Convened by:
Title Sponsor:
Sponsor:
Using Volunteer Teams
to Build Organizational Capacity
Convened by:
Title Sponsor:
Sponsor:
Speakers
Troy Dunston
[email protected]
(717) 783-6205
Tom Endres
[email protected]
(202) 719-8880
Tobi Johnson
[email protected]
(206) 799-9038
Session Outcomes
① Involve volunteers in meaningful capacity-building
efforts at your organization
② Prepare your organization to effectively utilize selfdirected volunteer teams to save staff time and increase
outcomes
③ Understand the research-based structure, strategy, and
principles to tap the full potential of today’s volunteers
④ Design easy ways to track impacts and results
Recruitment
Org-affiliated
Contribute
Supervised
Unskilled Jobs
Available Long-term
Consistent
Schedule
Few Tech Tools
Now
Before
Changing Volunteer Expectations
Require Innovative Approaches
Engagement
Cause-related
Make a Difference
Self-directed
Skilled Jobs
Mix of Commitment
Flexible Schedule
Many Tech Tools
Adapted from: Jill Friedman Fixler and Sandie Eichberg, Boomer Volunteer Engagement, 2012
Organizational Realities & Results
Organizations and staff are
overwhelmed by change and
funding issues!
• Accomplishments and outcomes on priority aging
service needs.
• A high return on investment.
Traditional volunteer
management is time
consuming and staff intensive
• More work done and a reduction of the never-ending
staff list of “to-dos.”
• Freed staff time to focus on their areas of expertise and
primary responsibilities.
One out of three Boomer
volunteers leave their
assignment within the first
year!
There is a mismatch between
the work volunteers want to
do and what organizations
are asking them to do.
• A cadre of community ambassadors; more
knowledgeable, engaged volunteers spreading the
word about who you are and how much you do!
• Higher levels of volunteer satisfaction and retention.
• Enhanced roles for volunteers; giving the volunteer
flexibility and independence to be creative!
• An enriched experience for volunteers that allows them
to apply the full range of their talent and experience.
About APPRISE
• Network of highly
trained volunteers
• Very unique and
diverse community
• Assists over 200,000
seniors a year
• Assistance can result
in better heath care
and lower costs
Project Goal
Increase the number of
volunteers participating
in APPRISE by actively
involving them in
supportive, team-based
leadership roles
APPRISE Teams
Medicare
Counselor
Training Team(s)
• To train newly
recruited
APPRISE
counselors
DIY Volunteer
Program Audit
Team(s)
• To conduct
volunteer
program audits
at local
APPRISE
programs
Hybrid Model
Self-Directed Volunteer Teams
+ Specific Project Tasks
Statewide
Coaching Team
• To provide
coaching
support to Audit
Teams
Bright Ideas to Test
• Medicare Training Team:
Can we decrease new
volunteer onboarding time?
• DIY Audit Team:
Do the DIY Audits predict
performance success?
• Statewide Coaching Team:
Does coaching help?
• APPRISE: Are we ready to
try this new approach
statewide?
Medicare Counselor Training Team
• Question to Answer:
– Does having volunteer trainers available to
supplement training reduce the time needed to
make volunteer counselors productive?
• How It Can Help:
– Lag time between availability to volunteer & actual
service could affect attrition rates
– The faster volunteers become certified counselors,
the faster additional beneficiaries can be served.
DIY Volunteer Program Audit Team
• Question to Answer:
– How well do self-audit results match up with, and
possibly anticipate, results on the
U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL)
Performance Measures?
• How It Can Help:
– DIY Audit results could serve as a “leading indicator”
of success
– DIY Audit results could help pinpoint specific areas for
intervention
Statewide Coaching Team
• Question to Answer:
– As coaches provide specific recommendations, how
many are put into practice, and to what extent?
• How It Can Help:
– Helps pinpoint which recommendations are most
promising
– Also, if there are inherent problems with a
recommendation and/or factors that inhibit the agency
from implementing it
What is a
Self-Directed Volunteer Team?
A multi-skilled group of
volunteers who share
responsibilities for addressing a
community problem or need.
In partnership with a community
organization, each team is
empowered to take full
responsibility for designing
solutions and executing actions
resulting in tangible results and
outcomes.
3
Self-Directed Volunteer Teams …
ARE …
• True teams (vs. groups)
• Self-managed
• Issue-based
• Outcome focused
• Where leadership is
shared
• Successful when the
organization’s culture is
aligned with them
• Volunteers empowered!
ARE NOT …
• An advisory board
• A governing board
• An ongoing committee
• A short-term event
planning committee
• A team managed by paid
staff
• A team supervised by a
volunteer leader
Readiness Checklist
 Willing to adopt a “We are all teachers & we are all
learners” philosophy
 Understand that it’s not who’s the expert, but who
has the information at their level
 Is fully committed to the process, through its
challenges
 Recognizes that communication is critical to
success
 Is ready to support and focus on developing team
interpersonal skills
Readiness Checklist
 Clear buy-in exists at multiple levels of the
organization
 Ready to learn a new way to lead through
transformative (shared) leadership
 Able to be fully transparent about processes and
outcomes (the good and not so good)
 Open to diverse input
 Have a safe space to encourage and manage
conflict
 Prepared to support diverse decision-making
strategies
“If you’re just going to throw up your
hands, you’re not getting anywhere in life.
You have to have patience.”
– APPRISE Self-Directed
Volunteer Team Member
Group
DecisionMaking
Mutual
Accountability
Shared
Leadership
Joint ProblemSolving
SDVTeam
Characteristics
Complimentary
Skills
Manageable
Number
Appropriate
Interaction
Authority to Act
Long-Term
Perspective
SDVTeam Composition
Key Staff
Person
Team
Members
Facilitator
Key Staff Support
Balance the
level and
intensity of
activity
depending on
where you are
in these
stages.
1. Initiating the Team:
• Assist in volunteer recruitment
• May identify the Team Facilitator
• Assist in volunteer training
• Assist Team in creating structure
2. Supporting the Team:
• Establish accountability
• Spread the word (internal/external)
• Make connections
• Stay connected
3. Relinquishing Control:
• Monitor process
• Recognize accomplishments
• Provide resources
• Serve as agency representative
Tools for SDVTeam Success
Issue Brief
Charter
Leadership
Style
Purpose = Mission = Issue Brief
Purpose: The Issue Brief generally
identifies an issue, need, or problem
that is vital to the mission of the
organization.
80% Planning and 20% Doing = Highest Impact
Issue Brief
Answers Four Basic
Questions:
• What’s the Issue?
• For Whom?
• Who Will Benefit?
• How Will You Know?
The APPRISE Issue Brief
People age 65 and over
will comprise
approximately 19% of
Pennsylvania’s
population by 2020 and
nearly 23% by 2030.
The network must
continue to build its
capacity to serve.
Issue Brief & Project Examples
Increasing
Population of
Older People in
Need of Services
Need to increase the
number of available
Medicare Counseling
Volunteers
Form volunteer-led Medicare
Training Teams to train new
volunteers more quickly
Ageism
Local community is not a
welcoming place for
older people and
sometimes perpetuates
stereotypes
Develop training for small
businesses on age-friendly
strategies
Lack of Viable
Transportation
Non-drivers or those
without vehicles are
unable to get to their
health and basic needs
met
Replicate/expand Volunteer
Driver Program in two unserved counties
Elder Abuse
Abused elders have a
300% higher risk of
death than those not
abused
Determine the nature and
prevalence in our service
area and develop solutions
and actions our agency can
implement
Discussion:
What key issues are affecting your
community? What projects might SelfDirected Volunteer Teams lead to help solve
them? What results would you hope for?
The Team Charter
A written agreement between
the team and the organization
that establishes expectations
and roles for both.
A living document that can
evolve as team and project
progress.
…the team’s goals and ground rules are also
documented in the charter
Common Components







Team Name
Goal
Mission Statement
Ground Rules
Roles & Responsibilities
Available Resources
Authority to Act
Team Ground Rules
Guidelines
agreed upon by
the team that
describe how
members will
work together to
achieve success.
Discussion:
SDVTeam Roles & Responsibilities
Logistics
Project
Management
InterRelationships
“It’s difficult enough to find volunteers who want to commit
to a program like APPRISE; having volunteers deliver
training gives me flexibility. It’s a huge benefit for a
volunteer coordinator like me.”
– APPRISE SDVTeam Key Staff Person
The Volunteer Experience
Benefits
Challenges
“To me, it’s the best experience I’ve
had so far (volunteering).”
“We became fully aware of the
limitations support staff (the volunteer
coordinator) has in accomplishing
what’s required of her, given the time
and resources she has available.”
“It got us talking about doing more nontraditional outreach and looking at new
ways of recruiting and retaining
volunteers. Can you segment
volunteers? Are we looking at new
audiences?”
“It takes a commitment to make it
work.”
“Our project was very painful, but we
are very proud of what we
accomplished…many teams would
have folded.”
“It looked effortless to the class, but
there’s a lot of work behind it.”
What Did We Learn?
• Volunteer Selection & Preparation
– Be strategic in selecting the participants involved in your project
– Allow for participants to review/complete training materials (Issue
Brief, Team Charter, etc.) prior to training sessions
– All project participants should attend the initial trainings
– Training modules need to focus on the practical (key project
activities and team outcomes) first, the more theoretical
(SDVTeam philosophy, teamwork, etc.) later
– SDVTeam members who are new to APPRISE need training on
APPRISE basics
What Did We Learn?
• Organization
– Create templates of all project-related documents and other tools
for volunteer teams to use when creating their own version
– Volunteers should not participate on more than one team during
the project
• Communication
– Schedule ongoing “pulse check” calls with Key Staff Personnel
to stay informed about issues, concerns, etc.
– Expectations need to be more clearly defined and communicated
at beginning
Medicare Counselor Training Team
• Question:
– Does having volunteer trainers available to
supplement training reduce the time needed to
make volunteer counselors productive?
• Results:
– The York County volunteer-led training team completed
a training course on July 20, 2015.
– The next staff-led training was scheduled to be
completed on September 23, 2015.
– This reflects a decrease of 65 days between the new
volunteers’ dates of availability and eligibility.
DIY Volunteer Program Audit Team
• Question to Answer:
– How well do self-audit results match up with, and
possibly anticipate, results on the
U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL)
Performance Measures?
• Results:
– Audit Teams have just completed their reports.
Correlation analyses have not yet been completed by
evaluator
Statewide Coaching Team
• Question to Answer:
– As coaches provide specific recommendations,
how many are put into practice, and to what
extent?
• Results:
– 45% of the coaching discussion topics captured in the
Coaching Logs were actionable.
– Team Facilitators reported that they took action on
100% of those actionable topics.
Discussion:
What were your A-HA! moments?
What are implications for your
volunteer administration practices?
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Thank you!
This project was supported, in part by grant
number 90SO0004-01-00 from the U.S.
Administration for Community Living,
Department of Health and Human Services,
Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees
undertaking projects under government
sponsorship are encouraged to express
freely their findings and conclusions. Points
of view or opinions do not, therefore,
necessarily represent official Administration
for Community Living policy.