1. FIRING VOLUNTEERS
Where to Draw the Line

2. DEFINING EXPECTATIONS OF PERFORMANCE
AND BOUNDARIES FOR BEHAVIOR
 One of the best ways to avoid situations where
you need to reprimand or dismiss volunteers is to
make sure the framework within which they
work is clearly outlined.
 In doing so, not only do you avoid many difficult
situations, you also make it easy for yourself to
handle when a volunteer crosses the line.

3. DEFINING EXPECTATIONS OF PERFORMANCE
AND BOUNDARIES FOR BEHAVIOR
 What are some examples of boundaries we need
to have?

4. DEFINING EXPECTATIONS OF PERFORMANCE
AND BOUNDARIES FOR BEHAVIOR
 As a volunteer, boundaries and expectations are
far easier to follow if they actually know what
they are
 It is up to you to communicate these
expectations.

5. THOSE “GRAY AREAS” OF WHEN IT’S NOT
SO CLEAR TO ARRIVE AT A DECISION
 Pray
 Pray for wisdom
 Pray for the campers & their families
 Pray for the volunteer
 Pray for the rest of the staff & campers

6. THOSE “GRAY AREAS” OF WHEN IT’S NOT
SO CLEAR TO ARRIVE AT A DECISION
 Seek council of those you trust
 Someone close to the situation so they can give an
opinion based on what they have witnessed.
 Someone completely detached so they can offer advice
without the emotion that often accompanies
volunteering on a camp staff.

7. THOSE “GRAY AREAS” OF WHEN IT’S NOT
SO CLEAR TO ARRIVE AT A DECISION
 Hear the offending volunteer’s side of the story
 Refrain from making a decision “on-the-fly” with
them in the room. Hear them out, thank them and
tell them you need some time to decide how you’re
going to proceed.

8. THOSE “GRAY AREAS” OF WHEN IT’S NOT
SO CLEAR TO ARRIVE AT A DECISION
 Decide how much precedence matters.
 Two schools of thought on precedence:
 I’ll undermine my authority as a leader if I’m not
completely consistent.
 Even under very similar circumstances, many variables still
exist, so those variables must be weighed & considered.
 Both are true. My advice:
 Lean more to weighing the variables and make a separate
decisions based on the all information available.
 But do your best to appear consistent. This is where you
need to communicate your decision to the key people around
you. That will help others understand why this situation is
different than the one(s) before.
 If you are feel strongly that precedence matters , then you
need to may this one a rule.

9. BEST PRACTICES FOR DISMISSING A
VOLUNTEER
 Pray, again for all those involved.
 Remind yourself, this is in the best interest of
your ministry. If you are not 100% confident of
this, you’re not finished deliberating.
 Do this behind closed doors – always.
 Have someone with you - not only is this an
appropriate step to keep key people involved, it
also protects you.

10. BEST PRACTICES FOR DISMISSING A
VOLUNTEER
 Tell the offending volunteer what they have done,
and why it is unacceptable. Be direct and don’t
ramble. Practice if you need to.
 You’ve already heard their side. An open discussion
at this point will only make this harder.
 Be as loving as possible, but don’t let your desire to
be loving cause you to not be direct and honest. This
is a very hard thing to do, again practice if you need
to.

11. BEST PRACTICES FOR DISMISSING A
VOLUNTEER
 After you’ve said what you need to say, don’t ask
if they have questions, and don’t allow
discussion. If they try and discuss, say “I’m sorry
that it has to be this way. I still love you, but my
decision has been made.”
 Ask the person who is with you to help them
gather their stuff.
 Ahead of time, make sure they understand that you
are asking them to be nice and helpful to the person
you just dismissed, but you are also asking them to
stay with the volunteer until they leave – you still
have a ministry to protect.

12. MANAGING THE FALLOUT
 Pray
 Let’s look at the most likely categories. You’ll
probably have to put out fires in at least one of
these areas:
 Interpersonal
 Legal
 Church Relations
 Donor Relations

13. MANAGING THE FALLOUT
 Interpersonal
 Let your Dean, Board member or other senior staff
member who was with you go to bat for you. They
were an integral part of this and witnessed you
perform appropriately and need to communicate that.
Be there while they do this so…
 Staff will see you willing to stand behind your actions
 You can take questions and help clear up any
misunderstandings.
 Only take those questions publicly that will help the
group understand.
 If someone is upset and intent on using this time to
accuse or disrupt, tell them you are happy to hear their
concerns, but that you need to do that privately – always
with their Dean, Board Member, etc.

14. MANAGING THE FALLOUT
 Legal
 Call your insurance company immediately. They will
most likely arrange and attorney.
 Call Board Chair immediately and bring them up to
speed.
 Upon advice from insurance & board you may want
to contact a trusted legal advisor, who may or may
not end up directly involved – i.e. a lawyer who has
given informal advice in the past.

15. MANAGING THE FALLOUT
 Church Relations
 Don’t let the church hear from the volunteer first.
Get on the phone with the senior minister and/or
chairman of the elders of the volunteer’s church and
give them your side.
 Be open & honest and offer to have yourself and the
other individual who was with you come meet if they
would like.

16. MANAGING THE FALLOUT
 Donor Relations
 Call them
 Be open & honest in explaining what happened
 Offer to sit down and discuss it if they’d like.

17. Q&A