Generation V ( olunteer )!

1. Generation V(olunteer)! What You Need to Know About Generational Differences in Your Volunteer Workforce Cathy Grady and Emily Crenner

2. Generation- “An identifiable group that shares birth years, age location, and significant events at critical development states.” • Kupperschmidt, 2000 Generation Theory

3. Everybody is different and generational traits are only one part of who we are • There is no one agreed upon start and end year for each generation – there is no one icon or event that characterizes each • “The specific affectations of a generation’s formative years DO bind them together in exclusive ways.” • Generations at Work,Zemke, Raines and Filipczak Disclaimers

4. Traditionalists 1925-1944 Baby Boomers 1945-1964 Generation X 1965-1984 Millennials/Y 1985-2004 Generation Groups

5. Do you believe in generational differences? • What people, places, things, events that define your generation? • What generational differences have you noticed? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6Zby_7ncK8Generations montage http://youtu.be/M8uOR8QoTpsBrookings Institution http://youtu.be/i4JxRqWkNlQGenerations montage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVHnug8H1MMHarvard Business Review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skYis9qPgVE Sitcom clip My Generation

6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skYis9qPgVE Generation Gap Break

7. Traditionalist Volunteers Sources: http://www.wmfc.org/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf, http://www.scribd.com/doc/30670708/Motivating-Volunteers

9. Baby Boomer Volunteers Sources: http://www.wmfc.org/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf, http://www.scribd.com/doc/30670708/Motivating-Volunteers

10. Generation X Volunteers Sources: http://www.wmfc.org/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf, http://www.scribd.com/doc/30670708/Motivating-Volunteers

11. Millennial Volunteers Sources: http://www.wmfc.org/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf, http://www.scribd.com/doc/30670708/Motivating-Volunteers

12. Traditionalists are LOYAL • Boomers are OPTIMISTIC • Gen Xers are SCEPTICAL • Millennials are REALISTIC In a word…

13. Traditionalists Volunteering is a civic duty

14. Baby Boomers Volunteer when they see a cause that impacts them directly Want to give back Know they can change the world

15. Gen Xers Volunteer when they see a cause that impacts them directly Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/30670708/Motivating-Volunteers

16. Millennials Volunteerism is civic duty Want to give back Need experience to complement their knowledge and education Sources: http://www.scribd.com/doc/30670708/Motivating-Volunteers, http://www.mavanetwork.org/trends2012

17. The Numbers

18. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVHnug8H1MM

19. Is your volunteer program based on a “traditionalist” model?

20. Considering these generational differences, how might you change your approach to volunteer: Recruitment? Job design/management? Recognition?

21. Understand volunteers’ deep-seated need to have impact and use that understanding in all facets of how you involve them as volunteers • Focus the volunteer interview on learning the prospective volunteer’s passions, mutually designing his/her volunteer role and helping the volunteer determine if your organization is the right place to realize the impact he/she wants to have • Offer a wide choice of volunteer opportunities in all aspects of the organization’s operations and offer short-term and seasonal opportunities to maximize involvement. Best Practices for Engaging Boomers (and generations to follow)from the Minnesota Association for Volunteer Administration (MAVA)

22. Establish project-driven relationships, not “touchy-feely" relationships with them. • Recruit younger volunteers to work on teams with dynamic leaders who will act as mentors, care about them, and demand high performance. • Stay in touch, offering constant very specific feedback. • Never micromanage. • Let them be creative and do things their way. • Listen to them express their opinion. • Value their new ideas. Best Practices for Engaging and Managing Generation X Volunteers Source: http://www.volunteerpower.com/articles/GenX.asp

23. Be specific about the end results of the project they are working on. • Be sure they understand that you are depending on them to meet the deadlines. • Establish certain checkpoints during the course of the project.

24. Empower younger volunteers to work at their pace, making their own day-to-day decisions, mistakes and creative solutions. Let them know that you are holding them responsible for the end result.

25. Encourage questions and be generous in sharing information about the organization and the project. Xers:Best Practices

26. Train younger volunteers on skills and competencies that not only help your organization but also are something that interest them. They love win/win contractual relationships. They love to win and be rewarded for the effort that they put in. Xers: Best Practices

27. Communication with Volunteers: Traditionalists

28. Communication with Volunteers: Baby Boomers

29. Communication with Volunteers: Generation X

30. Communication with Volunteers: Generation X Source: MAVA

31. Generational Attributes Source: http://www.wmfc.org/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf