What Volunteers Need

1. What Volunteers Need Volunteer Recruitment Task Force Ken Gentili and Paul Biba, Co-chairs

2. Sources of information • The CMA task force talked to section leaders, brainstormed as a group, consulted literature on the subject of volunteerism. • Many of the following points were adapted from the book. “Volunteers - How to Get Them, How to Keep Them” by Helen Little.

3. Basic Needs of Volunteers • A specific, manageable task with a beginning and an end. • A task that matches interests and reasons for volunteering. • A good reason for doing the task. • Written instructions. • A reasonable deadline for completing the task.

4. Basic Needs of Volunteers • Freedom to complete the task when and where it is most convenient for the volunteer. • Everything necessary to complete the task without interruption. • Adequate training. • A safe, comfortable, and friendly working environment.

5. Basic Needs of Volunteers • Follow-up to see that the task is completed. • An opportunity to provide feedback when the task is finished. • Appreciation, recognition and rewards that match the reasons for volunteering. • Value added to encourage employer to support volunteer efforts.

6. How can we fill these needs? • Design a recruitment kit for section leaders to show them how to recruit, motivate and mentor new volunteers. • Create exercises for section leaders to show them how to recruit. People learn more by doing than by reading.

7. How can we fill these needs? • Make sure that materials for volunteers are available on the web so that they can access them when they need them, 24/7. • Section work should be done in teams when possible. Teaming is an effective way to complete tasks, and most people enjoy teams over solitary assignments.

8. How can we fill these needs? • Encouraging section leaders to try different methods to encourage section members to come up with ideas on how to complete projects – or tackle any problems. Methods may include Ringii process, panel method, story boards, electronic brainstorming and bulletin boards, Crawford slip writing, Gallery method, Delphi method, TRIZ, mind mapping, integrated problem solving, collective notebooks, morphological creativity or synectics. Training may be needed in some of these methods.

9. How can we fill these needs? • Volunteers should be encouraged to recruit in their workplaces for new members and new volunteers. • Roles and summaries of all section offices should be available on the web.

10. What can we, as leaders, do now? • Tasks need to be evaluated as to their adherence to the mission and vision of ASME and according to the usefulness to the member. •  Better methods of feedback to each unit and individual volunteer and more appreciation of volunteer efforts need to be devised.

11. What can we, as leaders, do now? • The message that volunteering creates value for the company and for an individual should be communicated better to industry. • By adequately training their volunteers, ASME helps industry by providing leadership and project management training that many companies no longer provide.