My Tip of the Week: Working With "Bad" Volunteers
If you volunteer at school long enough, I guarantee that you'll run into volunteers who don't do a good job. It's not if but when, and how you deal with those volunteers can affect the culture and success of your group for years.
(Note: Have you experienced this already? Share your "bad volunteer" stories on the message boards.)
If y
you
you volunteer at school long enough, I guarantee that you'll run into volunteers who don't do a good job. It's not if but when, and how you deal with those volunteers can affect the culture and success of your group for years.
(Note: Have you experienced this already? Share your "bad volunteer" stories on the message boards.)
When I talk about "bad" volunteers, I'm referring to everything from gossips and folks with delusions of grandeur all the way through to those people who just can't seem to keep their commitments or move projects along on time. All of them can be really frustrating to work with.
Of course, if there is a volunteer truly doing wrong (stealing from the group or hurting a child, for example), you need to take quick and formal action to end that. But most problem volunteers are more subtle. They have personalities that turn off others or they procrastinate too much or they criticize without offering solutions. How do you deal with them?
My advice is to do all you can to minimize the harm while avoiding formal processes. Officially removing a volunteer from her position could take weeks or months of difficult discussions, and it'll distract your group from its good work. With summer, the holiday break, and school vacations, the PTO year is too short already to bring things to a halt.
A better solution is to manage around these folks. Get the procrastinator a co-leader who is on top of things. Communicate positively and frequently to counteract the gossip. Give the critic a job she can thrive in (kill her with kindness). That kind of thing. Even though your bylaws might provide the means to officially remove someone from office, avoid taking that step whenever possible.
You might also like these volunteer management resources from ptotoday.com:
(Note: Have you experienced this already? Share your "bad volunteer" stories on the message boards.)
When I talk about "bad" volunteers, I'm referring to everything from gossips and folks with delusions of grandeur all the way through to those people who just can't seem to keep their commitments or move projects along on time. All of them can be really frustrating to work with.
Of course, if there is a volunteer truly doing wrong (stealing from the group or hurting a child, for example), you need to take quick and formal action to end that. But most problem volunteers are more subtle. They have personalities that turn off others or they procrastinate too much or they criticize without offering solutions. How do you deal with them?
My advice is to do all you can to minimize the harm while avoiding formal processes. Officially removing a volunteer from her position could take weeks or months of difficult discussions, and it'll distract your group from its good work. With summer, the holiday break, and school vacations, the PTO year is too short already to bring things to a halt.
A better solution is to manage around these folks. Get the procrastinator a co-leader who is on top of things. Communicate positively and frequently to counteract the gossip. Give the critic a job she can thrive in (kill her with kindness). That kind of thing. Even though your bylaws might provide the means to officially remove someone from office, avoid taking that step whenever possible.
You might also like these volunteer management resources from ptotoday.com:
- 25 Ways To Catch and Keep Volunteers
- Managing Personality Conflicts
- How To Deal With Difficult People
