Staff and volunteers?

posted by Chloe S on Mon, 28/04/2008 - 9:53am

Should a Volunteer Co-ordinator be asked to become HR too? Should the roles of dealing with volunteers and staff be mixed? What do you think?

Forums: 
Legal issues, policy and campaigns

On Tue, 06/05/2008 - 3:08pm

Hi Chloe

In my opinion the two functions should not be mixed at all.  The skill sets and the procedures, processes and legalities concerned are quite different.  In a very small organisation and if they have that rare individual who is capable of handling both roles, I suppose it is feasible but I think it would be an unlikely situation.

Volunteer managers should be highlighting the significant difference that we can make to the success of our organisations by doing our job well rather than taking on other roles alongside their own and reducing the amount of time available for developing the volunteering programme. 

Just my view of course

Steve

 

Steve Gee

Volunteer Development Manager

Cancer Research UK

By Steve Gee --

Steve Gee

Volunteer Development Manager

Cancer Research UK

On Tue, 13/05/2008 - 10:33am
Might be on a slight tangent, but may be useful. When I started working in the voluntary sector aged 19, I was running a project for 16 to 24 yr olds. I also volunteered with an MV project while doing this and the lines to me seemed very blurred. In a sense there is an 'us' and 'them' culture between staff and volunteers, and to an extent I found myself on the outside of both groups. It was hard to get over whether I was managing the other volunteers or being their friend. Of course being male, it was also difficult that MV was teeming with single girls that if i met anywhere else would have been fine. In my experience it is difficult to do the two in the same place and act one way during working hours and another when volunteering. Now I make sure not to volunteer somewhere that I am working, but will volunteer for other organisations. I'd feel like a hypocrite if i didnt volunteer at all.
By Alex W

On Fri, 23/05/2008 - 9:57pm
Really good question Chloe and my gut reaction was to agree with Steve. However, I think that managing people can be simply about managing people. In some organisations, small organisations, where there are a small team then I guess they could get mixed. BUT is doing that undervaluing the importance of managing the volunteers, or at the cost of effective volunteer management as HR duties get more complicated or demanding. However, it is important the legal differences are clear and keeping up with changes in employment law can be a fulltime job in itself. In some organisations, buying in HR expertise can often be the safest option then expecting someone who organises volunteers to take on HR responsibilities. I guess there are lots of questions to answer for your situation and I guess in writing this down I would avoid mixing the two.
By Nikki Squelch -- Nikki - AVM Member & Director (volunteer)