{"id":13,"date":"2011-05-02T11:14:46","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T15:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/?p=13"},"modified":"2011-05-24T12:46:51","modified_gmt":"2011-05-24T16:46:51","slug":"is-there-a-pro-volunteer-culture-in-your-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/2011\/05\/02\/is-there-a-pro-volunteer-culture-in-your-organization\/","title":{"rendered":"Is there a Pro Volunteer Culture in your organization?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I recently attended the National Extension Conference on Volunteerism<\/a>.\u00a0 Martin J. Cowling delivered the keynote address, \u201cCreating a Pro-Volunteer Culture.\u201d\u00a0 He is a leading consultant on not for profit and volunteer management.\u00a0 Currently the CEO of People First<\/a> \u2013 Total Solutions, Martin works regularly with individuals and organizations internationally on areas connected with not for profit management, organizational culture, motivation, effective volunteer management, constructive personal development and financial disadvantage.<\/p>\n

Edgar Schein<\/a>, one of the most prominent theorists of organizational culture, tells us that as groups evolve over time, they face the challenge of adapting effectively to the external environment in order to survive.\u00a0 In order to find solutions to the problems that confront them, they engage in a kind of collective learning that creates the set of shared assumptions, values and beliefs, that we call \u201cculture.\u201d\u00a0 These assumptions are taken for granted.\u00a0 \u201cVolunteer Culture\u201d would include the shared assumptions, values and beliefs that the organization holds in regards to working and interacting with volunteers. What are some signs that the Volunteer Culture<\/em> at your organization is supportive of volunteers and the work the\"\"<\/a>y do?<\/p>\n

Reputation<\/em><\/strong> can be a sign.\u00a0 How many volunteers are with your organization and what attitudes do they have about that experience?\u00a0 What impressions do others have about what it is like to volunteer with your organization?\u00a0 Studies indicate that about 47% of volunteers are recruited by word of mouth.\u00a0 A volunteer who feels good about their experience share it with other potential volunteers.<\/p>\n

What does your organization write, say or broadcast about volunteering?\u00a0 Take some time to scan the official publications<\/em><\/strong> of the organization.\u00a0 Check out annual reports, the website, and the strategic plan.\u00a0 What does it take for the volunteer efforts to receive recognition in these publications?<\/p>\n

How do employees t<\/em><\/strong>reat the volunteers<\/em><\/strong>?\u00a0 Do they see them as equal team members for the work of the organization or are they viewed as a nice extra, but not really necessary for the successful operation of the organization?<\/p>\n

How do volunteers treat each other<\/em><\/strong>?\u00a0 Is there respect for all aspects of effort\/work where volunteers are engaged?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s focus on the lea<\/em><\/strong><\/strong>dership<\/em><\/strong> of the organization.\u00a0 Senior management may have a volunteer culture that is different from the broader organization.\u00a0 Is the volunteer culture different for those serving on the Board of Directors and working closely with the CEO?\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Values and beliefs that are fundamental to the organization may be a source of information for you to determine the shared assumptions<\/em><\/strong> about volunteers and the work they do for the organization.\u00a0 Are volunteers encouraged t<\/strong>o j<\/strong>oin t<\/strong>he staff at coffee breaks?\u00a0 Is there a separate supply cupboard for paid staff?\u00a0 Do you show respect for others?\u00a0 Does the term \u201cothers\u201d include volunteers?<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Spend some time assessing your organization to identify signs of a \u201cPro-Volunteer Culture.\u201d\u00a0 Celebrate when you see it!\u00a0 Analyze the signs that may be hard to identify and take the action steps needed to enhance your \u201cVolunteer Culture<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently attended the National Extension Conference on Volunteerism.\u00a0 Martin J. Cowling delivered the keynote address, \u201cCreating a Pro-Volunteer Culture.\u201d\u00a0 He is a leading consultant on not for profit and volunteer management.\u00a0 Currently the CEO of People First \u2013 Total Solutions, Martin works regularly with individuals and organizations internationally on areas connected with not for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":613,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[22985,22986,22984],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-management","tag-training","tag-volunteer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/613"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/67"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/capacity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}