BLOG - A Volunteer is Driving Me Crazy?

In the non-profit world volunteers are critical to our work and success. Most are amazing and help us do great things for our institutions, but occasionally they are not.

 

Many of us have been there.  If you work with volunteers you likely had to deal with the "difficult" volunteer.  Difficult can take on so many meanings when it comes to volunteers. 

 

They can be demanding, unresponsive, fail to complete their assignments, challenge everything you say, and, of course, be the rogue volunteer who does what they want.

 

It can become easy to label challenging volunteers and try to find ways to rid ourselves of the headaches that they bring.  Some times it is appropriate to "fire" a volunteer, but before you reach that point here are some things you might want to consider.

 

Sometimes, we make things out to be bigger than they really are.  The volunteer may have contacted us at a really busy time, we were frustrated by something else at work or we were just having a bad day.  Their actions may not have been what caused us to be frustrated.

 

Before you do something rash, step back and be sure the issue is not your state of mind or emotions that are causing this feeling, not the volunteer's action.  I have done it and then spent more time being angry or complaining about the volunteer than if I just handled their question, issue or action.

 

You realize that it is not you and that they are difficult.  If that is the case, you then need to consider the work that they are doing. 

 

Are they the only one willing to do that work and what is the value of their efforts on the organization? 

 

Does their involvement have the potential to engage a key constituent group? 

 

Do their efforts have the potential to bring in more qualified donors or help generate larger gifts? 

 

As much as I hate to say it, we tend to overlook some of the challenges a donor presents if they have very high capacity or are already a big donor.  The headaches they cause may be worth it in the long run to your organization.

 

It is also helpful to confirm your thoughts with others in the organization.  You want to be sure you have a clear picture of the potential fallout from your actions.  You need to know if the volunteer plays tennis with the chair of your board or is the second cousin of your largest donor.  Getting the complete picture of the volunteer and the situation is critical before we act.

 

The answers to these questions should give your further insight into how you should deal with this volunteer. 

 

All that being said, if the issue you are having with the volunteer is that they are acting inappropriately (sexually, verbally, or physically) none of the above applies.  That behavior is not acceptable no matter who they are.  Do not even try to handle that yourself.  Tell your supervisor, if they will not approach the volunteer, tell their supervisor.  Keep telling what is happening until you find someone who will ensure there is resolution to the situation.

 

Volunteers can be our lifeblood or the vampire that sucks that life from us. Figuring out the answers to these three questions can help determine how difficult the volunteer is being.  They can also help you plan the next course of action.