Dealing with Tricky
Situations
with Volunteers
28th June 2016
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Session aims
•Identify common problem areas and consider
underlying causes
• Tips to manage relationships between volunteers, and
between volunteers and paid staff, including identifying
barriers that can lead to disagreement
• Discuss how to prevent problems, including
policies/procedures and effective recruitment
• Discuss how to deal with problems when they do
happen, including assertiveness skills
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Problems and causes
Let’s think about the causes behind
why tricky situations occur.
Group Flipchart Time!
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Problems and causes
Causes: The 4 P’s
People
Policies
Procedures
Place/plant
(environment/equipment)
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CAUSES: Volunteers
•Unmet expectations e.g. role not meaningful,
not gaining new skills etc.
•Feeling marginalised in comparison with
employees e.g. access to training, support &
supervision etc.
•Not taken seriously by employees
•Work not valued, taken for granted, overworked
•Not being inducted or shown how to do things
properly
•Lack of support
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CAUSES: Staff
•Not being consulted about working with volunteers
•Fear that volunteers will take employees’ jobs
•Not supported to manage volunteers, or lack of clarity about who is
responsible
•Suspicion that volunteers will ‘push‘ employees away from service users
•Fear that volunteers will be unreliable
•Concern that volunteers will be more of a hindrance than a help e.g. ‘it’s
easier to do things myself’
•Not able to get rid of volunteers even when they can’t or won’t do their
work
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Underlying causes
•Lack of clarity and understanding within the
organisation about why they are involving
volunteers.
•Insufficient planning for the management of
volunteers.
•Fears (barriers or ‘blocks’) between
volunteers and employees about their working
relationship not dealt with.
•Inadequate support and supervision of
volunteers and employees in the absence of a
structured volunteer programme.
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PREVENTION: Enabling cooperation
between volunteers and paid staff
Prevention is better than the cure!
Let’s think of a few solutions …
FLIPCHART TIME 
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PREVENTION Strategies for creating
good, healthy cooperation between
volunteers and paid staff
•
Overall organisation policy for involving volunteers.
•
Working with staff to identify their own, and their clients’/users’
needs.
•
Making staff aware of, and involved in the volunteer programme.
•
Personalised and adjustable task descriptions for volunteers.
•
Involving volunteers and employees in the management (decision
making) of the volunteer programme.
•
Early monitoring of volunteer placements.
•
Accepting that staff must have some element of control and
responsibility in volunteer management.
•
On-going relationship building.
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PREVENTION: Involving staff in the
planning of volunteer programme
•Understand why the organisation is involving
volunteers
•Agree policies and procedures for working with
volunteers.
•Demonstrate the value to the organisation of
volunteer involvement
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PREVENTION through strong
recruitment
In an ideal world we would
avoid the problem rather than
having to deal with a tricky
situation when it occurs.
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PREVENTION through strong
recruitment
Let’s have a think of how the
problem could have been
avoided through the recruitment
and induction / training process.
Flipchart time again!
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PREVENTION: Contents of a Problem
Solving Procedure
Hands up who has a
problem-solving procedure
for their volunteers?
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PREVENTION: Contents of a Problem
Solving Procedure
1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
2. PRINCIPLES
3. COMPLAINTS FROM VOLUNTEERS
–Oral discussion
–Written complaint
–Appeal process
4. COMPLAINTS AGAINST VOLUNTEERS
–Oral Discussion
–Written Warning
–Review period
–Appeal process
–Asking a Volunteer to Leave
–Gross misconduct
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PREVENTION: Creating a Problem
Solving Procedure
• Involve volunteers in designing the policy
• Confidentiality: only those directly involved in
resolving the issue
• How long complaints and warnings will be kept
on file
• Allow enough time for meetings, no interruptions
• Keep complainants informed at every step
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PREVENTION: Creating a Problem
Solving Procedure (2)
• Set realistic timeframes for complaints and
response
• Reassure service users that they can still use
the service
• Volunteer can continue unless suspended
due to investigation into gross misconduct
• Colleague, friend or union representative
accompany them in meetings
• Who to involve in decisions and appeals
• Review policy and procedures regularly
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DURING …
So a problem has happened…
• What do you do now?
• And how do you do it?
• What skills are needed to sort
it out?
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DURING …
1. Identify the problem
– Talk about what happened
with those who were there
•
•
One-off incident
Slow burning, ongoing problem
2. Come up with a solution
– Talk to colleagues
– Previous experience
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DURING …
3. Ignore problem, it will
probably go away. NOOOO! 
4. Take action
• Face-to-face meetings
• Time for assertiveness skills!
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DURING: Why do Volunteer Managers
need assertiveness skills?
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DURING: Why do Volunteer
Managers need assertiveness
skills?
•
Need to champion volunteering
•
Called on to deal with volunteer issues
•
Mediator between staff and volunteers
•
Often learning ‘as you go’
•
May have to say ‘no’
•
Problems will always exist, but the more practice at
solving (and avoiding problems), the easier they are
to deal with
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DURING: Techniques
• Broken record
– Work out what it is that you really want to
say to the other person. Make sure you
keep saying it, calmly and slowly, until it is
received.
• Body Language
– Smiling, friendly, relaxed.
• Take criticism
– Be aware of who is giving it to you, get
other opinions if you’re not sure
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DURING: Techniques (2)
•
•
•
•
Sandwich the criticism you give to others with
positivity
– Be honest about the positive, be clear and specific
about the negative
Disagree, but carefully:
– There is a process, and it begins with a yes!
Use ‘I’ statements.
– Very direct and come from your point of view.
Say what you mean:
– e.g. ‘no’ or ‘thank you’
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DURING: Statements and
behaviours
Verbal openers
I would like you to
I feel that
I think that
I don’t want to
I will not
I cannot
Co-operative statements and questions
Lets see what everyone else thinks
What do you want
How can we resolve this
Let’s discuss
Shall we negotiate
Have you any suggestions
Can you tell me a time that would be good for you to
talk about…
Empathetic statements
I appreciate that this is difficult
for you
I can see that you seem
worried
You may be too busy now, but
I understand that this may not
be something which is very
important to you, but
Non verbal accompanying behaviour
Calm purposeful walk
Weight evenly balanced, upright posture
Relaxed hands and legs – not clenched, or crossed
Direct eye contact – but don’t glare!
Strong, clear, steady voice
Expressive face and gestures – but don’t fidget
Relaxed, non- manipulative smiling, as appropriate
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DURING: How to
disagree
“I want you to work late tonight to finish preparations for the Volunteer
induction” Max Eggert, The Assertiveness Pocketbook
Start with an affirmative statement. Agree with
something they are saying or feeling.
“Yes, I can understand that…
Softening statement: show recognition,
empathy or understanding
We have been short staffed all week
and I know it has been difficult…
Indicate process that you will use to outline your
position
State reasons for your position
•either straight,
•or pros and cons and why you chose your
position
Disagree – finally! Use strong language – don’t
be tentative or apologise. And start with “so…” it
makes the whole thing seem logical
But I have to tell you something…
Let me give you my reasons...
I have not seen my children much this
week and tonight I promised to take
them to the park…
Compromise – optional, but useful if it will help
you get what you want.
Would it be helpful if I stayed
tomorrow?”
So I cannot work overtime tonight…
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DURING: Practicing
• Using the scenario from 1st activity, practice
the techniques discussed
• Groups of three
– Volunteer Coordinator
– Volunteer
– Observer – note what
techniques/strategies were used
• Review how it went
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AFTER: Solutions exhausted?
So, you’ve exhausted
all of the potential
solutions. What next?
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AFTER: Dismissing a volunteer
Can you dismiss a volunteer?
Hands up who in this room has
dismissed a volunteer?
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AFTER: Dismissing a volunteer
Step 1: Is a dismissal necessary? Can the problem
be solved? Is the volunteer aware? Is it their
fault?
Follow problem solving process
Make a decision – be clear on the reasons
Meeting with volunteer to communicate decision
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AFTER: Conducting the ‘volunteer exit’
meeting
•Prepare - verbally and psychologically
•Confidential setting, unlikely to be disturbed.
•Be quick and direct. Do not back down (decision to ask volunteer to
leave has already been made).
•Do not attempt to counsel the volunteer, this will send confusing signals
•Expect volunteer to express emotions, keep your emotions in check.
•Follow up the meeting with a letter confirming the decision to ask the
volunteer to leave and outlining the reasons. Include any information
relating to their departure.
•Inform staff, clients and other volunteers, (only give reasons for the
volunteer’s departure to those who need to know).
•If applicable: inform the volunteer’s clients of the new volunteer that will
be assigned to them.
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AFTER: What Else?
What else can we do
after the tricky situation
has happened?
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AFTER: What Else?
Go back to the
beginning?! ;)
• Staff ‘buy in’
• Redesign recruitment
process etc.
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Bullying/Harassment
• Harassment Act 1997 doesn’t specifically
refer to volunteers but applies to individuals
• Anyone found guilty of harassment could face
imprisonment and/ or a fine, as well as civil
action by the person subjected to the
harassment.
• Organisation may have vicarious liability
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Case Studies
• Let’s have a look at the examples
that you have given.
• In groups, we will look at what could
have been done to prevent the
problem, during the situation and
afterwards (with this volunteer and
others)
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Checklist for Organisations
Rate (1-5) each of the statements below as
you feel they apply to your organisation:
1. The roles and responsibilities of
volunteers and employees are clearly
defined
2. Working with volunteers is included in
employees’ job descriptions
3. We have the right policies and procedures
in place to work with volunteers
Checklist for Organisations
Rate (1-5) each of the statements below as
you feel they apply to you or your
organisation:
4. I have the assertiveness skills to deal with
tricky situations
5. I am ready and willing say no to
volunteers (only if need be!)
Summary
•Ensure everyone (including management) understands why you a
working with volunteers
•Listen to staff/ volunteers
•Have a clear, realistic and firm selection process
•Diverse volunteers: extra support needs, cultural awareness
•Supervision, ongoing dialogue, write stuff down
•Have written policies for consistency in common problems
•Be assertive – with management and volunteers
•Know your stuff. Research. Back up.
•Record stuff that’s happened – good and bad
•Exit interviews – learn from them
• Deal with it – now! ;)
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Thank you!
Questions?
Any other best practice issues?
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