the challenges and opportunities of managing volunteers_ma thesis_tewodros shibru
TRANSCRIPT
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The Challenges and Opportunities of
Managing Volunteers
The Case of
Volunteer Resource Management (VRM)
Practices of VECOD
By
Tewodros Shibru
June-2013
Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology
Addis Ababa
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The Challenges and Opportunities of Managing Volunteers:
The Case of Volunteer Resource Management (VRM) Practices of VECOD
By
Tewodros Shibru
Thesis Advisor
Tekeste Teclu (PhD)
Thesis submitted to Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Masters of Art in Leadership
and Management.
15-June-2013
Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology
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Thesis Declaration and Approval
Declaration
I, Tewodros Shibru, candidate for the Master of Arts Degree in Leadership and
Management at Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology, hereby declare that this thesis,
except the citations indicated in the text, s is my original work.
Tewodros Shibru
_____________________Signature
15-June-2013
Thesis Approval
Thesis Approved by
Tekeste Teclu (PhD)
Thesis Advisor
_______________
Signature
Ledetu Alemu (Dr.)
Thesis Examiner
_______________
Signature
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Abstract
This thesis describes the opportunities that exist in volunteerism and the
challenges encountered by those who want to utilize and manage this immense
resource. The thesis explains the principles, essential elements, best practices and
theories related with volunteerism. The research argues effective utilization of
volunteer resource entails the deliberate adoption of volunteer resource
management principles. To demonstrate this fact, an apparently successful
organization was selected as a case study and an in-depth examination of its
volunteer resource management practices was examined.
The intention was to examine factors that are enabling or disabling in the
recruitment and retention of volunteers. The literature review also scan the
theoretical frameworks, situation and value of volunteerism and its essential
elements and best practices.
This study employed qualitative study using a case study approach. The
researchs finding was in line with the prediction of the assumption that was made
at the outset of the study. It also backed up the theories, best practices and
elements of volunteer resource management in most cases.
The research found that the case under study was able to apply most of the
principles of VRM. It was able to recruit and retain large reservoir of volunteers
implying that other charities can follow suit.
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Acknowledgment
My sincere thanks and appreciation goes to my wife Kelem Bekele (Qaqu) who
actually encouraged me and sent me to join EGST and helped me and stand by
me all the way. Thank you Qaqu! I also like to extend my thanks to my kids-
Iyesusawit and Applos-who were very understanding but eager too to see me
finish so that I can spend more time with them. Thank you both of you.
My deepest appreciation and thanks also goes to Dr. Tekeste Teclu who was my
instructor, course leader and finally a supportive and understanding thesis advisor.
Thank you also for your fatherly concern and all the efforts you have made in
matters of my personal life out of the school businesses. Thank you!
I would like also to thank my immediate supervisor and Retrak Ethiopia Country
Director, Dr. Lynnette Kay for her willingness to support me in my study and this
research and for reading my thesis and providing me with her feedback. Thank
you Dr. Lynn.
My gratitude to Ato Tadele Derseh, Executive Director of VECOD for allowing
me to make this case study on the organization. My appreciation also goes to staff
of VECOD Ato Yonas (Project Coordinator) and Wrt. Birtukan (Training
Coordinator) for their support in this research.
Finally, it is only God who deserves all the glory for everything comes from God
alone. Everything lives by His power, and everything is for His glory. To Him be
glory evermore. (Rom 11:36 TLB)
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Acronym
CSO Civil Society Organization
EPRDF Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front
ILO International Labor Organization
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
SWVR State of the Worlds Volunteerism Report
TOT Training of Trainers
VRM Volunteer Resource Management
UN United Nations
UPS United Parcel Service
UNV United Nation Volunteers
VECOD Vision Ethiopia Congress for Democracy
VFI Volunteer Functions Inventory
WVS World Value Survey
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Table of Content
Thesis Declaration and Approval .....................................................................................................................................2
Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................................................1
Acknowledgment ............................................................................................................................................................2
Acronym .........................................................................................................................................................................3
Table of Content..............................................................................................................................................................4
List of Figures and tables .................................................................................................................................................6
Chapter One: Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................7
1.1 Background....................................................................................................................................................................7
1.2 Rationale ........................................................................................................................................................................7
1.3 Thesis Statement ..........................................................................................................................................................10
1.4 Purpose of the research................................................................................................................................................12
1.5 Objective......................................................................................................................................................................12
1.6 Assumption ..................................................................................................................................................................12
1.7 Scope ...........................................................................................................................................................................13
1.8 Research Questions......................................................................................................................................................13
1.9 Methodology................................................................................................................................................................14
1.10 Criteria for selecting sample ........................................................................................................................................15
1.11 Theoretical Framework................................................................................................................................................15
1.12 Definition of Terms .....................................................................................................................................................17
Chapter Two: Literature Review................................................................................................................................20
2.1 Situation of volunteerism.............................................................................................................................................20
2.2 Volunteerism and Altruism..........................................................................................................................................22
2.3 Types of Volunteerism ................................................................................................................................................23
2.4 Misconceptions and Myths about Volunteerism..........................................................................................................24
2.5 The Value and Benefit of Volunteerism ......................................................................................................................26
2.6 NGOs and Government Role in Volunteerism ............................................................................................................29
2.7 Management of Volunteers..........................................................................................................................................30
2.7.1 Essential Elements and Best Practices...........................................................................................................30
2.7.2 Organizational Variables in Volunteerism ....................................................................................................31
2.7.3 Recruitment ...................................................................................................................................................34
2.7.4 Orientation.....................................................................................................................................................37
2.7.5 Training and Development............................................................................................................................38
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2.7.6 Recognitions..................................................................................................................................................38
2.7.7 Volunteers and Paid Workers Relationships .................................................................................................40
2.7.8 Resignation and Termination of Volunteers..................................................................................................41
2.8 The Level of Adoption of VRM among NGOs ...........................................................................................................42
2.9 The Situation of Charities and Societies in Ethiopia and Volunteerism ......................................................................43
2.10 Theoretical Frameworks ..............................................................................................................................................45
2.10.1 A Sociological Theory of Volunteer Work ........................................................................................................45
2.10.2 Functional Approach to Volunteerism ...............................................................................................................46
Chapter Three: Methodology Design and Data Collection.........................................................................................49
3.1 Introduction: Why Qualitative Study...........................................................................................................................49
3.2 Sampling Technique: Why Mixed Purposeful Sampling ............................................................................................49
3.3 Unit of Analysis: Why Case Study Approach .............................................................................................................51
3.4 Case Data Collection Methods ....................................................................................................................................52
3.5 Sampling for web-based survey...................................................................................................................................53
3.6 Triangulation ...............................................................................................................................................................53
Chapter Four: Case Data Presentation and Analysis .................................................................................................54
4.1 VECODs organizational profile .................................................................................................................................54
4.2 Analysis of organizational capacity on VRM ..............................................................................................................58
4.3 Analysis of response of volunteer managers ...............................................................................................................62
4.4 Analysis of Volunteer Facilitators response ................................................................................................................64
4.5 Content analysis through direct observation................................................................................................................70
4.6 Analysis of interview done with key informants .........................................................................................................71
4.7 Analysis of Documents................................................................................................................................................73
Chapter Five: Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations ....................................................................................74
5.1 Findings .......................................................................................................................................................................74
5.2 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................................76
5.3 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................................................77
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................79
Annexes........................................................................................................................................................................83
Annex 1: Questioner to Assess Organizational Capacity on VRM .......................................................................................83
Annex 2: Questioner to Volunteer Resource Managers ........................................................................................................86
Annex 3: Web based survey to volunteers Powered by SurveyMonkey...............................................................................87
Annex 4: Web based survey result ........................................................................................................................................90
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List of Figures and tables
Figures
Figure 1: Louis A. Penners conceptual model on the direct and indirect causes of sustained volunteerism.
___________________________________________________________________________________ 33
Figure 2: Length of Voluntary Service of Respondents (n=16)__________________________________ 65
Figure 3: Respondents' view on friendliness of VECOD staffs towards volunteers __________________ 65
Figure 4: Respondents' view Professionalism on the volunteer recruitment process at VECOD ________ 66
Figure 5: Match between volunteer skill/interest and Assignment _______________________________ 67
Figure 6: Respondents view on the presence of elements of VRM at VECOD ______________________ 67
Figure 7: Reasons for stopping volunteering in previous experiences ____________________________ 69
Figure 8: Overall Satisfaction of Volunteer Facilitators in their engagement at VECOD _____________ 69
Tables
Table 1: Civil society sector workforce as a percent of the economically active population, 1995 -2000: The
Johns Hopkins Centre for Civil Society Studies:_____________________________________________ 29
Table 2: List of Course offered by VECOD in its Leadership and Management Skill Development Training
program____________________________________________________________________________ 57
Table 3: Task description and number of volunteers _________________________________________ 59
Table 4: The level of satisfactions on the recognition activity of VECOD by volunteer facilitators. _____ 68
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Chapter One: Introduction
1.1 Background
The origin of this thesis project began through the researchers personal quest that
he encountered in his previous experiences. The researcher has been involved involunteering since his teenage years. Being a volunteer himself, there were times
he was involved in managing and leading a large group of volunteers and paid
staffs. There were times of success and failure. There were times of conflict and
low morale that arose due to unclear boundaries between paid staffs and
volunteers. These and other experiences began a deeply held quest to examine
what went wrong in managing and leading volunteers in many organizations.
Thus, this has become the starting point of his quest to further study the subject in
detail.
The subject under the study is Volunteer Resource Management (VRM).
Particularly it concern with the management practice of homegrown volunteers.
The research is supported with evidence that come from previous research done in
the sector (literature review) and detailed description of the practice done on a
selected organization with a case study method. This research thus assesses the
homegrown volunteers resource management (VRM) practice of an NGO in
Addis Ababa in light of VRM best practices and theoretical frameworks. The case
study is to see whether the selected NGO is familiar with VRM, the level of its
adoption of the VRM practices and whether the elements of VRM have helped the
organization in motivating, recruiting and retaining volunteers.
1.2 Rationale
As part of the human resource, but with a unique nature and value of its own,
there are immense resources in the voluntary work force that is untapped and
unused. This massive resource would be beneficial in the wellbeing of both the
volunteer and the voluntary organization. However, the effective utilization of this
resource requires understanding the unique nature of volunteers and volunteers
resource management that is mostly taken for granted. Voluntarism is valuable for
development, social cohesion, active citizenship, inclusion and participation.
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Nonetheless, according to the researchers view and based on his brief scanning
of Human Resource Management books that are available at his disposal, he
believed that voluntarism is not given due attention in the Human Resource
literature. However, volunteers need support and leadership to be most effective
and to sustain their commitment and involvement like any other requirement of
human resource management for paid workers. Unless volunteer resource
management is widely adopted and practiced, volunteers engagement will further
decline.
The other reason this topic needs to be researched is the deficiency of studies in
this area and thus to contribute knowledge to the sector. The UNs reported on the
State of the Worlds Volunteerism (2011) is the first of its kind with numerous
definitional and methodological issues on volunteerism. This Report recognizes
that research on volunteerism in developing countries still falls far short of hopes
and expectations and it also recommends that the research community needs to
extend its work on volunteerismespecially in the developing world. 1 It also
endorses the need for further study and research to refine our understanding of
the nature and extent of this expression of human endeavor2.The report further
argues that volunteerism has not been fully understood and articulated in the
development debate, hence implying the need for research in the area. In general,
it asserts research on the topic is at an early stage and needs to be intensified3.
The report also cited a survey made in five southern African states on
voluntarism, which found one significant gap in the area: the lack of academic
research4.
The other rationale behind examining this topic in light of non-profit and non-
governmental civil societies is that these organizations are initiated through
volunteers who wanted to solve a certain problem in the society. In this sector,
1 UNV, State of the Worlds Volunteerism Report: Universal Values for Global Well-being, 2011(New
York: United Nations Volunteers, 2011) 90-93
2 UNV, State, xx.
3 UNV, State, 12.
4 UNV, State, 17.
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volunteering is one of the most accessible and effective ways for those who want
to contribute to their society. Even though the sector itself is voluntary, it is
plagued with inadequate ways of providing support for the management of
volunteer resource. According to a research conducted by UPS (United Parcel
Service) in the sector, the primary reason people stop volunteering is because of
poor management.5
Especially charities and societies in Ethiopia need the effective utilization of
volunteers now more than ever. This is due to the Charities and Societies
Proclamation and its accompanying directive that impose restrictions on the
source of income and administrative expenses of every NGO. One coping
mechanism for charities and societies operating in Ethiopia could be adopting
volunteerism. By optimizing investment of volunteer time, civil societies may
build the capacity of the sector. This in turn requires appropriate and effective
management of volunteers by NGOs.
In addition, all major stakeholders such as donors, grant makers, members of non-
profit organizations, beneficiaries in the community and particularly the Ethiopian
government (through the Charities and Societies Agency and Bureaus of Finance
and Economic Development) are all keen to see a low percentage of
administrative expenses. One significant administrative expense that NGOsexpend is personnel expenses for salaries of their paid staffs. Consequently, these
stakeholders are keen to see that an NGO is doing its work with volunteers.
Particularly, donors and grant makers want to see a greater yield on each Birr they
contribute and invest so that the benefit goes to the ultimate beneficiaries to which
the civil society aims to render its services.
The other case for researching volunteer resource management in the non-profit
sector is that volunteerism itself is an expression of a healthy community and the
civil society sector6. Besides, volunteers need well-organized and intentional
management and leadership. However, even more than managing the paid staff,
5 Paige Tucker, A Guide to Investing in Volunteer Resources Management: Improve Your Philanthropic
Portfolio (UPS Foundation, 2003) 3.
6 Tucker,A Guide, 4
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volunteerism has its own unique challenges due to the complex nature of the
environment in which it is exercised. Thus, civil societies in Ethiopia should
enhance their capacity to lead and manage this sector. By doing this, NGOs will
be able to boost their portfolio by increasing the Birr value invested in them and
insuring the communitys involvement.
1.3 Thesis Statement
There are opportunities of vast and untapped resources in the form of homegrown
volunteerism that are ready to get involved and contribute to the development of
the country.7 Volunteerism has proven value and benefit for the health and well-
being of the individual volunteer, the voluntary organization and the community
as a whole.
Although volunteers consider their involvement and contribution to their
community as a rewarding activity by itself, volunteers need support and
leadership to be most effective and to sustain their commitment 8. As one study
found no matter how well intentioned volunteers are, unless there is an
infrastructure in place to support and direct their efforts, they [ volunteers] will
remain ineffective at best or, worse, become disenchanted and withdraw,
potentially damaging recipients of services in the process.9
Thus, effective utilization of volunteer resource requires the deliberate adoption
of volunteer resource management principles. This is because volunteers need
every kind of support and leadership they get just like paid workers or even better.
In addition, volunteers have peculiar characteristics that distinguish them from
paid workers thus requiring a different set of human resource management
practices i.e. volunteer resource management.
Mostly, however, there are large gaps in our knowledge on the subject of
volunteerism in general and volunteer resource management in particular that
7 UNV, State, 93.
8 Tucker,A Guide, 4
9 Mark A. Hager and Jeffrey L. Brudney. Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers.
(Washington: The Urban Institute, June 2004) 3
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1.4 Purpose of the research
In this study, the researcher intends to make an in-depth examination of the
volunteer resource management practices of a selected NGO. The purpose is to
find out factors that may be prohibiting or facilitating the effective utilization of
the volunteers. The findings help readers and NGO leaders to run effective
volunteer programs that boost the capacity and health of civil society.
1.5 Objective
The research intends to find out the obstacles and contribution of volunteerism
and produce a result and recommendations that challenge and encourage civil
societies to systematically exploit the vast volunteer resource for their advantage
through adoption of volunteer resource management principles. In addition, theresearch will serve as a guide or resource on how to manage and lead volunteers
for organizations interested in involving volunteers.
1.6 Assumption
This study assumes that
a. There is a vast, willing and ready homegrown human resource in voluntary form.
b. The service of these volunteers is needed among NGOs since these organizations
are voluntary in their nature
c. Volunteerism, however, requires a peculiar management strategy to be effective.
The assumption is that misconception, unfavorable environment and poor
volunteer resource management in the voluntary (non-profit) organizations
undermine this enormous resource and take it for granted or under-utilize it. If
leaders and managers adopt the right practice of volunteer resource management,
organizations harvest from this vast resource and all involved benefit from
volunteerism. This paper assumes that the above-mentioned factors could be the
principal reasons organizations fails to utilize and retain volunteers.
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1.7 Scope
There are myriads of variables as to why individuals do or do not volunteer. This
study does not intend to make a survey of that. There are also many organizations
that are using volunteer resources such as government organizations, formal and
informal community based organizations (such as Eddir, Mahiber, Debo &Iqub),
formal and informal types of volunteering, local and international NGOs, different
religious institutions, local churches and their respective denominations.
Delimitations: However, the scope of this assessment is l imited to formal
volunteering in a selected NGO and its effort to utilize a homegrown
volunteerism. Although a larger proportion of volunteer action occurs in informal
volunteering, this assessment concentrates on examining the practice of formal
volunteering in the NGO setting that exemplify the practice of VRM in which
volunteering is undertaken on a regular basis.
There are also myriads of activities and functions that managers and leaders of
organizations perform for both paid and volunteer workers. However, this
research is limited to volunteer recruitment, motivation, benefit, developmentand
retention as factors to be assessed for effective volunteer involvement. It is also
obvious that there are clear limits (considering the size of assessment and the
extent of findings) in how the research can be extrapolated to reflect the national
practice.
1.8 Research Questions
i. What are the factors that enabled (or disabled) organizations to recruit and retain
their volunteers and that keep them motivated as they continue volunteering?
ii. What elements of volunteer resource management do civil societies need to adopt
to boost their capacity in effective program delivery for their beneficiaries?
iii. What kind of resources, infrastructure and benefits enable civil societies to recruit
and retain their volunteers?
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1.9 Methodology
This research employs a qualitative research method particularly a case study
method. The assessment largely depended on data collection from primary
sources solicited through interviews (including key informants); semi structured
questionnaires and web based survey. A purposefully selected NGO is assessed
concerning its practices, challenges, and aspirations for their volunteer programs.
This selected NGO is Vision Ethiopia Congress for Democracy (VECOD).
The researcher utilized the case study method to assess current management
practices and/or challenges in this selected NGO. Depending on their availability,
the assessment also analyzed content of various documents such as human
resource manuals, plans, and articles of association, reports, etc on the intention
and actual level of utilization of volunteers. In addition, the research was
complemented by the use of secondary sources on volunteerism from elsewhere
in the globe, due to its universal nature and trends of volunteerism (although
conclusions from other contexts may need to be contextualized to the Ethiopian
context).
The research also adopted an assessment tool developed by UPS14 to assist in
assessing the overall capacity of a civil society in support of volunteering. This
tool includes
i. Benchmarking tools: that ensure the effective volunteerism in an organization or a
community
ii. Questions to assess organizational capacity: used to assess an organizations
overall capacity to manage volunteer resources and volunteer based projects
iii. Elements of Volunteer resource management: basic components for successful
volunteer involvement which help to identify the strengths and weakness of the
infrastructure that support the organizations volunteer effort
The UN General Assembly resolution 56/38 recognizes that there is not one
universal model of best practice, since what works well in one country may not
14 Tucker,A Guide,9
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work in another with very different cultures and traditions15. Since there is no
agreed methodology for measuring the extent of voluntary engagement, this
assessment attempted to find out what kind of volunteerism and its management
works well in the Ethiopian context.
1.10 Criteria for selecting sample
In order to select an organization for a case study, the following criteria are set in
place:
i. Organizations involving volunteers on regular basis,
ii. Charities or societies legally registered in Ethiopia and
iii. NGOs that have operated in Ethiopia for more than three years.
On the other hand, in order to conduct interviews of individual volunteers to
assess their experience of volunteering and volunteer resource management in
NGOs, the following criteria was set i.e. interviewees must have been involved in
formal volunteering for a period of more than six months in one NGO.
1.11 Theoretical Framework
The literature review mainly focused on providing a theoretical framework and
general assessment of the important components of the topic.
General Assessment: The literature review, in this section, examines previous
research done so far on this topic based on the literature listed in the
Bibliography. In this section, the researcher tried to examine the situation and
unique nature of volunteers and volunteer resource management. Distinguishing
particulars of the challenges of volunteer resource management are identified and
the vast opportunities that exist in volunteerism and its global trend will be
assessed. The review also examines best practices of leadership in leading
volunteers and discerns the value and benefit of volunteerism for all involved in
the sector.
15 United Nations General Assembly,Resolution 56/38, 3.
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Theoretical Framework: As previously stated, the concept of volunteerism is one
area in which there is a lack of academic research. The concept is not fully
articulated and is in need of refinement. Despite these facts, the available
theoretical frameworks are used as a lens to view the practice. Consequently, the
research tested the theories themselves. To this end, this research used three
frameworks, the Six Themes of Effective Volunteer Involvement, Sociological
theory and a Functional Approach to volunteerism. This research adopted the six
themes that UPS16 research developed in evaluating an effective volunteer
involvement in the non-profit sector.
The research by UPS found that effective volunteer involvement in civil society is
expressed by:
1. leverage and improved grant making2. Corporate community involvement.
3. supports business objectives.
4. strengthens the sector by increasing capacity to deliver services.
5. requires organizational and community infrastructure.
6. requires training and development.
7. contributes to maintaining a civil society
John Wilson and Mark Musick proposed a Sociological Theory of Volunteer
Work. The theory adopted the perspective that, like other forms of work,
volunteers demand resource17 such as material incentives, solidarity incentives
and purposive incentives. The underpinning principle of this theory is
volunteerism requires resources.
Another similar theoretical framework considered in this research is a Functional
Approach to Volunteerism. According to this theory matching volunteer
motivations to the benefits, that volunteerism provides results in positive
volunteer outcomes. Thus, the theory suggests that if an organization makes
available an array of tasks that satisfy varying functions, it would be able to
recruit from a larger pool of individuals.18 Therefore, the approach theorizes that
16 Tucker,A Guide, 5.
17 Wilson and Musick, Toward, 709.
18 Barbara J. Houle, Brad J. Sagarin, and Martin F. Kaplan. "A Functional Approach to Volunteerism: Do
Volunteer Motives Predict Task Preference?" Basic and Applied Social Psychology (Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates, Inc., 2005) 343.
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letting volunteers perform tasks with benefits that match their primary motives
should result in a positive volunteer experience, an outcome favorable to all
involved.
In relation to the literature review in particular and the thesis in general, the
researcher has listed in the Bibliography all materials that he has reviewed and
found to be relevant for this discussion.
1.12 Definition of Terms
Volunteer, volunteerism and volunteer work
Different authors have defined the terms volunteer, volunteerism and volunteer
work in many different ways. The researcher listed some of them here and lastly
he tried to adopt one working definition for this paper. Thus, some of the
definitions forwarded by different authors are listed below:
i. unpaid work provided to parties to whom the worker owes no contractual,
familial, or friendship obligations19
ii. A desire to contribute to the common good, out of free will and in a spirit of
solidarity, without expectation of material reward.20
iii. According to UNV, volunteerism is a basic expression of human relationships that
people need to participate in their societies and to feel that they matter to others.
Consistent with this definition are the values of volunteerism which embrace
solidarity, reciprocity, mutual trust, belonging and empowerment, all of which
contribute significantly to quality of life. In addition, volunteerism has the
following components that define it. Volunteerism should be performed out of
own free will (and should not as an obligation stipulated by law, contract or
academic requirement) without primarily financial reward. (However, this
definition recognizes the reimbursement of out of pocket expenses incurred by
19 Wilson and Musick, Toward, 694.
20 UNV, State, iv.
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volunteers such as transport to be justified). Volunteerism also should be for the
common good.21
iv. Another author defined Volunteerism as long-term, planned, pro-social behaviors
that benefit strangers and occur within an organizational setting. Based on this
definition, volunteerism has four salient attributes: longevity, planfulness,
nonobligatory helping, and an organizational context.22
v. The ILO manual on measuring volunteer work provides a working definition for
volunteer or volunteer work as unpaid non-compulsory work; that is, time
individuals give without pay to activities performed either through an
organization or directly for others outside their own household.23
vi. Yet for another author, volunteerism, unlike the labor market and the informal
sector, is uncommodified24; unlike household labor, it is freely undertaken. Thus,
volunteering is identified as a type of work in which human effortadds value to
goods and services25
vii. The UN General Assembly recommends the use of the terms volunteering,
volunteerism and voluntary activities to refer to a wide range of activities,
including traditional forms of mutual aid and self-help, formal service delivery
and other forms of civic participation, undertaken of free will, for the general
public good and where monetary reward is not the principal motivating factor.26
Based on the above definitions, the researcher adopts the following working
definition for this paper. Volunteerism or volunteer work is unpaid and non-
compulsory work provided to a third party (either through an organization or
directly for others outside their own household). Volunteerism is performed
without any obligations and out of free will that emanates from a desire to
21 UNV, State, xx.
22 Louis A. Penner, Dispositional and Organizational Influences on Sustained Volunteerism: AnInteractionist Perspective. Journal of Social Issues 58 (2002) 448
23 ILO,Manual, 13
24 Commodification is the transformation of goods and services, as well as ideas or other entities (that
normally may not be considered goods) into a commodity. Thus by uncommodified it means volunteer
work is not being used or transformed into a commodity that is for sale.
25 Wilson and Musick, Toward, 694.
26 United Nations General Assembly,Resolution 56/38, 3.
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contribute to the common good in a spirit of solidarity, without expectation of
material or financial reward. Monetary reward is not the principal motivating
factor. However, a reasonable reimbursement of out of pocket expenses incurred
by volunteers such as transport is justified but by no means equates to or
substitutes for a monetary value for the volunteer work.
Formal and Informal volunteering Formal volunteering is typically carried out
in the context of organizations; informal volunteering (which in this context
means helping friends, neighbors, and kin living outside the household) is more
private and is not organized27
27 Wilson and Musick, Toward, 700.
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Chapter Two: Literature Review
2.1 Situation of volunteerism
The situation of volunteerism is widely assessed by the UN State of Worlds
Volunteerism Report 2011, which emphasized the untapped potential ofvolunteering. It understood volunteerism to be a massive but largely invisible and
untapped resource28. It also states that volunteerism is an enormous reservoir of
skills, energy and local knowledge for peace and development 29. This massive
resource is still miscomprehended and undervalued. The Report argues that this is
the right time for the contribution of volunteers to be understood as one of the
missing components of a development paradigm that still has economic growth at
its core30. Currently, volunteerism has not been articulated in the development
debate, particularly in the context of the Millennium Development Goals and is
largely absent from the peace and development agenda.31
The UNV report cites the survey of World Value Survey (WVS) 32 in assessing
the situation of volunteerism and to the surprise of the researcher, East Asia and
Africa are on the top of the list for volunteerism and the lowest levels of voluntary
work were found in Western Europe. 33
Actually, however, there are no comprehensive surveys on the situation of
volunteerism at global level in general and in the developing world in particular.
Only some developed nations have done their own survey.34 Australia is among
the few nations that has done a survey on volunteerism. Therefore, the researcher
28 UNV, State, xxiii.
29 UNV, State, 3.
30
UNV, State, xx.31 UNV, State, xx.
32 The WVS is an ongoing longitudinal and cross-cultural survey covering public attitudes and behaviors
and undertaken on a five yearly basis. The minimum sample size is 1000 but larger sample sizes are
desirable. The WVS employs face-to-face interviews in the interviewees own environment. Survey
findings are publically available on the study website. The 1999-2004 study was the most recent WVS
wave employing a detailed questionnaire on volunteerism.33 UNV, State, 20.
34 UNV, State, 3.
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assumes reviewing the survey done in some developed countries may reveal
information about the situation of volunteerism in Ethiopia and the global trends.
Here it may be appropriate to see a national survey of volunteering issues done in
Australia by Volunteering Australia in 2009. The survey showed that among the
respondents, 37% were male and 63% were female volunteers. Among these, the
highest proportions were aged 55-64 followed by 45-54 age groups. In addition,
half of the respondents were employed (either full time or part time). 35 However,
the Report also acknowledges one exceptional country when it comes to
volunteerism survey. Bangladesh took the first ever-comprehensive national
volunteerism survey in 2010. This was the first of its kind ever carried out in the
country. The survey addressed all kinds of volunteering. One important finding in
this survey was that nearly 80% of volunteering occurred outside of formal
organizations.36
In Volunteering Australia survey, a more relevant part of the review is the survey
of volunteer involving organizations and their volunteer management practice,
particularly the management and support given to volunteers. The survey assessed
the struggle of volunteer involving organizations to recruit, support and sustain
volunteers in their organization. The survey found that the adoption of volunteer
resource management process was highly related with the presence of a paid
manager dedicated to manage volunteers. Respondents gave the following
responses as to the important reasons for their decision to volunteer:37
1. Knowing that my contribution would make a difference (80%)2. Personal belief in a cause (67)
3. Location (65%)4. Organizational values and principles (62%)5. What I would get out of the role (54%)
There was only a slight change to the ranking when respondentswere asked to choose one that is most important to their volunteering
now1. Knowing that my contribution would make a difference (38%)2. Personal belief in a cause (19%)
35 Volunteering Australia.National Survey of Volunteering Issues 2009 (Melbourne: Volunteering Australia
Inc., 2009) 3-8
36 UNV, State, 17.
37 Volunteering Australia,National Survey, 3-8
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3. What I would get out of the role (13%)4. Organizational values and principles (12%)
5. Location (6%)
Another survey made in Canada on managers of 6,152 voluntary organizations
found that managers of volunteers were experiencing more difficulty recruiting
and retaining volunteers especially volunteers willing to make long-termcommitments and/or take on leadership roles and were very concerned that
they would lose their small core of dedicated volunteers to burnout. Changes in
volunteerism have led to increased interest in management principles and
practices that can be applied to the voluntary sector , and to increased
awareness of the importance of good volunteer management.38
Regarding the Current Trends, Volunteering Australia indicated trends in
volunteering include the lack of time for volunteering due to pressures on the
paid workforce, greater professionalism among volunteers, the need for more
formal requirements in the management of volunteers and the replacement of
positions previously undertaken by volunteers with paid positions. Another
prominent trend in volunteerism is professionalization. Volunteer organizations
are increasingly applying the management techniques used by human resources
departments to volunteers. The professional development of volunteers is
recognition that the volunteer contribution is comparable to that of paid staff. In
many countries, the position of volunteer manager has become a career role.
The other trend includes student volunteers, older people as volunteers and
internet volunteering (or virtual volunteering).39
2.2 Volunteerism and Altruism
Managers often presuppose altruism to be the only motive of volunteering.
Understanding the true motives of volunteers has however a detrimental effect on
sustained utilization of volunteers for managers of volunteers and volunteer
involving organizations. Even volunteers themselves might not describe their true
38 Fataneh Zarinpoush, Cathy Barr and Jasson Moreton.Managers of Volunteers: A Profile of he Profession
(Ontario: Imagine Canada, 2004) 7
39 Volunteering Australia. Working, 6
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motive and mystify it with altruism. When volunteers were asked why they
volunteer, people often speak in terms of ethics: I feel it is important to help
others; I feel compassion toward people in need; I can do something for a
cause that is important to me. Volunteers may use this vocabulary of motives.
These words may describe their behavior inspired by ulterior purposes, such as
advancing their career. Whatever the motives of the volunteer may be (be it
altruistic or not), volunteer work means that people give their time to others.40 It is
also equally important to recognize individuals are not motivated by self-interest
alone but also by their deeply held values and beliefs.41 Generally, however, and
as noted earlier, the working definition for volunteerism is not primarily about the
motive of a volunteer (except the motivation to get a monetary reward out of it)
2.3 Types of Volunteerism
There are different types of volunteerism. These include traditional forms of
volunteerism (such as mutual aid and self-help), formal forms of volunteerism
(such as formal service delivery and other forms of civic participation) to
economic and social development, benefiting society, communities and the
individual volunteer.42
In addition to the above broad classification of volunteerism, the current trend is
developing new faces of volunteerism. These includes
i. Online volunteering:
ii. Voluntourism: a form of tourism in which travelers participate in voluntary work,
typically for a charity
iii. Diaspora volunteerism: in which experts from emigrant communities undertake
short-term assignments to transfer knowledge to their countries of origin.
iv. Employer-supported volunteerism: There is a growing trend of long-term
collaboration between private sector enterprises and local NGOs. 43
40 Wilson and Musick, Toward, 695.
41 UNV, State, 12.
42 United Nations General Assembly,Resolution 56/38, 2.
43 UNV, State, 12. UNV, State, xxii.
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Formal and Informal Volunteerism: The other type of classification is between
formal and informal volunteer work. Formal volunteering is typically carried out
in the context of organizations. While informal volunteering is more private and
not organized. In formal volunteer work, volunteers have no obligation to a
particular person but to a certain organization. For these volunteers it is important
to help others in general, but they do not feel obligated to give a specific service
to a specific individual 44. While in the case of informal helping, the donor and
recipient are likely to already have a relationship that entails obligations45.
Formal volunteerism is expressed as the provision of a service to a third party by
UNV. In this form of volunteerism, there may be an agreement about the terms
of engagement between the person volunteering and the organization concerned,
which includes an element of training. Recognition schemes may also exist in the
form of stipend or reimbursement of expenses.46
2.4 Misconceptions and Myths about Volunteerism
Regardless of a growing body of empirical and anecdotal evidence, there are
number of misconceptions and myths that cloud a proper understanding of
volunteering. These misunderstandings have to be changed so that the true nature
of volunteerism is revealed and to make it possible to analyze its contributions.47
UNV in its SWVR 2011 and Volunteering Australia in its Working with
Volunteers hope to shed light on views as to what volunteerism is and what it
achieves, in keeping with realities on the ground as follows.
Misconception 1: Volunteering occurs only through legally recognized, formal
and structured NGOs, usually in developed countries, with some type of
agreement between the volunteer and the organization. Nonetheless, as the UNV
44 Robert Wuthnow,Acts of Compassion (New Jersey: University of Princeton Press, 1991) 95: as quoted
in Wilson and Musick, Toward, 700.
45 Paul Amato, Personality and Social Network Involvement as Predictors of Helping Behavior in
Everyday Life. Social Psychology Quarterly 53 (1990) 31: as quoted in Wilson and Musick, Toward, 700.
46 UNV, State, 5.
47 UNV, State, 8-12.
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report shows much of the volunteerism takes place in small local groups, clubs
and associations.
Misconception 2: Volunteerism takes place only in the civil society sector. But
volunteerism is also found in nationwide government social programs in such
fields as immunization and literacy.
Misconception 3: Volunteerism is the preserve of the well off and well educated
those who have disposable time and income. In fact, an expanding body of
empirical research indicates that volunteerism is prevalent among the income poor
who undertake voluntary work to benefit themselves and their communities.
Misconception 4: Volunteerism is the domain of amateurs who are unskilled
and inexperienced. This misunderstanding arises from the perception thatprofessionalism, both in knowledge and behavior, is exclusively associated with a
paid job.
Misconception 5: Young people do not volunteer. On the contrary, young
people are not a passive group waiting for resources and opportunities to be
handed to them. The fact is young people are actively engaged in the development
of their societies in a vast range of actions.
Misconception 6: Volunteering takes place face-to-face. The new development
in the information communication technology is rapidly enabling larger numbers
of people from broader cross-sections of the population to engage on a volunteer
basis.
Misconception 8: Volunteerism should be off-limits for state intervention. It is
evident that a growing number of policies and laws are being adopted by
governments to encourage volunteerism. Some governments are encouraging
volunteer action by safeguarding the rights of volunteers.
Misconception 9: Volunteerism is free. Volunteering requires investment in
infrastructure to ensure effective contributions. Infrastructure includes the
establishment and running of volunteer centers, volunteers management, training
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and recognition, and costs associated with the proper functioning of volunteers
such as transportation, meals and stipends.
Myths about Volunteerism: Working with Volunteers also briefly discusses the
common myths of volunteering such as viewing volunteers as unskilled, older
people, unemployed, and women . The other myth is that volunteer programs do
not need resources and the assumption that volunteer programs just happen. One
of the stereotypes attributed to the volunteer sector is that the management of
volunteers is somehow less important or less demanding than management of the
paid workforce. However, with the boundary between what constitutes a
volunteer position versus a paid position becoming increasingly indistinct,
volunteer management should be considered as another arm of human resources.48
2.5 The Value and Benefit of Volunteerism
The UN report tries to make a case for the recognition of volunteerism as an
essential component for the sustainable, equitable progress of communities and
nations. SWVR 2011 shows why volunteerism is crucial to human development.
The report also asserts the contribution of volunteerism to peace and development
and the well-being of individuals, communities and civil societies. The report also
recognizes the change in volunteerism as being the backbone of many national
and international non-governmental organizations.49
SWVR 2011 gives special emphasis to the value of volunteerism as an instrument
that enhances the well-being of the most vulnerable. It is also one of the
mechanisms of reducing social exclusion. There is mounting evidence that
volunteer engagement is promoting civic values and social cohesion by mitigating
violent conflicts and fostering reconciliation.50 Extensive studies have
demonstrated that there is a positive relationship between volunteerism and well-
48 Volunteering Australia, Working, 8
49 UNV, State, v-xx.
50 UNV, State, xxiii.
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being.51But what is well-being? To answer this question, the report defines it in
the following manner:
Well-being has been described as feeling good and doing well both
physically and emotionally.52
At the heart of well-being is the sense ofhaving what you need for life to be good.
53For our purposes, we add the
idea of social well-being as a sense of belonging to our communities, a
positive attitude towards others, a feeling that we are contributing tosociety and engaging in pro-social behavior, and a belief that society iscapable of developing positively.
Some contemporary initiatives are challenging the understanding of the economic
paradigm by considering well-being to be the ultimate goal of any development
endeavors. The new paradigm is that a strong and healthy economy is desirable as
long as it leads people to well being. Among the important values in well-being,
that this report identified, is the need people have to give back to society.54 As
noted earlier, volunteering is one of the most accessible platforms to give back to
society.
Individual Wellbeing and Volunteerism
At the level of the individual, volunteer action can help people with feelings of
personal isolation, stresses or reduced self-worth to overcome these feelings.
Volunteering also enables individuals to interact with others face-to-face and
enhance feelings of belonging and of contributing. It also can tackle the
underlying causes of social exclusion such as lack of employment. It improves
employability. When volunteer work is recognized, it creates belongingness in the
individual. Especially young people, who represent a huge potential for
development and are the most susceptible to social exclusion, are able to enhance
their employability through volunteerism. Volunteerism provides the first
experience of a work setting for these young people. SWVR 2011 cites mounting
evidence to demonstrate that generally people who volunteer are more likely to
51 UNV, State, 86.
52 F. A. Huppert, Psychological Wellbeing: Evidence Regarding Its Causes and Consequences. (State-of-
Science Review: London, Government Office for Science, 2008): as quoted by UNV, State, 84.
53 S.C. White, Bringing Wellbeing into Development Practice (WeD working paper 09/50: Bath,
University of Bath, 2009) 3 as quoted UNV, State, 84.
54 UNV, State, 84.
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report being happy. Researchers have recorded volunteers testimony that as a
result of their volunteer action in helping others, they experience a warm glow,
health, happiness, strength, energy, self-growth, personal development, feelings of
reward and a sense of making a difference.55
Community Wellbeing and Volunteerism
Volunteerism also has a significant positive impact on community well-being.
Since volunteerism is a social behavior, neglecting to include volunteering in the
design of policies could entail the risk of overlooking a valuable asset and
undermine traditions of cooperation that bind communities together.56 In general,
volunteerism is intrinsically linked to our well-being.57 Not counting its strict
economic impact, volunteer work also brings about significant additional benefits
to society and to the volunteers themselves. Some of them are:
a. It provides important employment training and access to the laborforce.
b. It is a crucial resource for addressing the Millennium DevelopmentGoals.
c. It can offer services not easily provided by paid workers in theform of mentoring and role models, for example.
d. It enhances social solidarity, social capital, political legitimacy and
the quality of life in a society.e. It can help to promote social inclusion and integration.f. It gives the volunteers themselves a sense of personal satisfaction,
fulfillment, well -being and involvement in society.58
Particularly in the context of NGOs, volunteerism has also the following benefits
as noted by one document.59
Volunteers can lighten staff workload and improve employee satisfaction
Some work is best performed by volunteers60
55 UNV, State, 52-6156 United Nations General Assembly,Resolution 56/38, 3.
57 UNV, State, 89-90.
58 ILO,Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work, ( Geneva: International Labour Office, 2011) 4
59 Corporation for National and Community Service, Volunteering Reinvented: Human Capital
Solutions for the Nonprofit Sector (Washington: Corporation for National and Community
Service, 2007) 3
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2.6 NGOs and Government Role in Volunteerism
Volunteers provide a sizable workforce for the NGO sector. This was revealed by
the data generated by the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project
that was done in 37 countries. The survey revealed that volunteers account on
average for 45 per cent of the NGO workforce in the countries under the study.
For instance, Sweden has as high as 76 per cent of the workforce through
volunteers in the NGO sector.61 The number of volunteers is much higher than the
paid workforce in Sweden. The following table demonstrates civil society sector
workforce (disaggregated into paid staff and volunteers) as a percent of the
economically active population of the whole country. The researcher picked 15 of
them among the 36 selected countries in the survey.
Country Paid staff Volunteers Total
Egypt 2.73% 0.08% 2.81%
Mexico 0.26% 0.13% 0.39%
South Korea 1.88% 0.55% 2.43%
India 0.60% 0.76% 1.36%
Kenya 1.29% 0.82% 2.11%
Japan 3.19% 1.02% 4.21%
Uganda 0.92% 1.33% 2.25%
Israel 6.61% 1.40% 8.01%
South Africa 1.84% 1.59% 3.43%
Australia 4.43% 1.90% 6.33%
Germany 3.54% 2.33% 5.87%
United States 6.28% 3.49% 9.77%
United Kingdom 4.84% 3.63% 8.47%
Netherlands 9.21% 5.07% 14.28%
Sweden 1.74% 5.11% 6.85%
Table 1: Civil society sector workforce as a percent of the economically active population, 1995 -2000:
The Johns Hopkins Centre for Civil Society Studies62
:
60 Volunteering Reinvented noted that volunteers may know a communitys assets, key players andunderlying challenges better than any paid staff person at a given nonprofit. They may have the skills,
expertise, and community connections that would take years of experience for a staff person to gain. They
often come with the built in credibility and trust that opens doors in the community, which is priceless to an
organization. Moreover, some community problems require volunteers as part of a solution and any
intervention simply cease to exist if volunteers are not involved.
61 ILO,Manual, 3
62 Lester M. Salamon, et al, Global Civil Society: Dimensions of the Nonprofit Sector, Volume Two
(Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2004) as quoted by ILO,Manual, 3
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Although this study is concerned about volunteerism in NGO sector, it is
important to recognize the role of government in the development of
volunteerism. The United Nations General Assembly recommends that
governments have the responsibility of furthering their support to voluntary
activities by creating a favorable environment. To maximize volunteerism,
governments also need to provide adequate human and physical infrastructure for
volunteering. The Resolution also commends that the achievement of sustainable
development goals involves integrating volunteerism into national development
planning and by recognizing the potential contribution of volunteerism.63
2.7 Management of Volunteers
2.7.1 Essential Elements and Best Practices
The following section deals with Volunteer Resources Managements (VRM) essential
elements and best practices. As noted earlier in the introduction, the UPS sponsored
research on volunteer resource management found six key elements in effective volunteer
resource management. These are:-
1. Effective volunteer involvement leverages and improves grant makingand corporate community involvement: the finding in this component state
that volunteer involvement boosts the organizations financial and material
resources. This give the organization an advantage of higher dollar value
invested in it by lowering its administrative costs.2. Effective volunteer involvement supports business objectives.
3. Effective volunteer involvement strengthens the sector by increasing
capacity to deliver services. Volunteers invest their time, skill andknowledge to augment the service delivery of the NGO they are working
with.
4. Effective volunteer involvement requires organizational andcommunity infrastructure. Unless there is an infrastructure and competent
support staff to support volunteers, the NGO will be in a difficult position
to tap in to the resources of volunteers.5. Effective volunteer involvement requires training and development.
Training helps staff, management and leadership of the organization to see
the value of a well managed volunteer program in increasing theorganizations service delivery and fundraising capacity. In addition,
volunteers need training on the task and organizational values before they
begin the assigned volunteer task.
63 United Nations General Assembly,Resolution 56/38, 3-4.
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6. Effective volunteer involvement contributes to maintaining a civilsociety. Volunteering is most likely to happen when people clearly knowthe available tasks for volunteering. If volunteers know they can make a
meaningful contribution they are more likely to get involved. These
elements are among the major factors that sustain volunteerism in theorganization. Sustained volunteerism in turn creates a persistent NGO
involvement in the community.64
In similar fashion, the Urban Institute made a survey of charities and
congregations based on nine recommended best practices for volunteer
management. These nine principles of Best Practice of volunteer resource
management in the study were65:
1. Supervision and communication with volunteers,2. Liability coverage for volunteers,3. Screening and matching volunteers to jobs,
4. Regular collection of information on volunteer involvement,5. Written policies and job descriptions for volunteers,6. Recognition activities,7. Annual measurement of volunteer impact,8. Training and professional development for volunteers, and
9. Training for paid staff in working with volunteers
The Urban Institute also cites other studies that echo similar views on the
elements of effective best practice that support the recruitment, placement,
development and retention of volunteers. These are:66
1. Screening potential volunteers to ensure appropriate entry and placementin the organization;
2. Orientation and training to provide volunteers with the skills and outlook
needed; and3. Management and ongoing support of volunteers by paid staff to ensure
that volunteer time is not wasted
2.7.2 Organizational Variables in Volunteerism
When volunteerism occurs in an organizational setting, Louis A. Penner argues,
that there are certainly organizational variables that affect the engagement and
sustained service of the volunteer besides the individual volunteers personal
64 Tucker,A Guide, 5-7
65 Hager and Brudney, Volunteer, 1-8
66 Jean Baldwin Grossman and Kathryn Furano,Making the Most of Volunteers (2002) as quoted in Hager
and Brudney, Volunteer, 3
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disposition. However, the author recognizes that neither individual disposition nor
organizational variables provide a whole set of explanations for sustained
volunteering. He also acknowledges that the two variables may also influence
each other in both ways.
When considering the organizational variable component, the volunteer
perception of the organizations treatment and the organizations volunteer
management practice are the two significant variables in influencing the volunteer
sustained behavior. The author also cites different authors in the field to ascertain
that satisfaction of volunteers and their commitment to the organization in which
they are willing to volunteer is related to length of time they spent as volunteer. 67
Conceptual Model for Sustained Volunteerism
In this regard, Penner developed a Conceptual Model for Sustained Volunteerism
to demonstrate determinants of decision to volunteer and its sustained behavior.
These determinates are social pressure, situational factors, demographic
characteristics, personal beliefs/values, pro-social personality, volunteer-related
motives, organizational attributes & practices and relationship with the
organization. Penner cites several other studies on how people make a decision to
volunteer. People are exposed to various social pressures and these pressures are
factors in an individuals decision to volunteer. The other variable is
organizational attributes and practices that influence and determine the likelihood
of attracting volunteers more than others. These two variables are of particular
interest to this research. However, both the social pressure and organizational
attribute/practices coupled with various factors listed earlier also create pressure
on the rest of the volunteer journey. The next step on this journey that is shaped
by Initial Volunteerism is Volunteer Role Identity.
Volunteer Role Identity is the extent to which this role and the relationships
associated with it become part of a persons self-concept reinforced by high
levels of activity as a volunteer. This has a direct and substantial contribution to
sustained volunteerism. In addition, the conceptual model also recognizes that
67 Penner, Dispositional, 449-458
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other determinants have a direct influence on the sustained behavior of
volunteerism. Nevertheless, the influence of the Initial Volunteerism is paramount
on Sustained Volunteerism. That is the role volunteers occupy in the organization
and their perception have the most compelling and unwavering impact on the
sustainability of volunteerism.68
Figure 1: Louis A. Penners conceptual model on the direct and indirect causes of sustained volunteerism.69
The author contests that the model presented in Figure 1 can be empirically tested.
In addition, the conceptual model also offers an explanation of how volunteer
involving organizations attract and sustain volunteers. According to this article,
the implications of this model include70:
68 Penner, Dispositional, 460-463
69 Penner, Dispositional, 461
70 Penner, Dispositional, 463-465
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1. Recruitment should appeal to what motivates potential volunteers
2. Connecting volunteers with what motivates them as they execute their role in the
organization
3. Understanding that the decline or lack of volunteers is primarily caused by their
early experience (initial volunteerism) with the organization
4. Without denying the attribution of dispositional factor, it is important to recognize
the considerable part organizational variables/factors play in the sustained use of
volunteers
5. Volunteers may consider that their contribution as a reward in itself; however,
volunteer managers must deploy volunteer management practices for even more
sustained results that capitalize on this attitude of altruism or any other similar
attributes
6. Volunteer managers first must work to maintain the initial level of volunteering to
make it as exciting and engaging as possible so that new volunteers identify their
role identity and develop it. This role identity by itself is a factor for the sustained
contribution of volunteers.
2.7.3 Recruitment
To discover the key challenges faced by managers of volunteers, the authors of
Managers of Volunteers: A Profile of the Profession asked respondents (managers
of volunteers) to list their three biggest challenges. The most frequently
mentioned challenge was volunteer recruitment (cited by 32% of respondents as
their biggest challenge). The five top challenges reported were: volunteer
recruitment (32%), time constraints (14%), assigning volunteers to tasks (4%),
lack of funds or money (4%), and volunteer retention (4%).71
71 Zarinpoush, Barr and Moreton.Managers of Volunteers: A Profile of the Profession (Ontario: Imagine
Canada, 2004) 19
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Volunteer recruitment is both the top responsibility and the top challenge of
managers of volunteers. Given this, it is not surprising that recruitment was
also cited by over a quarter of the survey respondents when asked what type of
training would be most useful to them.72
Volunteer resource recruitment is important when organizations are aware of
the reasons people are motivated to volunteer. This attentiveness to the motives of
volunteers allows an organization to plan a program that accommodates the
varying needs and expectations of volunteers. An important element of volunteer
recruitment is ensuring that volunteers are placed only in volunteer designated
positions. Issues such as what motivates current volunteers, flexibility of work
time and the degree of formality in the process will all affect volunteer
recruitment. While starting an intense program to attract volunteers to an
organization, it is important to remain selective. Inappropriate appointments
create their own problems that may be more difficult to deal with than the original
shortage of volunteers. Alternatively, effective selection procedures can
contribute to a generally positive experience, thereby helping in the retention of
volunteers. Depending on the organization, recruitment may take place on a
oneonone basis or in a group situation.73
Another author, Sandy Adirondack, examined volunteers recruitment in avoluntary organization. The section Volunteers Recruitments and Placement
describe how volunteers come into organization. Volunteers come into different
organizations either to do specific tasks or to do tasks defined by the volunteer or
organization to use a specific skill of the volunteer or even for the volunteer to do
anything. However, the author noted and recommended that most volunteers want
to do something for a good cause and are not clear about what they can offer or
what the organization might need. In this case, it is important to have someone in
the organization with specific responsibility for getting the best from volunteers. 74
72 Zarinpoush, Barr and Moreton,Managers, 24
73 Volunteering Australia, Working, 12
74 Sandy Adirondack, Just About Managing: Effective Management for Voluntary Organization and
Community Group (London: Voluntary Service Council, 1998) 115
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An understanding of why people volunteer includes intrinsic rewards, helping
others, meeting people, developing a social network, concern for others, giving
something back to acknowledge advantages in life, refreshing or developing skills
and meeting a need.. In the same manner, it is important to understand why
people do not volunteer. Among the reasons are: lack of information about what
volunteer positions are available, misunderstanding about what volunteering
means, not having enough time, fear of commitment, undervaluing, or failing to
recognize their skills and cultural diversity.
During recruitment, organizations should also consider such factors as safety,
skills and commitment. For instance, organizations working with vulnerable
groups primarily consider safety issues. Many mentoring and other volunteer
programs require references and conduct police background checks.75
Recruitment Methods
In addition, some of the recruitment methods include:
i. By word-of-mouth from existing volunteers whose experience has been positive.
ii. Referrals for volunteer positions,
iii. Addressing community groups about the facts and benefits of volunteering,
iv. Seeking smaller volunteer groups that may welcome the advantages of merging
with a larger group,
v. Distributing volunteering information brochures/leaflets in the neighborhoods,
vi. Placing notices in the newsletters of local organizations, involving the media,
particularly local and community newspapers,
vii. Inviting the public to attend an open day and
viii. Using the internet are some of the methods listed in the book.
Maintenance of a stable, longterm volunteer workforce should be a major goal ofvolunteer management. This enables the organization to save time in recruiting
and training and to retain the confidence of paid staff in the volunteers. However,
75 Jean Baldwin Grossman and Kathryn Furano.Making the Most of Making Volunteers.(London: Public/Private Ventures, 2002) 4
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the approach to achieving this goal should not preclude or discourage volunteers
from entering and leaving the system to accommodate their lifestyles. Some of
the reasons why people cease volunteer activities include:
i. Over-commitment,
ii. Disenchantment due to lack of worthwhile activities, stimulating activities,
support, training, recognition and
iii. Changes in personal circumstances.
Another important element in recruiting volunteers is the use of Interview. A
well-conducted interview can help to create a good match between a volunteer
and a job.76
Mobilization as factor for voluntarism: One study on citizenship, civicengagement and civic voluntarism in Britain, examined a number of variables
underlying the civic voluntarism. These variables were personal efficacy, free
time, household income and mobilization. The study found that mobilization
(being invited to participate) stood out among others and was a significant factor
compared with other variables mentioned earlier. Based on the finding the authors
concluded that mobilization is a very consistent influence 77 on civic
volunteerism. The authors suggested that if people are asked to embark on a
certain activity, they are more likely to be active than those who are not asked.
They emphasized that this would particularly be more significant if they are asked
by a close acquaintance.78
2.7.4 Orientation
Induction, orientation and training of volunteers: An organization and members
of its volunteer program will benefit from formalizing the arrangement between
the individual and the organization. One way to achieve this is via a Statement of
Understanding for the volunteer to consider, discuss with the volunteer manager
76 Volunteering Australia, Working, 12
77 Charles Pattie, Patrick Seyd, and Paul Whiteley, Citizenship and Civic Engagement: Attitudes and
Behaviour in Britain (Political Studies 2003 VOL 51, March 2003) 461
78 Charles, Seyd and Whiteley, Citizenship 459-462
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and sign before taking up a position. Volunteers entering a new program will
benefit from a well-conceived introduction to the organization, the volunteer
management system and the practical aspects of joining a new workplace. During
the orientation process, volunteers should gain the sense that they have a special
place in the organization and that their skills are valued.79
2.7.5 Training and Development
No program can expect volunteers to just walk on the job without any
instruction. Nevertheless, a mistake that far too many programs make is to
underestimate the training needs of their volunteers. Volunteers initial
understanding of program goals and their role in achieving those goals shapes the
way in which they interact in their task.80
Volunteers need to obtain the knowledge and skills about the work to carry out
their responsibilities. Initially the organization should have methods for
identifying the training and development needs of its volunteers. The organization
also has to provide volunteers with written and verbal instruction on:
i. How to perform their tasks and responsibilities to the standards specified by the
organization;
ii. The relationship between their tasks and responsibilities and the overall goals or
mission of the organization;
iii. The implications of poor work performance on the customer and the organization
iv. In addition, there should be procedures that ensure that volunteers remain up to
date and fit for the purpose, with the necessary the skills and knowledge.81
2.7.6 Recognitions
Recognition of volunteers contribution is one salient feature that appears in much
of the literature as a determining factor in running volunteer programs. Charities
interested in increasing retention of volunteers should invest in recognizing
79 Volunteering Australia, Working, 30-32
80 Grossman and Furano,Making, 6
81 Volunteering Australia, National Standards for Involving Volunteers in Not-for-Profit
Organisations. 2nd ed. (Melbourne, Australia: Volunteering Australia Inc., 2001) 40-42
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volunteers, providing training and professional development for them, and
screening volunteers and matching them to organizational tasks. 82
Some of the ways to recognize volunteers contributions in either formal and
informal ways include the following: Encouragement to contribute to decision
making processes, developing volunteer roles, awards or certificates, thank you
letters, announcements in local newspapers, radios or