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TOGETHER WE RISE MEALS ON WHEELS ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXPO

AUGUST 31 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

INNOVATIONS IN

VOLUNTEER

ENGAGEMENT FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2016

JENNIFER BENNETT SENIOR MANAGER, EDUCATION & TRAINING

VOLUNTEERMATCH

TOGETHER WE RISE MEALS ON WHEELS

CONFERENCE AND EXPO

TOGETHER WE RISE MEALS ON WHEELS ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXPO

WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO HERE TODAY

Discuss and create action plans to address:

How organizational structure promotes and supports,

or restricts and limits volunteer engagement

Designing volunteer opportunities that meet the needs

of the organization as well as the needs of the

volunteer

Leveraging technology to create a more successful

volunteer engagement program

Final thoughts and next steps

WHAT ARE SOME

CHALLENGES YOU FACE

IN MAKING YOUR

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

SUSTAINABLE?


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT VOLUNTEERS?

When asked about what they look for in a

volunteer experience:

• make an impact (80% Hart 2010)

• fits my schedule (89% Hart 2010)

• find a cause they care about (91% Hart 2010)

Share the why and ensure that volunteers have

the flexibility information they want!

TOGETHER WE RISE TOGETHER WE RISE MEALS ON WHEELS ANNUAL CONFERENCE AND EXPO

WHAT DOES YOUR PROGRAM LOOK LIKE?

Cul-de-sac

• Nowhere to go when you

get there

Country Road

• If you hang in there it

goes somewhere,

eventually

Highway

• It’s a direct route to

impact and engagement


• Volunteers want to make an

impact with their

involvement

• Volunteers need flexibility

• Volunteers want to

understand

• Training & Experience,

Leadership Positions

• More types, levels of

involvement, diverse

positions

• Information, Recognition

and Impact

GIVING VOLUNTEERS WHAT THEY WANT


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


CREATE A HIGHWAY TO ENGAGEMENT

Volunteers want to make an impact with their

involvement

• Volunteer task lists replaced by meaningful, targeted

work, skills based

• Meaningful to the volunteer, important to the

organization

Volunteers need flexibility

• Does not imply that they can’t be dependable,

reliable, accountable

Volunteers want to understand

• Answer the question “Why?”


• Do volunteers know what

they need to do to be able

to fill each role in your

program?

• Is it clear how that happens, or is it mysterious or based on longevity?

• Do you offer those classes or have on the job experience checklists?

• Do you have opportunities

for volunteers to move into

leadership roles? In your

program? In the

organization?

• Shift leaders, committee leaders, subject matter experts, pro bono consultants

HOW WE PROVIDE IT


• One size doesn’t fit all

• Doesn’t allow for growth or

retraction as a volunteer’s

life changes

• Do you offer project based

opportunities, virtual

opportunities?

• Let volunteers help you!

• Volunteers know the

work that volunteers do

- empower them to

document or create the

foundation and flexibility

you need.

HOW WE PROVIDE IT


• New ideas or theories

in your impact area

• New policies,

practices or projects in

your program

• Milestones in your

organization

• Don’t just say thank you -

share the work the

volunteer has done

• Include clients in the thank

you message

• Spread the thank you

outside of your volunteer

program

• Social media, internal and

external communications

HOW WE PROVIDE IT


• Expand scope and reach of

messages

• Allow new volunteers to

participate or allow them to

participate in new ways

• Most tools & channels are

free or very low cost

• Great opportunity for skill-

building or cross-generation

mentoring

• May miss volunteers not

participating online

• Requires different approach

to volunteer training &

management when

volunteers are remote

• Online tools and channels

have learning curves and

may require specialized

knowledge

TECHNOLOGY TOOLS & RESOURCES TO HELP


• Social media campaigns

• Word of mouth through

Facebook, Twitter

• Active, dynamic volunteer

opportunity page on your

own website

• Online recruitment sites –

national, local/regional,

volunteer centers

• Online, on demand, training

and resources.

• YouTube, Facebook,

Pinterest

• Regular updates through

social media, targeted

messages to episodic

volunteers



• Short videos sharing stories

with a call to action –

recruitment, advocacy,

engagement with

organization, impact of

volunteers

• Info-graphics to highlight

work and outcomes

• Keep volunteers informed

and aware of activities

• Video chat for

screening/mentoring remote

volunteers

• Online collaboration &

tracking tools to facilitate

work



CONFERENCE AND EXPO


CREATE A PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THE WORK

When developing mission-driven work it is important to

create a connection to the work

• Some have the most personal connection

- Support others in the same way they were supported

- Can be powerful, but this motivation (like any other)

needs to be managed and those volunteers need to

practice good self-care

• This emotion, gratitude, can be a good example of why

this work matters

• Volunteers, clients, families – this is where our stories

about mission-driven work comes from


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


SHIFTING HOW YOU THINK ABOUT VOLUNTEERS

• Think about volunteers as being a key component to

your organization’s success

- Shift away from a traditional, nice to have, resource

• Instead of focusing on the “I just want to help”

statements ask volunteers about their motivations

- What are they getting out of volunteering? Can and

should be personal. Ask them to answer Why?

• Include impact and outcomes in your recognition

- Don’t just say thank you, share “because you

volunteered…”

WHAT BELIEFS OR

ASSUMPTIONS DO

YOU BRING TO YOUR

WORK WITH

VOLUNTEERS?

WHAT

ASSUMPTIONS OR

BELIEFS ABOUT

VOLUNTEERS HAVE

YOU ENCOUNTERED

IN YOUR

ORGANIZATION?


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


WHAT MAKES A CULTURE?

A shared set of:

Goals – actions or things to be accomplished

Values – ideas that are important, things that

matter

Beliefs – trust or confidence that someone or

some things are true


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


EXAMPLES

Volunteers are capable of creating real impact in our

organization

Engage volunteers in meaningful work

Open and transparent communication between

volunteers, paid staff, and clients

Understand and share the impacts and outcomes of

volunteers (not just #s and hours)

Create opportunities for volunteers to contribute and

learn

Engaging volunteers is how we connect our mission

and the needs of our clients to the community


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Why should we talk about a culture of volunteer

engagement?

• How is the current culture shaping your

organization’s engagement of volunteers?

• What could your organization accomplish if

you changed what it means to be a volunteer?

• What happens if you do nothing?

WHAT ARE THE

WRITTEN AND

UNWRITTEN GOALS,

VALUES, AND BELIEFS

YOUR ORGANIZATION

HOLDS ABOUT

VOLUNTEERS?

HOW ARE THESE GOALS,

VALUES, AND BELIEFS

SUPPORTING VOLUNTEER

ENGAGEMENT? LIMITING

ENGAGEMENT?


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


CRAFTING A NEW CULTURE

How can you shape or form your organization’s

volunteer engagement culture?

• You rarely have the luxury of starting from

scratch.

• It may take “generations” of volunteers and

paid staff to create the culture you want.

• A small group of people with dedication and

consistency can create a new culture.


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


WRITE IT DOWN

Outline the new goals, values, and beliefs

• There has to be buy-in and acknowledgement

of a culture of volunteer engagement

• Everyone can hear what they want – Putting it

in writing makes it clearer

• Talk about what they mean to volunteers, paid

staff, leadership

• Get rid of the unwritten rules and the things

that people “just know” – Be clear, open, and

honest


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


TRAIN ON THE CULTURE

Give your organization the tools to implement a new

way of thinking about volunteers.

• Help existing volunteers, paid staff understand how

this culture empowers them, engages them, depends

on them.

• Outline and share how work, roles, impacts change.

• Provide support and guidance as relationships, roles

change.

• Tell Stories! Use emotions to influence behaviors.


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DO AS I DO

Change happens over time

• It can’t be just talk, culture changes as you live it,

model it. “Act your way into believing”

• You have complete control over how you talk about

volunteers and volunteer engagement.

• How well do your (your organization’s) actions match

your goals, values, beliefs?

• Base recognition in the culture – how can they inform

recognition activities/events?

• Be transparent about challenges, mistakes, failures.


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


FOLLOW THROUGH

Both good and bad behaviors/actions need to be

recognized.

• Tell the stories of success, but tell the stories with

“morals” too.

• If you said there would be consequences, then there

have to be consequences.

• Accept your realities – you can’t change it if you don’t

face it.

• Acknowledge sub-cultures – as long as they’re

aligned with your core goals, values, beliefs

HOW CAN YOU BETTER

MODEL AN INCLUSIVE

CULTURE OF VOLUNTEER

ENGAGEMENT FOR

OTHERS IN YOUR

ORGANIZATION?


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


FIRST STEPS

Focus on where you can go and what you can do

together.

• Try not to continue to focus on the problems or how

things used to be.

Work to create a new volunteer engagement

vocabulary.

• Our volunteers, impact, collaboration, etc.

Lead the way – model the goals, values, and beliefs

• Volunteers, paid staff, clients or members


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


REMEMBER:

Keep your eye on the results – are you accomplishing

what you want to?

• Are you living your culture or is it just lip service?

Tell Stories! Inform the next generation of paid staff and

volunteers

Ask why not? What’s the problem or concern?

• What if we shared this with volunteers? What would

happen? What would the harm be?


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


RESOURCES FOR CREATING CULTURE

Strategy+Business

10 Principles of Organizational Culture

http://www.strategy-business.com/article/10-Principles-

of-Organizational-Culture

Society for Human Resource Management

https://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/employeerelations/ar

ticles/pages/corporate-culture.aspx


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


FINAL THOUGHTS & NEXT STEPS

What are the immediate needs or top priorities in your

organization?

• Use the mission-driven volunteer opportunity

worksheet to rethink (or change they way you talk

about) your opportunities.

• What do you need to know to determine the current

culture around volunteer engagement? What actions

can you take to shift this culture?

• Investigate what types of technology your current

volunteers are using. How can you create more

opportunities or stronger relationships with new and

existing volunteers with online tools?


QUESTIONS?

Senior Manager, Education &

Training

VolunteerMatch

[email protected]

CONTACT ME:


CONFERENCE AND EXPO


REMINDER:

• Please remember to fill out

the course evaluation on

our App!

• You can access the survey

by going to the course your

Conference App and

selecting “Survey”

• Fill out your responses and

then hit “Finish”

• Thank you!

together we rise - mealsonwheelsamerica.org · annual conference and expo train on the culture give...

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