The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008 - (Page 23)

ON VOLUNTEERS SUSAN J. ELLIS Middle Management Barrier Discover what this layer of management really thinks I t has long been a focus of attention to develop training for the frontline staff responsible for daily, point-of-work supervision of volunteers. But every project initiated at the top executive level must be implemented across and down the organizational ladder, relying along the way on the buy-in of middle managers: branch/affiliate directors, department heads, unit supervisors, and others for whom volunteers become a factor in their team’s effectiveness. Are middle managers supportive of volunteer involvement or resistant? Do they understand their “once removed” volunteer support role? Do they have the skills necessary to help their direct reports develop volunteers for the greatest impact? Most nonprofit staff are overworked and stretched thin already. Adding volunteers to the mix, while of great potential value in the long run, is not easy and definitely takes time. So the goal is to make sure the benefits of volunteer involvement outweigh the effort. It’s middle managers who can best monitor this balance and establish the importance of community engagement.They can be great allies or obstacles to success. Consider: • Middle managers convey overt and subtle messages to their direct reports about work expectations, setting the tone for how things are done in their corner of the organization. So their personal beliefs and attitudes about volunteers will shape the way staff/volunteer teamwork is supported (or undercut). how they coach and support their VPM? Do they understand the tension between doing what’s best for their department and also meshing with the organization-wide volunteer program goals and policies? TANGIBLE WAYS MIDDLE MANAGERS CAN HELP It’s better to insist on careful screening for the right volunteers. • Because middle managers train new employees to do their jobs properly, and evaluate employee work performance throughout the year, they substantially affect how their staffs approach any area of responsibility, including volunteers. Do they have the vision and expertise to establish exOf course, all this presumes that the organization has two things in its favor. First, it must be capable of financing the property. Either it has to have the liquidity to carry out the purchase, or it must know that a bank or other financing source is available. Second, the operations planned for the property have to be able to support the costs for the term of the financing. This means it must have programs and services in place that could pay for the property’s use. One additional ingredient would be helpful. Nonprofits’ missions require them to be creative in good times -- and even more creative in bad times. If you have mastered that ability, it may be time to start listening for opportunity’s distinctive knock. NPT Thomas A. McLaughlin is a national nonprofit management consultant with Grant Thornton in Boston. He is the author of the book “Nonprofit Strategic Positioning” (John Wiley and Sons, 2006). His e-mail address is thomas.mclaughlin@gt.com Streetsmart Continued from page 22 sity industrial area. Making the indifferent owner an offer, they prepared for the usual not-in-my-backyard fight with neighbors but instead were welcomed. The reason for a welcome just short of a parade was that for several years the house had been the club house and crash pad of a motorcycle club. WHAT TO LOOK FOR Look for motorcycle clubs or just about anything else that depresses the value of a building and gives neighbors and (hopefully) the owner an incentive to make a deal. Owning property might not be the of-course-why-not opportunity that it has been for decades. In fact, some nonprofits are succeeding precisely because they opt out of the property ownership hassle. Others are selling long-held property at a profit. But for some groups property ownership still makes sense. pectations and standards? • They have the authority to approve work assignments created for volunteers by the staff. So, if a middle manager’s image of volunteers is that they are mainly nice but not very skilled, that unit will design volunteer positions with low expectations (and self-fulfilling prophecy will produce volunteers who don’t care to be challenged). Conversely, middle managers who raise the bar on what volunteers are asked to do will help an organization to attract more highly qualified people. • Middle managers set the agenda for staff meetings and individual supervision sessions. Do they regularly make time to focus on volunteer involvement in their department/unit/branch? The inclusion or absence of volunteerrelated issues on the agenda sends a message – is it that volunteers matter or don’t? Employees can infer from their supervisors that spending time with volunteers is a diversion from their “real job,” to be done (if they wish) only after other, more important work is completed. Or, supervisors can visibly recognize and reward staff members who help volunteers to shine. In a large organization, a middle manager might well be supervising a volunteer program manager directly assigned to that department or unit. Are all middle managers consistent in www.nptimes.com There are a number of concrete ways middle managers are vital to any volunteer engagement process. The first is suggesting or approving work assignments for volunteers. It takes skill to design positions for a variety of volunteers with different backgrounds and schedules.Yet this is at the heart of successful volunteer involvement. It’s middle managers that know the most about the current workload and goals for their units and therefore can urge imaginative ideas from their staff.At a minimum, a middle manager can make sure that all volunteer roles are clearly defined and not some vague “volunteers will help out” statement. Middle managers can also avoid smokescreens such as confidentiality or risk and liability, and not block creative volunteer projects on the basis of “rules” or concern about control. It’s important to practice risk management, but not risk avoidance. Volunteers are neither innately prone to gossip nor inherently risky. It’s better to insist on careful screening for the right volunteers, a strong training program, and close supervision, than to refuse to let a volunteer take on a demanding assignment. All volunteer positions imply the availability of appropriate space, equipment, and supplies. But frontline staff usually are not the ones who can initiate requisitions for these sorts of things. The middle manager needs to pay attention to the physical environment and make sure that volunteers have the tools they need to be productive, without having to beg, borrow, or steal them from employees. Finally -- but quite critically -- middle managers can be role models in routinely seeking volunteers to help them in their work. As a side benefit, managers who directly supervise some volunteers gain first-hand understanding of what support the staff may need in doing this themselves. Coaching in supervision skills. Some frontline employees may never have supervised anyone before, paid or not. The middle manager must assess where each report falls on the spectrum of supervision experience and then help staff think through how to make volunteers feel welcome and be productive. What is the same and what is different about working with On Volunteers, page 24 JANUARY 1, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES 23 http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008 Expenses Continue To Put Stress On Nonprofit Budgets Insuring Donors’ Goodwill Volunteers On Firing Line Contents Who...When...Where...How...What? Red Cross Audit Comes Up Clean Exit Doors Rear And Aft Calendar A Fresh Look Special Report: Accounting APIs Opportunity Is Knocking Middle Management Barrier Memorial NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - January 1, 2008

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