Volunteers: The Air We Breathe
•Download as PPTX, PDF•
1 like•2,232 views
April 10-16, 2016 is National Volunteer Appreciation Week…and because we love volunteers, we’re celebrating all month long. On Thursday, April 7 thought leader Peter Houstle, CEO of Mariner Management shared his perspective on why volunteers are the indispensable human link to the professions and industries we serve. They are the air we breathe — subject matter experts, “free” labor, and our bosses. The webinar also included an exploration of data and examples of how organizations can make this relationship a true win-win: ▪︎ Real world examples of successful volunteer management programs for a variety of association sizes and structures; ▪︎ Essential attributes of highly effective volunteer management systems that will work best for your association;
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (20)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (7)
Similar to Volunteers: The Air We Breathe
Similar to Volunteers: The Air We Breathe (20)
More from Higher Logic
More from Higher Logic (19)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Volunteers: The Air We Breathe
- 1. Volunteers: The Air We Breathe 1
- 2. Your guide today … Peter Houstle CEO, Mariner Management 2
- 4. Available from ASAE www.asaecenter.org & www.the millennialimpact.com
- 5. Get the white paper: http://bit.ly/13Wwe1F
- 7. Goal: Identify attributes of a volunteer management program that lead to mutual benefit between the association and the volunteer? • Phase I: Staff Survey – Completed January 2016 (1,016 Associations) • Phase II: Member Volunteer Survey – In progress (Over 20,000 Volunteers from 50 Associations) • Phase III: Performance Audit – May-July 2016 • Summary Report at ASAE Annual Conference in August 2016 • Final Report – Early Fall 2016 Volunteer Research Project
- 8. Plug in Increase Value Increase retention Increase acquisition
- 12. The Committee Model Is Broken Reality looks more like this: Source: The Mission Driven Volunteer – Peggy Hoffman & Elizabeth Weaver
- 15. Not …
- 16. vol·un·teer /ˌvälənˈtir/ verb giving one’s time & talent to drive mission
- 18. CREATINGPROMOTING GOVERNINGCONSUMING SERVING viewing, reading, attending liking, sharing, recommending contributing, commenting, responding to surveys volunteering in non- governing role volunteering in a leadership role Participatory & supportive; counted as a member of the community Validating your association, your content, your mission Directly (e.g. speaks, writes, completes surveys, comments) or Indirectly (e.g. Member-owned blogs, white papers, webinars) Ad-hoc, micro, committee or TF member Board, committee chair, TF chair
- 19. Time/Flexibility
- 20. prefer ad hoc or episodic volunteering
- 21. Not …
- 22. Source: Decision To Volunteer, ASAE
- 23. getting involved is cyclical … tied to family & profession stages
- 24. Poor volunteer management = “voluntears”
- 25. Motivation
- 28. Its about the cause, the people … and me
- 29. Work Styles
- 30. We think differently, work differently, speak differently … on our way to the same place
- 31. 31
- 32. Connect with CAUSES not organizations
- 33. 4 in 5 motivated by a passion for a cause 56% opt to work with like- minded people
- 36. 46% volunteered to lend pro bono skills and expertise
- 37. Connect through Learning … Lifelong Learners
- 41. Be flexible
- 46. Be motivational
- 56. Switch from giving direction to defining the goal
- 57. Open to new structures, new formats
- 61. What accessible volunteering options do you have?
- 62. Accessible! Connecting with Members: • Provide professional advice • Provide coaching, tutoring for members • Get out the vote – share the buzz to drive member voting (SCTE) • Day of Service – encourage member to volunteer in their community Sharing Knowledge: • Writing reviews for books • Guest blogger or contributor • Participate in expert report • Moderate or facilitate discussion groups (list serv, e-community) • YouTube Tuesdays - members share tips & information via short video clips (NCURA) Representing: • Contact your representative • Campus liaison (or company or large institutional member) Sharing Input: • Participate as test audience for videos, training programs et al • Product tester • Beta-test products, website, tests Curating Content: • Record a discussion at a session round table • Video-tape or take pictures for association event • Provide live Twitter chatter during meetings Events (perfect for your components!): • Greeters – welcome attendees and direct them toward registration, coat check, seating, and so on • Front desk – check in attendees when they arrive • Social media guides – at computer stations, help attendees log in to LinkedIn and join the organization's group More examples at http:// bit.ly/1KPRGGL
- 64. See the job description: http://bit.ly/1IjKuYZ
- 65. What will you do in the next week to act on what you learned today?
- 66. Let’s connect … Peter Houstle CEO Mariner Management 301-725-2508 phoustle@marinermanagement.com
Editor's Notes
- POLL: What percentage of your members volunteer for your association? Options: less than 10% About ¼ of members About 1/3rd of members About 50% of members More than 50% Rule of thumb*: 1/3 currently engaged (that means even on a 1-up task), 1/3 recently, 1/3 uninvolved Interesting that this is a metric rarely measured. Research** – where members reported their activity – indicates 14.6% assn members involved in governance while another 15.5% in an ad hoc role *Source: 10 Lessons for Cultivating Member Commitment, ASAE 2012 – DTV 2007 and repeat late 2011 ** Source: Decision To Volunteer, ASAE 2008
- Visit www.themillennialimpact.com/2014-research http://cdn.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/AchieveMCON2013/Research%20Report/Millennial%20Impact%20Research%202013-%20Executive%20Summary.pdf
- ASAE Annual Conference - August 2016
- Why important? Drives growth! Performing one simple task for the association moves perception of the assn value up substantially – from 38% to 44% on NPS scale (Source: 10 Lessons, ASAE 2012) 15% of dropped members cited lack of involvement, only budget cuts was cited more often at 18% (Source: Marketing General Inc 2013 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report) BETTER ENGAGEMENT MEANS BETTER RENEWALS according to MGI Research shows that in the past year members who …upgraded their membership to a higher level of service were 12% more likely to renew …ordered a product in the past year were 28% more likely to renew …were also chapter members were 17% more likely to renew …attended an association meeting in the past year were 19% more likely to renew …attended four or more meetings were 30% more likely to renew
- Here’s the problem – the old model doesn’t fit! • It ignores the reality of generational differences. • It handcuffs organizational decision-making. • It limits opportunities for involvement.
- • It ignores the reality of generational differences.
- POLL: What’s your generation? Not Sayin’ – Silent (pre 1945) Already Said Too Much - Boomer (1945-64) Gen Xibitionist (1961-81) Gen Ynot (1975 or so -95 or so) Gen Zzzzz (1995 or so…) No Clue
- http://bit.ly/13Wwe1F
- Today’s volunteer is looking for meaning not
- Handcuffs (those multi-year, big jobs)
- Refocused definition draws on two intrinsic motivations to volunteer, with the focus on the outcomes of volunteering and the functions needed to drive those outcomes The NEW definition of volunteer is giving one’s time and talent to drive mission. This new definition draws on two intrinsic motivations to volunteer, with the focus on the outcomes of volunteering and the functions needed to drive those outcomes. This turns the image of volunteering, which traditionally starts with a Board and trickles down or begins with the job title and then the description, upside down.
- And it’s based on a continuum of engagement …
- Addresses 3 challenges
- 1: Time & Flexibility Time = both in terms of how much and when Flexibility = where, how
- Think short-term, easy to complete tasks Maybe reoccurring but not long-term
- Jail terms
- Top 5 reasons for not volunteering (ASAE, Decision To Volunteer) include the critical lack of ad-hoc oppty! 1. Lack of Information about Opportunities to Volunteer 2. Conflict with other volunteering activity 3. Never asked to volunteer 4. Lack of information about virtual volunteering 5. Lack of information about short-term assignments
- This is important to note … the magic age is 30 Why, perhaps: Settled down a it Clarified their career intentions Come to understand how and the importance of fueling requirements for that But what does Source: ASAE, 10 Lessons, 2012; Generations & The Future of Association Participation, William E. Smith Institute for Association research (2006) based on Social Capital & Community Benchmark Study, 2000 and Syracuse University similar study, 2004
- The key reasons people don’t volunteer are not outside our control. We can change this picture! There are many things we do and don’t do that are the culprits of low recruitment, low retention, poor performance
- #2: Motivation – and it may surprise you.
- POLL: Do you survey your members or your volunteer pool about why they volunteer? Yes Not specifically, but we do have a volunteer satisfaction survey Not yet, but considering No Have you … you should ASAE did …
- Which means it has to address both sides …
- Top 5 Drivers for Volunteering (ASAE, Decision To Volunteer) – are largely outward-facing!
- #3: With 4 generations in the workplace, 2 of which are often referred to digital natives … the third shift is work styles I don’t like to look at this as generational but rather as diversity … especially since we know that younger generations are not that different when it comes to the why
- Let’s pause and talk specifically about the digital generation
- Connect with causes not organizations – it’s up to us to inspire. Facts from Achieve's 2013 Millennial Impact Report to support: -- 4 in 5 motivated by opportunity to work on a cause passionate about -- 56% because they would work with like-minded people http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/nonprofit-millennial-stats-list
- Social -- Sharers & contributors (social media) – so meet them where they are! Build on this. Also remember that they are used to e-communications. Since Millennials are more likely participate in cause work when their peers are involved, creating a team-based service project or volunteer event nurtures their desire for peer interaction. (Millennial Impact Report) Millennials - gather more in a homing pigeon way ... like birds just land. not as much of a structure. average tenure 18 months in job Facts to support (Achieve's 2013 Millennial Impact Report) -- ½ follow 1-5 nonprofits while ¾ like, retweet or share -- 39% prefer nonprofit that connect via social media … http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/nonprofit-millennial-stats-list
- Skill-based (vs place-based) volunteering. Fact to support: -- 46% because they could lend pro bono skills and expertise http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/nonprofit-millennial-stats-list
- Lifelong learners – and pragmatic (they can do good & improve) so fuse skill-building. Think resume-building.
- Moving fast! What does your group look like … easy to connect, easy to find, easy to see on a smart phone? Streamline – make the meetings, the training, the orientations etc easy and efficient More than half of respondents indicated they're annoyed when they're not able to find nonprofit details, like contact information, quickly and easily.
- POLL: What volunteer opportunities do you offer members? Traditional governance roles (e.g. board, committee with annual terms) Task force and project team assignments (limited or shorter-term engagement) Virtual volunteer roles (short or longer term) One-time volunteer opportunities (can be served in one or very limited commitment) All of the above Should answer “all of the above!”
- Strategy #1: Be Flexible: Focus on “Associating”
- Embrace micro-volunteering – ad-hoc jobs, job-sharing, shorter terms Harness technology to engage members & streamline the volunteer job Create volunteer portals so its easy to find options & sign-up
- Example: short-term & virtual leveraging technology – Higher Logic Match seasoned w/new How do I use seasoned & activate newbies Grassroots evolution, 6-month program Starts quarterly Coach involvement Key to success: 3 FPA-led calls Kick-off w/ mentors &mentees 2-month check-in (separately) Wrap-up: celebrating successes w/ mentors & mentees
- Example: make it easy to sign up and get alerts Source: ASAE, https://www.asaecenter.org/gettrilogy.cfm?ItemNumber=52403
- Example: make it easy to sign up and get alerts Source: ASAE, https://www.asaecenter.org/gettrilogy.cfm?ItemNumber=52403
- Strategy #2: Be Motivational: Create the balance of good for the order / good for me
- Sell the need to care about the good of the profession Sharpen the personal benefits … creates a balanced package
- Recast Volunteerism: to paint an inclusive picture
- Sources: ONS Participate: http://www.ons.org/Membership/Participate PMI Get Involved: http://www.pmi.org/Get-Involved.aspx
- Legal technology association
- Sources: American Chemical Society Get Involved, Stay Involved: http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/membership-and-networks/acs/getinvolved.html Parental Drug Association Membership-Volunteer Opps: http://www.pda.org/Membership/Volunteer-Opportunities.aspx
- Strategy #3: Be outcome focused
- Example: Member launched group (volunteer-created & -run site) 2009, around 3,500 2010, more than 10,000 Today – nearly 150K
- Example: members coming together Untech – saved the Tech Conference in 2010 Virtual Volunteer Wiki – gave a play space to a small group of members # of members served: hundreds!
- How do we act on this? Accessible Volunteering Fresh communications
- What makes this work is to throw away the committee that looks only at the national slate …
- Volunteer Talent Scout Let’s be sure our volunteers can be the best they can be!
- What will you do in the next week to act on what you learned today? (Chat only)
- For more information, explanations or questions, contact me. Also visit the blog at www.marinermanagement.com