Teleconference In-service
November 19, 2003
Marilyn K. Lesmeister, PhD
Introduction
Many people are needed to accomplish anything great! The young people in 4-H are great…so everyone here is needed to make it happen!
Discussion / Handout
This resource, “Crash Course on Motivation” This is a resource for your bulletin board. It comes from a series of popular leadership booklets, called “Walk the Talk”
It offers ideas about motivating volunteers to attend educational workshops…. As you promote the educational workshop, let them know you value them…that you think of them as program partners-because all hands are needed to do this program. When you announce a meeting, pose a question about something important, and tell them to bring ideas to the training meeting – then gather ideas on cards, a wall sheet, discussion, etc.
This leads us into our topic, Designing a 4-H Program to Meet Many Needs.
Discussion / Visual
Turn over a sheet of paper. Take about 2 minutes to think and jot down several responses to, Question is in print in your materials…“Other than writing reports…What 4-H program tasks needs to be done in your county that are not getting done, or not getting done in timely fashion?” Keep this note close by to use later in the workshop.
Transition
If you believe that volunteers can be partners with you in planning and implementing your county program, then we need to look at opportunities for volunteers to do or help with some of these needs.
Volunteers as Partners / Resource
Review 8 key recommendations on the handout.
Begin small
Recognize value
Staff focus on providing education and resources
Allow volunteers to function to full extent of abilities
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate
Strengthen program and maximize resources
Don’t hesitate to ask for help
Existing volunteer groups can reinforce need and initiate the plan
Initially, involving volunteer “managers” adds to your workload. But, the sooner you get started (in one small way), the sooner you will experience the “pay off.” In a few months, the amount of progress will grow beyond what you had been able to do alone in the past.
We have just talked about a philosophy for working with volunteers, Volunteers as Partners. United States research shows that the level of commitment to a job or organization, increases, when individuals have input to the program and it’s impact. The more talk with volunteers as program partners, the greater the commitment they will feel.
Now let’s talk about the overall management of a volunteer program.
Message / Resource
ISOTURE is one volunteer program management model. (Another recent model is GEMS: Generate; Educate; Mobilize; Sustain)
ISOTURE has been tried and true for over 20 years. While it is 7 steps, it reflects all the important aspects involved with running a strong volunteer program.
ISOTURE
I IDENTIFY where the right volunteers exist
S SELECT the right volunteers for roles needed
O ORIENTATE them to the organization and their role
T TEACH them what’s necessary for their role
U USE their skills effectively
R RECOGNIZE their time, energy and talents
E EVALUATE program with them; together evaluate their work
ISOTURE helps us to design a 4-H program where volunteer needs are met and volunteers are prepared to meet program needs.
A volunteer role description is extremely helpful during several points of the ISOTURE model as you manage volunteer programs.
In what steps of the ISOTURE model, do you think a Volunteer Role Description would be helpful? Discussion. (The following are ideas to reinforce the discussion.)
Your volunteer recruitment can be much more effective, if you know what
type of persons and what type of skills are preferred – as you do the
IDENTIFICATION step – and decide what groups or communities you are going to
for recruiting volunteers for this role / these roles.
A drafted role description is very helpful as you reach out to one or
more potential volunteers in the SELECTION step. The role description will be a
starting point to communicate what needs to be done. It helps a potential
volunteer understand if they want to become involved in this way.
During the ORIENTATE step, the role description becomes absolutely
necessary. A volunteer can be responsible IF they know what it means to be
responsible in this role in this organization.
Then, the role description can be a life saver during the EVALUATION step of ISOTURE. First, the volunteer can look at the role description and feel good about accomplishing the basic requirements of this position, according to this document. Secondly, if a volunteer is not performing appropriately in this position, the role description can help initiate that discussion, and lead to reassignment for the volunteer; restructuring of the 4-H task; etc.
Other Comments?
We have talked about the multiple uses of a volunteer role description in many aspects of volunteer program management. Now let’s talk about developing and using role descriptions.
Role Descriptions / Resources
Using the worksheet, “Volunteer Role Description” choose the task you identified earlier in this workshop: that you did not get done…or did not get done in a timely way . Write that task in the top, right hand box. Then in the same box begin writing all the parts of that job that need to be done. (Ex. Making phone calls, drafting an article for the newsletter, chaperoning the judging team to Wisconsin, requesting funds from the county 4-H Foundation, etc.)
Take the next 5 minutes to review these questions and jot a few ideas in each box.
Transition
This worksheet can be a helpful to think through the process with staff members or other volunteers. With practice, staff may go directly to the form to develop the role description.
Role Descriptions / Sample Forms
The common elements are: list of tasks; estimated time needed to do the tasks; contact names and numbers; training they are expected to attend; etc. Find examples of Role Descriptions on the Florida 4-H website.
“Role Description” vs. Job Description is the recommended term for this volunteer document. It helps to make a distinction between volunteer partners and paid partners for the University attorney and county commissioners. And there are some volunteers who really don’t want a “job” and so this terminology helps to communicate their role – in a friendlier way. (On the other hand, many Master Gardeners do have a passion for their “job” and so that title is acceptable in some programs.)
Important No matter which it is called, a Role Description becomes a document that confirms that a volunteer is doing this work as a representative of the University of Florida Extension Service. If there is a liability issue, 1) each volunteer must be “listed” in your county office, as a volunteer for your program(s) AND, 2) a copy of that role description must be on file to prove that they are functioning within their role, and, 3) that they possess a role description to KNOW what is part of their role…and what is not.
A Volunteer Role Description is valuable for many types of 4-H volunteers (ex. Project Volunteers; Event Coordinators; County Foundation Member). And one standard role description may be applied to a whole group of volunteers (ex: Club Organizational Leader).
Important Any Role Description should be considered a work-in-progress and worth changing as situations and people change.
A volunteer can work with you to complete his/her role description too.
Activity / Discussion
Complete a role description.
Discuss: What is the most difficult part of developing a role description? What part is easy? Is there anything you would add to the form?
Summary / Visuals
We’ve talked about ways volunteers can be involved in your program in new ways as partners in programming. We’ve talked about how Role Descriptions are an important part of the overall volunteer program management.
Read the two quotes. How would you say that either of these quotes reflect what we’ve learned about today?
“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of becoming.” (Goethe)
“The teacher’s task is to initiate the learning process and then get out of the way.” (John Warren)
Individual input.
Thank you for involvement today.