DISSERTATION FINAL2

Christopher Marc Garrett 2012
UNIVERSITY CAMPUS SUFFOLK
BA (Hons) Business Management with Human
Resource Management
Academic Year 2012
CHRISTOPHER MARC GARRETT
“Human Resource Management in the Third-
Sector: Strategies for recruiting, rewarding and
retaining volunteers”.

CHRISTOPHER MARC GARRETT
“Human Resource Management in the Third-
Sector: Strategies for recruiting, rewarding
and retaining volunteers”.

ABSTRACT
Government cuts have threatened the provision of services available to communities through
the act of volunteering. Without the input of non-profit organisations and their volunteers,
vulnerable members of the community will inevitably be left to suffer from the lack of
support and services which the free market fails to provide. Benefits of prosocial behaviour to
the volunteer themselves can be tremendous, however during tough economic climates; the
balance of benefits to the volunteer and to the volunteering organisation needs to be stabilised
by maximising the skills and expertise that each volunteer brings to their role. The aim of this
research study is to identify the key factors that encourage volunteers to expend their time and
efforts in prosocial behaviour and how they are rewarded for doing so. Volunteer managers
need to gain a better understanding of how the concentration of human resource management
activities will allow non-profit organisations to build a sustainable workforce of volunteers to
maximise the mission and objectives of the organisation. Using the Volunteer Functions
Inventory, it is possible to anticipate the motivations of a specific target audience of
volunteers and to effectively place them within the organisation in order to match needs and
expectations thus strengthening volunteer satisfaction and commitment. Recommendations
provide useful insights as to how managers can make the best use of human resource activities.
This paper will also be used to inform the Suffolk Volunteering Strategy.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am truly indebted to each and every individual for their help, support and contributions in
order to make this paper a success. First of all I would like to thank my dissertation supervisor
Garry Bastin for his expert knowledge and professional support from start to finish; without
Garry’s guidance I would not have learnt so many invaluable lessons. Next I would like to
show appreciation to Wendy Herber of SAVO whose initial inspiration sparked the fire to
make this paper such a success, and for providing such fantastic contacts.
Most importantly I would like to thank Carrie-Ann Brown of Anglia Care Trust, Claire
Lansley of St Elizabeth Hospice, Malin Holm of Catch 22, Chantelle Welham of Live Well
Suffolk, Lucinda Rogers from the Suffolk Refugee Support Forum and Amanda Blunden of
United Response. Your time and input has been truly acknowledged and I hope that this paper
will provide you with some fresh insights. Lastly I must thank all of the volunteers who took
the time to complete my questionnaire.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction …………………………………………………… Page 1
2.0 Literature Review …………………………………………… Page 3
2.1 What is a volunteer …………………………………… Page 3
2.2 The Impact of Volunteerism …………………………… Page 4
2.3 Non-profit Management …………………………… Page 5
2.4 Human Resource Management …………………… Page 7
2.5 Recruitment and Selection …………………………… Page 7
2.6 Reward and Motivation …………………………… Page 8
2.7 Volunteer Motivation …………………………… Page 11
2.8 Creating Organisational Commitment …………… Page 13
3.0 Research Methodology …………………………………… Page 16
3.1 Preliminary literature review …………………………… Page 16
3.2 Critical literature review …………………………… Page 17
3.3 Research Philosophy and Approach …………………… Page 17
3.4 Research Strategy …………………………………… Page 18
3.5 Respondents …………………………………………… Page 19
3.6 Ethical considerations …………………………… Page 20
3.7 Data Analysis …………………………………… Page 20
3.8 Literature Sources …………………………………… Page 21
3.9 Parameters of research …………………………… Page 22
3.10 Keywords …………………………………………… Page 22
4.0 Findings …………………………………………………… Page 23
4.1 Motivations to volunteer …………………………… Page 23
4.2 Values …………………………………………… Page 25
4.3 Understanding …………………………………… Page 25
4.4 Esteem …………………………………………… Page 25
4.5 Career …………………………………………… Page 26
4.6 Social …………………………………………… Page 26
4.7 Protective …………………………………………… Page 26
4.8 Other motivational factors …………………………... Page 27
4.9 Recruitment and Selection …………………………… Page 28
4.10 Application and Recruitment processes …………… Page 29
4.11 Volunteer Reward …………………………………… Page 31
4.12 Volunteer Retention …………………………………… Page 34
4.13 Training and Development …………………………… Page 36
5.0 Analysis …………………………………………………… Page 38
6.0 Conclusion …………………………………………………… Page 46
7.0 Recommendations …………………………………………… Page 49
8.0 Limitations of research …………………………………… Page 49
o References …………………………………………………… Page 50
o Bibliography …………………………………………………… Page 56
o Appendices …………………………………………………… Page 64

TABLE OF CHARTS
 Chart 1……………………………………………………… Page 19
 Chart 2……………………………………………………… Page 19
 Chart 3……………………………………………………… Page 20
 Chart 4……………………………………………………… Page 20
 Chart 5……………………………………………………… Page 22
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1 ……………………………………………………… Page 84
Figure 2 ……………………………………………………… Page 84
Figure 4 ……………………………………………………… Page 84
Figure 5 ……………………………………………………… Page 84
Figure 6 ……………………………………………………… Page 85
Figure 7 ……………………………………………………… Page 85
Figure 8 ……………………………………………………… Page 85
Figure 10 ……………………………………………………… Page 26
Figure 11 ……………………………………………………… Page 85
Figure 13 ……………………………………………………… Page 86
Figure 14 ……………………………………………………… Page 27
Figure 16 ……………………………………………………… Page 86
Figure 17 ……………………………………………………… Page 86
Figure 18 ……………………………………………………… Page 86
Figure 19 ……………………………………………………… Page 87
Figure 20 ……………………………………………………… Page 32
Figure 22 ……………………………………………………… Page 87
Figure 23 ……………………………………………………… Page 33
Figure 25 ……………………………………………………… Page 87
Figure 26 ……………………………………………………… Page 88
Figure 27 ……………………………………………………… Page 88
Figure 28 ……………………………………………………… Page 88
Figure 33 ……………………………………………………… Page 34
Figure 35 ……………………………………………………… Page 88
Figure 36 ……………………………………………………… Page 89
Figure 37 ……………………………………………………… Page 89
Figure 38 ……………………………………………………… Page 89
Figure 40 ……………………………………………………… Page 36
Figure 41 ……………………………………………………… Page 89
Figure 43 ……………………………………………………… Page 90
Figure 44 ……………………………………………………… Page 90
Figure 47 ……………………………………………………… Page 90
Figure 48 ……………………………………………………… Page 29
Figure 49 ……………………………………………………… Page 30
Figure 50 ……………………………………………………… Page 30
Figure 51 ……………………………………………………… Page 31

TABLE OF APPENDICES
 Appendix 1: Volunteerism Survey ………………………………… Page 65
 Appendix 2: Volunteer Manager Interview Topics ………………. Page 68
 Appendix 3: Ethical consent forms ………………………………… Page 69
 Appendix 4: Volunteer Manager Interview findings ………………. Page 76
 Appendix 5: Grammatical Results ………………………………… Page 84
 Appendix 6: Chi-squared tests ………………………………… Page 91
 Appendix 7: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ……………………….... Page 92
 Appendix 8: Volunteer Functions Inventory ……………………….. Page 93

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
“If you laid all the volunteers in Suffolk end to end… where would you reach?
It might not be the moon, but it would be to the hardest, darkest, most
disadvantaged parts of the County’s communities” (Moore, cited in Herber
& Hack, 2011, p.2)
Volunteering has quite possibly never been as important as it is in today’s society.
Government cuts have placed significant threats on some of the most crucial services that are
offered to vulnerable members of the community through volunteering. It is for these reasons
that there has now become a need for volunteering to evolve from being of benefit to the
volunteer themselves, to more of a mutual benefit to the volunteer, the volunteering
organisation and each service user. Volunteering is reciprocal in the way it can benefit the
volunteer in a multitude of ways, but is also incredibly beneficial for the effective delivery of
services that the free-market fails to provide. The overall aim of this study is to explore the
motivational forces that individuals associate with engaging in prosocial activity, to further
previous studies to understand the importance that volunteers place on a range of reward
practices such as recognition, empowerment and involvement and to use this understanding
to help to alleviate retention issues. To reach this aim the objectives are to:
• Conduct a preliminary review of the literature around the topic of volunteerism in order
to identify potential areas for further research.
• Complete an in-depth literature review in order gain further knowledge of volunteerism
and to explore how aspects of volunteer management such as recruitment and selection,
motivation, reward and retention are likened to theoretical concepts within human
resource management (HRM) practices in the for-profit sector.
• Conduct primary research in the form of self-administered questionnaires to assess
volunteer motives and preferential reward practices.
• Conduct primary research in the form of non-directive/semi-structured interviews with
volunteer managers/coordinators in order to explore concepts such as recruitment and
selection, reward, training and development, retention and the impact of volunteering.

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• Critically analyse the results of the primary and secondary findings in order to identify
areas of current HRM practices which could be improved to better understand
volunteer motivations and reward preferences in order to improve retention.
• Conclude and make recommendations as to how volunteer organisations may be able
improve their understanding of the psychological attachments associated with
volunteering in order to effectively recruit and place volunteers to improve retention.
An in-depth literature review will allow the reader to understand aspects of volunteerism and
non-profit management which are encapsulated within the broader topic of human resource
management. From then on the author will illustrate the way in which the research study has
been conducted, using a combination of research strategies such as questionnaires and
interviews alongside an evaluation of secondary data found in academic/professional journals
and industry reports. This will then allow the author to identify areas of volunteer
management which are somewhat ill-understood or ineffective in order to draw conclusions.
Research will show that evaluating the motivational forces that volunteers associate with
prosocial behaviour will allow volunteer managers to effectively recruit, place and reward
individuals in a way that will create greater satisfaction and commitment to the organisation
and its missions and objectives. The final section will provide recommendations as to how
the findings and conclusions of this study can be used for the future recruitment, motivation
and retention of volunteers in the non-profit sector.

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2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
The following section will review the literature that was used to inform this research paper.
Firstly the literature will assess definitions of what a volunteer is and what they do, the impact
of volunteering to both the organisation and the economy followed by a brief review of some
of the issues that are associated with non-profit management. The subsequent sections will
assess theories of Human Resource Management such as recruitment, selection, motivation
and reward for both non-profit and for-profit organisations.
2.1 What is a volunteer?
“Volunteers are the cornerstones on which the voluntary sector is predicated” (Handy, et al.
2000, p.1) however, the definition of a volunteer is highly complex, since there are numerous
activities that “are hidden within the broad term” (Burlingame, 2004, p.490) of which is often
used too widely to be able to incorporate all scenarios (Handy, et al. 2000). Volunteerism
stems from a form of social action, where an individual takes time to engage in activities that
benefit others (Snyder & Omoto, 2008). The recipient of this help is usually an individual,
group or organisation that is unrelated to the volunteer (CVS Arunwide, 2012). Volunteering
brings no financial gain to the individual who devotes their time, but benefits the receiving
party or service user (Papadakis, et al. 2004). Volunteerism is consistent with “long-term,
planned, prosocial behaviours that benefit strangers”, comprised of four key attributes;
longevity, planfulness, non-obligatory helping and an organizational context (Penner, 2002).
Longevity is important in volunteering, and is used as a key to distinguish it from other kinds
of help, however, volunteering is always ultimately performed in order to benefit a cause or
individual that “desires assistance” (Synder & Omoto, 2008, p.3). Volunteers carry out unpaid
‘help’ over time within an organisation or a group, willingly and without any coercion
(Oppenheimer, 2008). Moreover, Low, et al. (2007) states that volunteering not only helps an
individual or a group who can be related or unrelated, but can also help the environment.
Volunteering can be seen as a form of human altruism, which is a “long-term and organized
activity for the benefit of others”; where altruism translates to “for the other” in Latin (Haski-
Leventhal, 2009, p.271). Volunteering is an activity or motivational desire to increase the
welfare of other people (Baston, 1991, p.6 cited in Haski-Leventhal, 2009). The anti-social

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and altruistic nature of volunteering highlights a degree of welfare sacrifice on the part of the
volunteer, since the benefit they create is greater to the receiver rather than the volunteer
(Monroe, 1996), however, Wilson (2000) recognises that the longevity of volunteering also
benefits the volunteer in a number of ways, which are personable to each individual, since
volunteering is a free act of giving. Cnaan, et al. (1996) cited in Handy, et al. (2000) identify
free choice, remuneration, structure and intended beneficiaries as being four important
dimensions that are commonplace when analysing the numerous definitions of a volunteer.
Moreover, Handy, et al. (2000) use the net-cost approach which hypothesises that when the
act of volunteering generates a higher cost and lower benefit to the individual volunteering, it
is considered more of a volunteer activity opposed to when the cost of an activity is lower and
the benefit is greater. Smith (1982, cited in Burlingame, 2004) found that volunteering
encompasses a range of variables which can summarise a volunteer as;
“an individual engaging in behaviour that is not bio-socially determined, nor
economically necessitated, nor socio-politically compelled, but rather that is
essentially motivated by the expectation of psychic benefits of some kind as a
result of activities that have a market value greater than any remuneration
received for such activities”.
2.2 The Impact of Volunteerism
Defining and understanding the function of a volunteer is a difficult concept to grasp
(Burlingame, 2004), however, understanding the impact and performance of volunteerism has
proven to be much the same, since assessing its empirical and definitive impact is almost
impossible (Salamon, et al. 2000). Non-profit organisations have no focus on profit, allowing
them to exhibit a greater degree of quality in their services, and since they are not driven by
the bottom line it is far easier for such organisations to innovate and adapt as well as push for
governmental changes which come from their strong advocacy (Salamon, et al. 2000).
Voluntary organisations differ from organisations in the for-profit sector because they are
protected from the “rigours of the market as they have no indicator of net profit or stock
market price to measure their performance… many voluntary organizations lack democratic
governance”, however conceptually and empirically this does create difficulty when
attempting to assess performance (Kendall & Knapp, 2000b, p.106). According to Wisner, et
al. (2005) the ratio of volunteers to employees in 71 non-for-profit agencies in the US was 1.1
volunteers to 1 employee.

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Kendall and Knapp (2000a) indicate the economic contribution of third sector activities in
1995 by aggregating the hours of all the 16 million volunteers; yielding 1.7 million FTE
employees; and when considered in workforce statistics, provided 12.3% of the UK
economy’s human resources, expending £47.1 billion; approximately 6.6% of UK GDP.
Comparatively, in the United States in 2000, approximately 44% of the adult population
engaged in some form of volunteering, contributing 15.6 billion hours of volunteer service,
which exceeds the monetary value of $239.2 billion (Snyder & Omoto (2008). The Cabinet
Office of the Third Sector report carried out by Low, et al. (2007) evaluated volunteering
research carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) in partnership with
the Institute for Volunteering (IVR) in 2006/7, which found that approximately 59% of the
respondents in the UK had formally volunteered at least once in the last year, estimating the
economic value of formal volunteering to be around £38.9 billion. The societal benefits of
volunteerism is vast, and ranges from filling gaps in the provision of services that the
government fails to provide to creating social links between diverse groups found within the
community (Phillips & Phillips, 2010).
2.3 Non-profit management
Given the size and scale of the economic contribution of volunteering, many authors remain
surprisingly sceptical with regards to the management of volunteers in the non-profit sector,
since it is “often ill understood because we do not understand these organisations… because
we operate from the wrong assumptions about how non-profit organisations function” (Anheir,
2000). In the early 1990’s Drucker (1990) wrote about the management of non-profit
organisations, indicating that management was seen as a bad thing for non-profits as it came
across as a ‘business’ term, which did not apply to them as they had no bottom line. Drucker
(1990, p.x) also recognised that there was limited help available to non-profit institutions with
regards to leadership and management since “most of it was originally developed for the need
of business. Little of it pays any attention to the distinct characteristics of the non-profits or to
their specific central needs”.
Holmes (2004) discusses how volunteerism is viewed along two paradigms, one of which is
the economic model where the volunteer fills the gaps in the provision of goods or services
which the free market fails to provide, and secondly through the leisure model, which

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assumes that the volunteer is hostile to procedures and supervision that tend to treat them
more as an unpaid employee. Liao-Troth (2008, p.10) discusses how non-profit organisations
do not emphasise the importance of volunteer management stating that “they will not do a
good job of recruiting, satisfying, retaining and mobilizing volunteers for service” because
other activities such as accounting, fundraising and service delivery are always thought to be
of greater importance. Volunteer development is based on recognising learner needs and
assessing their orientation to learning and motivation as well as their learning style, to create a
psychological and physical climate which allows the involvement of the volunteer in
diagnosing and implementing their learning requirements using collaborative activities (Kerka,
2003). Wisner, et al. (2005) state that orientation and training will help the volunteer
understand the philosophies behind organisational priorities by providing volunteers with the
skills and knowledge which are needed to support the organisational mission.
Herman (2005, pp.310-311) illustrates that volunteer programs in non-profit organisations are
not simply about recruiting, training, motivating and recognising volunteers, but it is about
“the groundwork the organization must first lay for an effective program… how it plans to
involve and integrate citizen participants… for increasing their effectiveness”. Herman (2005)
continues to say that the recruitment of volunteers should actually be seen as the third stage,
firstly management must determine why they need volunteers, and secondly they must ensure
to design meaningful work assignments for these volunteers. Kerka (2003) states that
volunteers need to adapt their knowledge, skills and abilities in order to intensify their
performance, which can come as part of training but is a continuous, long-term process.
Grossman & Furano (2002) cited in Liao-Troth (2008) state that without sufficient
management and internal infrastructure, volunteers will be ineffective; or at worst will
become withdrawn and potentially damaging to service users. Service users of voluntary
organisations are in plentiful supply; however, the supply of volunteers is declining,
especially when those that withdraw completely from volunteering are not being replaced.
Therefore it is imperative that volunteer management understands the importance of
volunteering, motivational functions to become a volunteer, and what sustains long-term
volunteering (Bussell & Forbes, 2004). Millesen, et al. (2010, p.6) discuss how leadership is
important for non-profit organisations since it “refers to the ability of the board and the
executive to lead, inspire and motivate”. “Explicit policies for the volunteer program help to

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congeal the psychological contract, linking volunteers to the agency and thus reduce
withdrawal and turnover” (Herman, 2005, p.316).
2.4 Human Resource Management (HRM)
The central concern for all managers within any workplace is the management of human
resources, where “the effective deployment and motivation of employees at all levels is the
crucial factor which will give or deny the competitive edge” (Molander & Winterton, 1994,
p.1). HRM plays an important role in the strategic direction and planning of any organisation,
where its style and emergence since the recession of the 1980’s is greatly discussed by many
authors (Beardwell, et al. 2004). HRM is associated with the internal holding environment of
the organisation; also known as its culture, which is where the shared set of beliefs, values
and assumptions are held by the employees about the organisation (Stapley, 1996). Before the
1980’s the HRM function was predominantly known as ‘personnel management’; a place
where there was a considerable gulf between personnel staff and operational management,
which meant corporate goals were not being achieved effectively. However, the economic
conditions of the 1980’s forced the need for “managerial value for money”, which saw the
decentralisation of personnel activities, focussing more on the relationships between HRM
professionals and operational managers (Molander & Winterton, 1994, p.8). Ultimately, the
function of Human Resource Management is to ensure that the organisation not only has the
right people, but the knowledge and ability of how to deploy these people within the
organisation to meet the aims of objectives of the corporate strategy (Beardwell, et al. 2004;
Molander & Winterton, 1994; Armstrong, 2002).
2.5 Recruitment and Selection
“The development of HRM is a response to the realization that competitive edge can only be
achieved through the efforts of highly effective and well-motivated staff”, therefore
organisations must ensure that this is reflected in effective recruitment and selection
procedures (Molander & Winterton, 1994, p.64; Beardwell, et al. 2004). Organisations must
adapt the way in which they seek to find potential employees and how they are integrated into
the company in order to respond to changes in the external environment (Cooper, et al. 2003).
It is the role of management to ensure that the individual appointed into a role is the best for

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the team as well as the organisation, failure to do so could potentially have detrimental effects
on employee-customer relationships and the quality of the service delivered (Dale, 2003).
Catano, et al. (2010, p.3) state that recruitment and selection should be part of the
organisations best practice and not simply done through “hunches, guesses or unproven
practices” and must “involve the ethical treatment of job applicants”.
Bach (2005, p.115) discusses how Frederick Taylor was one of the first management writers
who believed that individuals should be selected for particular roles in accordance to their
“skills and abilities which should be tested prior to the selection decision”. However, more
recent management practices do not simply rely only on physical skills and ability, but also on
the social or “soft skills” that are important to service industries of today, since it is such skills
that enable the employee and the customer to interact and build effective relationships (Bach,
2005; Beardwell, et al. 2004). Once the right person has been selected for a specific role,
management must overcome to next hurdle of how to motivate the people. Herzberg (1987)
cited in Hollyforde & Whiddett (2002, p.3) states that a “kick in the pants” is not motivation,
this is simply a movement, and that “the drive pushing or pulling the person to act in a
particular way is motivation”.
2.6 Reward and Motivation
Employee reward is a topic which has caused considerable controversy both inside and
outside of the organisation (Perkins & White, 2008). Armstrong (2002, p.3) states that
“reward is about how people are rewarded in accordance to their value to an organisation”,
whereas Beardwell et al. (2004, p.500) approach the subject from more of a philanthropic
angle, by discussing how management have to evolve the nature of the employment
relationship from an “effort/reward bargain” to one that “converts the labour potential in the
labour market, into the labour performance they desire”.
Armstrong & Murlis (2007, p.3) define reward management as “the formulation and
implementation of strategies and policies that aim to reward people fairly, equitably and
consistently in accordance with their value to the organization”. However, Lewis, et al. (2003,
p.312) describes employee reward as being at “the very core of the employment contract
because it represents the consideration that flows from the performance of the contract”.
Lewis et al. (2003) refer to the topic of “reward” opposed to “pay” as they believe that

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nowadays employees require “rewarding” not only through monetary means but also non-
financially. However, before management can design effective reward systems to sustain a
committed workforce, they must firstly consider the factors that contribute to the motivation
of their workforce (Beardwell, et al. (2004).
Baron (1991), cited in Hollyforde & Whiddett, (2002, p.2) define motivation as “the internal
processes that activate, guide, and maintain behaviour”; “the psychological concept related to
the strength and direction of human behaviour” (Robertson & Smith, 1985, cited in
Hollyforde & Whiddett, 2002). There are predominantly two forms of motivation; intrinsic
and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is self-generated and influenced by behaviour, which is
created by the work itself and its degree of autonomy, scope for development and ability to
exercise skills. Whereas extrinsic motivation is created by other people, such as reward, pay
and promotion and is usually created immediately, but does not always have long lasting
effects (Armstrong, 2009). Marchington & Wilkinson (2002) believe that extrinsic motivators
are ineffective and can even have the effect of corroding intrinsic motivators. According to
Molander & Winterton (1994, p.132) “the most effective way of sustaining employee
commitment is to provide an environment in which the quality of working life meets
individuals’ needs and aspirations”. Managers often look to conventional motivational
theories to find ways of increasing performance and productivity, but fail to recognise that
individuals are motivated in different ways and there is no one best fit for all employees
(Beardwell, et al. 2004). Gange (2003) proposes that through self-determination theory,
people are primarily intrinsically motivated to do an activity for the pure enjoyment; however,
research shows that controlling rewards, deadlines and evaluation decreases the intrinsic
worth of an activity where choice and acknowledgement of feelings towards activities will
enhance intrinsic value.
According to Beardwell et al. (2004), Taylor is regarded as the father of scientific
management, as he was one of the first to observe that workers kept management ignorant to
the speed at which work could be completed. From this Taylor devised a system to measure
work by breaking down tasks and timing how long each took to complete, meaning employers
could reclaim management rights over employees. Braverman cited in Mullins (2005) states
that Taylor’s approach was more about maintaining discipline and control by removing the
need for workers to possess any skill in their work; also known as division of labour.
Furthermore, Cloke and Goldsmith cited in Mullins (2005) suggested that Taylor thought that

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by having many management layers there could be greater control and supervision, which
made it possible to maximise efficiency. Mullin’s (2005) view of Taylor’s Scientific
Management was that management-labour relations could be improved and that workers were
solely motivated by monetary rewards. Armstrong (2002) associates Taylorism with
Instrumentality Theory, which is derived from the belief that by taking action to do something
it will lead to another action, which in this case is that people will work harder for more
money. However, Armstrong (2002) understands that even though this process is still used
nowadays, it fails to recognise other basic human needs.
“The first comprehensive attempt to classify needs was undertaken by Maslow in the 1940’s”,
Beardwell et al. (2004, p.507). Armstrong (2002) identifies that Maslow’s work was greatly
criticised even though his theories are still used today. Mullins (2005) describes Maslow’s
Hierarchy of Needs as a basic theory, which can be used to identify whether certain needs of
an individual are fulfilled before attempting to fulfil other important needs, ranging from
basic physiological and safety needs up to psychological and self-actualisation needs. Mullins
(2005) identified ways by which Maslow’s theory was not necessarily applicable to the work
setting; for example safety needs can be fulfilled throughout everyday life and not just in the
work environment. “Despite the logical appeal of the hierarchy, the relationship between the
different levels is inadequately specified” (Mollander & Winterton, 1994, p.132). Beardwell
et al. (2004) noticed the nature of unpredictability with regards to the point at which certain
needs would manifest, since there is “no clear relationship between needs and behaviour”.
Rollinson (2005, p.197) supports this view in that “there is little empirical support for
Maslow’s explanation of the way that different levels of needs trigger different motivations”,
due to the fact that each person is different and unique therefore making generalisations about
needs poses limited value. Rollinson (2005) continues to discuss Alderfer and his ERG theory,
which builds upon Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs by grouping certain needs together, by
which he suggested there were only three. These were existence needs, relatedness needs and
growth needs. Alderfer’s ‘needs’ did not assume the sequential progression as with Maslow;
however there is very little empirical evidence to support its credibility (Beardwell, et al. 2005;
Mullins 2005; Mollander & Winterton, 1994; Armstrong, 2009).
Herzberg’s “two factor theory” distinguished two sets of factors; the first of which were
motivators, which when present create job satisfaction, and the second being hygiene factors,
which when absent would cause job dissatisfaction (Mollander & Winterton, 1994). In order

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to remove dissatisfaction managers need to improve hygiene factors, such as remuneration,
control and working conditions, however, it must be taken into consideration that once this
dissatisfaction has been removed, using more of the same hygiene factors will not create a
greater degree of satisfaction, this can only be achieved by allowing more of the motivating
factors, such as opportunities for personal growth and allowing extra responsibility
(Beardwell, et al. 2004; Mollander & Winterton, 1994). However, Herzberg had his sceptics,
one being Robin (2001) cited in Hollyforde & Whiddett (2002) who identified that when
individuals are happy with their job they likely to take credit themselves, however, they are
also quick to shift the blame onto hygiene factors that are imposed by management when they
perceive that things are not going so well.
Vroom (1964) cited in Beardwell, et al. (2004, p.514) introduces a new concept of motivation,
named expectancy theory, which assumes that behaviours are voluntary and therefore expects
individuals to look at alternatives and choose the alternative which is most likely to lead to the
rewards that they most desire; since “individuals are rational actors… who follow a path of
economic maximisation”. Hollyforde & Whiddett (2002) describe valence as “affective
orientations toward particular outcomes”, however, is it important to note that this orientation
is not just toward a desired outcome but also away from negative or unwanted outcomes.
Moreover, Hollyforde & Whiddett (2002, p.81) distinguish two elements of expectancy which
Vroom fails to recognise. The first being that “effort will result in better performance”, and
secondly that “better performance will lead to the expected rewards”, however Thierry &
Koopman-Iwema (1984) cited in Hollyforde & Whiddett (2002) identify that situational
factors, such as colleagues and superiors are accounted for far too little, due to the simple fact
that individuals do not have as much control over their behaviour as Vroom suggests.
2.7 Volunteer Motivation
Motivation has been a long studied topic for those concerned with organisational behaviour,
however, “volunteer and employee behaviour have focused on differing facets of motivation”
(Pearce, 1993, p.61). Esmond & Dunlop (2004, p.6) discuss the difficulties associated with
motivating volunteers, but state that “understanding these motivations can be of great
assistance to organisations in attracting, placing and retaining volunteers”.

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Meeting the needs of the volunteers should be as important to the non-profit organisation as
the need for the function of the volunteer, since “an effective volunteer program marries
organizational demands for productive labor with the disparate motivations that volunteers
bring for contributing their time” (Herman, 2005, p.328). Pearce (1993) describes the study of
volunteer motivation as being primarily concerned with the motives of the individual, but
writes about how this should move away from finding out why people decide to volunteer, to
why they continue to exert effort once they are affiliated with an organisation. Individuals are
motivated to volunteer for altruistic, egotistic and economically rational reasons (Powell &
Steinberg, 2006). Clary & Snyder (1999, p.156) describe volunteering as “effortful, sustained
and non-remunerative”, and pose two initial questions: Why do people decide to engage in
helpful activities, and why do they continue to do so for months or even years? In order to
answer these questions, Clary & Snyder (1999, p.156) adopted what is called the “functional
approach” in order to understand volunteer motivations. This approach firstly looks at
personal and social processes that “initiate, direct, and sustain action”, secondly it follows the
thought that different people perform the same actions for different psychological functions,
thirdly, matching volunteer activities and motivational concerns will extend individual service,
and lastly that “a wide variety of cognitive, affective, behavioural and interpersonal processes
support key functionalist themes”.
The functional approach adopted by Clary & Snyder (1999) is cited by many authors where it
is still used as a pillar to improve the understanding of volunteerism (Finkelstein, 2008);
(Houle, et al. 2005); (Papadakis, et al. 2004); (Groube & Piliavin, 2000). The functional
approach is derived from empirical investigations of volunteers, identifying and
operationalizing personal and social functions that are served by volunteering (Clary &
Snyder, 1999). From this Clary & Snyder (1999) created and refined the “Volunteer
Functions Inventory” (VFI) which are six functions that are potentially served by volunteering.
These are Values, Understanding, Enhancement, Career, Social and Protective.
Houle, et al. (2005, p338) highlight that the functional approach is also a multi-motivational
approach, meaning that “volunteerism may serve more than one motive for an individual, and
also different motivations may be served within a group of volunteers performing the same
activities”, however, Finkelstein (2008, p.9) emphasises that “satisfaction is a key component
of the functional approach”, but does agree that different volunteers engage in the same
activities for different reasons. The study of the functional approach by Houle, et al. (2005)

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states that volunteer tasks can be classified in accordance to the motives that they satisfy;
therefore if an organisation is able to offer a range of tasks that satisfy a number of functions
then organisations would be able to recruit volunteers from a larger pool of individuals.
Fisher & Ackerman (1998) introduce the normative perspective which states that expectations
of rewards create motivation, whereby “norms are reinforced within groups through socially
mediated rewards and punishments”; individuals who comply are praised, and those that do
not will anticipate negative feedback or even rejection.
2.8 Creating organisational commitment
According to Beardwell, et al. (2004, p.541) “people are the most valuable resource of an
organisation”, therefore enhancing motivation thus performance through “training and
developing them, adequately rewarding their performance and involving them” should be part
of any Employee Involvement (EI) policy. It has become prevalent since the 1980’s that
organisations are beginning to focus more importance on the use of non-financial incentives
to motivate, engage, involve and create greater commitment to the organisation (Beardwell, et
al. 2004; Armstrong, 2009) however, distinguishing the differences in definitions of these
types of motivating factors is difficult (Beardwell, et al. 2004). Foy (1994, xvii) quoted in
Beardwell, et al. (2004, p.540) states that “empowering people is as important today as
involving them in the 1980’s and getting them to participate in the 1970’s”, which ultimately
shows that although there are different terms, they all encapsulate similar practices which
broadly come under the term employee involvement. However, Bratton & Gold (2007)
identify that participative measures involve “workers exerting a countervailing and upward
pressure on management control” whereas involvement is seen as a softer concept where both
management and employees have a shared interest, excluding trade union involvement.
EI and participative practices are initiated by management for the purposes of increasing
“employee information about, and commitment to, the organisation” which seeks to gain
commitment from employees without using a control-orientated approach such as that used by
Frederick Taylor (Gennard & Judge, 2005, p.180-181). “Employee engagement and
organizational commitment are two important factors affecting work performance and the
attraction and retention of employees” (Armstrong, 2009, p.336). The increasing pressures of
international competition and technological change of the last 2 decades means that

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employees need to be increasingly flexible, and need to be given a greater degree of
autonomy in their roles in order to create an empowered and committed workforce (Gennard
& Judge, 2005). The Harvard HRM programme distinguished that employees are the main
stakeholders of any organisations and that it is paramount that managers increase employee
influence and decision making to increase satisfaction, thus performance Beardwell, et al.
(2004). However, Walton (1984) cited in Beardwell, et al. (2004, p.541) identified that
without employee commitment, employee influence is ineffective; “there must be a
congruence between the HRM and general management policies of the organisation”. Bratton
& Gold (2007, p.443) describe EI as “part of a sophisticated management strategy designed to
increase profitability through consultation and communication”. Management may resort to
disciplinary procedures in order to gain compliance with employee relation exercises when
the workforce does not display the desired behaviours (Bratton & Gold, 2007).
“Empowerment is considered to be a panacea for many organizations in the modern
competitive and turbulent business environment”, where employees are responsible for
customer satisfaction; therefore allowing autonomy and experience within individual roles
employees can experience their own satisfaction (Gzorezis & Petridou, 2011). In some
European countries, larger organisations are required by legislation to have employee
representatives on company boards; also known as codetermination, which is proven to
increase involvement, participation and commitment to the organisation (Mollander &
Winterton, 1994). Beardwell, et al. (2004, p.541) states that “much of this rediscovery of the
intrinsic worth of the employee was driven by the relative decline in the US economic
performance, particularly compared with Japan”. Employee engagement is at the core of the
employment relationship, and distinguishes the factors that determine the behaviours of the
employee to maximise the objectives of the organisation and the individual (Armstrong,
2009).
Smith (2010, p.14) discusses employee recognition programs, which when used correctly by
management will increase employee satisfaction, and motivate employees to improve their
performance and quality, but states that “recognition programs are only a tool. Recognition
practices need to become a way of life… 48% of companies actually had a written recognition
strategy in place… 96% were aligned with the organizations business strategy”. Recognition
schemes have two uses, firstly they are designed to improve employee motivation,
commitment and engagement, but secondly and more importantly, they can be done in a way

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which is cost effective to the organisation, but this should be done from day one by finding
out how the workforce like to be rewarded and should never stop (Cromie, 2008). The use of
recognition and symbolic tactics can be powerful in both a positive and negative way;
awarding prizes as incentives for completing tasks can sometimes leave the individual feeling
that the reward is more important than the feeling of doing a good job, however, consistent
recognition in the form of feedback can be extremely powerful but “must be regular, timely
and relevant based on the principle of positive reinforcement” (Marchington & Wilkinson,
2002, p.534). According to Wisner, et al. (2005) rewards that recognise volunteers in the
absence of monetary compensation provide important signals of the value that non-profit
organisations place on volunteer contributions, which is positively correlated to increased
volunteer satisfaction.

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3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
“Human Resource Management in the Third-Sector: Strategies for recruiting,
rewarding and retaining volunteers”.
The aim of this paper is to investigate and assess areas of human resource management within
the third-sector, to inform the reader of ways in which developing effective strategies to
recruit, motivate and reward volunteers can help to maximise volunteer commitment and
reduce turnover.
Volunteerism has been a well-established topic of discussion, and is the subject of numerous
research and discussion papers across the world. The most prominent and consistently cited
authors in the subject of volunteer motivation up until now are Clary, Snyder and Ridge;
American authors who appear to have become most famous for their research study of
volunteer motivation using functional theory and the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI)
(Clary & Snyder, 1999).
3.1 Preliminary literature review
Volunteerism is a substantially sized area of research and discussion which ranges across
aspects of business and psychology; therefore it was deemed necessary to conduct preliminary
research in order to refine the topic into a manageable research project (Saunders, et al. 2009).
This initial study identified that aspects of motivations to volunteer have been heavily
researched, however, there was a limited amount of literature which was able to link volunteer
motivations to sustainable business performance and volunteer commitment. Much of the
topic of motivation looked at the reasons why people engage in volunteering, but not how the
knowledge gained from this understanding could be used as an on-going process to retain the
volunteer population.
3.2 Critical literature review
An in-depth critical review of the literature; ranging from academic and professional journals
to books and industry reports, has made it possible to develop a good understanding of the

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topic area surrounding volunteer management, motivation and reward which were all clearly
set in chapters within the literature review. One research paper which was identified for its
significance within the literature was that of Phillips & Phillips (2010) which was an in-depth
survey conducted in the United States which identified the motivating power of various types
of rewards. Although this study provides some interesting results, it was from this point that
there was a significant need to explore further into the area of how volunteer motivations can
be anticipated in order to effectively place volunteers in a role that is intrinsically rewarding
thus creates greater organisational commitment and performance. Business practices using
non-monetary incentives have proven to have considerable success in the for-profit sector,
however Drucker (1990) identified that there was limited help available for the leadership and
management of volunteers since most developments were suited to the business need. Using
this information it was decided that questionnaires would be used to distinguish whether such
non-monetary practices are transferable into volunteer management practices. According to
Raimond (1993) cited in Saunders, et al. (2009, p.27) “it is often helpful to look for
unfounded assertions and statements on the absence of research, as these are likely to contain
ideas that will enable you to provide fresh insights”.
3.3 Research philosophy and approach
Research philosophy is an important factor which determined the way in which this research
study was conducted, and it would seem that the author has adopted a pragmatic approach
where a mixed model research approach was necessary in order to analyse data qualitatively
and quantitatively (Saunders, et al. 2009). There is somewhat of an interprevist stance taken
in the way that the author feels that it was necessary to understand the differences of the
people within the world, and their roles as social actors; phenomenology. The author has
decided to combine research approaches, using deductive methods to test relationships
between variables and inductive research to build up new theories and relationships as part of
an exploratory – explanatory research strategy (Saunders, et al. 2009).

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3.4 Research strategy
 Secondary Research
For the purposes of this research project, the author decided to make use of data that currently
exists which has fuelled previous research studies, ranging from qualitative research to
statistical secondary information. This makes the project resourceful since there is such a vast
amount of secondary data available through professional journals, company websites and
government data. Primarily, secondary information was used as a means of cross-analysing
primary data which was obtained from this study, alongside the theoretical underpinnings that
were identified within the literature review to generate new understandings as well as to
provide an interesting discussion. Undoubtedly, the author was aware that using secondary
data does lose a certain degree of credibility and reliability and relies on the authors’
interpretations to come to meaningful assumptions and conclusions (Saunders, et al. 2009).
 Primary research
Primary research relates to the data that is gathered directly by the author for the purposes of
the research project.
Questionnaires
Self-administered questionnaires on a 5-point Likert rating scale from ‘Strongly agree to
strongly disagree’ were used to gain opinion data of the importance that the individual
volunteer placed on aspects of motivations to volunteer and human resource management
practices such as recognition, participation and development. The Volunteerism Survey can be
found in Appendix 1. The questionnaire was firstly sent to volunteer managers from
volunteering organisations within Suffolk, which were then emailed to volunteers. Once these
were completed they were sent directly back to the author or to their respective volunteer
manager who then sent them back to the author. The author decided not to use Survey
Monkey to produce and distribute the questionnaire as it was felt that this limited responses
only to those that were computer literate, therefore if requested, questionnaires were also
printed and then distributed to the volunteers individually. Electronic distribution was the
quickest and most effective method of distribution, but it was felt that in order to reach a
greater range of respondent’s paper copies would also be used; which in hindsight became
costly. Using questionnaires made it possible to build theory using qualitative and quantitative
techniques, where qualitative data is “based on meaning expressed through words…

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conducted through the use of conceptualisation” whereas quantitative data provides “analysis
conducted through the use of diagrams and statistics” (Saunders, et al. 2009, p. 482).
Interviews
“An interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people”, which makes it
possible to gather valid and reliable data relevant to the information needs and objectives
(Saunders, et al. 2009, p.318). For the purposes of this study, the author decided to
amalgamate aspects of semi-structured and unstructured/in-depth interviews to gather
information from volunteer managers. Each of the four volunteer managers were emailed
prior to the interview with a list of six topic areas that would be covered within the interview,
which can be found in Appendix 2. It was necessary to do this to allow the interviewees to
prepare fully in order to gain reliable and credible information. Interviews were
approximately one hour long and were conducted on a one-to-one basis using a non-directive
informant interview technique in order to allow the volunteer managers to freely discuss the
topic areas in as much or little detail as they found necessary (Saunders, et al. 2009). In
retrospect this proved to be useful in that it allowed the interviewee to provide in-depth
insights into the topic areas, however, it became apparent that it was easy to divulge away
from the topic. Having said this, it still remains that this format allowed greater insight
opposed to using closed questions.
3.5 Respondents
The following section illustrates the demographics of the sample of volunteers used for the
purposes of the Volunteerism Survey
Male 20
Memale 56
Total 76
(Chart 1)
Age
18-24 8
25-35 6
36-45 10
46-60 17
60+ 35
(Chart 2)

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Employment Status
Full-time 10
Part-time 9
Retired 42
Unemployed/job seeking 9
Student 6
(Chart 3)
Years in Service
Less than 1 27
1-3 20
4-6 19
7-10 7
10+ 3
(Chart 4)
3.6 Ethical considerations
One of the most important areas to consider with regards to this study were the ethical
implications of the research, which relates to how the research was formulated, collected and
analysed (Saunders, et al. 2009). In order to ensure that social norms were not construed, each
participant was made aware that there would be no personal references made to volunteers,
managers or their organisation. Since this research project was of an exploratory nature and
not that of a case study it was not necessary to identify any of the respondents individually
since all of the concepts that were covered relate to the broader aspects of volunteerism and
HRM (Ethics form can be found in Appendix 3).
3.7 Data Analysis
In order to explain the data that was obtained through the primary research, it was decided to
use a number of qualitative and quantitative analytical techniques. First, results from the
volunteerism surveys were categorised into tables according to demographical variables such
as age, gender, employment status and years in service. From here, the author decided to
display results diagrammatically in the form of ‘percentage component bar charts’ in order to
display and compare proportions between variables. In some cases it was necessary to test
how likely it was that two variables were associated to each other. To do this the raw data was

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subject to ‘chi-squared tests’, in order to assess the likelihood that the data which was
obtained could have occurred through chance alone (Saunders, et al. 2009). The Microsoft
EXCEL CHINV function was used in order to eliminate the chance of error in the authors’
statistical calculations.
The data which was obtained through interviews with volunteer managers was recorded in
table form (see appendix 4), where each topic has its own table to ensure that information was
not amalgamated together. From this point the author decided to ‘code’ the results in order to
identify any trending qualitative findings. These findings were then amalgamated with the
questionnaire findings as well as secondary research to analyse and draw conclusions.
3.8 Literature sources
A range of literature sources were used throughout this research study as listed below:
 Academic/professional text books
 Academic peer-reviewed journals (Academic OneFile, Business Source Elite, Wiley)
 Professional journals
 Professional/industry web material (ACAS, CIPD)
 Broadsheet newspaper articles

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3.9 Parameters of research
Narrow Broad
Language English UK English all
Subject area Employee motivation
Employee reward
Volunteerism
Organisational behaviour
Corporate Strategy
Non-profit/third sector
Business sector Human Resources,
Management &
Leadership
All
Geographical area UK Global
Publication period Last 5 years Last 15 years
Publication type Peer-reviewed &
professional/industry
journals, academic text
books.
All journals, text books,
government publications,
broadsheet newspapers.
(Chart 5)
3.10 Keywords
Volunteer, volunteerism, non-profit, , non-profit management, third sector, motivation,
reward, intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, performance, leadership, management, volunteer
motivation, volunteer reward, retention, recognition, involvement, participation,
empowerment, satisfaction, volunteer impact, organisational behaviour, non-financial
incentives.

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4.0 FINDINGS
For the purposes of this section the author will amalgamate findings from secondary and
primary research within each section in order to identify any trending areas of research.
Results from interviews with volunteer managers will be referred to as “interviewee A, B, C
& D or Organisation A, B, C & D.
4.1 Motivations to volunteer
It is clear from the literature that non-profit organisations rely heavily on volunteer activity to
deliver their services, where volunteer coordinators state that the recruitment, placement and
retention of volunteers are the three most basic yet important factors which need to be
understood in order to effectively manage the volunteer community (Clary, et al. 1992). In a
study by Aitken (1999) into retention of emergency service volunteers it was found that
around 86% of volunteers were satisfied with their role as a volunteer where over 50% of the
respondents noted that they volunteered for the “sense of community”, but interestingly only
6% said they volunteered to help others.
Herber & Hack (2011, p.10) found that 88% of volunteer managers rate their volunteers as
being an important if not vital part of their organisation, however, it was found that only 60%
said that they knew their volunteers as “nodding acquaintances” partly because it is felt that a
degree of professional distance is needed.
100% of volunteer managers state that their organisation would not be able to function
without the input from volunteering; services would not be provided if they needed to pay
staff to provide them (see table 6 in Appendix 4).
Clary et al. (1992) invented what is known as the ‘Volunteer Functions Inventory’ (VFI) (see
Appendix 8), which are a set of questions that are given to volunteers to identify why they
choose to volunteer, and can be given to non-volunteers with the premise of being able to
identify the potential motivational forces which people assign to volunteering in order to
tailor future recruitment campaigns.

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The Six primary functions identified through the Clary, Snyder & Ridge VFI (1992) are
highlighted in bold below:
Values; which states that people are motivated to volunteer because of the deep rooted
feelings that are associated with helping other people, a form of altruism – humanitarianism.
Understanding; which states that people are motivated to volunteer in order to learn new
skills to improve their understanding of the person they are helping, the volunteering
organisation or oneself – simply to learn for the sake of learning.
Esteem; which states that people will volunteer to fulfil their own self-esteem needs. Some
people may only need to increase their esteem, simply to make themselves feel better through
the feeling of being needed or important.
Career; which states that people do not just learn for the sake of learning but on the premise
that volunteering will give them to skills that may be required to get into their chosen career.
Social; which states that people will volunteer to fulfil esteem needs that derive from social
interactions. Volunteering is reflected by the social influences of friends, families or other
social groups.
Protective; which states that people volunteer to relieve themselves of unpleasant feelings, to
escape their own personal problems and counteract negative feelings about themselves.
Yanay & Yanay (2008, p.66) state that there are two main reasons why people volunteer;
firstly for ‘self-directed’ reasons such need to be around people, make friends and feel wanted,
and secondly for ‘other directed’ reasons, such as the need to help other people, solve
problems and change the face of society/community.
The first six statements found on the questionnaire for this study (see Appendix 1) relate to
the six functions of the VFI. The following results show how the sampled volunteers relate to
each of these functions. The results from the volunteer manager interviews will also be
illustrated within each function.

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4.2 Values
Results from Figure 1 in Appendix 5 show that over 90% of both men and women agree or
strongly agree with the statement that “it is important to help others through volunteering”,
and results from Figure 2 in Appendix 1 show that over 80% of the respondents from all
employment categories also agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.
Results from table 1 in Appendix 4 shows that 100% of volunteer managers believe that
people are motivated to volunteer because they like to help other people through acts of
humanitarianism. Furthermore, 100% of the interviewees answered that they believe people
volunteer because they have close associations with the services of the organisation and want
to help other people in similar situations. Interviewee A states, “some people think that
because they have been through similar situations to the service users of the organisation they
would make good volunteers; but often they don’t because they cannot cope mentally or
emotionally”.
4.3 Understanding
Results from Figure’s 4 and 5 in Appendix 5 shows that at least 80% of both men and women
from all employment categories either agree or strongly agree with the statement
“Volunteering gives me the opportunity to learn new skills”. 75% of volunteer manager’s
state that people choose to volunteer for experience or to gain skills in a particular field of
work that interest them (See table 1 in Appendix 4).
4.4 Esteem
When asked whether “Volunteering enhances my self-esteem/makes me feel better about
myself”, between 75-85% of all respondents either agreed or strongly agreed (See Figure 6 in
Appendix 5), and over 75% of volunteers that have been in service up to 10 years either
agreed or strongly agreed (See Figure 7 in Appendix 5). 50% of volunteer managers reported
that volunteering makes individuals feel better about themselves (See table 1 in Appendix 4).

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4.5 Career
Figure 8 in Appendix 5 clearly shows that less than 30% of both men and women agree or
strongly agree that “Volunteering gives me the experience needed to get into my chosen
job/career”, however over 70% of respondents between the age of 18-24 stated that they
either agreed or strongly agreed and less than 5% of respondents over the age of 60 state that
they either agreed or strongly agreed (see Figure 10). 50% of the interviewees feel that
volunteering is an opportunity to enhance their curriculum vitae or university application in
order to help them get into their chosen career (see table 1 in Appendix 4).
(Figure 10)
4.6 Social
Figure 11 (See Appendix 5) shows that over 90% of men and approximately 75% of women
either agree or strongly agree with the statement that “Volunteering gives me the opportunity
to be around other like-minded members of the community”. Only 25% of the volunteer
managers felt that people would decide to volunteer to meet similar people.
4.7 Protective
Results from Figure 13 (see Appendix 5) interestingly shows that both men and women
appear to share the same views when asked if “Volunteering is an escape from my own
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
18-24 25-35 36-45 46-60 60+
Age
Volunteering gives me the experience needed to get into my chosen
job/career

27 | P a g e
personal issues/problems”, where around 30% of both men and women agree or strongly
agree and around 50% of all men and women disagree or strongly disagree.
(Figure 14)
Results from Figure 14 shows that over 50% of the respondents who are unemployed or job
seeking either agree or strongly agree that they choose to volunteer to escape from their own
personal issues or problems. Only 20% of part-time and full-time respondents agreed with this
statement. 50% of volunteer manager interviewee’s believe that people choose to volunteer to
escape their own problems (see Table 1 in Appendix 4).
4.8 Other motivational factors
Results from Table 1 (see Appendix 4) show that 50% of the volunteer managers believe that
people decide to volunteer when they are retired “for something to do” and to use the skills
that they have learnt through their working life.
Esmond & Dunlop (2004, pp. 51-52) take the Volunteer Function Inventory of Clary, et al.
(1992) one step further. Statistical analysis proved that the six functions developed by Clary
et al. (1992) correlated to the motivational functions that volunteers associated with from their
own study, however they identified a further four functions that are fulfilled through
volunteering, which makes what they call the ‘Volunteer Motivation Inventory’ (VMI) which
are as follows:
0% 50% 100%
FT
PT
Retired
Unemployed/job seeking
Student
Employmentstatus
Volunteering is an escape from my own personal issues/problems

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Reciprocity; where the act of volunteering is seen as of doing good to help others in the hope
that it brings about equally good things for the volunteers themselves.
Recognition; where the volunteer is motivated to undertake volunteer activities because they
are recognised for contribution they make with their skills.
Reactivity; which is seen as a motivation to volunteer is order to ‘heal’ or address issues that
have occurred in the volunteers’ life either in the past or at present.
Social interaction; where the volunteer enjoys the social aspects associated with volunteering,
which allows them to build up social networks.
4.9 Recruitment and Selection
Clary, et al. (1992) state that in order to effectively recruit active volunteers the functional
approach should be adopted; since people volunteer to fulfil their own needs, therefore
volunteer organisations should influence and persuade people that volunteering will satisfy
their motivations. Firstly, the organisation must decide where the recruiting will be done, and
when this is decided the volunteer managers can use the VFI to “assess the motivational
concerns of audience members and then promote their organization or activities as a means
by which relevant motivations of the target audience can be satisfied” (Clary, et al. 1992,
p.341).
Results from Table 2 (see Appendix 4) show that each of the volunteer managers that were
interviewed use differing techniques to recruit volunteers. 75% of the interviewees state that
they “do not actively recruit volunteers”, 50% of the interviewees use other volunteer
organisations as a way to source new volunteers, 75% of the interviewees use their
organisations website as a way to advertise volunteer opportunities, 50% of the interviewees
state that they are approached by volunteers through family/friend connections or through
word-of-mouth due to the “organisations good name and reputation”. 100% of the volunteer
managers use local volunteer centres to advertise and attract potential volunteers; where
interviewee A states that “links with the Ipswich Volunteer Centre accounts for 10% of our
total volunteer population”. Only 25% of volunteer managers use free and paid
advertisements in local newspapers and written articles about the volunteer organisation in

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order to raise their profile. Interviewee D states that “it’s about finding the right people, for
the right job, with the right skills to be most effective within the role”.
Clary et al. (1992) discuss that once the organisation has been able to identify the
motivational profile of a specific group of people the next stage is to design advertisements
that will illustrate those specific needs of the target audience, since advertisements which are
motivationally relevant are more persuasive to specific groups opposed to those that are
motivationally irrelevant. Research by Liao-Troth & Dunn (1999, p.358) found that managers
and volunteers alike understand volunteer motivation in the same way, stating that “managers
and volunteers share a common sense of the role of altruism in volunteer motivation”.
4.10 Application & Recruitment processes
The application process adopted by each of the volunteer manager differs in style; therefore
each process will be illustrated individually using flow charts.
Organisation A
Online application via organisation website
Invited to attend recruitment workshop
Complete questionnaire to assess motivations, stress and skills
Facilitators of the workshop make decisions of who to take to next stage
Invited to attend core induction training
(Figure 48)
Additional comments:
Volunteer manager from Organisation A states that “we don’t want to keep recruiting, we
would rather invest in the volunteers we already have” (see Table 2 in Appendix 4), but

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another concern is the length of time that it takes from someone applying to become a
volunteer to the point at which they are successfully placed within the organisation. A further
comment was made that “we will usually take on all volunteers unless they don’t have the
emotional ability for the role”.
Organisation B
Approach volunteers from other organisations/at volunteer centres
Provide training needed for specific role
(Figure 49)
Organisation C
Job advertisements/role descriptions online and in volunteer centres
Applicant submits online
Applicant contacted to attend individual interview
Interview distinguishes which service area to place volunteer in
Generic induction training
(Figure 50)
Volunteer Manager from organisation C states that “we don’t say no very often, and it won’t
happen until we have tried to give support and guidance so we are certain that the volunteer
is not suitable… we believe in second chances”.

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Organisation D
Applications submitted online/via email/walk-ins/telephone
Shortlisting process – applicants scanned for availability/suitability
Shortlisted applicants information is sent to service area leader
Suitable candidates invited for interview
Successful candidate is informed and invited to attend induction training
(Figure 51)
Volunteer manager from organisation D discusses how they are fortunate enough to be in a
position where the vast majority of people approach them directly to enquire about
volunteering, putting them in a strong position to choose the best candidate for each role.
Organisation D uses a tracking system to record each application and hold applications on file
for which there are no suitable positions, until a time at which there becomes an available
position.
4.11 Volunteer Reward
Cuskelly et al. (2006) state that more research needs to be done to investigate the effective
management of volunteer resources, especially at a time where there are increased pressures
on professionalism, managerialism and accountability. Yanay & Yanay (2008) discuss the
difficulties which are associated with rewarding and retaining volunteers; due to the challenge
of gauging which goals and rewards will motivate the volunteer at the present time, as well as
emerging motivational forces. Cuskelly, et al. (2006) state that the for-profit sector literature
reports on the effectiveness of HR practices, opposed to the voluntary sector literature which

32 | P a g e
consistently highlights motivation and satisfaction, however, these boundaries need to evolve
due to the extent that organisational context plays in the effectiveness of HRM practices.
O’Connor (1997, p.360) state that “motivation is determined by the individual… unless you
offer them something they find interesting or compelling, it won’t work”; the most powerful
motivational force is recognition, which can be done formally or informally by recognising
milestones, personal achievements or simply remembering a name – however this must be a
constant process which is “user defined”. McCelland & Atkinson state that people respond to
formal recognition in three forms; through achievement, power or affiliation, where one is
predominant according to the time and context of which they are sought (O’Connor, 1997).
Results from Figure’s 16 and 17 (see Appendix 5) show that over 60% of both men and
women either agree or disagree with the statement “it is important that my personal
contributions are recognised verbally by management”.
Results from Figure’s 18 and 19 (see Appendix 5) give some interesting insights into how
people perceive written recognition. When asked “it is important that my personal
contributions are recognised in letter form by management” 40% of men and only 12% of
women either agreed or strongly agreed.
(Figure 20)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Male Female
It is important that my personal contributions are recognised publicly by
management
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Indifferent/Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

33 | P a g e
Results from Figure 20 show that only 30% of men and 10% of women either agree or
strongly agree with the statement “it is important that my personal contributions are
recognised publicly by management”, where between 30 - 40% of both men and women
either disagree or strongly disagree.
(Figure 23)
Results from Figure’s 22 and 23 show that less than 50% of all respondents of all ages either
agree or strongly agree that their current recognition scheme motivates them to continue
volunteering (see Appendix 5). Over 70% of all respondents either agree or strongly agree
with the statement “I am aware how my contributions through volunteering impacts my
organisations’ success” (see Figure’s 25 and 26 in Appendix 5). Over 70% of all respondents
agree or strongly agree that it is important for them to be regularly informed about their
organisation’s performance (see Figures 27 and 28 in Appendix 5).
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
18-24 25-35 36-45 46-60 60+
Age
My current recognition scheme motivates me to continue volunteering

34 | P a g e
(Figure 33)
Figure 33 shows that over 50% of the male respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the
statement that “It is important that I participate in my organisations decision making
process”, where approximately 60% of women remained indifferent.
4.12 Volunteer Retention
Yanay & Yanay (2008) state that the retention of volunteers is one of the most basic but fatal
issues that faces any non-profit organisation. Volunteer turnover costs the organisation
staggering amounts of money through recruitment activities and training, and is also known to
reduce organisational morale (Clary, et al. 1992). Possible reason for volunteer turnover could
stem from dissatisfaction between the “reality and self-image formed by the individual…
faulty placing of volunteers… low level of challenge… tension among staff and volunteers…
inefficient use of volunteers’ time and burnout” (Yanay & Yanay, 2008, p.67). Interviewee A
states that their organisation “ tries to keep everyone at the same level, which means forming
on-going relationships between paid staff and volunteers… it is about setting expectations”
(see table 5 in Appendix 4). UPS (1999) cited in Kerka (2003) states that 40% of volunteers
cited poor management as a reason to stop volunteering.
Volunteers are more likely to continue longer in their service when they are given activities
that match their motivations and meets their needs and goals since this is known to raise
satisfaction, however the key issue is knowing where the volunteer motivations can be found,
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Male Female
It is important that I participate in my organisations decision making process
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Indifferent/Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree

35 | P a g e
and obtaining feedback as to whether their motivations are being satisfied (Clary, et al. 1992).
Furthermore, Clary et al. (1992) have identified that in order to build a committed workforce,
the volunteer managers must ensure that emerging volunteer motivations are identified and
work assignments are modified in order to address this new motivation; which is where the
VFI is a useful tool to administer at various stages within the volunteer life-cycle.
The design of volunteer roles can affect autonomous motivation, yet its impact is not as
significant as other factors such as management style and the organisational environment; re-
designing work assignments is however found to increase volunteer satisfaction (Millette,
2005).
Results from table 5 (see Appendix 4) shows that there are no immediate trending topics
surrounding retention issues at each of the volunteer organisations. 50% of the interviewees
state that offering rewarding and interesting experiences within the volunteer role helps to
retain volunteers; however interviewee C states that “this is an area that we need to improve
because some volunteers have even been known to drop out at the training stage”.
75% of the interviewees discussed how at present they make use of team meetings, coffee
mornings and group forums as a platform for volunteers to voice their opinions or concerns
about any issues they encounter through volunteering for their respective organisation, where
Interviewee D states that “meetings are also useful for when changes need to be implemented
in order to gain agreement from volunteers since they feel that they have been informed and
consulted, which makes people feel included” (see table 5 in Appendix 4). Interviewee A
discuss how their organisation uses a system which allows the volunteer coordinator to track
volunteer activity; from active to inactive, stating “this system allows management to keep
track in the people that are committed and volunteering regularly to ensure they remain
satisfied, since it is not necessary to regularly contact volunteers that are less committed
because the time and resources should be used on those that are more committed” (see table
5 in Appendix 4).
Results from Figure’s 35 – 38 (see Appendix 5) show that over 60% of all respondents either
agreed or strongly agreed with the statements “it is important that I have responsibility and
discretion in my role on a day-to-day basis” and “it is important to have flexibility and
autonomy within my role as a volunteer”.

36 | P a g e
(Figure 40)
Work-life balance is clearly a very important factor that affects volunteerism, which is
illustrated in Figure 40. Over 80% of the entire sample of respondents of any age or gender
either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “It is important for me to have a good
work-life balance”.
In a research study into volunteer retention and organisational inclusion theory, Waters &
Bortree (2011) found that female volunteers felt more involved within their work groups and
in the information networks compared to men, whereas men felt more involved with high
level management, the organisation overall and in organisational decision making.
Furthermore, it was found that decision making inclusion positively impacted male
satisfaction, whereas it had negative effects on female organisational trust (Waters & Bortree,
2011). Farmer & Fedor (2003) found that volunteer participation was higher when the
psychological contract and expectations of the volunteer had been met, and also when
volunteers reported higher level of support from paid staff. Furthermore, Farmer & Fedor
(2003) found that organisational support had more effect on volunteer participation than the
effects of meeting all expectations, since volunteers of an organisation shared the same values
and affiliations. Moreno-Jimenez & Villodres (2010, p.1812) found that time spent
volunteering relates to volunteer burnout, stating that “to optimize volunteerism and minimize
dropouts, it seems advisable to limit the time volunteers devote to the organization”. Gagne
(2003) found that autonomy orientation; internal motivation, does not relate to the number of
hours spent volunteering but is a significant factor which positively affects the quality of the
psychological engagement of the volunteer in their activities.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
18-24 25-35 36-45 46-60 60+
Age
It is important to have a good work-life balance

37 | P a g e
4.13 Training & Development
Results from Figure 41 (see Appendix 5) shows that 80% of the male respondents agree or
strongly agree that it is important to be given the opportunity to learn and develop new and
existing skills within their volunteer role, opposed to only 65% of women. 100% of the
respondents that work part time also either agree or strongly agree, whereas those respondents
that are retired are least in agreement. Interestingly 45% of the respondents that are
unemployed or job seeking strongly agreed with this statement. (Figure 43 in Appendix 5)
shows that those volunteers that have been volunteering for less than one year are the most in
agreement that they like to have opportunities to learn new skills (80%), whereas those that in
have been in service for over 10 years are least in agreement with only approximately 30%
agreeing.
Encouragingly, 85% of men and 65% of women either agree or strongly agree with the
statement “I feel that I have been given adequate opportunities to learn and develop new and
existing skills” (See figure 44 in Appendix 5).
When asked “It is important that management consult me with my training and development
needs” 75% of the male respondents either agree or strongly agree, and 100% of those aged
between 25-35 agreed or strongly agreed. At least 60% of all respondents from each age
category either agreed or strongly agreed (see Figure 47 in Appendix 5).
75% of volunteer managers discuss the training progress of new recruits, whereby core
training is given to all new recruits before spending a considerable amount of time work-
shadowing experienced volunteers; however, 50% of the volunteer managers provide specific
service area training before allowing volunteers to work-shadow (see table 4 in Appendix 4).
Interviewee A discussed that before they introduced the core training programme volunteers
only received specific service area training, but it soon become apparent that people may not
have realised what was entailed in a specific area and would ask to be trained in another area,
which become costly and timely (see table 4 in Appendix 4). Interviewee C states that they
ascertain which area a potential volunteer would be suited to at the interview stage to save on
training costs in multiple area, however, current volunteers are encouraged to train in multiple
areas. Interviewee A states that they welcome volunteers to train in more than one area, but

38 | P a g e
only do so at the request of the volunteer. Interviewee D discussed how new volunteers have
an appraisal 3 months after their initial placement, which proves to be useful in distinguishing
whether the volunteer is happy in their department, or whether another service area would be
more suited; “doing this means that we can keep the volunteer before they decide to leave the
organisation” (see table 5 in Appendix 4). Interviewee A discussed how they are soon to
introduce “Peer volunteering” whereby each new recruit is assigned to an existing volunteer
to act as a buddy for support (see table 4 in Appendix 4).

39 | P a g e
5.0 ANALYSIS
Existing literature combined with results from this study clearly shows that without
volunteering it would not be possible for third sector organisations to deliver services which
the state fails to provide due to their cost (Bussell & Forbes, 2001). It is the role of volunteer
managers to ensure that volunteers are effectively recruited, placed and retained in order to
maximise the performance of the organisation (Clary, et al. 1992), since volunteers comprise
approximately 12.3% of the human resources in the UK economy (Kendall & Knapp, 2000a).
The lack of literature which is available to help with the leadership and management of
volunteers has been one of the crucial factors fuelling this study. Without a doubt; (HRM) still
remains one of the most important areas of concern for volunteer organisations.
Understanding the motivational forces that encourage or discourage people to volunteer is not
only a powerful tool to distinguish methods of recruiting volunteers, but also as an on-going
process to continually reward and retain the volunteer population. Beardwell, et al. (2004)
state that before management is able to design effective reward programs they must first
understand the factors that contribute towards volunteer motivation which is consistent with
the literature produced by Clary, et al. (1992).
Satisfaction plays a crucial role in understanding motivations to volunteer which “is a key
component of the functional approach to the volunteer process” (Finkelstein, 2008, p.10). The
functional approach identifies the motives which are satisfied, the needs which are fulfilled
and the goals that have been achieved through volunteerism, however, this approach does take
into account that people may engage in the same volunteer activity as other people for
different reasons, and more often than not, more than one reason at a time (Clary, et al. 1992).
The functional approach states that volunteers associate six motivational functions with
volunteering which are Values, Understanding, Esteem, Career, Social and Protective. These
six values can be split up into intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, consistent with Armstrong’s
(2009) motivation theory. Values, understanding and esteem are functions that can be fulfilled
by the individual themselves; however career, social and protective functions are fulfilled
extrinsically. Marchington & Wilkinson (2002) believe that extrinsic motivation is ineffective
and has short term effects, however this study proves that career, social and protective
functions, to some extent, have a significant motivational force on volunteers. The Volunteer
Functions Inventory (VFI) is consistent and poses credible interest with regards to the

40 | P a g e
definition of motivation as “the internal processes which activate, guide and maintain
behaviours” (Baron, 1991, cited in Hollyforde & Whiddett, 2002, p.2).
Volunteer managers are aware that individuals are motivated to help others through acts of
humanitarianism; helping others or giving something back to a cause they feel close to, as
shown by the high percentage of respondents in agreement. The same can be said for
individuals that choose volunteering as a function to improve their learning or to enhance
their self-esteem, however results show that volunteer managers are less aware of the
motivational function of enhancing self-esteem. Volunteering to serve the career function
requires further research, since only a small percentage of volunteers agreed that the career
function can be satisfied through volunteering. However, results reveal that this is dependent
on age. Chi-squared tests were applied to the raw data obtained from this statement (see
Appendix 6).
Null hypothesis (Ho) = Age is irrelevant as to whether people volunteer to get the
experience needed to get into their chosen job/career.
Alternate hypothesis (H1) = Age relates to whether people volunteer to get the
experience needed to get into their chosen job/career.
Chi-squared value (x²) = 0.000133
x² (0.000133) < 0.05
The chi-squared value (0.000133) for the relationship between Q4 (“Volunteering gives me
the experience needed to get into my chosen job/career”) and age is less than 0.05. This
demonstrates that there is a relationship between age and the opinion that the voluntary
experience contributes towards job prospects.
McClelland (cited in Daft, 2008) states that individual needs are learnt through the
experiences of life, where the predominant needs are to achieve, to be affiliated and to have
power. The need for affiliation poses interesting discussion, since results show that a high
percentage of volunteers agree that volunteering fulfils the social function of being around
other like-minded people and being able to make relationships. It would appear that managers
are less aware of the power that this function potentially possesses. In order to test the
relationship between gender and decisions to volunteer to fulfil the social function, chi-
squared tests were applied to the raw data (see Appendix 6).

41 | P a g e
Null hypothesis (Ho) = Gender is irrelevant as to whether people decide to volunteer
to be around other like-minded individuals
Alternate hypothesis (H1) = Gender relates to whether people decide to volunteer to
be around other like-minded individuals.
chi-squared value (x²) = 0.74243
x² (0.74243) > 0.05
The chi-squared value (0.74243) for the relationship between Q5 (“Volunteering gives me the
opportunity to be around other like-minded member of the community”) and gender is greater
than 0.05. This demonstrates that there is no relationship between gender and the opinion that
the voluntary experience allows people to be around other like-minded members of the
community.
The final function of volunteering according to Clary, et al. (1992) serves as a form of
escapism from personal issues or problems within life, however, research shows only a small
percentage of the respondents agreed that this was a function served by volunteering, where a
higher percentage of both men and women disagree. It appears that respondents who are
currently unemployed or job-seeking are most in agreement with this statement; quite
possibly due to the fact that they may have negative feelings towards unemployment. To test
the probability of getting the same results in future studies, the raw data from this study was
subject to chi-squared tests (see Appendix 6).
Null hypothesis (Ho) = Gender has no relevance when as to whether people volunteer
to escape their own personal problems.
Alternate hypothesis (H1) = Gender has relevance when as to whether people
volunteer to escape their own personal problems.
chi-squared value (x²) = 0.926788
x² (0.926788) > 0.05
The chi-squared value (0.926788) for the relationship between Q6 (“Volunteering is an
escape from my own personal issues/problems”) and gender is greater than 0.05. This
demonstrates that there is no relationship between gender and the opinion that the voluntary
experience allows people to escape from their own personal issues/ problems.

42 | P a g e
It could be said there are some similarities between the motivational forces that volunteers
follow with those of Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (see Appendix 7). Each
volunteer differs, yet according to Clary, et al. (1992) and research from this study, it is
apparent that each volunteer will strive towards fulfilling one of Maslow’s needs; such as
safety, esteem, social or self-actualisation (Mullins, 2010). However, what must be considered
is the fact that it is not likely that each volunteer will progress from basic needs to higher
needs as Maslow suggests; but are more likely to interchange from one need to another in no
particular order once one has been satisfied. Volunteer management report that a number of
people choose to volunteer because they are retired and it is “something to do” or a way of
using the skills learnt from their working life; fulfilling the social function. Vroom’s
Expectancy Theory (1964, cited in Crowther & Green, 2004) assumes that people will expect
preferential rewards if they behave in a certain way; which could work positively and
negatively. For instance, research shows that younger volunteers choose volunteering as a
behaviour that will seek to satisfy their need or desire to gain experience in a certain area of
work for future career aspirations.
In light of these facts and figures it is fair to agree with Beardwell, et al. (2004) with regards
to the importance of understanding motivational forces as a highly powerful tool; which
Mollander & Winterton (1994) identified as being paramount during recruitment and selection
procedures. Dale (2003) states that the right person must be appointed for a particular role,
otherwise there could be detrimental effects on service users and the organisation wholly.
Discussion with volunteer managers reveals that the short supply of volunteers makes it
difficult for some organisations to choose the perfect person every time, which means
sufficing and working hard with the volunteers which are recruited. However this does
sometimes cause problems further down the line with regards to retention.
Results show that the majority of managers do not actively recruit for new volunteers;
however, Clary, et al. (1992) state that using the VFI to ascertain the motivations and needs of
a particular group of potential volunteers could help to successfully implement an effective
advertising/recruitment campaign which is directed at a particular target audience. This is
supported by Catano, et al. (2010) who state that recruitment should not be done on a hunch
judgement. Organisation A’s ‘recruitment day’ practices are consistent with Bach (2003) who
states that individuals skills and abilities should be tested prior to recruitment and placement.
The majority of volunteers’ first point-of-contact occurs at the online application stage.

DISSERTATION FINAL2

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