Problems and issues with volunteering
People are generally reluctant to step forward and volunteer for a number of reasons:
1. Fear of time commitment
People are often reluctant to volunteer because they fear the time commitment will increase i.e. they will “get in too deep”. There is a general view that volunteering is under pressure from the pace of modern life. The proportion of families with two income earners has increased over the last two decades. The number of people working over 55 hours per week has also increased.
2. Volunteer positions are unclear
It commonplace for volunteer positions to be not well defined i.e. roles and responsibilities are not adequately described in a position description. People are less willing to volunteer for a position unless they know the full extent of what the position requires.
3. Voluntary positions are not well promoted.
Committee personnel may not have sufficient time or desire to recruit new people for their own voluntary positions. This exacerbates the volunteering problem as existing volunteers may feel obliged to continue with voluntary positions when they would rather hand on to others.
4. Voluntary positions are “owned”
People do not like to put themselves forward for committee roles unless existing volunteers step down. As a consequence existing committee members continue in their positions when sometimes this is not healthy for the organization. Committee members with long services get to feel they own their position and woe betide anyone who challenges them for it.
5. Volunteers often need
- Recognition for the service they render
- Training and support to be able to assist them learn feel confident to undertake a new role.
6. High turnover of volunteers
Volunteers can and often do resign their positions and/or walk away from their roles and responsibilities with little warning. Often it takes is an adverse comment, or a disagreement with a fellow volunteer, or a decision that does not go their way. Personal problems or pressure at work may also have a significant impact on a person’s ability to continue volunteering.
7. Volunteers are passionate:
Volunteers, especially those who put in the greatest time commitment, are often not tolerant of people with less commitment to the organization than themselves. They tend to assume that their own feelings and passion is or should be shared by everyone.
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