Thursday, July 24, 1997

Give volunteers respect they deserve

By ANN HUMPHRIES / Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Assess the way you treat your volunteers.

Volunteerism is prominent in the news, and many people will be signing up to do even more in their community. Yet, organizations need to be vigilant about how they manage volunteers so that everyone benefits and volunteering is productive, enjoyable and fulfilling as it should be.

Gerry Gudgel, an IBM manager from Columbia, S.C., was a delegate to the America's Promise summit chaired by Colin Powell. Now leading the local contingency, Gudgel admits: "We've raised the publicity, the commitment and the stakes of volunteerism. We must be more accountable as individuals, organizations and communities to volunteering."

Gudgel suggests that organizations look carefully at how they treat today's volunteers. "The beauty and strength of volunteerism is not just the work that's done, but the transformation that happens to the people who volunteer. There's a dual benefit," he said.

Gudgel knows fulfillment is what people want to experience as they volunteer, so he advises organizations to follow a few suggestions:

-Have something specific and immediate for volunteers to do. Be responsible and creative in assessing and using the talents people have. Don't waste what people offer.

-Have a system in place to handle the volunteers. If you advertise for help, be sure you can handle people who call. Gudgel tells about people who want to volunteer, but never receive a call back. "They get lost in the system," Gudgel said, "and then think we don't want them." Worse is the lack of coordination within an organization in which the same people are called several times to do several things for the same event.

-Manage burnout. Spread around the workload. Recruit new blood. Let intense volunteers take time off without pestering them for more and more. Protect them from office politics.

-Coordinate with other organizations. Ask hard questions about where you duplicate what another agency does. Rather than dilute the source of volunteers, collaborate. You'll appear stronger and be more attractive to the public.

-Be grateful and appreciative. Thank volunteers profusely and speak well of them to the staff and public. Rethink the standard appreciation banquet or breakfast, which can have low attendance and not accomplish the unity and celebration you really want as an outcome. Devise creative ways to make people feel welcome and important. "With all things being equal, patronize the businesses of volunteers. They deserve it," Gudgel said.

Volunteerism has extraordinary benefits. Be sure you are responsible with the gifts it provides.