Is this the biggest issue holding back the volunteer engagement profession?

In the autumn of 1998 I travelled to the North London campus of the University of Westminster to attend an event that changed my professional life.

CSV (now Volunteering Matters) had organised the first ever Institute for Advanced Volunteer Management (IAVM). A small group of Volunteer Managers (no more than fifty I think) met for three days to learn from international leaders in our field. Susan J Ellis, Steve McCurley, Rick Lynch, Arlene Schindler were the faculty I can clearly remember being there for this revolutionary learning opportunity.

I can recall the first day’s schedule clearly. A three hour workshop with Arlene Schindler on ‘The Philosophy of Volunteering’, then six hours (!) with Steve McCurley and Rick Lynch on advanced volunteer recruitment. Just think about that – nine hours of in-depth learning in small groups. Not your typical conference schedule – no keynotes, no one-hour sessions where you barely learn anything or get a chance to reflect with others on the application of what’s been shared to your work.

CSV went on to run many more IAVM events over the next few years. Eventually the format resembled that of a typical conference with more attendees and shorter sessions, I suspect because of the economics involved. The cost of bringing together an international faculty of respected trainers and providing a decent venue was unlikely to be met from the fees of a deliberately limited number of attendees.

Then, one year, IAVM didn’t happen. It’s never happened again since.

Other countries tried the concept. I was privileged to be on the faculty of two IAVM’s in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA in 2000 and 2001. Both great events put on by the local Volunteer Centre, but they never happened again.

Perhaps the most success that anyone had outside of IAVM was Australian colleagues Andy Fryar and Martin Cowling. They ran a number of advanced volunteer management retreats in Australia and New Zealand, one of which I was fortunate to be on the faculty for in 2009. Keeping close to the original concept, the retreats limited the number of participants, with people having to apply to attend as demand outstripped the places available. Eventually these retreats stopped too, in part due to the limiting economics.

As far as I am aware there has been no dedicated event aimed at advanced level of volunteer engagement professionals anywhere in the western world since 2013. This doesn’t mean what is still on offer for our profession isn’t good – I attend many events and conferences (well, I used to before Covid-19) and there are some wonderful learning and network opportunities available. But are we being held back as a profession because of the lack of focused, advanced learning opportunities?

I think we are. I may have been in this wonderful world of volunteer engagement for over 26 years but that doesn’t mean I don’t have anything left to learn. I’m unlikely to find that learning at a conference or event geared towards people just starting out though. And I’m not alone.

The 2021 Volunteer Management Progress Report found that 29% of respondents had more than twenty years experience in volunteer engagement.

Whilst length of service is only one way to determine if someone is advanced in our field (a discussion worthy of an article in it’s own right perhaps?) this data gives a clear indication that there is a population of Volunteer Engagement Professionals who might not be being best served by current learning and development opportunities for our field.

Without such advanced learning opportunities, isn’t there a risk that practice stagnates and innovation opportunities are missed? Might we also be running a risk that some of our more experienced colleagues get bored with our profession, taking their insights and knowledge elsewhere? In short, is the lack of advanced learning opportunities holding the wider profession back?

As I say, I think so.

What, then, can we do about it?

As I suggested earlier, putting on an IAVM style conference or retreat is difficult financially in the best of times. With the restrictions on life from Covid-19 and the associated difficult economic climate, it may be almost impossible.

Might an online solution be a way forward? There would still be a cost but, without venue, catering and accommodation considerations it might be more viable. We’d need, however, to ensure the learning environment works online compared to intense, small group face-to-face learning of the kind IAVM provided.

Even with this option, would organisations fund their Volunteer Managers to engage in advanced learning? As budgets shrink, spending on training and development will likely be an early victim. Sadly, Volunteer Engagement Professionals rarely seem willing to invest personally in their own development, so without organisational funds even an online, reasonable cost option may not work out.

Where does this leave us? Well it’s not exactly a positive outlook is it? But that doesn’t diminish the importance of the issue. We need advanced learning opportunities for our field.

So I’m going to commit to finding a solution that will work and I want to hear from you in the hope that you’ll join me.

If you’re a trainer or consultant who wants to be involved then please get in touch.

If you’re somebody who would want to attend and participate please get in touch.

If you’re an infrastructure body who wants to be a part fo this then please get in touch.

Let’s make this happen together.

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Seven things to consider when looking for volunteer engagement software

I am sometimes asked for my views on volunteer management software. Which products are best? What should the software do? What are important features and benefits? In this article I want to give you my perspective on seven important things to consider when looking for software to help you in your volunteer engagement work.

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1 – Get your data in order first

Remember that with any software the rule of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ applies. It doesn’t matter what the product is and what it can do, if you input rubbish data and / or fail to keep the data up-to-date, you will not realise the benefits of investing a new system.

Before you part with money for a shiny new volunteer system, get your house in order first. Make sure the data you already hold is accurate and that processes and practices are in place for – and followed by – everyone working with volunteers to keep the data in tip-top condition.

2 – Data storage vs relationship management

Do you want to simply store volunteer data so you know who your volunteers are, their contact details etc.? In some organisations an Excel spreadsheet might do this perfectly well. In others, a featured product with a few more features (data sharing between teams, for example) might do the trick, either as stand-alone volunteer system or a module in a product used by another team e.g. fundraising / development, membership, HR etc..

On the other hand, you may be looking for something that goes beyond simple data storage. You might want: reporting functions; the ability to communicate with volunteers by email, SMS, WhatsApp, social media etc.; document storage and sharing; logging volunteer hours; fuller integration with other organisational systems etc.. If this is you then look to systems that provide a more fully featured suite of customer relationship management (CRM) tools for volunteers.

3 – Know what’s essential and what’s optional

Before you start contacting software vendors, be really clear on what any new system must do and what it’d be nice for it to do. Not every product on the market will do everything you need, so be clear on what’s non-negotiable. This will help you short-list potential options and focus the discussion with the relevant vendors.

If you start with a long, inflexible list where everything is an essential requirement then be prepared to be disappointed. You will either have a severely limited choice available to you or you’ll discover that you need to spend more money for someone to develop a bespoke product for you.

4 – Put volunteers in control

As individuals we want control over our lives and our information. We want to do things on our terms, not someone else’s. Look at how we’ve adapted to doing so much more online during the pandemic.

People are the same when it comes to volunteering. They want to keep their own data up-to-date. They want to be in control of logging their hours. They want to be in control of when they give you their time. They want to see their own personalised reporting data. And they are largely comfortable with using technology

They don’t want to have to reply on speaking to you or a colleague every time they need to change their availability, update their email address, or see the current number of hours they have given this year.

Look for a system that puts volunteers in control. Can they update their profile and availability? Can they apply online? Can they do all this easily from a smartphone (app or web browser)?

Volunteers who can will likely be happier and more engaged. And you’ll be able to shift your attention from updating their data for them, focusing instead on more strategic and developmental work.

5 – Put colleagues in control

Do you have colleagues (paid or unpaid) who do the day-to-day work of volunteer engagement across your organisation? If you do, then look for a system that devolves management of the relevant data down to these colleagues, rather than centralising it all with you.

Aside from the operational efficiencies that can be gained by colleagues being able to do things quickly and easily themselves, there are benefits to you too. If their data is current and accurate then the reports you generate centrally will be too. That means no more chasing for things like monthly recruitment figures, hours logged etc. – bliss!

6 – Make access a priority

You, your colleagues and the volunteers all need to be able to access the system at different times and on different schedules. If whatever system you choose can only be accessed when in the office then how are those needing access off-site going to use it? Let’s face it – that’s all of us now!

Furthermore, can the vendors on your shortlist tell you how often their servers have been down, for how long, and how often? Crucially, was this downtime planned or unexpected?

Volunteers may need access at odd hours and get frustrated if the system is always down when they need it. Similarly, depending on where your software supplier is based, their system downtime may coincide with your working hours. For example, if a vendor on the west cost of the USA takes their system off-line at 1am local time, then a UK client loses access at 9am, just as the working day is starting.

7 – Ensure the vendor knows and gets volunteer engagement

There are lots of companies providing software to help with volunteer engagement. Some know little or nothing about what we do, they’ve just noticed a potential market to sell to. Others ‘get’ the work of leading volunteer engagement. They don’t just exhibit at conferences (remember them?), they attend trainings and seminars to develop their knowledge. They may even run workshops on volunteer engagement, focused on topics that aren’t about selling their product.

The more your chosen vendor understands the reality of your work, the better working relationship you’ll have and the more closely aligned to your needs their software will likely be.

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My final observation is this. As much as you can, resist being forced to use a piece of software that wasn’t specifically designed for volunteer engagement. You need a specialist tool for a specialist job. HR have one. Fund-raising have one. Membership have one. You need one too. Not a bolt on to something else that half does the job. Volunteer engagement is too important to compromise on the quality of the software used to support and facilitate it.

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Find out more about Rob and Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd on the website.

Sign up here for the free Rob Jackson Consulting Ltd newsletter, published every two months.