Improving Employee Volunteer Programs

A view from both sides

Hayley Hext

2006

Research supported by:

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Introduction

Why this research?

Participants

Questions

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5 Themes

1 The role of volunteering in establishing and maintaining significant long term multi-dimensional partnerships

2 Written agreements and setting expectations

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5 Themes

3 Finance and resource issues

4 Finding suitable volunteering opportunities

5 Employee motivation and education of non-profit aims

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Challenges to nonprofits (1)

Finding volunteering opportunities and matching the needs of both organizations

Continuously developing opportunities that will interest volunteers and benefit clients

Deciding and predicting if the investment of time and effort in organizing volunteering opportunities is worth the outcome

Articulating what the non-profit needs and saying no to offers of help that are not needed or beneficial

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Challenges to nonprofits (2)

Managing expectations of community service managers and non-profit clients

Negotiating who will pay for the costs involved in volunteering

Calls from a corporate who want large numbers of employees to volunteer on the same specific day at short notice – unrealistic expectation

Finding motivated volunteers who want to be there – quality not quantity

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Challenges to nonprofits (3)

Having enough time and resources to manage volunteers and ensure that projects run smoothly and are successful

Volunteers not turning up on the day - resource costs involved and disappointment of recipients

Corporates offering volunteers as an alternative to financial contributions is a backward step for the non-profit sector.

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Challenges to corporates (1)

Finding volunteering opportunities that match the needs of both organizations

Continuously developing opportunities that are new and relevant that will interest employees and benefit non-profits

Having enough time and resources to organize volunteering opportunities and ensuring that projects run smoothly and are successful

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Challenges to corporates (2)

Motivating employees at all levels to participate

Driving a culture change to enable all levels of staff to embrace the concept and support it

Managing expectations of employees of what types of activities are available and achievable within non-profit organizations

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Challenges to corporates (3)

Managing the costs of volunteering with limited or no budgets

OH&S and insurance issues

Creating good policies and procedures to protect employees and ensure the success of the volunteer programs.

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What can be done? (1)

Nonprofits said… That both non-profits and corporates need

to understand and appreciate the difference in each others cultures

Both need to put their agreements in writing to articulate clearly what is going to happen

Both sides need to have one person as the main point of contact to avoid confusion and misunderstanding

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What can be done? (2)

Nonprofits said… That there needs to be an equal dialogue

between the two sectors Nonprofits need to make employee

volunteering just one element of a multi-dimensional partnership in order to gain return on investment

Non-profits need to obtain and manage well a small number of quality multi-dimensional partnerships rather then trying to manage lots of one off and short term relationships poorly

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What can be done? (3)

Nonprofits said… That corporates need to provide quality

volunteers, not large quantities That volunteers need to stop withdrawing

from a volunteering activity at the last minute

That they would like corporates to provide financial assistance for volunteering to ensure there is no cost to them

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What can be done? (1)

Corporates said… Both non-profits and corporates need a

good understanding of each others business, their challenges and needs

Both need to know what they want, what they can offer and why they are forming relationships with each other

Both need appropriately skilled staff to manage relationships and organize volunteering activities

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What can be done? (2)

Corporates said… Both need to be open and flexible in order

to find a way of working together that meets both needs

Both need to manage expectations through good communication and planning

Both need to realize that non-profit/corporate relationships and the nature of volunteering is constantly changing and evolving as both sectors learn from their experiences

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What can be done? (3)

Corporates said that nonprofits need to … Educate their colleagues, senior

managers and boards on how corporate/non-profit relationships have changed and are not necessarily about fundraising

Say “no” if the volunteer help offered by a corporate is not going to benefit them

Be more selective when deciding which corporate to work with

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What can be done? (4)

Corporates said that nonprofits need to … Do their research on the corporates

values and motivations before accepting any assistance

Change their mindset in regards to “playing the victim”

Adopt a business mentality and look for a relationship that provides equal benefits

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What can be done? (5)

Corporates said that … Nonprofits need a more strategic

approach to managing their organizations in order to remain sustainable

Non-profits could obtain pro bono business managers/consultants to help them identify their organizations needs

Corporates need a central budget to help cover the costs of volunteering.

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Conclusions

Mixed responses reflects diversity of programs and the motivation and experience of participants/organisations

Different cultures and needs leads to difficulties

Key finding - important that both have a clear understanding of what they want, what they can offer and why they are forming relationships.

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What’s next?

Publish literature

Focus groups

Further and future research

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The End

Thanks!