PRESS RELEASE
Research reveals how working with emotions can help get the best out of Britain’s massive volunteer ‘helpforce’.
In collaboration with the Association of Volunteer Managers, researchers at the University of York Management School have been involved in developing a toolkit on how to manage volunteers more effectively by working with emotions.
Before the pandemic, around twenty million people, 36% of the population, were actively engaged in some form of volunteer work through a group, club or organisation in the UK at least once a year. Close to 12 million of us in the UK volunteered at least once a month.
While Covid made a significant dent in those figures, with volunteer numbers recorded in 2020/21 down to 16.3 million, the signs are that numbers are rising as formal volunteer organisations open up again. The pandemic also saw a significant wave of voluntary spirit across the country, with more than a million people signing up for formal volunteer roles with the NHS or other public agencies, while three million people worked with local groups outside the formal system to help their local communities over lockdown.
In or out of national emergencies like the pandemic, the value of this volunteer activity to the economy is enormous. According to the latest Civil Society Almanac in 2020, total income of the 166,592 voluntary organisations in the UK was £53.5 billion, with total spending at £53.1 billion. It is estimated that with this flow of cash, the sector contributes £18.2 billion to the economy.
These are all big numbers, showcasing just how important volunteering is in the UK – but big numbers bring big challenges and one such challenge has been highlighted by a research team including the University of York Management School – how to manage volunteers effectively?
Managing volunteers
How to manage a team of volunteers effectively is crucial for many organisations that rely heavily on them. Since 2013, the research team have been working with organisations in the conservation/heritage sector to discover the reasons why difficulties can arise and to devise strategies for better management of their volunteer staff.
The research identifies several challenges, from how organisations communicate differently with volunteers than they do with paid staff to how volunteers are not given autonomy over the tasks they do. The research also found evidence that an overarching philosophy exists that being paid somehow makes staff more accountable or more responsible – but is that really the case and what impact does this have on how volunteers view their position?
Meanwhile, managers will often try to give volunteers interesting work just so that they come back. This can lead to operational difficulties, while it doesn’t always provide for the best service. Researchers found staff re-doing work done incorrectly by volunteers rather than upset them by picking them up on their work.
Volunteers are generally hugely committed to what they do; they do it for the love – and for free. But, this can also be very challenging as paid managers are often seen by volunteers as less committed or not sharing the same passion, because it’s their job and they do it for money, not love. This can lead to tensions.
There are procedural challenges, too. Many formal performance managements systems that are used with paid staff cannot be used with volunteer staff, for example. If they were, volunteers could potentially gain employment status, something neither the organisations nor the volunteers want. This means training programmes that might fall into career development or other things that begin to blur the legal lines, become unavailable to managers to effectively manage their volunteer staff.
Leading the research and now working with new partners England Netball to help with delivery of their five-year volunteering strategy, Professor Anne-Marie Greene from the University of York Management School believes working with emotions is at the heart of managing volunteers better. “As we learnt more about volunteering, our research suggested that the ability to work with emotions is likely to be the determining factor between those who succeed in harnessing the commitment, energy, and support of volunteers, and those that are seen as less effective,” she says.
“We discovered that managers are often not allowed to speak about difficult things. They have to say that everyone is happy and having a good time but there is another side we found that needs to be addressed so people can work out how to improve and get over some of those hurdles.
“We want managers to understand the emotional landscape of their work and that of their volunteers,” she continues. “Don’t be fearful of your volunteers. They will take criticism. Think about how you express your own love of the place or the cause - express your emotional love and this will generate good atmospheres in the teams.
“It is also important to understand why people volunteer, because then you can get them involved in what is important to them.”
Volunteer management toolkit
The project developed a toolkit for managers who work with volunteers. Using a set of online cards and activities, the toolkit is designed to provide practical advice for a variety of specific issues facing managers.
“After our empirical research within organisations, we carried out a review of policies and processes,” explains Greene. “We then worked with the organisations to help develop their training programmes with volunteer managers. It was at a series of workshops, that it was suggested we create a toolkit that can be used by managers to address challenges as they arise.
“When we completed that project, we started work on a generic version of the toolkit as we found there to be a huge demand for it. We worked with the Association of Volunteer Managers to release this in October last year and have since had over 350 registrations for the free-to-download toolkit.
“The cards provide guidance on how managers can approach specific issues, like difficult conversations, and use tools like self-reflection and role play to provide solution pathways.
“We want people to realise that they are in a profession and can take their volunteer management seriously and have pride in what they do and so, yes, you can have conversations about performance with your volunteers, for example. These are important, professional skills.”
It was after the launch of the toolkit with the Association of Volunteer Managers that England Netball picked up on Professor Greene’s work. “It strongly resonated there,” she explains. “They told us that they really needed something to help them with their five-year volunteering strategy and provide training for their managers and volunteers – and that’s where we are now with this work, which is very exciting.”
For interviews or more information, contact William Davis at Insight Media:
· 07875 138 147 or 0117 248 2755