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Marcia,
I enjoyed your response.
Please send a copy of the .pdf file to
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Alan Barnhardt
Executive Director
Catawba Science Center
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marcia Hale
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 7:04 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: volunteer programs
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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I've given my answer a few days of thought regarding Beryl's posting about volunteer programs. In the past, I ran two large successful programs for science centers. Then, I worked for a small science center in a public program capacity and suffered with a disaster of a volunteer program (which I had no control over btw) so I can address this from two perspectives. I have a pdf of some hints, advice, and things to ponder for those of you who wish to delve into the topic in more depth. (Apparently, I can't attach a pdf for the listserv, so if you'd like a copy just email me at address below). A word of warning...some of what I've said may make some uncomfortable. But, since I've not seen many actual working science center volunteer managers chiming in...I'll say what they most likely are thinking...or as they left your employ for greener pastures, thought.
As a Volunteer Program Administrator I can honestly say your program is only as successful as the support it is given from the top down. The volunteers recruited will know just how valued they are by the respect shown themselves AND the person running the volunteer program. A happy volunteer coordinator/manager/director = happy volunteers who stay.
That being said, the volunteers do not BELONG to the volunteer coordinator/manager/director. That person is an HR person with all the same functions. (There's just not quite as much legal beagle paperwork to do, sometimes, and you don't have to do payroll). The volunteers belong to the MISSION and are there to support it's successful implementation.
Volunteers are just as busy as you are...be flexible. When your program is fun, worthwhile, and meaningful people find time to participate. If the volunteers are given things to do that are rather pointless, get little training or ongoing enrichment, feel like the "poor relations" to the rest of the staff, they won't stick around. Right now, programs will see lots of people who are volunteering while looking for a job. That's really ok! BE FLEXIBLE! Make that job seeker happy and productive and even after they get a job somewhere else, they'll still volunteer....or the ultimate transition, they'll become a donor! The days of one day a week/four hours per week every week for a whole year per volunteer are over. Some people will be able to do it...some won't...structure your program and your training to absorb both types of volunteers. They are volunteering, not getting paid to be there...it should be fun, not a grudging obligation...that being said, commitment is commitment...you get that when the volunteers feel supported and appreciated.
The comment was made that there is a high turnover in the volunteer coordinator position...see paragraph 2...and read the pdf. If your volunteer coordinator/manager (note I did not say DIRECTOR here) is not a major player in the critical decisions being made, that person isn't likely to stay. Pay is also a HUGE reason for the mass defection from the profession by anyone who has done it for even a little while. The person coordinating a volunteer program is rarely a senior manager, is generally paid an entry level wage or just slightly above, and the program itself is shuffled around between departments who get "stuck" with it when another department can't figure out how to work with it. The person managing the volunteer program, if successfully supported, should be handing you over a half million dollars minimum of "in-kind" donations off setting your human resource bottom line. (Smaller museums adjust your figures accordingly). If that person is reaching that goal, your retention rate is not only consistent and measurable, but you have a waiting list of volunteer hopefuls, that person should be compensated on par with any other senior manager....AND should be a senior manager/department head. There is no reason for the volunteer program to be "under" another program. Successful programs serve the entire mission from facilities to admin, from education to development...any time the program is under the heading of a single department it makes it harder for the entire Center to see the value of the volunteers.
Now, before you all say, "we value the volunteers"....I want you to think about the big picture. If you don't have the program you feel you need, your turnover of volunteer program administrators is fast and furious, and you are frustrated beyond belief, I suggest it's time to do a little needs assessment. Talk to the volunteers you have, see if you can talk to ones who've left, and if you didn't do an exit interview with you last coordinator, call them up and ask why they REALLY left. If they left for a "better" job...find out what made that job better than working at one of the coolest places on earth to work...a science center.
Finally, if you've never read it, pick up a copy of "From the Top Down" by Susan Ellis http://www.energizeinc.com Or go cruise around her website. Science museum/zoo aquaria volunteer programs are a world unto themselves, so some of what you'll see on Susan's site may not fit "our" world...but its a great way to get your feet wet in the world of the volunteer program manager. Right now Susan's August article addresses the most common complaint among volunteer managers who've deserted the profession.
Email me for the pdf if you'd like...hope it gives you some insight, and good luck!
Marcia Hale
Volunteer Services, Inc.
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