Providing Support for Staff and Volunteers
Jan 01, 2000
Contributed by Jenette Nagy and Marcelo Vilela
Edited by Jerry Schultz and Bill Berkowitz
Provided by the Community Tool Box
What is support?
The most important part of building a house is its foundation, also known as its support. It holds up the house and without it, the house would crumble as soon as it was up. Any kind of group and organization also need support to be kept up. Support for volunteers and staff is any way of helping workers to do their jobs more quickly, effectively, and comfortably.
In the previous section, we discussed the importance of supervising staff and volunteers. Part of supervising is supporting. This kind of support can take a variety of forms, including physical, professional, emotional, intellectual, and financial. Your staff and volunteers expect you to defend and uphold what they do as valid and right, and also set them back on track when necessary. To support is also to assist your volunteers, and provide your staff with the help they need even when not requested.
Why should you give support to staff and volunteers?
The reasons why you should give support are as many as the reasons why you should care about the people that work with you. When your staff and volunteers feel they're being supported, they work better and more efficiently to show they deserve the support you're providing them with.
Other reasons to provide support include:
To maintain a high level of morale within your group
To prevent burnout
To show appreciation
To keep lines of communication open
To make your organization appealing to potential members
To keep quality staff members, and by doing so, maintain and improve the quality of the service you provide
When should you provide support?
There is never a time you shouldn't give support to your staff and volunteers. Skilled, pleasant workers are what make an organization effective and worthwhile, and a great amount of care should be taken to see that talented people remain with your agency or community group.
However, at certain times, workers will need or appreciate more support than usual. These times include:
When they are new. Almost everyone feels uncertain when they begin a new job, whether it is paid or volunteer. Show workers right from the start that they are an integral part of your agency. No one likes to feel ignored or unappreciated.
When they are going through difficulties or change in their personal life (such as a divorce or the death of a loved one). Make sure your employees or staff members know you care about them as people, not just as a set of hands, and that you are concerned about what happens to them.
On special occasions such as birthdays and graduations. Again, it's important that you are a "real person" to your workers, and not just the boss.
How do you provide support for staff and volunteers?
As support can mean many things, it makes sense that there are various ways you can provide it. In providing support for volunteers and staff, consider the issue from three different angles:
1. A supportive (physical) environment;
2. Support for the work done by the staff member/volunteer;
3. Support for the worker in his or her personal life.
1. Create a supportive physical environment
We all know how the environment affects us, especially our work environment. The stress of working in an unsafe space can only make for less productivity, and people will feel like nobody cares about their well-being. Acknowledging the need for windows, healthy air and clean surroundings is critical is critical to any kind of work. First and foremost, make sure the physical environment is safe.
Little things such as ensuring that there is adequate lighting in the office and parking lot, and making sure that there are several people working in the same area at the same time, will build a safer work place, and you will win points with your staff and volunteers.
Also, make sure the environment is comfortable. People will be more productive and happier in a comfortable space because they feel better. Be creative within your budget and time frame. Some possibilities include:
Always have a pot of coffee or a pitcher of cold drinks available.
Consider making room for a comfortable lounge for coffee breaks, lunch, etc.
Make sure that volunteers and staff have all the materials they need readily available. This includes pens, paper, and comfortable chairs, etc.
2. Support the work itself
No environment is supportive enough if we are not supported in the work we do. And it doesn't take much to show your staff and volunteers that you support them in their tasks. For instance, involve volunteers and staff members in all decisions that will affect them. This way, you can help foster a sense of belonging that will only enhance your work environment.
Another way to support the work your staff does is to designate funds to send workers to out-of-office seminars, conferences, and other events.
Attending these activities will lead to a greater sense of purpose, and it will let them feeling like that they are an important part of the organization. And you know they are.
Even a small step, such as matching people with tasks and situations that relate to their interests, will cause a big impression on your staff and volunteers once they recognize you care about them and about their interests. This way, you can also keep a record of volunteer activities that the volunteer participated in. Your volunteer will be able to use that for a resume, eventually.
Here are some other steps you can take to show support for staff and volunteer work:
Train workers thoroughly, including a clear explanation of:
Their job duties
Expected standards of performance
What the agency does and why
Encourage personal initiative.
When a worker gives you a suggestion about how to do a task differently, for instance, listen attentively and try genuinely to see if the suggestion works. I f it does, recognize the owner of the idea. Don't let workers feel like their ideas are never accepted, or taken without credit to them.
Apply office policies equally to everyone.
Involve volunteers and staff in major agency decisions and problem-solving sessions. Schedule regular meetings when staff and volunteers can raise issues of concern to them.
Be sure your organization allows for advancement of volunteers as well as paid staff to help foster a sense of pride and self-worth.
Have a mechanism to give regular feedback to volunteers and staff regarding their work. This may include oral or written feedback such as regular evaluations.
Give the staff and volunteers a chance to evaluate their supervisor and the agency, either personally or anonymously.
Criticize privately and praise publicly.
Recognize work that is well done.
This may be done in a variety of ways, including:
A "Volunteer of the Week" column in a local newspaper
A plaque with an agency "Worker of the Month"
Nominate for awards
Write thank you notes
Continually assign tasks that will challenge the volunteers.
3. Support the person doing the work
Personal support is always welcome. Only computers work well without some praising once in a while and without any human warmth. People enjoy feedback and it won't take much of your time to praise your staff on something they did well, or talking to them about something that wasn't so good. Make sure workers knows that you are approachable and willing to listen if personal problems do arise.
Also:
·\tMake an effort to know more about the worker than just their name and agency duties: try to learn about their family, interests, clubs, religious affiliation, etc. On the flip side, this also includes being sensitive to and respecting a volunteer's desire for privacy.
Send birthday cards, remember holidays, etc.
Remember workers in times of crisis. If your agency is facing problems, don't let the people in your staff be the last ones to know what is going on.
Reimburse work-related expenses, such as travel or formal lunches.
Recommend volunteers to potential employers.
To sum it up:
To provide support is fundamental if you want to have productive and satisfied staff members and volunteers. Supported staff members and volunteers are key to most successful community efforts. The people that work for or with you should be treated as assets, with respect and caring. There are many ways of showing and providing support. You can support the people who do the work, you can support the work they do, and you can create a supportive physical environment. There are occasions in which support is fundamental, but there's no right time to do it. Whatever you do, remember that assisting your volunteers, and providing your staff with the support they need, will make your job much easier in the long run.
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