What should the qualifications be for a person that is responsible for volunteers at an organization?
That’s a hot topic right now, and there is a LOT of disagreement about it. Heck, we can’t even agree what to call such a person! (volunteer manager? volunteer resources manager? volunteer coordinator? director of community engagement?)
My view:
If an organization views this person as merely the purveyor of free labor, and sees this person as the primary manager of volunteers in a single activity – volunteers staffing the gift shop or the help desk, working in the food pantry (more with the food than the clients), serving food in a shelter, cleaning up beaches on one-day events – then the qualifications are going to be quite low. The person in charge of volunteers will report to the head of human resources, won’t be a senior manager, and will be judged on whether or not all shifts are filled and all tasks are completed. Those are skills that can be taught to someone on the job – no need for volunteer management credentials – though some volunteer management workshops would be helpful.
This is how most corporate folks and very traditional organizations view managers or coordinators of volunteers. This is how most volunteer management workshops and most volunteer management conferences view those responsible for volunteers at an organization.
By contrast, if an organization views this person as responsible for:
- community engagement, demonstrating that the community invests in the organization and believes in its mission
- building the capacities of other employees to involve volunteers in their work and supporting employee involvement of volunteers in a variety of roles, including in leadership roles
- being up-to-date on legal issues, political rhetoric and trends that can affect volunteer involvement
- creating ways for volunteer involvement to relate directly to the organizations mission
then the qualifications required for the person in charge of volunteers are MUCH higher. The manager of volunteers or director of community engagement is not merely the purveyor of free labor; this manager has a direct role on program delivery and, therefore, should report to the director of programs – if not directly to the Executive Director! And credentials are essential – though not necessarily a certificate in volunteer management.
Here’s all the places this is a hot topic right now – check out what’s being said and join the conversation!:
- Susan Ellis / Energize, Inc.’s hot topic for July: Needed: A Multi-level Approach to Credentialing Volunteer Management
- Redundant public sector workers should become volunteer managers, says Francis Maude, in the United Kingdom
- Why Francis Maude is wrong and concerns about the sector response, a blog from Rob Jackson
- WANTED BRICKLAYER Thoughts on VM qualifications, and a followup, and then another followup – all blogs by an anonymous person calling himself “A Devils Advocate of the volunteering world”
Also see: