Engaging with volunteers over organisational change
Every month, at least 8 million adults in England alone volunteer to spend some of their free time helping others. Their extraordinary contribution keeps charity shops open, protects the stranded and injured, operates phonelines for those in distress and ensures vital fundraisers go ahead. Most, if not all, charity leaders would vehemently agree that they recognise just what a difference this free and eager resource makes to the sector’s very existence – meaning their support is pivotal to any organisational change.
The very best change projects recognise the fundamental difference in the way transformation impacts different groups within an organisation, ensuring the time and effort is made to engage and communicate with the staff and volunteers – changing the way this is done and the focus for each, according to their priorities, roles and the impact upon them going forward.
Change different for volunteers
We all experience change; it really should be added to the list of the only certainties in life alongside death and taxes. But not all change is created equal: those we experience in our personal lives and those in our professional lives, for example, are vastly different – and volunteers will also approach situations within the charity they support from another angle altogether.
Whatever role a charity volunteer is undertaking, whether tending to abandoned animals, conducting search and rescue missions, sorting through donations, or looking after vulnerable people out late at night, there is one thing they all have in common: nobody is making them do it. They choose to give their time, energy, skills and commitment to a cause they believe in, for free, and this is exactly why it requires a different mindset to that which is needed to manage employees through change.
This is not to say that volunteers are resistant to change, in fact they’re often acutely aware of the increasingly complex environment that charities operate within, with evolving funding models, changing regulations, increasing service demands, economic pressures and technological advances.
While studies clearly showcase these challenges (86% of charity leaders report increased demand in the past year, and 45% cite financial sustainability as a top challenge according to CAF), the volunteers have a front-row seat, witnessing them unfold in real time. It’s less about denying the need for change, but rather, it’s the feeling that change is being done to them rather than with them which has the potential to create tension.
Falling into the trap
The NCVO’s guidance states both staff and volunteers should be supported through change, recognising that communication, involvement and reassurance are essential for both groups of people. Despite this, some leaders are falling into the trap of engaging less with volunteers than their employees, in which case it’s no wonder that this resentment at how the change is being handled – not the change itself – can build.
When you think about it logically, employees have contracts and financial incentives, plus the potential for career progression, which keep them somewhat attached to an organisation. Volunteers have none of that. They have a choice to make: every time they show up when they could be spending their spare hours doing something else; every time they forego a social occasion, a restful weekend, or a night’s sleep; and every day that they decide to continue supporting their chosen cause.
Primarily, that choice is based on a deep emotional connection to the charity, on years or even decades of dedication, on the friendships and sense of purpose they have developed along the way. And that ultimately means that change isn’t just about processes and systems. It’s personal.
When a charity rolls out a new system, the team may simply accept that it’s part of their job now to learn how to use it. Volunteers on the other hand, may suddenly find they’re dealing with new technology when their motivation for supporting a charity was supposed to be about helping its benefactors.
Genuine concerns
Restructures may be logical for the leadership team, but could give rise to genuine concerns about losing relationships, responsibilities or a sense of belonging (particularly for those truly embedded as a long-term volunteer). Also a new operating model may be more efficient overall but may unintentionally remove the very aspects of volunteering that people enjoy most.
But how would you know this, unless you’d engaged with your volunteers before the change had taken place? You may have communicated effectively with your staff but, particularly if your volunteer numbers are significant, you may have inadvertently missed out those who could have the biggest impact on your organisation should they object to the change feeling more dictatorial than democratic.
That’s why the first question is not how a change will affect the charity, but how it will feel for the people who generously donate their time to support it – by focusing on empathy we see a shift in how the entire project rolls out. Communication becomes less about announcing decisions and more about creating conversations; engagement becomes less about compliance and more about participation; and leadership becomes less about directing and more about listening.
It’s not about handing over control of every decision to your volunteers, far from it. It’s simply about handling the situation empathetically, putting them and their contribution at the heart of the change project, and showcasing respect and honesty at every stage.
This may look like them being consulted before any decisions are made or, where this is not possible for valid reasons, the changes being shared with them at the very earliest opportunity. The biggest focus of any announcement should be how they will be impacted (and when), how they can share any concerns or questions, and the support they will be given throughout the process.
Opportunities to talk
It is also advisable to provide opportunities for volunteers to talk about and respond to leaders separately from staff, as each group is likely to have issues and queries which are not necessarily relevant to the other.
Not only does this approach engender understanding about what’s happening and why, it could actually give rise to a better way of doing things. Volunteers might not sit on your board of trustees or in strategy meetings, but they are out there every day, either providing front-line services or otherwise using the very systems and processes that you’re proposing to alter.
This means their perspective is a hugely valuable, and often untapped, resource – they may be able to offer suggestions about the issues they face currently and how to resolve them, or bring new ideas to the table which haven’t crossed the minds of the leadership, especially within larger entities where the latter may be removed from the face-to-face aspects of the charity’s operations.
Ignoring those who inherently understand the challenges faced, the communities served and the aspects which make it successful isn’t just disrespectful, it’s wasteful.
Participation leads to ownership
The charities which navigate change most successfully are often those which involve volunteers at the earliest opportunity, seek their views genuinely and empower them to shape the future rather than simply receive instructions about it. Yes, this approach takes more time and effort. You might hear some uncomfortable feedback, but it also creates something incredibly valuable: ownership.
Suddenly it’s not the management’s change project, it’s everyone’s – and feeling you have contributed to something makes supporting it much more likely.
Of course, it would be nigh on impossible to consult everyone each time a simple, small alteration needs to be made. But for the things that matter – the tech implementations, the mergers or restructures, the new approach to service provision or system overhauls – the people who can define whether these changes are successful or not must have a part to play in the process.
These individuals choose to give something they can never get back, their time. They do so freely and willingly. And that requires the utmost respect, the chance to be part of a change rather than subjected to it, and a voice.
Ensuring they feel heard, valued and involved smooths the transformation process, and enhances their experience of volunteering – encouraging them to continue contributing so selflessly. For organisations built on generosity, community and human connection, the risk of leaving them behind is simply not worth taking.
