Volunteer employee hand book

Dose anyone have a good volunteer employee hand bood template thay can shre with us please

Shane, are you wondering about a handbook for managing virtual volunteers?

Best,

Megan

The web is packed with volunteer handbooks. Just type in these phrases into Google:
volunteer policies
volunteer handbook
volunteer guidelines

Your volunteer handbook should not be different from your employee handbook -- the consequences for dismissal or the requirements of screening new candidates, for instance, should be the same.

If you are looking for Internet policies for volunteers, look to employee policies for such. I use Workforce.com (membership is free) or, again, a Google search, to find specific policies to adapt.

Your volunteer handbook should not be different from your employee handbook -- the consequences for dismissal or the requirements of screening new candidates, for instance, should be the same.

I think for most nonprofits, there is certainly going to be some very real differences in how employees and volunteers are handled. In part, that is one of the pleasures of working with volunteers and being a volunteer.

That doesn't mean you want to make an off-the-cuff decision about a potential volunteer. However, I don't think you need to exercise the degree of caution you need in hiring an employee. It is generally easier to “fire” a volunteer if things don’t work out. In fact, most volunteers fire themselves when the relationship doesn’t work out.

Best wishes,

Hi Shane...there are also a couple examples of volunteer handbooks in Idealist's Volunteer Management Resource Center here. Hope this helps!

Erin

Having different standards of quality for volunteers and employees, treating each group vastly differently regarding their service, etc., will lead to a great deal of staff/volunteer conflict -- you will end up with two groups in your organization that are reluctant to work together, in fact. It's a problem that will come about almost immediately as your dual standards are perceived by staff and volunteers, hence why there are so many books and workshops on dealing with staff / volunteer conflict. Absolutely, have the SAME policies and procedures for volunteers and staff, particularly those who will work side-by-side. You are asking for trouble if you don't.

dual standards are perceived by staff and volunteers

This must be different from organization to organization, and depending on factors such as the size of the organization and the roles that volunteers are filling.

The fact that there are dual standards for staff and for volunteers doesn't seem like a problem in many cases, in fact it is simply the situation as it is. Nonprofits boards are volunteers and they definitely have different roles and work to different standards (not better or worse) than paid staff members.

The fact that there are books on staff and volunteer conflict doesn't really seem like a definitive argument on why staff and volunteer should be treated in exactly the same manner. Conflict is a given, it seems, in human relationships.

Best wishes,

The conflict between staff and volunteers is very real, and is not only talked about in numerous well-selling books and various articles, but at every volunteer management conference I've been to in the last 15 years! I believe I've heard Betty Stallings say that workshops on how to deal with this conflict are the most requested of all of her resources, and Susan Ellis is requested to speak on the subject frequently. Poor staff-volunteer relations an ongoing problem and, more often than not, it's because of dual standards for volunteers and staff. There's no question that an organization needs to tread very carefully in creating different standards, policies and procedures for staff and volunteers -- if the organization states a concrete reason for *each* difference, one that both staff and volunteers can believe, problems can be avoided. But to just assume that its not a problem is to have your head in the sand.

Jayne,

THe general issue of volunteer management is an interesting one. I know that in the past UPS did a study on how to best help nonprofits. The results of that study led them to believe that the most underdeveloped area in nonprofit management was in volunteer management.

At that time, there was a general sense that in the US, nonprofits would see a growing number of volunteers, as Baby Boomers aged. In addition, the economy is also leading nonprofits to seek more volunteers.

All in all, the issue of volunteer management is a good one to discuss.

I am by no means an expert in the area, far from it. However, I think it would be a mistake to reduce the issue of staff/volunteer conflict to the fact that there are different standards for each. I also think creating identical standards for each would fail to resolve all conflict. In addition, creating identical standards seems to shy clear of the issue that there are some important differences between volunteers and staff.

Best wishes,

Great to see the topic of volunteer & staff interactions opened up for discussion.

In my experience there is a need for common standards of quality, roles and responsibilities between volunteers and staff; just as there is also need for the application of differing standards depending on the needs of and type of organisation involved. It’s also common to vary standards when extraneous and/or external factors impact on roles and responsibilities. Eg: variances in legislation make it an offence for an employer to sack an employee called to volunteer service (albeit as a virtual volunteer or by physical attendance); by any accredited volunteer aid-agency during a declared disaster, whereas it is not an offence for a volunteer org to dismiss a volunteer under the same set of circumstances.

donc:

In my experience there is a need for common standards of quality, roles and responsibilities between volunteers and staff; just as there is also need for the application of differing standards depending on the needs of and type of organisation involved. It’s also common to vary standards when extraneous and/or external factors impact on roles and responsibilities.

Hi, Don,

I appreciate your comments on this. Could you clarify what you are saying the first paragraph? It sounds like you are saying that you prefer to have one set of standards applied to both staff and volunteers, but as I read on, I think you mean something different, as when you mention that the application of different standards is positively viewed by staff and volunteers.

Thanks,

Sasha

Hi Sasha,

 

Yes, looking back over my post it does read a little obscurely J

 

Sorry - the point I was trying to make is that circumstance exists for both the application of common standards, as well as the application of very diverse and differing standards. In my experience this corresponds with role types and responsibilities; many NPO’s do not have common roles for staff and volunteers although this is not applicable to all NPO’s – There is a great deal of variance in our sector and it would be wrong to assume that conflict always results from staff/volunteer interaction.

 

Maybe again by way of example –

 

The NSWRFS has approx 70,200 active volunteers and 700 staff. During my time with this NPO I worked at most levels within the org engaged as a volunteer (16 years) and as a staff member (4 years). I was fortunate to hold most positional roles within the org and be involved as an ‘agent of change’ during several organisational phases of analysis, re-growth and development.

 

The point of this example is to highlight that at no time did I do the same job twice – Volunteers tend not to have the same roles and responsibilities as staff meaning conflict due to positional roles, qualification or responsibilities simply don't exist. There may be conflict arising from other factors, we are all human after all! – but rarely does this arise purely from a foundation of “staff –v- volunteer” when the roles of staff and volunteers are different. Yet in contrast, other NPO's had staff appointments where people did the same job as our volunteers and this did at times lead to what was sometimes seen as conflict, although in truth was more competition than conflict. This was just another aspect requiring effective management.

 

Just in closing – the matter of differing roles should not be taken as an assessment that volunteers somehow do ‘lesser’ work or are less important than staff. The top positions at most NPO’s are filled by volunteers (membership of the Board of Directors) – Similarly the most important role of the RFS (referenced above) is to protect life and property. Involvement at the largest of disasters is commonly managed under the direction of volunteer managers appointed under Govt statute. Volunteers lead and manage staff just as often as the reverse.

 

It's often claimed the only real difference between staff and volunteers is that volunteers are ‘individuals or groups who give their time, talent and abilities without need for pay or reward’ – as such they are arguably the most important resource available to any NPO.

 

donc:

circumstance exists for both the application of common standards, as well as the application of very diverse and differing standards.

Hi Don,

Sounds like, from your experience the defining factor is role/responsibility rather than volunteer/staff. Yes, that makes sense to me.

Thanks,

Sasha

Hi Sasha - Yes. Conflict can arise under any set of circumstances and the management of conflict is a process requirement for all organisations - staffed, volunteer or any combination of the two.

All in all, the issue of volunteer management is a good one to discuss.

Yes it is - and fantastic to see this forum spread it's wings to embrace issues that impact on all volunteers! (although in truth I feel any real distinction between physical and virtual volunteers has long vanished - we are virtual volunteers here on TechSoup; but physical volunteers for the same org when working offline. I have many colleagues who physically fight fires by day and virtually engage in various tasks for the same NPO by night). Our world has moved so far online that it's all now the same thing - just volunteers doing what volunteers do. 

Is it worth starting a thread on volunteer staff interaction and tools for managing conflict etc.?