valuing leaders and managers of volunteers

Valuing leaders and managers of volunteers

“Finding Our Voice” - AVM conferenceRegus London23rd October 2013

Purpose

• Explore some context for our role in 2013

• Help us articulate the value and importance of our role

• Key messages for AVM and peers

Context

We are a diverse field

• 15% of VMs are in defined roles

• 63% are paid, the rest are volunteers (growing?)

• 6% are full time

• 14% spend three quarters of their time on the role

• 56% spend less than a quarter of their time

Management Matters, IVR 2008Valuing Volunteer Management Skills, IVR 2010

Evolution of our role

Volunteer manager

Volunteers

Volunteer manager

Volunteers Employees

Senior management

Volunteer manager

Volunteers Employees

How can we articulate our value?

We have to be proactive!

Discussion time

• Examples of what you have done to articulate & influence the value of your role? What happened as a result?

• Ideas for how you might articulate & influence around the value of your role?What the next action is to make those ideas a reality?

• What has stopped you from articulating and influencing around the value of your role? What do you need to give yourself permission to do to start?

• 78% of volunteers said their satisfaction relied on the role of the VM

• Increased capacity in volunteer management led to an improvement in recruiting and managing volunteers

Key facts & figures

“The right stuff: New ways of thinking about managing volunteers”, Zimmeck 2011

“The impact of public policy on volunteering in community based organisations”, Hutchinson and Ockenden 2008

Key facts and figures

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20

40

60

80

100

Applying Selection Valued Recommend

With a VM (%) Without a VM (%)

Key facts and figures

“Evidence was found throughout the survey responses that cutting staff for volunteer programs resulted in fewer volunteers and less service. The data showed a sharp contrast between volunteer programs thriving and growing in service delivery and programs where resources were cut and services shrinking. It is clear that less funding for volunteer programs results in fewer volunteers, less work for the volunteers to do, lower quality work due to less training, and other impacts.”

“The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment”, MAVA 2010

Key facts and figures

“There was excitement throughout the responses that volunteers can provide increased capacity and that organizations are increasing their reliance on volunteers. The findings raise questions, however, regarding how sustainable this is. Only 7% of respondents saw an increase in the volunteer program budget in 2010, while 55% projected greater reliance on volunteers in 2011. Many volunteer programs are clearly doing more with flat resources, but the results of the survey confirm the value of increasing investments in volunteer programs so that the 55% that project increased reliance on volunteers can successfully do so.”

“The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment”, MAVA 2010

Key facts and figures

“There is a disconnect between many organizations’ increasing reliance on volunteers and few organizations putting more resources into volunteer management. If the “new normal” is a larger reliance on volunteers to meet mission, this is not being supported by an investment of resources to accomplish this”.

“The Status of Minnesota’s Volunteer Programs In a Shifting Environment”, MAVA 2013

Key messages for AVM and peers

What do you want to say?

Contact us

rob@robjacksonconsulting.com

07557 419 074

www.robjacksonconsulting.com

@robjconsulting

www.robjacksonconsulting.blogspot.com

http://robjackson.thirdsector.co.uk