in local government, understanding what they do, the kind of support they have or may not have, the political and legal challenges, and what it means for them to be volunteer coordinators in the context of local government is important because they know what works and what does not. They add value to the conversation on volunteer management practices because of their central location in local government. Ultimately, the volunteer coordinators interviewed varied in volunteer management experience and tenure as volunteer coordinators. These individuals shared a variety of experiences and provided rich information for the study. The selection criteria for inclusion in this study were professionals who were responsible for managing volunteers and who could express their experiences as they relate to the challenges in managing volunteers in local government. Previous research has identified management practices deemed effective in managing and retaining volunteers; however, none of these directly interviewed local government volunteer coordinators to know what the real issues and challenges are in managing and retaining volunteers using these identified practices. It has been assumed from previous research that implementation of these practices will lead to the desired outcome; yet, without the voice and unique perspectives of these volunteer coordinators, we may not know what practices are seemingly working and what are not. Volunteer coordinators were selected for this study for their depth of knowledge about broad city policies, objectives, projects, programs, limitations, and liaison with city officials and contacts, as well as their familiarity with the skills, capabilities, and limitations of volunteer prospects and participants in various city programs. Those with over one year of service are in a position to reflect upon the pros and cons of past and present efforts concerning the use of volunteers by city governments. Public officials at higher levels of local government management are likely not to have as strong a grasp on program history and details because they are managing many managers, such as volunteer coordinators, as their principal responsibility and do not have volunteers as direct reports; nor do volunteers that

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report to the volunteer coordinators have as comprehensive a perspective on city objectives and limitations. Volunteer coordinators in local government are not required to raise money on behalf of their agency, unlike in nonprofit organizations, but they have the responsibility to establish and maintain good relationships with other city agencies and the public, which is essential for engaging citizens to view the program in a positive light and critical to retaining volunteers. Data Collection Procedure

In order to understand how volunteer coordinators experience the challenges in managing volunteers, it was prudent to use a two-prong approach to gather data. To best capture and organize participant experiences in managing volunteers, a two-part method of data collection will be utilized—survey and semi-structured interviews. Semi-structured interviews were the primary data collection method because they helped get an in-depth understanding of participants’ experiences. Survey questions were incorporated to gather data on participant characteristics, use of best practices, and level of challenges in using best practices. There is nothing particularly new about this approach, the use of multiple methods to collect and interpret qualitative data has a long tradition in many of the social sciences (Cope, 2009). Participation Procedures

Participant recruitment began with three volunteers from the NAVPLG website, located in North Central Texas. An email was sent to these volunteers summarizing the purpose of the study and inviting them to participate. All three responded to the email stating that they would be interested in participating. These volunteer coordinators were also asked to provide introductions and information of other volunteer coordinators in local government not in the NAVPLG database but in their social network. Using contact information provided by the three volunteer coordinators, potential participants received a recruitment email describing the purpose of the study and an invitation to participate. Overall, 30 volunteer coordinators responded indicating a willingness to participate. Though the response was overwhelming, a thorough screening of participants meant that some of the participants had to be excluded because they did not meet the selection criteria. Based on the criteria, the study ended up with 20 volunteer coordinators for inclusion in the study. The inclusionary criteria for this study were limited to:

•

Over one-year full-time experience in a comparable capacity as a volunteer coordinator for a public or nonprofit employer;

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•

Has been responsible for planning, organizing, and directing volunteer programs associated with the association’s board of directors, committees, and departments; Has organized, coordinated, and managed the recruitment of volunteers for the board, various committees, departments, and association programs; Has worked with social, civic, and local organizations to develop partnerships, where appropriate, to develop and/or utilize volunteers; Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, communication, or related field; Has prior experience creating and implementing volunteer programs and training; and Has been and is comfortable in a highly visible position between upper management and a large staff of volunteers as a liaison.

• • • • •

A follow-up email was sent to all volunteer coordinators who agreed to participate in the study. Participants were sent the survey after receipt of their acceptance letter. After receiving the survey, an email was sent to participants to confirm the date and time of the semi-structured interview. Every endeavor was made so that the interviews were scheduled at a time that was convenient for the volunteer coordinator. Research Instrument

Data collection occurred through a two-part process—survey and telephone interviews with local government volunteer coordinators. Survey consisted of 50 questions lasting approximately 20 minutes. Interviews varied between 30 and 40 minutes and consisted of 19 semi-structured interview questions. Survey Questionnaire

Survey questions included background information on volunteer coordinators such as their experience, level of education, and their knowledge of best practices. Questions also included information on volunteers in the program, level of challenge in using best practices, as well as questions related to level of challenge in involving volunteers. Telephone Interviews

Semi-structured telephone interviews were utilized as the second part of the data collection process. Using semi-structured interviews provided the opportunity to gain a variety of perspectives and understand the experiences of the volunteer coordinators as well as their objective reality as it relates to managing volunteers in the context of local government. Thus, following the survey, telephone interviews were conducted with the volunteer coordinators. The semi-structured interview provided a more in-depth

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understanding of the challenges involved in volunteer management by focusing on questions as well as asking for clarification on answers provided on the survey. The interviews varied between 30 and 40 minutes and were digitally recorded in order to be transcribed. Questions focused on volunteer management challenges and strategies for managing and engaging volunteers. The interview questions in relationship to the research questions are described below. Interview Questions

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

What managerial challenges do you face in coordinating volunteers? What political challenges do you face in managing volunteers? What other challenges apart from managerial (political) do you face in managing volunteers? What education have you received about best practices? What are some of the challenges you face in retaining volunteers? Have you been educated that what is shown below are best practices for volunteer management? If not, you may still be using practices that fall into this list, and include others not listed that you use. Regarding the best practices, you offer, please indicate your level of challenge. If high challenge, what is facilitating the high challenge? What are the three most important challenges you have in engaging citizens?

To keep the semi-structured interviews on task, an interview guide was created. The purpose of the interview guide was to keep the focus on acquiring information on volunteer management challenges, experiences in using volunteer management practices, as well as challenges in engaging volunteers. Specifically, volunteer coordinators were probed with questions relating to the level of challenge involved in managing volunteers, political challenges in managing volunteers in the local government context, and level of challenge in engaging citizens with the goal of uncovering what was facilitating or hindering these challenges. When the design of the interview guide was completed, telephone interviews with the 20 volunteer coordinators were conducted. Analysis

Qualitative research allows a deeper understanding of the phenomenon being studied, and it is the most appropriate research methodology for this study since it is concerned with how volunteer coordinators experience the challenges in managing volunteers. Given that qualitative methodology uses context, individual experience, and subjective interpretation, generalizability is not always possible (Heppner et al., 1999), nor was it a goal of this study. A deductive grounded theory approach to data analysis is used to analyze the qualitative data in this case study. Grounded theory is a research

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approach that is “grounded in data systematically gathered and analyzed” (Strauss & Corbin, 1994, p. 85). Immediately following each interview, the interview data were transcribed for analysis. While transcribing each interview, the focus was on translating the narratives into recorded words and more specifically on the substance of the stories being told. Each word was precisely recorded as uttered by the interviewee. The transcription of all 20 interviews yielded 250 pages of typed data. Throughout the data analysis process, data was organized into logical and organized categories to manage recurring themes. During this coding process, preliminary codes became evident across the interviews. With open coding, similar codes are collapsed into categories and organized according to themes. The categories were added as the analysis progressed to account for all the themes that were emerging from the data. All participants’ narratives were compared to pull themes from the data and create categories for analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). During this process, 28 codes were identified and ended up with five themes that were collapsed into four specific themes. The focus was also on relationships that extended across categories, looking at how different and similar the themes are. Limitations

There are some limitations identified with this case study research which has to be acknowledged. The number of participants in this study was limited, but their perspective is unique, making it acceptable because they provided information that is relevant to the study of volunteer management and citizen engagement in local government volunteer programs. The low representation should not serve as a problem, because the findings can be transferred to other contexts. However, caution should be taken in each instance of generalization. Another methodological limitation was the sampling choice. The choice of sampling—purposive—was meant to uncover rich qualitative data that would add to the phenomenon of challenges in volunteer management. Further, the study participants were limited to local government that had stand-alone volunteer programs not affiliated with other city departments such as Parks and Recreation or Libraries. Thus the search for participants left out organizations not inclined to join organizations such as NAVPLG. So although volunteer programs in local government were examined, only standalone programs were included in the final sample. Survey and Interview Results

The responses of the 20 participants were analyzed, producing aggregate results in the form of descriptive statistics. In addition to demographic

Case Studies—Texas 95 Table 11.1 Participant Demographic Characteristics Characteristic

Category

N

%

Gender

Male Female 2–4 years 5–7 years 8–10 years 10 or more years Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Special training or certification No special training or certification

4 16 6 4 3 7 16 4 16 4

20% 80% 30% 20% 15% 35% 80% 20% 80% 20%

Volunteer management experience

Education level Training level

information about the participants, the survey results also included their responses to questions about best practices and citizen engagement. Descriptive statistics were used for the survey analysis of the data. As shown below, there were 16 female and four male participants in the study. Half (50%) of the participants had between two and seven years of volunteer management experience, while half (50%) reported having eight or more years of volunteer management experience. In terms of education level, 80% reported having a bachelor’s degree and 20% held a master’s degree. A large majority (80%) of the participants reported receiving special training or certification in volunteer management. The 20 volunteer coordinators in the study are categorized by the following demographics presented in Table 11.1. Table 11.2 presents the data collected concerning volunteer management practices of participants’ organizations and shows the number and percentage of participants reporting the use of these specific best practices. Not surprising, all of the volunteer coordinators indicated that their program operated on a budget provided by their city. Ninety-five percent of the respondents indicated that they provide recognition activities for their volunteers, yet only 25% provide any form of annual evaluation of volunteers to gauge how volunteers are faring within the program or how the program can help volunteers. While 70% of volunteer coordinators provide basic training for volunteers, only 20% provide ongoing training for volunteers. Further, only 5% of volunteers receive new volunteer orientation from the volunteer coordinators. This seems to indicate once volunteers learn the ropes of where they will be placed at the basic level they are left to their own devices. This goes against the principle of resource development if volunteers are to be cultivated to add value to the department and provide them with meaningful work. Though 60% of participants conduct active outreach to recruit new volunteers, 40% do not perform such activity. Again, this seems less about targeted recruitment and more about filling positions with willing bodies. Seventy-five percent of volunteer

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Table 11.2 Local Government Volunteer Management Practices Management Practices Recognition activities for volunteers Formal record-keeping Basic volunteer training Written policies governing volunteer program Active outreach to recruit new volunteers Received support from high-level officials (e.g., dept. managers, etc.) Formal job descriptions for volunteers Ongoing or in-service training for volunteers Liability insurance coverage for volunteers New volunteer orientation Reimbursement for work-related volunteer expenses Budget for volunteer program Volunteers manage other volunteers Newsletter for volunteers Annual or other evaluation of volunteers

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

n

%

19 1 20 0 14 6 20 0 12 8 15 5 14 6 4 16 12 8 5 15 9 11 20 0 1 19 7 13 5 15

95% 5% 100% 0% 70% 30% 100% 0% 60% 40% 75% 25% 70% 30% 20% 80% 60% 40% 25% 75% 45% 55% 100% 0% 5% 95% 35% 65% 25% 75%

coordinators noted that they receive support from high-level public officials, and 25% indicated that they do not. For a program that was created to aid in community development and social inclusion (100% have written policies), it was expected that 100% of participants would receive support from public officials. Only 35% of participants indicated that they have newsletters for volunteers, and 1% noted that they provide volunteers the opportunity to manage other volunteers. While volunteering brings benefits to the program, these are volunteer management activities that are meant to bring benefits to the volunteers if we are to consider volunteering a mutual exchange. Sixty percent of the programs provide liability insurance that protects their volunteers, and 45% provide reimbursement for work-related expenses. While volunteer coordinators want to create an inclusive environment for volunteering, these volunteer management practices would seem to be barriers to prospective volunteers that would discourage their participation.

Case Studies—Texas 97 Table 11.3 Community Engagement Opportunities Provided by Local Governments Community Engagement Provide opportunity for volunteers to serve on community boards Provide opportunity for volunteers to collaborate on community projects (e.g., beautification, policing, citizen patrols, etc.) Provide opportunity for volunteers to serve on advisory committees Provide opportunity for volunteers to interact with public officials

Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

N

%

17 3 5 15 5 15 20 0

85% 15% 25% 75% 25% 75% 100% 0%

Citizen engagement questions were presented in the survey. The results of those are presented below. All the volunteer coordinators (100%) surveyed responded that their program provides opportunities for volunteers to meet with public officials. However, when asked whether they provide volunteers with engagement activities related to serving on advisory boards, only 25% indicated that their program does. While 85% of the coordinators indicated that their program provides opportunities for citizens to serve on community boards, only 5% provide an opportunity for citizens to collaborate on community projects. This goes against the core of citizen engagement, which is the creation of citizens who know how to use their skills, expertise, and knowledge to better their communities. The survey questions also explored the level of challenge that volunteer coordinators experience in using certain citizen engagement activities in their programs, with responses presented below. These challenges are further explored in the qualitative analysis of the data. The participants were asked questions that probed them on the factors that were facilitating or hindering their level of challenge with these community engagement activities for volunteers.

Table 11.4 Challenges Associated with Coordinating Community Engagement Activities for Volunteers Citizen Engagement Activity

Amount of Challenge Experienced by Participant When Coordinating Activity

N

%

Volunteers on community boards

More challenging Less challenging More challenging Less challenging More challenging Less challenging More challenging Less challenging

15 2 5 0 4 1 5 15

90% 10% 25% 0% 20% 5% 25% 75%

Volunteer collaboration with peers on community projects Volunteers on advisory boards Volunteer interaction with public officials

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Qualitative Analysis of Interviews

The 20 participants were interviewed individually in audiotaped telephone interviews. Following the steps of data analysis and coding procedures recommended by qualitative researchers Creswell (2009) and Charmaz (2006), the researcher moved from the early stages of becoming familiar with the data as a whole to the more detailed analysis stage of coding the material manually. The coding process naturally led to the emergence of themes, which together created a narrative describing the meaning of the experiences of the 20 participants who were interviewed for this case study. Follow-up phone interviews were conducted with 19 of the participants to clarify and extend their responses to the questions in the initial interviews. Participants responded with deeper insights into questions about volunteer management practices; additionally, participants clarified many responses that had been incomplete or superficial in the original interviews. The results of the qualitative analysis are presented below. Codes and Themes Emergent from the Interview Analysis

The coding process revealed 28 codes, which appeared throughout the interview transcripts in the participants’ responses to the interview questions. Each code was given an acronym; the acronyms were used to manually code the printed interview transcripts. See Appendix for a complete list of codes. Next, these codes were grouped into themes. After analysis, five main themes were seen to recur throughout the interview transcripts. The five initial codes—the components of volunteer management programs, the challenges of volunteer management, the best practices of volunteer management, the challenge of finding meaningful work for volunteers, and the challenge of coordination between volunteer coordinators and local government managers—were collapsed into four specific themes. These themes coincided with: 1 2 3 4

The challenges of volunteer management The best practices of volunteer management (see appendix A, as identified by the literature) The challenges of engaging citizens Strategies for retaining and engaging volunteers

The themes identified in the data analysis fell into three different parts of the study structure. Part 1 concerns human relations challenges and includes things such as volunteer engagement, retention, and finding meaningful work for volunteers. Part 2 concerns the bureaucratic best practices of volunteer management and includes things such as training, newsletter, budget, evaluation of volunteers, and tracking volunteer hours. Part 3 concerns volunteer program challenges and includes things such as visibility of the program, showing the impact of the program, and other challenges unique to the context of local

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government such as adjustment of volunteer coordinators from private sector to the public sector and showing the value of volunteers to taxpayers. This section presents the themes with supporting quotes from respondents to provide their unique perspectives, thereby providing a more holistic view of components of volunteer management programs.

Part 1: Human Relations Challenges At the core of managing volunteers is the ability to make sure they are engaged, recognized for their contributions, as well as finding meaningful work. All of these will help in retaining volunteers. Local government volunteer programs, however, operate around a bureaucratic structure characterized by rules and regulations, written policies and procedures, and a centralized chain of command. Because of this context, volunteer coordinators are held accountable to the rules governing the volunteer program as they manage volunteers, which makes human relations activities challenging. Participants spoke often about the challenging aspects of the volunteer management programs that they lead. When asked about the biggest challenges they encounter in engaging volunteers, participants most often mentioned engaging the volunteers, outreach to volunteers, keeping volunteers happy, providing recognition for volunteers, evaluation of volunteers, and providing volunteers with meaningful work. Additionally, communication, the needs of the departments and volunteers were each mentioned once as challenges the coordinators experience in engaging volunteers. This is depicted in Figure 11.1.

Engaging volunteers

Outreach to volunteers

Human relations challenges

Evaluation of volunteers

Recognition of volunteers

Providing volunteers with meaningful work

Figure 11.1 Human Relations Challenges.

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Engaging Volunteers

Ryan et al. (2001) have noted that people would initially take part in a volunteer program for altruistic reasons, but will stay with the program if they perceive social benefits. From the analysis, volunteer coordinators seem to struggle with whether retention is tied to engagement and how to best gauge engagement. This is a very significant piece of information considering that 75% of the survey respondents do not conduct an annual evaluation of their volunteers. The evaluation of the volunteers would uncover reasons behind why volunteers were not staying and what activities they would rather be engaged with. Engaging the citizens so that they want to become volunteers is essential, noted participants: It is just very hard to gauge engagement when you have a problem retaining them in the first place. I think one of the trainings I went to stated that retention is an indication of citizen engagement. I’m not sure I quite agree with that. I mean, I can retain volunteers, but I have to keep them engaged by giving them the assignments they want not to necessarily keep them, but for them to tell others about the program, talk about us, and get others to the website or to our office (Coordinator O). Participants spoke further about engaging volunteers: We have such a high turnover. I think that really is the bottom line. If citizens were staying, I think we would know that we are keeping them engaged. We have a pretty good grip on the younger volunteers, but then they go to college, start new careers and then what? Turnover is high (Coordinators T). Sculpting a meaningful experience for the volunteer can be a challenge especially when working with schedules that are so varied—both the agency and the volunteer (Coordinators H). Speaking about the importance of recruiting and engaging new volunteers for serving on community boards, Coordinator T further noted: We can’t seem to reach the younger volunteers. These are the ones we really want on these community boards as we see our city change. We see a lot of families, young families moving into our city and we would like to have them on these boards. My challenge is getting them engaged! (Coordinator T) The inability of the volunteer program to inspire and engage volunteers leads to the problem of retention. Volunteer coordinators struggle to find young

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volunteers who can be set up to sit on community boards. Since these programs were set up with the mission of civic engagement, the normative management function should be to focus on encouraging and developing a sense of social cohesion that volunteers are important to the community. This was echoed by some of the program coordinators when they noted that they have struggled to demonstrate the impact of the program. Outreach to Volunteers

Organizations are generally discerning about where and how they recruit volunteers. They often position themselves where they would find prospective volunteers to meet the needs of their organization such as online or through word of mouth. In the context of local government, volunteer coordinators noted that they often relied on other volunteers, online websites, and colleagues. An informant spoke about the program’s outreach to recruit new volunteers: I would say we do active outreach, but “really active,” I don’t find myself making too many meetings with specific people. A lot of it is done … I could be in the office and send over email or over the phone (Coordinator J). Recognition of Volunteers

Participants brought up recognition as an important component of the volunteer program and essential to engaging and retaining volunteers. In particular, participants noted that recognition could be formal, such as when they held their annual recognition dinner, or informal with a verbal thank you or email. Recognition of volunteers is an integral part of every volunteer program. Participants also noted: … It’s what everyone says in all the volunteer trainings … that recognition, making sure that you’re recognizing, reinforcement, and showing your appreciation. I think that is important for volunteer retention. Letting them know how valued they are in what they do, whether it’s at the Library level, the advisory board level or beyond, or the individuals helping with programming. I would say the recognition and finding that good match is a win/win for both parties (Coordinator G). People volunteer because they want to know what they are doing has an impact. And volunteers will not stay if they don’t feel appreciated (Coordinator E). We do an annual appreciation event. This is our big yearly formal event where we get to showcase our volunteers and invite the local community and volunteers and their families (Coordinator A).

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Annual Evaluation of Volunteers

An evaluation of volunteers, preferably annually, provides an opportunity to figure out what problems may have led to volunteers leaving the program. It may also serve as a kind of recognition: They are evaluated at different locations, depending on where they’re at. Again, some of them are less extensive evaluations than others, depending on the complexity of the position and also the duration of the volunteer, because sometimes volunteers are in and out for a short time. Others stay with us for a long long time (Coordinator L). Meeting the Volunteers’ Needs

Volunteer coordinators reported challenges in matching volunteers with decision-making positions on advisory committees and community boards. Within the context of managing volunteers in the public sector, providing volunteers with these opportunities to sit on boards and making the match of volunteer to the right board or committee can be difficult for coordinators, who are trying to meet the needs of the volunteers as well as the city and organization. Most of the requests we get for getting on boards are very specific. Volunteers want a specific board and some of these boards are already set in the numbers they want. I think the specificity of the request is the challenging part (Coordinator C). The challenge is though I have many positions and requests for volunteers to serve on advisory boards, I have a hard time filling them. People want to serve on community boards and not on advisory boards. Don’t ask me why but that’s just how it is here (Coordinator S). I think it has been a case of timing, believe it or not. We kept having very high turnover on advisory committees and we couldn’t figure out why. We tried many other things including recruiting more and from various areas. The turnover continued. It was a chance encounter with a volunteer one day in the aisle of a local grocery store who in passing mentioned that they wish the hours of the advisory committee’s meeting were different and a light bulb went off! It is still a challenge because we are trying to find a common ground for all: the volunteers, the department, and my office, so that it’s a win-win for all (Coordinator F). One participant related a story of a volunteer’s experience that was not fulfilling the volunteer’s needs: I did want to share one story with you, too, that was kind of horrifying to me. I found someone through … She came in to start a once a week,

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3 hours a week, job in the department, and their filing was really far behind. She sat there basically just fuming, while she worked on the filing, while she says that she watched the people (who were supposed to guiding her) idling on the internet and … chatting. She felt really used. She called in when she couldn’t come once. Then I think maybe another time before she said, “I have to be honest, you know. I just really wasn’t doing great, because I watched them sit around while I was doing their work.” When I shared that with the department, the boss of course was horrified, and then she said that she implemented a system where they (staff) took turns doing the filing, and now they’re getting that done. That was another experience that I had that was unexpected (Coordinator J). Recognition of Volunteers

All participants cited recognition as a key aspect of successful volunteer programs: Funding, getting the volunteers together, and recognition that is of value to volunteers (Coordinator D). We do an annual appreciation event. This is our big yearly formal event where we get to showcase our volunteers and invite the local community and volunteers and their families (Coordinator A). Volunteer Orientation

The scope of orientation includes providing volunteers with the necessary information and tools needed to do well in their respective positions. This process requires informing volunteers of the expectations of the department and also allowing volunteers to voice what they expect from their position. Each orientation can be structured formally or informally. In this regard, informants noted that: We do this with all our volunteers. It provides an opportunity to meet the volunteers, let them ask questions, put them at ease and listen to what they want to do. It’s amazing because this is when you learn about what people really think about what the program is about or what we do (Coordinator D). Orientation is very important to this program because this is when we get to tell our volunteers about what our mission is and what they will be doing once they start. Because we do this individually, it becomes very time consuming. I would love to start doing this in groups and handing them brochures, but because of budget, I don’t think I will be able to do that (Coordinator T).

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Matching Volunteers to Positions That Are a Good Fit

In their national survey on charitable organizations, Hager and Brudney (2004) found that there were several factors that heighten the volunteer experiences. They noted that engaging the volunteer, retention, and matching the volunteers to the right task were factors that enhanced the volunteer experience. Here, these factors are all under the volunteer management challenges because they describe the way coordinators can use vital volunteer management strategies to make volunteers feel and be an integral part of the organization. The data analysis found that all participants spoke about the challenges and importance of matching the right volunteer to the right position in one way or the other: Citizens come to us with different requests about where and how they want to serve their community. Some requests are very specific and it makes it hard to place volunteers … . Now, we have to screen and make sure we send them the right individuals. (Who said?) Retention of Volunteers

Creating a positive volunteer experience seems to be the central theme around which retention is organized. All of the organizations sampled varied in age and size, and their strategies to retention differed similarly. The life of a local government volunteer program is very volatile, as revealed by the analysis, with high volunteer turnover, funding crisis, and engagement issues seemingly the norm. All of these factors affect retention. Retention of volunteers was found to be a challenge for the volunteer coordinators: Retention is always an issue, especially now. I have noticed that though people want to help, they do not want to commit long term to an organization. Now, don’t get me wrong, we have had some volunteers who have been with us for decades, but the new volunteers these days do not want to tie themselves to any long-term commitment (Coordinator H). I think the key to retaining volunteers is putting the right people in the right position (Coordinator Q). Recruiting Volunteers

Recruitment is about selecting a volunteer to be part of the program through a specific process outlined by the department needing the volunteer. Recruitment can happen because the volunteer coordinators have a strategy for recruitment or because the program is so good by reputation that volunteers bring in more volunteers. Forty percent of the respondents to the survey had indicated that they did not conduct any active

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recruitment; however, a vast majority during the interview has noted that they were very visible within the community. When asked about recruitment, one respondent noted that: Recruiting the right number of volunteers is usually a challenge for us because we are a midsize city—maybe large city some would say—and our program has only two staff to fill all the needs. So recruiting can be a challenge for us (Coordinator K). Although recruitment does not occur in a fluid manner with these volunteer programs, and most do not carry out specific recruitment strategies on purpose, volunteer coordinators are aware of, and seem to count on, their visibility within the community and volunteers seeking out the program. Volunteers Sitting on Community Boards

Some volunteers aspire to sit on community boards and receive satisfaction in having that opportunity. This theme, however, did not fit neatly into other categories, but it provides the coordinators an opportunity to engage with citizens: Offering leadership opportunities for … making sure that to retain them we offer them opportunities where they are seen as leaders, where they have training … we have volunteers that run for city councils, and they participate in city affairs (Coordinator H). There is an opportunity to serve on various community boards. These boards are very specific with their recruitment needs … . Lots of people want to get on a board (Coordinator I). We pride ourselves in providing a vast array of opportunities for our citizens. We try to provide opportunities that show them how important their thoughts and ideas are to making our city vibrant. One of the best ways we have determined is through community boards (Coordinator K). Communication between departments and the volunteer coordinators was mentioned by several participants as a challenge. Coordinator M further noted: There are a couple of different city departments that are housed at city hall. Then, there’s the fire department, there are three fire stations, there’s a police department, that kind of stuff. Then, really, it’s a representative from each of those departments that works with the volunteers as well. Say, the police person, even when their volunteers are over there, are they keeping track of their volunteer’s hours and entering them into the same database? Stuff like that, I’ve been working and trying to figure that out (Coordinator M).

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Human Relations Management—Challenges

The willingness of volunteers, which is expressed in their motivation to donate their time, is a sign of their involvement as citizens in their communities as well as the potential of their future contribution. Therefore, managing these volunteers in an efficient way is important not only from the human resource perspective but from the wider perspective of citizen engagement. When done correctly, volunteer management should foster in volunteers the need to contribute to social changes in their communities. Based on the analysis, volunteer coordinators indicated that they were faced with challenges in managing the human relation needs of volunteers in local government. During the interviews, participants were probed to further clarify what these challenges were and what was facilitating the challenges. Participants noted that they struggled to provide recognition activities for volunteers. Participants noted that: I am not sure whether it is high level or just a challenge. We don’t have the money to accommodate all the volunteers we have. I understand each department thinks they have the best volunteers but we have no means of recognizing them all. The best we can do is have their names in our website since we do not have a newsletter like some other program (Coordinator B). I think the challenge for us has been focusing on our attention on monetizing the contributions of our volunteers instead of really finding other ways to appreciate their efforts. It took me going to a training to see how I had tied recognition of the volunteers to our program budget. After that training, I realized the challenge will now be how creative I can be in coming up with ideas! The volunteers never told us we had to buy them something, yet here we are also lamenting our limited budget (Coordinator T). Volunteer programs should highlight the importance of their program and should also provide recognition to their volunteers; however, coordinators seem constrained by their budgets and their assumption that volunteers are only interested in material recognition. Although public recognition sounds good, recognition can also be informal such as sending a thank you email to volunteers. Further, the literature on volunteer management suggests that recognition is tied to volunteer retention, but these programs do not have retention as a goal of their mission; rather, their goal is citizen engagement. Also all of the participants brought this up, indicating that they are aware of this as part of the best practices. As one participant indicated: I can’t separate recognition from retention. They should be talked about as a team; they just go together, and if either piece is missing then it’s not going to work (Coordinator H).

Case Studies—Texas 107

Finding meaningful work for volunteers was considered a challenge for volunteer coordinators, and this could be tied to the fact that they do not provide evaluations of volunteers, especially when they leave the organization to understand their motives for leaving. When local government volunteer programs understand why people would want to give up their time, then they would train them and place them in positions that mean added value to the volunteer experience. Communication or lack of seems to be the problem between the volunteer coordinators and the various departments. Sixty-five percent and 75% of the respondents in the survey indicated that they did not provide newsletters or annual evaluations respectively of their volunteers. They noted their challenges as: There’s an evaluation, but it’s not feedback, necessarily, on their skills. The evaluation that I’m taking from volunteers is on the program, especially those that are exit surveys for anybody who decided to drop their volunteer role. I like to know how they felt about everything. I still feel as though I’m learning some of those things, how this was done in the past and how I’m tailoring it to my own program, in a way (Coordinator C). I just don’t have the resources to do a newsletter or an evaluation. If I have another staff or even volunteer, then I can concentrate on doing these (Coordinator F). Participants were further probed on their challenges with engaging volunteers. Though 85% (of the 20 volunteers) indicated that they did provide the opportunity for volunteers to serve on community boards, a vast majority (90% of the 17) observed that they found it challenging. Three participants observed: I don’t know if it’s a challenge or that those opportunities do not come up than often and when they do we have too many applications than we have placements for. Sometimes we have many of these engagement activities but not many volunteers. On top of that, we only have so many community boards in the city. It becomes frustrating when people only send in an application for that particular position and you have to tell them none is available but can’t get them to volunteer somewhere else in their city (Coordinator N). Volunteers often want to serve on community boards because it they are concerned about something and by getting engaged and serving, they hope to make a difference. The problem is sometimes they want to serve a specific agency and there is no way I can guarantee that especially if that agency is not even in need of a volunteer. I can’t place you where there is no need (Coordinator D). Most of the time we actually work with other local nonprofits in the area who also have needs to have boards positions filled. These organizations

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are within our communities and we do post these positions online on our website. The challenge is sometime filling all those positions. We tend to have a unique problem in this regard. I tell colleagues at meetings that I can’t fill community board’s positions and they look at me … Most programs have many applications and few positions but for some reason, people in my city do not want to take advantage of these positions. At one time we thought, maybe it was the timing of the meetings but that was addressed. I really can’t tell you why (Coordinator T). From the analysis, volunteers seem to desire to volunteer for the community boards that would benefit them and not just the program. This can create a friction as observed by how frustrated and overwhelmed the volunteer coordinators responded to the probe. While some of the volunteer coordinators were challenged by the specificity of the volunteer position, another participant observed that: … we have too many of these boards needing volunteers and we can’t keep up with the demand. That’s really the bottom line. I don’t know how else to put it (Coordinator R). The volunteer programs have a mission to engage citizens. As part of that mission, they provide engagement opportunities to volunteers. While the analysis indicated that only 25% provided volunteers the opportunity to collaborate on community projects (e.g., beautification, policing, citizen patrols, etc.), they all found this to be a challenge. Participants expressed strong challenges with this aspect of managing and providing engagement opportunities. They expressed these challenges as: I just don’t know how to go about it … . I have joined an online association and this association will supposedly have webinars on all kinds of trainings and we are also encouraged to share the kinds of trainings we want to see. We can post questions and see whether someone has done what you are looking for answers to (Coordinator R). Many of our volunteers volunteer with other agencies and would like to get the members of those agencies with our program. We have been working really hard to figure out the best way to bring some of the projects they want to work on, and that would benefit our city on the table. The constraint is trying to get the volunteers to agree on which project to work on. I understand they came up with the project, but prioritizing we have found is a problem. My office end up doing too much work for an idea that was not ours to begin with (Coordinator H). It’s just getting all the volunteers together at the same time. We get calls that they want to collaborate on projects, we have a project that one group started which was great. They get together once a month, identify a home

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that needs sprucing up whether its paint, weeding or just basic yard maintenance. The group does that. We coordinate and take pictures for the website. That’s our most successful group yet. I still have not been able to do that yet. There is interest, but I can’t tell you how I coordinated that group—I could use the inspiration right now (Coordinator T). Coordinator T further indicated: We have wonderful citizens who come up with brilliant ideas. I find that sometimes it takes a while to find enough like-minded people to get the project off the ground. That’s about the most challenging and I have to say a little heartbreaking because some of these ideas are just meant to help the community (Coordinator T). Although volunteer coordinators believed that the programs were fulfilling its mission by providing engagement activities for volunteers they were also overwhelmed on how to provide these activities. Some felt that they lack the expertise and knowledge to provide the engagement activities for volunteers. On the other hand, others felt that these activities were not a priority for the program because volunteers couldn’t come up with one that would directly benefit the city. Participants felt that though their program was well managed, there were still some challenges they encountered. When probed, they expressed the challenge they face in providing engagement activities. Of the 25% who found providing opportunities for volunteers to serve on advisory boards, four (20%) found it more challenging to actually provide such service. Participants expressed that the advisory boards sometimes are not very welcoming to volunteers. Some participants put it this way: I can tell you this, both the volunteers and the committees have their requirement on who they want on their board and what type of board they want to serve … Well volunteers tend to want me to place them on these decision-making boards and sometimes though they are a good fit, the boards may not want volunteers who will be actively involved in the decision-making process but rather as observers (Coordinator D). Yes, this has been a challenge for me and I had to reach out to other volunteer coordinators to see how they were managing this particular issue. I thought maybe it was unique to our city. I found out it was not. I think it has been a case of timing believe it or not. We kept having very high turnover on advisory committees and we couldn’t figure out why. We tried many other things including recruiting more and from various areas. The turnover continued. It was a chance encounter with a volunteer one day in the aisle of a local grocery store who in passing mentioned that they wish the hours of the advisory committees meeting were different and a light bulb went off ! (Coordinator O)

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I don’t think we have a challenge with providing the volunteers with these opportunities. The challenge is we can’t seem to keep them on these advisory boards. The irony is that we are in a process of setting up an advisory board of volunteers to find out why (Coordinator D). Yes, the challenge is that advisory boards want community members to give their inputs to make sure that decisions are weighed from many different perspectives. But, what happens is that expectations are not clear and we get calls from volunteers stating that they are not expected to make any decisions but rather be honorary members. I think the idea board resonates with volunteers as being part of a decision making board and that their voice should count for something. I get these calls, and I am not sure who to call. Do I call the agency and say “hey, let my volunteers speak” or should I just let them speak to the volunteers? It’s challenge I tell you (Coordinator A). The context in which these volunteers work makes it imperative for the city to show support, and the best way is usually to be present at events honoring volunteers. Though all the volunteer coordinators responded that they provided opportunities for volunteers to interact with public officials, 25% found it challenging to provide said opportunity. Most indicated that they did not go out of their way to seek out public officials because the programs tend to be isolated. As one participant observed: It’s only a challenge when we can’t get one top official to attend some of our events to showcase the work we do for the city! (Coordinator E)

Part 2: Bureaucratic Best Practices of Volunteer Management Data analysis showed that participants spoke about aspects of their volunteer management programs that are considered to be best practices. Serving as volunteer coordinators within the public sector affects how these coordinators are able to apply best practices within the context of a city program. The volunteer coordinators’ in-depth insights about these practices allowed for rich material to emerge during the interviews and showed these best practices as they are occurring in volunteer management programs. These best practices include: • • • • • •

Volunteer program policy First meeting/screening/managing volunteers Budget Preparation for new components (planning) Tracking volunteer hours with software Training volunteers

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It is noteworthy that the same concepts and codes that appear frequently as challenges of volunteer program also appear in the category of bureaucratic best practices of volunteer management. Participants spoke often about these specific best practices of volunteer management, as they experienced them in the volunteer management programs that they lead. These are depicted in Figure 11.2.

Volunteer program policy (the program documents and manual)

First meeting/screening/managing volunteers

Budget

Bureaucratic Best practices challenges

Preparation for new components (planning)

Providing meaningful work

Training volunteers

Tracking volunteer hours with software

Figure 11.2 Bureaucratic Best Practices Themes.

Volunteer Program Policy

Volunteer program policy was identified in the volunteer program challenges as a key aspect that guided the actions of volunteer coordinators. Volunteer program management encompasses different human management strategies that volunteer coordinators use to effectively manage and show the effectiveness and impact of the program. The volunteer program policy helps to guide the volunteer program and answer blurry questions which may or may not have been made clear to the volunteer coordinator upon being hired. In this study, respondents indicated that the volunteer policy serves as a guide and provided answers to questions that may arise. Informants noted: I look at the policy as my guide. Whenever I am in doubt, I whip it out and look it over. For example, we had the opportunity to get some

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money from an organization in town. I was not sure about it, and I had to get this book out. Which was a good thing because it turned out, we couldn’t accept it! (Coordinator C) The volunteer program is written into the municipal volunteer guide, pages 18–20. That makes it very easy on us to justify the existence of the program. It is part of the city business plan. I think we are lucky that our program was actually written into the municipal plan, so we avoid the politics (Coordinator E). Managing Volunteers

The process of selecting and introducing a volunteer into the volunteer program is an ongoing process for volunteer coordinators; for volunteers, however, this occurs only once for them. Volunteer management and building a relationship with volunteers is a dynamic presence between volunteers and the volunteer program, with volunteer management acting in tandem with building relationships. Here, the process of managing volunteers includes training, orientation, recruitment, recognizing volunteers, and receiving support for the volunteer program. Participants noted that because they work in a local government program, there are certain aspects of their volunteer programs that are different from if they were managing volunteers in a nonprofit setting. Participants noted that: Well, I actually thought that with my over 15 years in managing volunteers in the nonprofit sector that it would be easy to translate the lessons learned from the nonprofit sector into the local government level, Boy, was I wrong! I couldn’t translate the lessons learned from my previous position as a volunteer coordinator in the nonprofit sector. One challenge I had to overcome was the constant reporting, trying to always remember the rules, making sure I always report to the city what was spent, how, on what and so forth. I mean I had to be accountable in my previous capacity, but I had discretion (Coordinator I). … daily management challenges including lack of a sufficient budget that would enable us carry out our duties effectively. If I am being honest here, budget is a big one for us we really can’t do much for our volunteers when we don’t have the budget to recognize them. Last year, for example, I had to use gift cards I had received from some city function I had attended—I handed these to our volunteers as a thank you for your service. Now, the volunteers didn’t know this, but I did and it drove me crazy. I wrote to the mayor, still waiting to see if we will get more money (Coordinator P). Volunteer management processes can relate to the challenges involved in managing volunteers and to whether and for how long volunteers are willing

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to stay within the volunteer program. Here, the data analysis indicated that training, tracking volunteer hours, communication between departments and volunteer coordinators, and the overall volunteer experience were all inclusive of the process of volunteer management challenges. One participant pointed out the importance of properly managing volunteers and of respecting that volunteers are a valuable resource to the program and to the city: I don’t think retention is an issue so much as proper management of volunteers. We do what we can but volunteers have such limited time that if you don’t manage them right the first time, they are gone and that’s a resource you don’t want walking out the door (Coordinator I). Along with managing volunteers, coordinators also spoke about the challenges of tracking and managing volunteer hours. Tracking volunteer hours was often cited as a challenge and one participant observed that: A lot of this volunteer management for us is just capturing volunteer hours. There are so many people who are volunteering for us and even with a volunteer management system it still … getting a good, accurate number of hours. It’s such a huge group, too, and a variety of different kinds of opportunities for people, which is kind of tough to manage (Coordinator M). Volunteer Program’s Budget

Speaking of resources, one participant discussed the volunteer program’s budget and the issue of accountability to the public: We do have a budget for the program, and like many volunteer programs in the public sector we struggle with the limited budget we have. It does cover our expenses and that’s a good thing, considering we don’t do any fundraising at all. As a public and government program, we are not allowed to seek funds from the public. We have to show accountability for the money they have already entrusted us with (Coordinator G). Preparation and Planning for New Programs

Participants mentioned preparation and planning for new programs or components as one best practice their program follows. One participant noted a lesson learned when preparation was not adequately made: Do not start a process when you are not ready for it! For example, we implemented our software when we were clearly not ready, and I tell you, I was overwhelmed (Coordinator D).

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Training Volunteers

Though training was provided to volunteers, not all volunteer coordinators provided this as part of the components of the volunteer program. Training of volunteers varies from one program to another. Some informants noted that: Training isn’t always offered to every volunteer. That’s one thing I’m working on still getting my head wrapped around, because there’s not necessarily one thing that would pertain to all volunteers, unless it’s just education on the city. That’s something I’m hoping to provide in the near future, is just general information on the city but job-specific, it’s more depending upon what the volunteer is volunteering for (Coordinator E). On the other hand, another informant described the extensive training that participants receive: Each position has different training depending on what … the training is more or less extensive depending on the nature of their volunteer work, because we do all types of volunteering. Everything from park clean-ups, working at the nature center as a guide, to working at the botanic gardens as a gardener. It depends on what position you’re placed in, but yes every position does have some training but the extensiveness of the training is dependent on the position (Coordinator O). Tracking Volunteer Hours

Good record-keeping is essential to volunteer management programs: Tracking volunteer hours and meeting the various needs of the volunteers and the departments. Tracking the hours, I can show the impact of the volunteer program and citizens can see the impact of their work. People like knowing their hard work pays off (Coordinator J). Training Volunteers for the Right Position

Participants mentioned the importance of clarifying the position and then providing training to the volunteer, if needed: Clarifying for volunteers what their roles are and describing the job for the position to the volunteers … It is important to develop job descriptions for every position that is advertised. That way, potential volunteers know what is expected of them before they start. This can help increase satisfaction and productivity allowing us to retain the volunteers (Coordinator F).

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Matching the right people to the right department and ensuring that the volunteers are treated justly can be a challenge … . No matter what, an engaged and happy volunteer will want to keep coming back to experience that feeling of making a difference (Coordinator A). Several participants indicated that they do not provide training for the volunteers, but that the departments where the volunteers will be volunteering are encouraged to do the training. One participant explained: Since we are a large city, we tend not to provide trainings for the volunteers. We find that it is not feasible and quite challenging to try to train all the volunteers from our department. We encourage the departments to train their volunteers. We do the basic during orientation by laying down the expectations and what the mission of the program is. I think most volunteers come in knowing what to expect (Coordinator A). Best Practices in Volunteer Management Challenges

Although respondents expressed that they were knowledgeable about the best practices, they also expressed a few challenges with using them as coordinators. First, participants were probed further on the challenges they expressed on providing training to volunteers, and then the challenges they faced in providing community engagement activities for volunteers. Specifically, they were questioned on why they found it more challenging to train volunteers and also to get volunteers involved on community boards. From the analysis, most participants (80%) had indicated that they did not provide ongoing trainings for volunteers. This high percentage should not be surprising because volunteer coordinators would have to anticipate the training needs of each department in order to provide the trainings. Further, if volunteer coordinators are expected to train volunteers for each department, this would put undue strain on an already difficult schedule. I probed these volunteer coordinators further during the semi-structured interview to provide clarifications as to why these trainings were not offered and what was the reason behind it. These informants observed that: I wish we really could provide the trainings, but the truth of the matter is we have so many placements that it would be near impossible to meet the training needs of all the volunteers and departments. And it is expensive! Don’t get me wrong, some departments are short staffed and would ask us to do the training, I am just as short staffed as they are. The whole training issue becomes so where do you want to move the problem? Do you want to leave it with us or send it back to them? If we keep passing the buck and eventually two things happen, the volunteer gets tired of the back and forth and drops out which we never wanted in the first place because it looks bad. I try to avoid that at all cost (Coordinator K).

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Training isn’t always offered to every volunteer. That’s one thing I’m working on still getting my head wrapped around, because there’s not necessarily one thing that would pertain to all volunteers, unless it’s just education on the city. That’s something I’m hoping to provide in the near future, is just general information on the city but job-specific, it’s more depending upon what the volunteer is volunteering for (Coordinator M). Though participants noted that they felt volunteers could benefit from more training, they lacked the time to conduct trainings for volunteers, felt overwhelmed, and the skills of the volunteers far outpaced theirs at times. They also felt that the lack of communication between the department and the volunteer program was constraining them and posed a challenge to how training was done and by whom. As observed by a participant: I don’t think we could train the volunteers that come in. They are so different and their skills vary as well. Besides, I doubt I have the right qualifications to be training these volunteers. I am a one-person team with a part-time person who works 15 hours a week. I will be overwhelmed if I had to take that on (Coordinator H). People often volunteer as a means to develop skills, utilize their abilities, receive training, undergo instruction, be in touch with professionals, and gain professional experience (Ryan et al., 2000). Often, volunteering provides a window of opportunity for realizing those aims that they have which may or may not be achieved in other environments. The data suggests that these coordinators feel like they do not have the professional expertise or time to offer training to volunteers who will not be in their office but somewhere else in the city. The above findings also suggest that training is cost and resource prohibitive to the volunteer coordinators and asking volunteers to give up extra time for training is not something that would go over well. However, the data also suggest that volunteer coordinators are willing to learn how to streamline training volunteers so that both the department and the volunteers gain from the experience. From the viewpoint of the volunteer coordinators in the study, trainings are challenging because they eat into the limited resources that are available. Volunteer coordinators do not want to gather all volunteers for a training that would ultimately only fulfill the training needs of select departments and volunteers; they believe that a more selective approach to training would be appropriate. However, they have yet to figure out how to do that. Training is essential to the volunteers and the program because it helps the volunteers efficiently perform their duties and allows the program to show that volunteers need some level of competency to work within the city. When people are clear on what the expectations are, it makes it easier for them to perform the task. However, 30% of respondents noted that they had challenges in providing formal job descriptions to volunteers. Volunteer coordinators were asked during the semi-structured interview to

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provide more detail and clarity into what was facilitating this challenge. The respondents observed that: The challenge is about the time it takes to update all the various job descriptions and postings. They keep changing because departments have different needs. I am short staffed, and once we fall behind on those, it takes a while to catch up. So the website may have postings that are a few weeks old and when citizens call to volunteer for that position it is no longer available. This happens because we didn’t have the time to update the website with new job postings and needs (Coordinator K). Another informant noted that: Every position that is requested, we craft a posting base on the requests from the department. These are then sent back to the department to edit and make changes. The challenge is the turnaround time. We get calls from the department asking us that they need someone urgently, but how can we send you anyone when we have not received the edited job posting and description from you? They the department that is, wants us to go by what they emailed us, but we have found that sometimes things get lost in translation (Coordinator Q). As noted from the above, participants expressed their frustrations about being overwhelmed and understaffed as well as getting the right information from city departments to craft job descriptions. Political Challenges

When asked to describe the political challenges encountered in managing volunteers in local government, 17 of the 20 participants gave negative responses, stating that they encountered no political challenges or that they would prefer not to answer the question. Three participants replied to the question with specific examples of political challenges, which included: You might have some issues where agencies are competing for the same volunteers or vying for attention and funding from the same sources, but we haven’t seen a ton of that. Apart from some officials using the program as their personal PR, we have great support from everyone in the city. No challenges here. We have to abide by the rules like all city departments and operate within the letter of the law. That’s about as political as we get! (Coordinator S)

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Political? Well, maybe they may not promote it if they felt like citizens were dominating the advisory boards. (Coordinator E) Strategies for Volunteer Retention

Coordinators were also probed on the challenges of retention and to provide strategies for retention. When asked about the important strategies they employ in retaining volunteers, participants most often mentioned matching the volunteer to the right position [n = 8], keeping volunteers happy [n = 7], providing recognition for volunteers [n = 6], providing volunteers with meaningful work [n = 4], communication with volunteers and departments [n = 3], engaging volunteers [n = 3], and providing training for volunteers [n = 2]. Additionally, tracking volunteers and volunteer hours, networking with other volunteer coordinators, meeting the needs of volunteers and departments, and visibility for the volunteer programs were each mentioned once as strategies that the volunteer coordinators use to retain volunteers. The common goal and theme among the participants’ strategies for volunteer retention was to keep volunteers happy by matching them to the right position and providing training for them, so that they can perform meaningful work that is appreciated and recognized. With these components in place, as well as good communication with volunteers and departments, volunteer coordinators hope to retain their volunteers. Newsletter

Some programs feature a newsletter written for volunteers: Some departments might send out something like a newsletter to their core volunteers (Coordinator A). We do not have a volunteer newsletter specifically for the overarching department. Certain areas or branches do, like the botanic gardens does reach out to their volunteers through newsletters, things like that, and I think the nature center does as well (Coordinator I). Matching Volunteers to the Right Position

Participants mentioned recruiting, screening, and training new volunteers for positions that are well suited to them as vitally important: One thing that will help to retain a volunteer is matching their skills and their interests to their volunteer position. If they find that they’re doing mundane work and they don’t enjoy it, they’re not going to stick with the program (Coordinator O). The key to retaining volunteers is putting the right people in the right position (Coordinator Q).

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When you place the right person in the right position, then it can be awesome, but if you don’t place the right person in the right position, then sometimes it’s not a good experience for the organization or the person (Coordinator C).

Part 3: Volunteer Program Challenges In launching a stand-alone local government volunteer program, local governments must hire a volunteer coordinator to oversee the program and establish guidelines that are specific to the program. Because the authority for local governments to establish volunteer programs comes from the state (Ellis, 2006) and from local policy-making city councils, there is a need for them to be accountable and transparent. Volunteer coordinators have responsibilities such as recruitment, screening, training, supervising, recordkeeping, and acknowledging the efforts of volunteers. Budgets may be used for building and managing effective programs, which includes the software that tracks volunteer hours. Sound autonomous management skills are needed to inspire, motivate, and retain volunteers. Salaries for volunteer coordinators are paid for by the cities that hire them. This city appropriation assumes that volunteer coordinators are held to certain standards of accountability and transparency as city employees. The challenges of the volunteer management programs therefore refer to practices that affect the functions and impact of the program such as visibility of the program, showing the impact of the program to the public as well as city officials, showing value of volunteers to taxpayers and to city hall, support from high-level officials, and communications between volunteer coordinators and department heads. Showing value of the program to city hall and taxpayers

Adjustment of volunteer coordinator from private to public sector

Volunteer program challenges

Visibility of the volunteer program

Support from public officials

Figure 11.3 Volunteer Program Components.

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From the analysis, the data suggest that volunteer programs in local government are met with many challenges including, but not limited to, support from high-level officials and the city, showing value of volunteers to taxpayers and to city hall, visibility of program, the adjustment of volunteer coordinators to the public sector context, and showing the value of the volunteer affected the effectiveness of the program Support from City

In reference to challenges of the volunteer programs to access support from public officials, informants observed that: High-level officials support the program because it is good for public relations, but very few of them actually know anything about the program (Coordinator S). When providing recognition, we invite public officials and some do not even acknowledge our invite. It would be nice for my volunteers to see their public officials at these events so that they feel that what they do for the city has some value (Coordinator R). Another informant had a different view of the supportive nature of the city officials: We have a well-established program and the support from the city has just been tremendous. In this regards I wouldn’t say we have any challenges with the city (Coordinator N). Showing Value of Volunteers to Taxpayers and City Hall

Several participants spoke about the importance of conveying the value of their volunteers to both taxpayers and the city officials. Again, the context in which the volunteering is taking place, within city programs, plays an important role and makes it crucial that volunteers’ value is acknowledged. We need to show taxpayers how much support they get from volunteers … . I would really like to show the taxpayers how much money volunteers are saving them. I would also like to show city hall how much we saved by spending the money to train volunteers to serve the city in a meaningful way (Coordinator S). Visibility of Volunteer Program

A good image is important to contributing to the recruitment process. The image portrayed can be developed through building good relationships with volunteers who then spread the organization’s good image and

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recruitment process to others (Choudhury, 2010). The visibility of the volunteer programs was mentioned by many participants, who observed: I know people know we exist … they come in to volunteer (Coordinator M). I think we are very well known. When you visit the city’s website, we are very visible (Coordinator Q). Yes … the program needs more visibility. There is only so much you can ask from the program. Let me put it this way, you want the program to perform a miracle for the city, yet you want it to stay in the background (Coordinator L). Managing the Needs of Volunteers and Departments

Participants often mentioned the importance of managing the needs both of the volunteers and the city departments that use the volunteers. It is important to manage the unique nature of this relationship—making sure volunteers are happy and stay and making sure that the department gets the benefit of the volunteer labor and expertise (Coordinator G). Volunteer Program Challenges—Challenges

The 25% of the coordinators who indicated that they did not receive any support from public officials were probed further to reveal why this was such a challenge. The goal was to uncover their perspectives. One of the respondents who struggled to answer this question finally observed that: I can’t say we do and I can’t say we don’t. I mean, if we had problems, we can go to the mayor’s office and request help, but it’s not like they go out of their way to make sure we are doing ok. We get our budget and pretty much left alone until they need statistics to show at council meetings how well the program is doing and how much the program is saving the city. So, it’s hard to say we don’t get support, because I think there are other department heads that really care about this program! I guess that’s why I couldn’t answer with an unequivocal yes (Coordinator A). These coordinators know the importance of the management practices, yet they are overwhelmed and run the risk of losing volunteers in order to make sure all positions within the city departments are filled. Limitations of Volunteer Programs

This theme could not fit neatly into any of the categories, but it emerged throughout the interview process. Several participants noted the limited resources

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and staff and how this affects their ability to run their volunteer programs. Their work as volunteer coordinators in city government is important and multifaceted, and they are keenly aware of their limitations as city employees. We have limited funding. We have limited resources (Coordinator D). We used to have more staff, now it is just me and one part-timer. That’s not enough considering the demand. That makes it a little challenging (Coordinator J). We are a growing city and as we grow, one individual cannot handle the volume of requests that comes through the program (Coordinator D). The challenge really is the lack of money. There is so much I want to do for these men, women, children (yes, children!), teens, and newcomers into our community who give of their time and knowledge but as a city employee I am limited to the budget … . There is only so much you can do. I have been able on occasion to use gifts that were given to the city. These would be sent down by the mayor’s office. I get so excited when they come, I don’t ask where they are from. They are usually not much, just gift cards worth a few dollars, but it’s a few dollars more than what I had before (Coordinator A).

Comparing Long-Time Volunteer Coordinators with Newer Volunteer Coordinators Because 50% of the participants reported having between two and seven years of volunteer coordinator experience and 50% reported having eight or more years of experience in the field, it was important to investigate whether these two groups of volunteer coordinators might report different experiences. However, data analysis revealed that the number of years of experience in volunteer management did not result in different responses to the survey and interview questions. The participants who had more years of volunteer coordinator experience reported the same challenges, concerns, and successes as did those who had fewer years of experience.

Summary Colleen (2006) reports annual volunteerism is declining and will continue to decline at an average of 20% per year. While the decline is a cause of concern for volunteer-involving organizations, it does raise some important points to reflect upon, especially for those managing volunteers. Are the bureaucratic management practices in local government volunteer programs a barrier to potential volunteers? Local government volunteer programs have as their mission engaging citizens, yet the volunteer management practices seem to be in direct conflict with this mission. The structure of the program and the context seems to justify potentially turning volunteers away because they do

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not fit into the needs of the program. While volunteering is often seen as a win-win for the volunteer and the organization, the analysis seems to indicate that the win scale is tipped toward the program. After completing all of the data analysis processes, a general structural description emerged “that expresses the shared or general aspects of the phenomenon as experienced by all participants” (Hein & Austin, 2001, p. 8). This structural description will be further described in Chapter 5. Conclusions from this rich material will be discussed in Chapter 5, as well as recommendations for further research and guidance for those professionals who seek to improve volunteer management programs or other programs.

Discussion of Survey Results Four contextual factors were revealed from the data analysis of survey questions: 1 2 3 4

Participant demographic characteristics Local government volunteer management practices Community engagement opportunities provided by local governments Challenges associated with coordinating community engagement activities for volunteers

Summary of Participant Demographic Characteristics

In the survey analysis portion of the study, most of the volunteer coordinator participants were female (80%), with substantial time on the job (70% with five years or more years of experience). All participants possessed college degrees and the majority (75%) possessed special training or certification in the field of volunteer management. All participants lived and worked in a large region within the state of Texas. This suggests that most of the participants had substantial lived experience as volunteer coordinators within local government agencies and therefore could offer credible accounts of that experience. Local Government Volunteer Management Practices and Implications for the Conceptual Model

Local governments in this case study where the study participants were employed appeared to offer moderate support for voluntary services. Although the majority of the 15 local government management practices (nine or 60%) surveyed in this study provided support in the facilities where the volunteer coordinators were employed, many (six) of the supported practices (nine) that were provided at high levels appear to be legal requirements of the formal bureaucracy that were required for the protection of local government programs instead of practices that truly offered specific support to the volunteers. All of the participants noted that they were involved with formal recordkeeping, had

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written policies that govern the program. All interviewees agreed that they had written policies that guided their actions and would use these policies in times of doubt. Coordinator C explained, “I look at the policy as my guide. Whenever I am in doubt, I whip it out and look it over.” In accordance with the nature of bureaucratic organizations posited by Weber (1947) the increased hierarchical atmosphere of the organization cause volunteer coordinators to work to make sure that the rules are followed. Seventy percent of respondents provided basic training for volunteers as well as formal job descriptions for volunteers. Further, 60% provided liability insurance coverage for volunteers. At the same time, all volunteer coordinators expressed that they had a budget for the volunteer program even if it was limited and hindered other activities such as recognizing volunteers. Regular communication with volunteers is most commonly done in volunteer management (Hager & Brudney, 2004); however, this research case study uncovered that communication between volunteer coordinators and department heads where volunteers work is an important volunteer management tool that was lacking. This was due in part to the structure of the volunteer program which was highly centralized and flawed because its placement in local government often hindered information. The interviewees felt that the flow of information was restricted and they yearned for better communication between them and department heads, especially as it related to training volunteers. Further, the management practices that were provided by less than a majority of the local governments where the volunteer coordinator study participants were employed (40%) appeared to be practices that would be costly or would involve substantial responsibility: ongoing or in-service training for volunteers, new volunteer orientation, reimbursement for work-related volunteer expenses, volunteers managing other volunteers, newsletter for volunteers, and annual or other evaluation of volunteers. Bureaucratic organizations are often seen as ideal type organizations (Weber, 1947) and effective for management and obtaining specific objectives. Although organizations in this study do not have an elaborate bureaucratic structure and protocols with boards and trustees, the context in which they work—local government—is highly bureaucratic by nature. Weber (1947) has indicated that bureaucracy is “the most rational known means of carrying out imperative control over human beings” (p. 337). However, in the case of volunteer management, human relations have to be taken into consideration. While most of the volunteer management practices were in place to support the organization achieve its objective, just a small handful (three) of management practices appear to be specifically supportive of the volunteers: recognition activities for volunteers (95%), active outreach to recruit new volunteers (60%), received support from high-level officials, in this case department managers (75%). This is in contrast with human relations theory that is concerned with the development of volunteers in order to boost

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performance and productivity of the organization. The hierarchical structure has led organizations that are so structured to become impersonal to members and thus alienating its members (Baines, 2010; Woolford and Curran, 2011). What this means for local government volunteer programs is impersonalizing the volunteer experience that, in turn, leads to retention issues. As noted by Coordinator H, “Retention is always an issue, especially now. I have noticed that though people want to help, they do not want to commit … ” Community Engagement Opportunities Provided by Local Governments

Research tends to support the understanding that volunteers want to be reassured, in various ways that they are essential to the organization (Yanay & Yanay, 2008). Yet, opportunities provided by local governments for citizens to engage with the broader community were very limited, also suggesting moderate support for volunteers (see Table 11.4). Although local governments provided engagement opportunities for volunteers to serve on community boards (85%), those opportunities were very limited and there were long waiting lists; and although there were also opportunities for volunteers to interact with public officials, many of these opportunities were infrequently scheduled such as at once-a-year events. Similarly, although local governments provided opportunities for volunteers to collaborate on community projects (e.g., beautification, policing, citizen patrols, etc.), volunteers knew that those opportunities were extremely limited (75%); and although there were opportunities to serve on advisory committees, volunteers also knew that those opportunities were extremely limited. This kind of moderate support is suggestive that local governments did not prioritize community volunteer participation very highly. Challenges Associated with Coordinating Community Engagement Activities for Volunteers

Challenges associated with coordinating community engagement activities for volunteers by volunteer coordinators were substantial for many of the activities (see Table 11.4). When the results of the survey shown in Table 11.3 are compared with the results shown in Table 11.4, there is congruence with the commentary described for each of the four activities. Volunteer coordinators procuring positions for volunteers on community boards was seen as quite challenging, with 75% reflecting on the fact that although the engagement opportunity existed, it was challenging to fulfill it. Similarly, volunteer coordinators procuring positions for volunteers on community projects was seen as challenging, as were procuring positions for volunteers on advisory boards. Procuring volunteer interaction with public officials was the only engagement activity not seen by volunteer coordinators as very challenging. This suggests

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that volunteer coordinators in these local governments were having a moderately difficult time not only coming up with engagement activities but also providing enough of them. Engagement on community boards and advisory boards and collaboration with peers could also be seen as much more desirable than simply having informal meetings with public officials.

Discussion of the Study Interviews It has been established that volunteer coordinators occupy a unique position in city government as a liaison between community volunteers and a bureaucratic government structured and organized by a charger, myriad of statutes, and department protocols and objectives. This position calls for recruitment, engagement, screening and vetting, orientation, matching with department opportunities, monitoring, tracking, recordkeeping, department visibility, recognition, retention, follow-up, and evaluation of all the volunteers that the local government places. In addition, the volunteer coordinator is responsible for meeting with department managers periodically to learn the needs and opportunities of various local government departments for volunteer services, disseminating information about volunteer availability and skills, and gathering and tracking data on the status of volunteer services. One way this job is made challenging is the difficulty of tracking the volunteers, especially in large local government organizations with many volunteers. Tracking is needed to keep up with job completion, volunteer availability, volunteer skill sets, and requests for volunteers in different departments, and evaluation of volunteer performance. Computerized tracking systems exist, but many volunteer coordinators in this study did not have them. Volunteer Program Challenges

With such a wide array of challenges, nearly every volunteer coordination function had the potential for being considered a significant challenge, so summing up all functions was the challenge. However, because the most important management challenges are to be considered as the key components in line with the semi-structured interview questions, the array of the most frequently mentioned components in the interviews deserves attention. Figure 11.4 illustrates the frequency of responses given by the volunteer coordinators for various challenges of the volunteer management programs as a result of compiling the coding. They are what have been considered by the study group of volunteer coordinator participants as the most important challenges of the volunteer management program. Challenges that had single mentions by the study participants were not included in Figure 11.4. These frequencies were derived directly from the interview transcript responses. For example, the following statement made by Coordinator A was paraphrased to say, “Need software to track volunteer number and department assignments.” This was coded as TRACK. Statements by all 20 participants were

Series1, COMM, 2

Series1, NEEDS, 2

Series1, RECOG, 5 Series1, PREP, 4

Series1, MATCH, 8

Series1, MEAN, 1

Series1, ENG, 3 Series1, VIS, 2

Series1, RETEN, 16

Figure 11.4 Study Participants’ Perception of the Most Challenging Components of Volunteer Management Programs in This Study. HAP—Volunteer happiness is key for attracting and retaining volunteers; BUDG—Limited budget and staff resources; TRACK—Tracking the number of volunteers, volunteer hours, and assigned departments; COMM—Communication between departments and with volunteers; MATCH—Matching volunteer skills/interests with the right position; PREP—Adequate preparation prior to implementing new software or programs is important for program success; RECOG—Recognition and appreciation of volunteer contributions is key for attracting and retaining volunteers; NEEDS—Matching department needs with available volunteers; RETEN—Attracting and retaining volunteers; and VIS—Program visibility among public officials and private citizens is important for program success; ENG—Engaging the volunteers enough; and MEAN—Providing the volunteers with meaningful work.

Series1, BUDG, 5

Series1, TRACK, 6

Series1, HAP, 12

Response Type Frequency

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paraphrased and coded in this manner and were then counted to obtain a frequency distribution. The sum of these codes = 55 responses. This selection and array of particular components of the volunteer management program suggests that those functions listed in Figure 11.3 are among the most important challenges of the volunteer management program and the most important theme of Part 3 of the study based upon frequency of response to interview questions.

Human Relations Challenges The challenges thought to be the most important can also be seen at a glance in the frequency responses in Figure 11.4, which on the surface are HAP—volunteer happiness, MATCH—matching volunteer skills/interests with the right positions, and RETEN—attracting and retaining volunteers. Viewed from a broader perspective, however, several of these related concepts could be combined to sum up an even more substantial response. In particular, the most important concept that rises to the level of what could be the most important theme is the challenge of finding meaningful work for volunteers. Meaningful work is a concept that is closely related to the codes: Matching volunteer skills/interests with the right position (MATCH); volunteer happiness is key for attracting and retaining volunteers (HAP); attracting and retaining volunteers (RETEN); matching department needs with available volunteers (NEEDS); engaging the volunteers enough (ENG), and providing the volunteers with meaningful work (MEAN). This combination of matching volunteer skills/interests with the right position, volunteer happiness is key for attracting and retaining volunteers, attracting and retaining volunteers, matching department needs with available volunteers, engaging the volunteers enough, and providing the volunteers with meaningful work thus includes six of the 12 most important components and sums to a total frequency of 48 out of 66, or 72% of all the responses. In effect, the volunteer coordinator participants have collectively said that if the challenge of providing meaningful work by volunteer coordinators is met, all other things being equal, they will have fulfilled the most important challenge of their job. This suggests that the challenge of finding meaningful work for volunteers is the most important challenge and theme of Part 2 of the study. Next in importance as a challenge to these volunteer coordinators is TRACK (6–9%) or tracking the number of volunteers and volunteer hours. This code is also closely related to COMM (2–3%)—communication between departments and with volunteers, PREP (4–6%)—adequate preparation prior to implementing new software or programs, and NEEDS (2–3%)—matching department needs with available volunteers. The larger idea here is that a volunteer coordinator is first and foremost a liaison role. This is a position that requires coordination between volunteers and local government managers as previously described. Coordination between volunteers and local government managers requires

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TRACK, COMM, and PREP usually for tracking, and NEEDS, which come up routinely and can be changed or modified at a moment’s notice. The sum of these codes is a total of 14 out of 66, or 21% of all the responses. This suggests that coordination between volunteers and local government managers is also one of the most important challenges and themes of Part 2 of the study. Bureaucratic Best Practices of Volunteer Management

Nine out of the 12 codes presented in Figure 11.3 are listed as the most important of the best practices of volunteer management in their local public agencies, including the most frequently mentioned as the most important components: HAP (keeping volunteers happy), RETEN (retaining volunteers), MATCH (matching volunteers with the right job), RECOG (recognizing volunteers), TRACK (tracking volunteer hours), PREP (being prepared before introducing new practices), NEEDS (meeting the needs of volunteers), ENG (engaging volunteers), and MEAN (finding meaningful work for volunteers). Six on the list are the same six found to be the most important challenges of human relations challenges in managing volunteers: MATCH (matching volunteers with the right job), HAP (keeping volunteers happy), RETEN (retaining volunteers), NEEDS (meeting the needs of volunteers), ENG (engaging volunteers), and MEAN (finding meaningful work for volunteers). Three of the four on the next most important challenges of volunteer management coordination between volunteers and local government are also on the list: TRACK (tracking volunteer hours), PREP (being prepared before introducing new practices), NEEDS (meeting the needs of volunteers). This suggests that what is on the best practices list is congruent with what is considered the most important challenges of the volunteer coordinator. Put another way, this suggests that both the challenge of finding meaningful work for volunteers and coordination between volunteers and local government managers are considered the most important themes of Part 3 of the study. Although not listed as the most important to the volunteer coordinators, many of the best practices described in the literature for example, by Brudney (1999), Cuskelly et al. (2006), and Hager and Brudney (2004) are being performed by the local government agencies that employ the volunteer coordinator study participants. These best practices include screening, recognition activities, liability insurance, training, written policies, and data collection. What was not being practiced in many of these local governments included professional development of volunteers, training paid staff to work with volunteers other than the volunteer coordinator, annual measurement of the impact of the volunteer programs, planning, and evaluation of volunteers. In addition, budgets were reported to be very limited for many things such as reimbursement for expenses, newsletters, and community outreach, and training was quite limited to informal occurrences. If these programs were to be evaluated by the professionalization criteria of Fisher and Cole (1993), one might say that the programs operated by the local

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government’s agencies in Texas were moderately professional, but had a ways to go before being considered professional. These results also suggest that what has been considered to be best practices for voluntary management in the literature review was not included as important priorities for these local governments. This is then also considered as one of the important themes of Part 3 of the study.

Summary By nearly all means of measurement employed in this case study, support for volunteer programs by local governments in NCTR was seen by the lived experiences of volunteer coordinators as falling below expectations. Contrary to high expectations provided by local government officials, support for voluntary services was seen as moderate. Chief among the reasons given was relatively poor communications between department heads, where most volunteers spend their time working, and volunteer coordinators. Additionally, in mostly all potential management practices that involved monetary investment by local government, participation was lacking ongoing or in-service training for professional development, orientation, reimbursement for work-related expenses, management, newsletter, annual evaluations, community engagement, and tracking software for department assignments. Only a handful of management practices appeared to support voluntary services: recognition, recruitment outreach, and senior management verbal support. Moreover, the two most important challenges facing volunteer management were the challenge of finding meaningful work for volunteers and improving coordination between departments to find the best fit between volunteers and engaging work to hold their interest. The challenge of finding meaningful work for volunteers and improving coordination between departments was viewed as the most important because it was not being accomplished and these were the primary determinants of retention.

Recommendations Although this was primarily a qualitative research study whose results by definition would normally not be able to be generalized, the results are so clear and unequivocal that two suggestions are offered without reservations as recommendations based upon the interview and survey results, findings, and discussions. Recommendation 1. Local governments in NCTR could find it beneficial to revisit and rethink the cost-saving premises they may have made and relied upon that volunteer programs provide positive net cost savings benefits to the communities they serve, particularly in times of substantial economic challenges such as in the national recession of 2007–2008, 2019–2021. Alternative premises could be to build a volunteer

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program that encourages and enables engaging in local government programs built on the idea of strengthening community relationships, contributing value to community resources and helping others, as well as seeking opportunities for personal growth such as learning new skills, enriching personal experiences, and building personal and professional associations with others. It is understandable why local governments would be attracted to the possibility of escalating volunteer programs during severe economic downturns, such as the impact of the 2007–2008 recession that the country continues to recover from seven to eight years later. In such times when local government revenues are likely to be declining relative to their fixed or rising operating costs, so-called free voluntary labor can be expected to increase in attractiveness as pressure to conserve operating capital progresses. Unfortunately, the premise that volunteer labor is free or even low cost is likely to be seriously flawed. Although this study did not establish precisely what the expected comprehensive economic costs of such services could or would be, it did uncover through personal interviews and survey findings what categories of costs might be expected, including the following: recruitment, orientation, reimbursement, initial and ongoing in-service training, investment, coordination, newsletters, inter and intra-department management, communication, recognition, supervision, evaluation, insurance risk premiums, labor union friction, retention, record keeping, recognition, infrastructure, opportunity cost, incentives, motivation, turnover, good will, citizen dissatisfaction, disengagement, and disappointment. In short, the sum of these initial investments and ongoing operating costs could represent nearly all, or more than all, of public employee costs over time. The data suggests that the premise based upon economic benefit to the local government is flawed in that voluntary turnover is high, coordination is substantially challenged, government investments have been substantially limited, recordkeeping and tracking are unsatisfactory, morale is low, citizen expectations have not been met, and most recommended best practices—such as ongoing training, recognition, and provision of interdepartmental support—have not been fulfilled. Recommendation 2. If local governments in NCTR decide to continue their voluntary programs, they might consider limiting these programs to a size and scale that would enable them to provide a higher level of support and coordination than they have been providing in the recent past or are willing and able to offer in the future. Volunteer programs are by their very nature more challenging than local governments in Texas may have recognized. The key concept is here voluntary. When programs are voluntary, they are by definition elevated to a higher level in which the volunteer has the privilege and prerogative of deciding how sustainable their participation will be. Voluntary means that organizations have no economic or legal hold on them other than to

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provide work that sustains their interest, incorporating sufficient challenge and psychological benefits in return for their donated efforts and loyalty. To this point, the local governments in this study were not able to hold volunteers in their positions much longer than a year before the volunteers quit. This record speaks volumes by implication, reflecting how many of the job offerings may have been minimally engaging, underwhelming, and even boring—jobs not even paid workers were willing to do. This suggests that jobs were principally offering undesirable tasks. Additionally, these results suggest that expectations by local government volunteer coordinators may have been over-promised and under-delivered. Additionally, it could be that these local governments targeted an oversized volunteer program that they could not afford to support because their entire operating plan was flawed from the start. If this was the case, a more realistic approach might be to either limit the scale of the program to a more manageable scale or eliminate it entirely unless and until a strong commitment has been made to sustain the program in the long term. Another way of looking at it is if local governments should decide to take on a voluntary program, they might consider initiating such a program during stable or rising economic periods when they can commit to a strong financial, systemic, administrative and political and mission support structure comparable to what nonprofit organizations offer volunteers.

Case Study 2 Federickia Washington, PhD Volunteers and Homeless Service Provision: The Case of The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center—Federickia Washington, Tennessee State University Volunteers continue to play an increasing role in helping nonprofit organizations carry out their missions. Nonprofit organizations such as homeless shelters rely heavily on volunteer participation for campus activities and service provision. Throughout the years, there has been an increase in the study of volunteering related to why individuals give of their time and how often they do so. As the environment continues to change and organizations operate in a pandemic, the need for volunteers will continue to be a priority. Volunteer engagement is significant for homeless shelters that seek to care for vulnerable and marginalized populations. The need for volunteers has resulted in individuals giving their time in various ways, such as the traditional volunteer perspective to episodic volunteering and mandatory volunteering (Hyde, Dunn, Bax, & Chambers, 2016). An individual’s daily routine does not always permit them to volunteer in a traditional sense where there are specific days, times, and hours to engage

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in volunteer activities. As a result, individuals choose to participate in episodic volunteering because of its availability and flexibility. Episodic volunteering became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic when nonprofit organizations had to follow mandated safety precautions. Mandatory volunteering has also increased in popularity among high schools requiring students have a certain number of volunteer hours for graduation requirements. Regardless of the approach volunteers are taking to give their time and energy, we know that they are actively participating in organizations and doing so for various reasons. To further explore volunteer engagement in homeless service provision, we take a look at (1) the background of volunteering, (2) the three different volunteer styles, the history of Continuum of Care programs, (3) an overview of homelessness in Texas, (4) volunteer activities at The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, and (5) volunteer risk management strategies. Background

Throughout the nonprofit literature there are numerous definitions for volunteering. Volunteering is defined as a “planned, long-term, and nonobligatory prosocial commitment, typically within an organizational setting and directed at unknown other” (Aydinli, Bender, Chasiotis, van de Vijver, Cemalcilar, Chong & Yue, 2015, p. 376). Another definition of volunteering offered by Peachey, Lyras, Cohen, Bruening & Cunningham (2013) is “any activity which involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit individuals and groups, other than or in addition to, close relatives, or the benefits of the environment” (p. 1053). A volunteer is a person who “makes the choice to provide their services at their volition. Their ‘work’ is not an obligation, and they can quit at any time. They receive no economic remuneration yet experience both the rewards and the costs present in all organizations” (Vecina, Chacón, Sueiro & Barrón, 2012, p. 131). The idea that volunteers aspire to help carry out the mission of nonprofit organizations rests on the premise that they feel a sense of engagement and affection with the work that they seek to do (Vecina, Chacón, Sueiro & Barrón, 2012). “Nonprofits in the scope of service delivery emerge to offer programs that aim at pressing social problems” (Frumkin, 2002, p. 65); therefore, volunteers need to have a connection to the activities that they choose to participate in. While the circumstances for individuals in homeless shelters are unfortunate, shelters are a great way to explore volunteer styles through diverse activities. “A homeless shelter is a unique platform wherein one person’s misfortune can interface with someone else’s kindness, inspiring both hope and fulfillment for both the giver and the receiver” (Lundahl & Wicks, 2010, p. 287). Nonprofit homeless shelters such as The Bridge rely heavily on volunteer engagement to provide goods and services for their guest.

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Traditional Volunteering

Volunteering has changed over time to include different engagement styles because people are experiencing longer workweeks and fewer vacations (Cnaan & Handy, 2005). What often comes to mind when we think of volunteering is often the traditional engagement style. Traditional volunteering is defined as a lifelong and demanding commitment that provides a stable and predictable environment that produces a safe haven for volunteers because change is implemented gradually (Hustinx & Lammertyn, 2003). Wilson establishes a more definitive definition of traditional volunteering based on the research provided by Snyder and Omoto (2008). The study defines volunteering as consisting of “freely chosen and deliberate helping activities that extend over time, are engaged in without expectation of reward or other compensation and often through formal organizations, and that are performed on behalf of causes or individuals who desire assistance” (Wilson, 2012, p. 2). In comparison to episodic volunteering, traditional volunteering encompasses a routine that keeps the flow of organizations consistent. Due to the unique dynamics of organizations and uncertainties of the environment, traditional volunteering is now accompanied by episodic volunteering. Previous research shows that volunteers would devote their time to an organization and volunteer in a routine fashion. An example of traditional volunteering is someone spending their time twice a week participating in activity night at their local nursing home given set dates and set times. The traditional volunteer is an individual who is actively present on those specific and assigned dates and times with slight deviation from the initial routine. Unlike episodic and mandated volunteering, traditional volunteering is more structured and organized. Although traditional volunteering differs from episodic volunteering, traditional volunteers can also be classified as episodic volunteers, but not vice-versa. We now take a look at the nature and structure of episodic volunteering. Episodic Volunteering

A reduction in the median number of volunteer hours demonstrates that traditional volunteering has declined over the years (Hyde, Dunn, Scuffham & Chambers, 2014). An individual that chooses to engage in episodic volunteering is defined as “individuals who engage in one-time or shortterm volunteer opportunities” (Cnaan & Handy, 2005, p. 30). Episodic volunteers participate in more sporadic activities because of the flexibility it offers to their schedules. Cnaan and Handy (2005) provide evidence that aligns episodic volunteering with traditional volunteering in that the actions of an occasional volunteer display characteristics that are “an attribute of social care and willingness to assist the collectives at the expense of one’s time and labor” (p. 31).

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Flexibility in scheduling and availability of time are two key components that differentiate episodic volunteering from traditional volunteering. Hustinx and Lammertyn (2003) state that episodic volunteering attracts volunteers who may not otherwise volunteer and give their time. Lifestyle changes contribute to an increase in episodic volunteering and a decrease in traditional volunteering (Stukas, Hoye, Nicholson, Brown & Aisbett 2016). The volunteer literature also signifies that organizations dependent on close client relationships and reliant on the ongoing commitment of volunteers do not prefer episodic volunteering. The intermittent character of this type of volunteer engagement can prove problematic for organizations because of the lack of consistency. Mandatory Volunteering

Although volunteers willingly give their time to participate in volunteer activities, some institutions are mandating participation. Stukas, Snyder, and Clary (1999) refer to mandatory volunteering as required rather than inspired volunteering. “To promote citizen participation, various institutions have started, to use their authority to require, as opposed to ‘inspire,’ individuals to engage in community service” (Stukas, Snyder & Clary, 1999, p. 59). Frumkin (2002) notes that a distinction between nonprofits and other sectors is that nonprofits do not force participation. Mandatory volunteering often takes place in educational settings such as high schools, colleges, and universities. High schools in the United States have pushed to require students to volunteer as a metric to complete all requirements for graduation, and colleges have started to mandate volunteering as a form of service learning. Mandatory volunteering is different from traditional and episodic volunteering because the volunteer is not acting due to a value alignment to the organization; instead, they are being mandated to participate and engage. Another example of mandatory volunteering stems from individuals getting into trouble with the law officials and being required to participate in mandatory volunteering as a means of paying for their crimes. Since we now have a brief overview of the three different volunteering styles, the remainder of this chapter will focus on the significance of volunteers in homeless service provision. Continuum of Care

Continuum of Care (CoC) programs were introduced in the mid-1990s to enhance local service coordination for homeless people. Under the CoC umbrella are local homeless service providers such as homeless shelters. The program aims to improve the access to services as homeless people transition from homelessness to steady housing (Goodfellow & Parish, 2000; Washington, 2019). With the assistance of community partners and

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volunteers, CoCs can provide access to mainstream resources such as food and shelter (Mainstream Resources, n.d.). CoCs are novel in that they use a collective approach to acquire resources and funding. Responsibilities of the CoC include: • • • •

Promoting community efforts to end homelessness Providing nonprofits, states, and local governments with funding to rehouse homeless persons Offer access to and the utilization of mainstream programs Enhance self-sufficiency among those experiencing homelessness (Part 578-Continuum of Care Program, 2017; Washington, 2019)

The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 encourage CoCs to collaborate with multiple local service providers such as nonprofits, state, and non-state actors for the coordination of service provision (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Community Development and Planning, n.d.). The uniqueness of the CoC approach is in its ability to selforganize and tailor approaches to address the incidence of homelessness in local communities. Organizations under the CoC approach can utilize and mobilize volunteers for homeless service provision. Since it is essential to understand the roles of volunteers in homeless shelters, we focus our attention on homelessness in Texas. An Overview of Homelessness in Texas

According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, an estimated 580,000 individuals were reported as experiencing homelessness for the year 2020 in the United States (United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2021). Texas was among the four states with a large number of individuals experiencing homeless with 27,229 persons being accounted for (The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, 2021). The number of homeless individuals accounted for results from a point in time (PIT) count, and volunteers are highly utilized during the annual event. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires organizations and agencies that receive federal funds from the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program to conduct an annual count of homeless individuals in the communities that they serve. Outreach workers and volunteers go out one night in January to count the number of individuals that appear to be living in places that are not meant for human habitation (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012). Figure 11.5 shows the number of homeless individuals in Texas that are sheltered and unsheltered from the years 2016 to 2020. The year 2016 was selected as the start date to show homelessness in Texas over the last five years.

Case Studies—Texas 137 All Homeless People

Sheltered People

Unsheltered People

30000 25,310

25000

23,548

23,122

22,544 21,025

20000 15000

16,214

15,055

10000

12,423

14,776 10,534

10,610

8,493

10,415

6,908

10,121

5000 0 2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Figure 11.5 Number of Homeless Individuals in Texas That Are Sheltered and Unsheltered from the Years 2016 to 2020.

Without the dedication and passion of volunteers, there would be no way to count the number of individuals experiencing homelessness that do not receive support from local organizations. The time and energy that volunteers bring to the annual point-in-time count are critical because their efforts inform policymakers and program administrators. Volunteer efforts in the annual point-in-time count help bring more awareness to homelessness, inform Unsheltered People

Sheltered People 1,594

2020

All Homeless People

2,201

3,795

1,376 2,369

2019 1,276

2,151

2018 1,058

705

2,293

2016 500

1000

3,427

2,163

2017

0

3,745

1500

2000

2500

3,221

2,998

3000

3500

4000

Figure 11.6 Number of Homeless Individuals in Dallas, Texas, Sheltered and Unsheltered from 2016 to 2020.

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public decision-making, and attract the necessary resources to end homelessness (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012). Figure 11.6 shows the number of homeless individuals in Dallas, Texas, sheltered and unsheltered from 2016 to 2020. The year 2016 was selected as the start date to show homelessness in Dallas over the last five years. Volunteer Activities and Homelessness Prevention

Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) is the designated lead agency servicing Dallas and Irving counties in Texas. The primary focus of MDHA is to plan and manage care for the homeless, coordinate care, finance initiatives based on cases, and integrate information systems to track homelessness. There are over 90 public, private, and nonprofit institutions that MDHA partners with in the community to assist with homelessness (Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, n.d.). One of their largest partners is The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center in Dallas, Texas. The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center

The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center provides housing opportunities in Dallas and six surrounding counties. “Since its beginning in May 2008, the shelter has been internationally recognized as a model of homeless recovery and prides itself as being a ’one-stop’ shop for homelessness. In addition to offering 249 beds for night sheltering opportunities, The Bridge is a twentyfour-hour center that serves as a day shelter facility with a host of wrap-around support” (Washington, 2019, p. 47). To effectively coordinate services for more than 600 guests that come through The Bridge weekly, additional support from local service providers and volunteers is always needed. Given the complexity of homelessness, the services offered are tailored to assist individuals in different stages on their journey to safe and sustainable housing. According to the volunteer coordinator at The Bridge, around 100 to 150 individuals a year volunteer. Social media and advertisements on their website attract individuals, but the majority of the volunteers come to The Bridge by word of mouth. The large number of individuals who give of their time do so because they are passionate about the organization’s mission. The Bridge prides itself on encouraging and empowering its volunteers, resulting in an increase in episodic and traditional volunteering instead of mandatory volunteering. Volunteers select services and activities that closely align with their passions and beliefs and then communicate their experiences with other individuals. Various roles provide individuals the opportunity to get involved at The Bridge. Individual opportunities, group opportunities, and the engagement of youth are all ways individuals get involved. While persons under the age of 18 are not allowed to engage with activities on The Bridge’s campus, there are still ways to volunteer and advocate for the cause. The following

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section will identify the various services provided at The Bridge and explain how volunteers participate in those initiatives to help end homelessness. Services Offered and Volunteer Opportunities

Night shelter opportunities at The Bridge require individuals to be on campus by 6:00 pm. The intake engagement process is orchestrated by an in-take specialist and volunteers (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Volunteers help to ensure that individuals who are seeking services are 18 years or older. Since The Bridge is one of the larger homeless shelters in Dallas, many individuals show up for services during the day and at night. The increased number of guests who wish to partake in night sheltering opportunities and additional services at The Bridge require much support from volunteers. Intake Engagement

Volunteer roles for the intake engagement process take on several forms. Roles may include but are not limited to ensuring that guests are on the list to be seen by The Bridge staff, assistance with the completion of the necessary paperwork, distribution of meals depending on the check-in time, and guaranteeing the overall safety of the guest while at the facility (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). The intake engagement activities at The Bridge allow individuals to volunteer in episodic volunteering or traditional volunteering. Reception Desk Volunteer

In addition to serving in roles regarding the activities on campus, volunteers also play a significant role in supporting staff. The high number of guests who come to The Bridge for day shelter activities provides an opportunity for the staff to engage and empower the volunteers. Involvement at the reception desk is meaningful because it is often the first stop for individuals entering the facility. Roles and responsibilities for volunteers at the reception desk include, but are not limited to, answering the phones, directing inquiries, and guest engagement which may include answering questions and passing out supplies (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Traditional and episodic volunteering represents the nature of the volunteer styles for roles and responsibilities at the reception desk. Library Volunteer

Inside the library, the guest can enjoy a variety of activities. Volunteers assist the staff with taking over supervision of the library and helping the guest check out books. In addition to checking out books, the guests can also check out different card games, board games, and dominoes. (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). The courtyard or indoor pavilion allows

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the guest to enjoy a good book or a game with friends. Volunteers also assist with monitoring computer usage since some of the services offered at The Bridge require the guest to use computers. Individuals can choose to give their time in an episodic or traditional way. Art Class Volunteer

Art class enables the guest to express themselves. The volunteers that engage in the art class activities assist with setting up art supplies before class and the clean-up afterward. Volunteers encourage the guest to foster relationships with others to promote a positive and creative space. The guests are served coffee and snacks while working closely with the volunteers leading the art projects (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Traditional or episodic volunteering is the style of engagement for the volunteers participating in the art class activities. Karaoke Volunteer

Like the art class activities, karaoke night allows the guest to express themselves and join in on the fun. Volunteers leading karaoke night are responsible for organizing the guest for participation, leading songs, or singing backup. Individuals decide to sing and or dance while ensuring the safety of the guest (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Karaoke activities grant volunteers a chance to give their time sporadically when their schedule allows or choose to partake traditionally. Kennel Companion Volunteer

The Bridge is unique in that the guests who participate in their facility’s services do not have to part ways with their best friends. Individuals that give their time to being a kennel companion volunteer understand the importance of the relationship between a pet and its owner. Volunteers provide food and water, kennel clean up, and take the dogs out to the onsite dog park (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Individuals that participate as a kennel companion volunteer periodically or traditionally. Up to this point, volunteer activities for solo participation and engagement have been examined. Moving forward this chapter will showcase the various roles and responsibilities of groups of volunteers. Campus Organization

Individuals who prefer to volunteer with other individuals or groups of friends participate in group volunteer activities. Groups of individuals who can give their time and energy work with the campus organization to sort through and organize donations. Volunteers involved in campus organization help keep

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the Bridge operating smoothly by cleaning up the campus and ensuring the guest has access to supplies (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Special Campus Projects

Groups can choose to partake in several activities around campus. Special campus projects allow groups to lend their talents and skills to roles that keep the facility beautiful. Individuals that participate in the on-campus special projects choose to paint buildings, join in landscaping and other campus improvement projects (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Volunteers giving their time to the special campus projects often enjoy the hands-on manual labor experience. Treat Social

Groups often bring assorted treats to share with the guest that can include but are not limited to coffee, cookies, popcorn, and other treats. The treat social presents the guest with goodies that help to brighten their day (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). While groups of volunteers participate in the treat social in a traditional and episodic fashion, there are times during the year when engagement increases. For example, during Halloween, volunteers may partake in episodic volunteering compared to the other two styles. Game Day and Bingo Night

Gameday at The Bridge presents group activities and fun for everyone included. Groups of individuals spend their time playing games and encouraging the guest (The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, n.d.). Through social interaction and lots of laughs, the volunteers accommodate The Bridge staff to provide the guest with positive experiences and lasting memories. Bingo night is a sure way for volunteers to get the guest involved in activities while adding friendly competition. Gameday and bingo night are exciting ways to connect with the staff and guests. Meal Services

Meal services are provided through the Stew Pot. The Stew Pot operates the Second Chance Café at The Bridge and is responsible for coordinating volunteer activities. The Stew Pot serves three meals per day and allows individuals to engage in episodic or traditional volunteering. Although individuals under the age of 18 are not permitted to engage in on-campus volunteer activities, they can still get involved by sponsoring a meal. Individuals under the age of 18 can also raise awareness about The Bridge or collect items for drop off at the campus. Table 11.5 summarizes the different activities that volunteers engage in at The Bridge.

Individual Intake Engagement Activities Volunteer Group Activities Campus Organization Volunteers

Reception Desk Volunteer Special Campus Projects Volunteers

Table 11.5 Volunteer Opportunities at The Bridge Library Volunteer Treat Social Volunteers Game Day at the Bridge Volunteers

Art Class Volunteer

Karaoke Volunteer Kennel Companion Volunteer Bingo Night Meal Service Volunteers Volunteers

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Case Studies—Texas 143 Volunteer Risk Management

There needs to be a volunteer risk management protocol in any organization utilizing volunteers to protect everyone. While all nonprofits should consider risks associated with their volunteer activity, it is vital for organizations such as The Bridge that utilize many volunteers to have a volunteer risk management plan in place. Implementing policies that anticipate high-risk situations should be in place to ensure the safety of everyone involved (Ott & Dicke, 2016). Periodic assessments of volunteer activities assist in effective planning that can help offset negative consequences in the future. In an ever-changing environment where unforeseeable events such as a pandemic happen, proper planning becomes key precedence for nonprofit organizations. During the pandemic, volunteer activity at The Bridge was suspended for a brief period until safety measures and precautions were established and implemented. During the suspension of campus activity, individuals were only allowed to support through limited avenues. Individuals remained engaged by raising awareness about The Bridge and homelessness, hosting donation drives, and dropping off donations at the facility. Once the administrators concluded that it was safe for individuals to participate in oncampus activity, everyone followed the established safety protocols. To date, volunteers are required to follow all safety precautions such as wearing face masks during their entire shift and continuing to social distance. Conclusion

Volunteers choose to give their time to various organizations and for different reasons. While the styles of volunteering may differ, the one thing that remains constant is the fact that nonprofit organizations rely heavily on the use of volunteers. This is particularly true for homeless shelters such as The Bridge that utilize high numbers of volunteers for homeless service provision. Although this case study exhibited three styles of volunteer engagement styles-traditional, episodic, and mandatory, the two dominant styles at The Bridge are episodic and mandatory volunteering. The Bridge does not force volunteer participation and often relies on word of mouth for volunteer recruitment and retention. With a large homeless population and different campus services, The Bridge knows the importance of volunteer engagement. The Bridge would not be able to carry out its day-to-day operations without the use of volunteers and therefore tries to ensure the best experience for everyone involved. There are many ways for individuals to get involved at The Bridge, whether it is through a routine structure or periodically engaging in activities when their schedules allow. However, individuals choose to give their time, they should do so in a way that does not lead to negative consequences. A volunteer risk management protocol can assist with mitigating negative consequences and providing a safe environment for everyone involved.

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United States. Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics, & Corporation for National and Community Service. (2015, May 27). Current population survey, September 2014: Volunteer Supplement. Current Population Survey, September 2014: Volunteer Supplement. Retrieved July 21, 2015, from https://www. icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/36154?q=2014%2Bvolunteer%2Bsupplement %2Bdata%2Bset&searchSource=icpsr-landing#avail United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Community Development and Planning. (n.d.). The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act As amended by S. 896 The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009. Retrieved from https://www.hud.gov/sites/ documents/HAAA_HEARTH.PDF United States Interagency council on homelessness. (2021, July 28). Key findings of 2020 point-in-time count. Key Findings of 2020 Point-in-Time Count | United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://www.usich.gov/tools-for-action/2020-point-in-time-count/. Vecina, M. L., Chacón, F., Sueiro, M., & Barrón, A. (2012). Volunteer engagement: Does engagement predict the degree of satisfaction among new volunteers and the commitment of those who have been active longer? Applied Psychology. 61(1), pp. 130–148. Washington, F. L. (2019). Study of homeless emergency discharge coordination: Understanding challenges and success factors to collaboration maturity [Doctoral dissertation]. University of North Texas. Weber, M. (1947). Bureaucracy. In J. Shafritz & A. Hyde (Eds.), Classics of public administration (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Wilson, J. (2012). Volunteering research: A review essay. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 0899764011434558. Woolford, A., & Curran, A. (2011). Neoliberal restructuring, limited autonomy, and relational distance in Manitoba’s nonprofit field. Critical Social Policy. 31, pp. 583–606. 10.1177/0261018311415571 Yanay, G. V., & Yanay, N. (2008). The decline of motivation?: From commitment to dropping out of volunteering. Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 19(1), pp. 65–78. doi: 10.1002/nml.205

Appendix

Survey You have been selected to participate in a research at the University of North Texas entitled “Public Sector Volunteer Management Challenges.” This survey is being used for research purposes in order to learn more about the challenges in managing and retaining volunteers in local government volunteer programs. The survey should take no longer than 20 minutes to complete. Please note that responses to the survey will be anonymous and only aggregated responses will be used for analysis. If you have any questions about the study, you may contact Amina Sillah, at [email protected]. Thank you for your time and assistance. Please begin the survey by indicating your consent below. I consent I do not consent The following are demographic questions about you. Please fill in the blanks or check the appropriate items. 1

How long have you been managing volunteers? • • • • •

12 months or less 2–4 years 5–7 years 8–10 years 10 years or more

2

How long have you held your current position? (years) ______________________________________________

3

How would you describe your current employment situation? • • • •

Paid—Part-Time Paid—Full-Time Volunteer—uncompensated Volunteer—stipend

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4

Appendix

Which of the following best describes the highest level of education you have completed? • • • •

5

Have you received training or education in volunteer management for which you have a certificate or academic degree? • •

6

Bachelors Degree (major field__________________) Masters Degree (major field, i.e., MBA_______________) PhD (major field_______________) Other (_________________)

Yes No

Are you Male or Female? • •

Male Female

Below are set of questions related to volunteer retention in your program. How do you track the number of volunteers in your program? 1

How many volunteers did you have in the calendar year 2014? ___________________________________________

2

Of those volunteering over the calendar year 2014, how many are still volunteering with your organization? ___________________________________________________

3

On average, how long (months) do volunteers stay with your organization? ________________________________________________

Volunteer Management Practices The questions in this section are related to volunteer management. Please use the scale provided to answer these questions. In managing volunteers, does your organization offer the following practice? What levels of challenges are associated with the practices that you use (high/low). Please explain any challenges that you frequently encounter_______________ 1 Recognition Activities for Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________

Public Sector Volunteer Management 149

2 Formal Record-Keeping on Volunteers • •

Yes No

3 Basic Training for Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 4 Written Policies Governing the Volunteer Program • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 5 Active Outreach to Recruit New Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 6 Support from High-Level Officials (departmental managers, city elected officials) for the Volunteer Program • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 7 Formal Job/Position Descriptions for Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 8 Ongoing or In-Service Training for Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 9 Liability Insurance Coverage for Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________

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Appendix

10 Orientation for New Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 11 Training for Employees Who Work with Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 12 Reimbursement for Work-Related Expenses of Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 13 Budget for the Volunteer Program • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 14 Volunteers with Responsibility for Managing Other Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 15 Newsletter for Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________ 16 Annual or Other Evaluation of Volunteers • •

Yes No

Level of Challenges if any (high/low) please explain __________________

Citizen Engagement Part of the mission of your organization is to engage citizens in the affairs of the city. The questions in this section relate to citizen

Public Sector Volunteer Management 151

engagement. In managing volunteers, do you engage them in city affairs by offering … ? 1

Opportunities to serve on community boards • •

2

Collaborate with other volunteers (peers) on community projects (i.e., grassroots efforts, Keep City X beautiful, community policing projects, citizen patrols, policy study circles, etc.) • •

3

Yes No

Decision making (Advisory Committees) • •

4

Yes No

Yes No

Interaction with public officials • •

Yes No

Citizen Engagement Challenges For the citizen engagement activities that you indicated you offer, please indicate your level of challenge in using them. 1

Serve on community boards • •

2

Collaborate with peers (informal relationships that lead to grassroots efforts, community policing, citizen patrol, etc.) • •

3

High Low

Decision making (Advisory Committees) • •

4

High Low

High Low

Interaction with public officials • •

High Low

Appendix A Qualitative Interview Protocol and Questions

Qualitative Interview Protocol and Questions Date: ________________ City/County Name: ________________ Name of Personnel Interviewed and Designation: ______________________ Time of interview:__________________________________

Interview Guide Introduction Script: The goal of this study is to learn about volunteer management challenges. You have been selected for participation in this study based on your experience for managing volunteers. Your participation is voluntary; you can let me know if you want to stop participating anytime; your name and your county/city’s name will not be used in the study. Your interview is going to be digitally recorded for purposes of accuracy and these will be coded for security and confidentiality. Please let me know if you have any questions before we begin our conversation. I would like to begin by asking questions related to volunteer management. Volunteer Management Practices

The following questions deal with challenges and possible solutions with regard to volunteerism in local government and more specifically within your organization. I would like to now ask you some questions about volunteer management at your organization. 1

Have you been educated that what were shown on the survey are practices for volunteer management?

2

If so, where did you receive this education?

Probe

If not, you may still be using practices that fall into this list and include others not listed that you use.

Appendix A 153 Best Practices of Volunteer Management Challenges

I am very interested inbetter understanding volunteer management practices. You indicated in the survey that your organization offer these practices. In using these volunteer management practices …. 1 2 3 4 5

Describe to me the managerial challenges you face in managing volunteers in local government. Of these challenges you described, what are the two most challenging? Can you describe the political challenges you encounter in managing volunteers in local government? Are there other challenges apart from managerial and political that you wish to share? Is volunteer retention an issue in your organization?

Probe Questions

• •

Why do you think volunteer retention is an issue in your organization? As a result of your experiences, what do you think are the two most important strategies in retaining volunteers?

Questions Linked Back to Survey

1

You indicated that you offer the following volunteer management practices (which will be listed back to them) and had high challenges in using them. What is facilitating the high challenge? ________________________________________________________

2

You indicated that you offer the following best practices (which will be listed back to them) and had low challenges in using them. What is facilitating the low challenge?

Citizen Engagement Challenges

I am interested in understanding citizen engagement in local government volunteer programs. I would like to ask you about citizen engagement. 1 2

In your estimate, how is your organization regarded in the community? As a result of your experiences, what are the three most important challenges you have in engaging citizens?

Linked to Survey

1

Regarding the engagement activities you offer volunteers (read back to them) and which you indicated you had high level of challenges in implementing, what is facilitating the high challenge?

154

2

Appendix A

Regarding the engagement activities you offer volunteers (read back to them) and which you indicated you had low level of challenges in implementing, what is facilitating the low challenge?

Probe Questions

• • •

Is engaging citizens an issue at your organization? Why do you think engaging citizens is an issue? Are there other engagement activities you offer that are not listed?

Appendix B Codes

Codes ADJ AWARDS BDS BUDG CHG COMM DOC ENG EVAL FIRST HAP LIM MAN MATCH MEAN MGMT NEEDS NET NEWS ONE OUT PREP RECOG RETEN SUPP TRACK

Adjustment of volunteer coordinator from private to public sector Awards/recognition for volunteers Sitting on community boards Budget Making changes in the program: a risk Communication between departments of the city and volunteer program Document/policies can be challenging to update Engaging the volunteers enough Hard to provide annual evaluation of volunteers First meeting/orientation Happy volunteers, rewarding, right fit Limited funding, resources Volunteer guide or policy Match the right job to the right volunteer/good fit Providing volunteers with meaningful work Managing volunteers (one-time vs ongoing), managing the system or lack of system Needs of volunteer/needs of departments, managing their needs Network, talk to others in industry about their volunteer programs and yours Newsletter One person running the volunteer program alone, overwhelmed Outreach to volunteers Preparation: don’t start a new process until you’re ready Recognition of volunteers Retention of volunteers; strategies for retention; challenges Support from high-level officials, city Tracking volunteer hours with software, or lack of software to track hours

156

Appendix B

TRNG VALUE VIS

Training volunteers: challenging Showing value of volunteers to taxpayers and to city hall Visibility of program

Appendix C Coded Participant Responses to Challenges Questions

Coded Participant Responses to Challenges Questions Coordinator

Description

Code

1

Need software to track volunteer numbers and dept. assignments Communication between dept. is lacking Visibility showing taxpayers and city effects of volunteer contributions Volunteer numbers reflect citizen engagement Engaging citizens requires more visibility, and keeping volunteers happy No political challenges Low numbers of volunteers High numbers of volunteers Tracking volunteer hours, meeting the various needs of the volunteers and the depts. Matching dept. needs to volunteer skills Retention is a problem. Many do not commit long term. Happy volunteers are important for retention Preparedness, re: implementing programs/software No political challenges Visibility-showing taxpayers and city effects of volunteer contributions Retention is a problem, many don’t commit long term Need software to track volunteer numbers and dept. assignments Tracking one-time vs ongoing volunteers difficult No political challenges Haven’t thought about retention as a goal Citizen engagement needs funding, resources management, and organization Poor communication w/ volunteers training, questions indicate no training, confusion Demand for jobs is greater than staff resources to organize volunteers

TRACK COMM VALUE

2

3

4

HAP VIS ENG ENG TRACK MATCH RETEN HAP PREP VIS RETEN TRACK TRACK RETEN BUDG COMM RETEN (Continued)

158

Appendix C

Coordinator

5

6

7

8

Description

Code

Retention is a problem, many don’t commit long term Retaining volunteers means recognizing and appreciated their value Staff treatment and appreciation of volunteers is a managerial challenge Tracking volunteer hours and meeting the various needs of the volunteers and the depts. Retention means matching skills/interests to position and communicating appreciation Retention is a problem, many don’t commit long term Volunteer numbers reflect citizen engagement Tracking volunteer hours and the various needs of the volunteers and the depts. Challenge of placing right person in the right position Key to retention is right placement, proper training, recognition Capacity building, finding anc. Creating positions for volunteers is a challenge Challenge of placing right person in right position Retention means giving leadership opportunities Happy volunteers important for retention Retention not an issue, lots of long-term volunteers Challenge is attracting volunteers Happy volunteers important for retention Preparedness, re: implementing programs/software

RETEN RECOG RECOG TRACK MATCH RETEN ENG TRACK MATCH TRNG RETEN MATCH RETEN HAP RETEN RETEN HAP PREP

Coded Participant Responses to Challenges Questions Participant

Description

Code

9 10

Challenge is attracting volunteers Budget is a challenge especially w/ volunteer recognition Retention means giving opportunities to make an impact Budget is a challenge especially w/ volunteer recognition Retention means giving opportunities to make an impact Matching dept. needs to volunteer skills Challenge of placing right person in right position Happy volunteers important for retention Retention means volunteer recognition Challenge is attracting volunteers Retention is a problem, many do not commit long term Matching dept. needs to volunteer skills Happy volunteers important for retention Challenge is attracting volunteers Happy volunteers important for retention Challenge of placing right person in right position Happy volunteers important for retention

RETEN BUDG RETEN BUDG HAP NEEDS MATCH HAP RECOG RETEN RETEN NEEDS HAP RETEN HAP MATCH HAP

11 12

13 14 15 16

(Continued)

Appendix C Participant 17 18 19 20

159

Description

Code

Preparedness, re: job descriptions Happy volunteers important for retention Challenge of placing right person in right position Challenge is attracting volunteers Limited budget/resources Challenge is attracting volunteers Challenge of placing right person in right position Retention means volunteer recognition Retention means volunteer recognition Happy volunteers important for retention Meaningful work for volunteers Preparedness, re: job descriptions

PREP HAP MATCH RETEN BUDG RETEN MATCH RECOG RECOG HAP MEAN PREP

Index

altruistic action of volunteerism 8 American individualism 4 American Red Cross 7, 31 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) 136 audiotaped telephone interviews 98 Bay, Karen 17–8 Benefits of Including Volunteers in Local Government 58 best practices in volunteer management 47–52, 68, 89; challenges 115; process 51 Bridge Homeless Recovery Center, Dallas 132–33, 138–41 Bridge staff 139, 141 bureaucratic structure 99, 124 Bureaucratic Theory 41 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 5, 9, 18, 71 Casey’s group 17 CoCs 135–36 Codes and Themes Emergent 98 community problems and public support 74 community resources 131 Community Volunteerism 32 Coordinator, local government volunteer 89–90, 92, 132 Core Volunteerism Concepts Organizational Challenge 60 Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) 12, 19, 21, 28, 32, 61, 68 council meetings 121 county government operations 58 culture for volunteerism 64

definition of civic engagement 73 Democracy in America 6, 19 Department of Housing and Urban Development 136 Department of Labor 5, 9, 18, 23, 71 department of mental health 32 Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) 59 fabric of American democracy and society 6 Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) 23 Federal level 23 Finkelstein 37, 42–5 first volunteer firehouse 6 fundraising skill 60 Game Day and Bingo Night 141–42 Global Volunteering 86–8 government bureaucratic 126 county 29, 58, 63–4 federal 22 municipal 74 Government Agencies Involvement of Volunteers 29 governmental intra-agency 32 Group Activities Campus Organization Volunteers 142 Historical Roots of Volunteerism 5 history of volunteerism 6 history of volunteerism in america 6 homelessness in Texas 133, 136 Homelessness Prevention 138 HRM practices 38 Human Relations ManagementChallenges 106 human resource management (HRM) 34, 36, 38, 44, 50, 52, 67, 80–1

Index 161 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 23 Karaoke Volunteer 140, 142 Kasey, Casey 17–8 Kentucky Commission on Community Volunteerism 32 Ladies’ Aid Societies 6 Library Volunteer 139 Limitations of Volunteer Programs 121 local government programs 8, 74, 112, 123, 131 Local Government Volunteer Management 54–62 Local Government Volunteer Management Practices 96, 123 LOOP model 66 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants program 136 MDHA partners 138 Meal Services 141–42 Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) 138 model of homeless recovery 138 National Association of Counties’ (NACo) 24, 28, 58 National Association of Volunteers in Local Government (NAVLG) 30, 36 National Council of Volunteer Manager 59 National League of Cities 57, 61 nature, altruistic 42 NAVPLG (National Association of Volunteer Programs in Local Government) 39, 89, 94 NCTR (North Central Texas Region) 89, 130–31 newsletter for volunteers 49, 96, 124 Organizational Models of Volunteerism 30 Orientation for new volunteers 49 Parks and Recreation department 38 professionalization of volunteering 38–9 public sector volunteerism 27, 64 Public Sector Volunteer Management 23–33 public values 23

Qualitative Analysis of Interviews 98 qualitative case study method 37 Reception Desk Volunteer 139 Response Type Frequency 127 risk management audit 69 scope of orientation 103 special campus projects 141 Spirit of Volunteering in America 1 state agency 31 state law 11 Stew Pot 141 strategies for retention 118 Student volunteers 14 study of volunteer management and citizen engagement 94 study on volunteerism 64 study on volunteer retention 56 survey and semi-structured interviews 91 trainings for volunteers 95, 115 two-factor theory 40 United Nations Volunteers program 84–5 United Service Organization (USO) 31 US postal service 56 VFI factors 42 virtual volunteering 7, 14–5, 82–5 Virtual Volunteers 13–5 Visibility of Volunteer Program 120 Volunteer Activities and Homelessness Prevention 138 Volunteer Centre National Network 7 Volunteer Concepts and Organizational Challenges 60 Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI) 42 Volunteerism Project 28 volunteer management and retention 41, 89 volunteer management experience 90, 95 volunteer management practices 47, 50, 52, 64, 67, 70–1, 77, 90, 93, 96, 98, 122, 124 Volunteer Management Process 51 volunteer management programs 37–8, 98–9, 110–11, 114, 119, 123, 126–28 Volunteer Program Components 119 volunteer program model 29, 65 volunteer program policy 110–11 Volunteer Programs/Organizations 28

162

Index

Volunteer Protection Act 51 Volunteer Retention and Turnover 78–81 Volunteer Risk Management 143 Volunteer Service 7, 126 Volunteers in Plano (VIP) 89 Volunteers Sitting on Community Boards 105

White Paper for Social Welfare 11, 21 Women Groups 6 Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) 7