When Should We NOT Involve Volunteers?

I would not include volunteers in any program unless there was a designated individual who could manage the volunteer(s). Many recent studies and personal experience indicate that the volunteer program that is not well-managed is the program where the organization questions the validity of using volunteers. It is like the organization says, let’s sprinkle on some “free people” (all of us knowing volunteers are not free) to fix our problem and then saying see I told you volunteers weren’t worth the effort when volunteers do not work out. Only when the organization is ready for volunteers, in other words planned how to strategically place them in to the organization, can manage them, and have planned for their placement should volunteers be involved.

Two Points: 1. There always are problems between paid staff and volunteers, just as there will always be problems between people whenever they work together. What I saw in the cases where the relations between volunteer and paid staff were good, that was because of the good communication of the volunteer manager not only to the volunteers but also to the staff members. The staff members also need training just as the volunteers and they also need ongoing information about what the volunteers are intended to do. I think communication management is crucial here. 2. There is a big discussion in Germany about volunteers replacing paid staff. As the economic situations for social and cultural organisation is getting tougher more institutions try to think about solutions and some of them also embrace the though of taking on volunteers. I am convinced that this is not going to be successful only with proper structures and proper and fitting targets for the volunteers a volunteer program will make sense. And I am also convinced that it will never work that volunteers replace full paid staff ­ volunteers should always be an extra bonus for the institution.