Orientation for New Volunteers - Coursework Example

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT: ORIENTATION FOR NEW VOLUNTEERS by Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor’s Name University Name City, State Date Table of Contents Introduction 3 Project Statement 3 Orientation to a New Organization 4 a)Cause Orientation 4 B) System Orientation 6 C) Social Orientation 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Adolfová et al. (2016) argues that volunteer management entails more than just the selection and supervision of the prospective undertakes to take up new roles in a new organization. The group of authors further explains that this is necessitated by the need for effectiveness in managing volunteer programs that, in turn, play a wide role especially with regard to an organization’s ability to leverage on its limited resources. Consequently, the concept of volunteer management serves as a gateway through which ordinary citizens are provided with opportunities to engage in local as well as global issues. Project Statement Whereas the host organizations get a rare opportunity to harness new talents by way of having new employees on board, the volunteers also do get a chance to understand practically, how organizations run in the corporate world (Lynch & Russell, 2010). This is not only an opportunity to get a feel of the ‘outside’ world but also for the new volunteers to gain hands-on-skills to augment further the theories learnt in class. Accordingly, it’s also an opportunity for the volunteers to showcase their outstanding individual skills that the organization may tap into in the quest to realize its core mission and consequently serve as an entryway for the volunteers who have an eye in securing permanent employment with the host organizations. For this particular welfare project, the volunteers will be involved in a number of activities geared towards serving the poor and orphaned cohorts in the society. Notably, the volunteers will spend a great deal of their time distributing relief food and other personal effects to the vulnerable people including the aged. In a broader perspective, the volunteers will manage the funds flowing into the organization’s kitty with close supervision by the project manager who will have to authorize any major transactions. Basically, the volunteer programme will be an ingenious way of giving the welfare group a feel of the local society as the less privileged are served by some of their own. By so doing, a deep-seated sense of ownership will be inculcated to enhance public confidence and ease the process of distributing the products. Though different types of investments, ranging from energy, expertise and time are required to manage volunteers, studies have shown that a deliberate attempt to develop and maintain viable volunteer programme makes volunteers feel valued and engaged in the activities of a particular organization (Ellis, 2011). To effectively understand the best approach in volunteer management, a number of aspects come into play. However, this study paper will narrow down to the orientation of newly acquired volunteers. Orientation to a New Organization Orientation refers to the process of assisting volunteers to get a clear overview of what a particular organization does so that a sense of belonging is instilled in the former (Adolfová et al., 2016). The authors opine that the orientation process should aim at equipping the volunteers with practical as well as sufficient background knowledge on what the particular organization stands for so that the volunteers get an insight of the best way in which they can champion a particular cause within the organization without the risk of breaching the operational procedures. Being the first date between the volunteer and the host organization, impression does matter a lot (Student Volunteering Handbook, 2015). This is because it is generally considered a very crucial stage at which intellectual, emotional and practical bond is established, hence the volunteer has to be made as comfortable as possible. Moreover, the orientation programme for the volunteers shouldn’t simply involve a scanty tale of the organization’s particulars but rather should be deliberately skewed to cover background information, organizational culture, values and experience that are key in integrating and grounding the new volunteers into the organization and by extension the community (Lynch & Russell, 2010). Ordinarily, an effective orientation programme takes place through three main stages: orientation on organization’s cause; orientation on the organization’s systems and finally social orientation. The same information can as well be imparted on the new team members over a span of three days. a) Cause Orientation Cause orientation is the initial stage where volunteers are made aware of the very reasons behind the existence of a particular organization – the mission, vision as well as values of the organization are stated and discussed at this level (Lynch & Russell, 2010). In principle, this stage is aimed at creating an emotional bond between the host organization and the volunteers and is therefore subdivided into four categories: a) History of the Organization A brief history of the organization, however short, is key in bringing out a picture of how it started and by who, argues Ellis (2011). The author explains that Organizational history provides the volunteers with a rare opportunity to access information and people who share a common goal in the organization and subsequently plays a significant role in transforming the volunteers into ‘insiders’. b) Mission and Philosophy of the Organization Adolfová et al. (2016) observe that any new volunteers should be given a chance to know, understand and adequately digest the contents of the mission statement guiding their host organization. Thy further argue that, this should be discussed in combination with ethics, values and philosophies upheld by the organization in its lifetime. Debatably, there can be no other better way to keep new volunteers motivated than to connect them to the mission of the organization by showing them how better they can contribute their individual talents towards that particular cause. c) Beneficiaries of the Organization’s Activities In the cases where the work of an organization is meant to support a particular target group, the volunteers have an obligation to understand, as much as possible, about the target group during the orientation period (Hager & Brudne, 2014). The pair further observes that the volunteers will need to understand the native language, gender, age or ethnicity of the target cohort/s. This goes a long way in not only boosting the former’s confidence but also guarantees good rapport between the them as the service providers and the community on the other hand, who are the service recipients. d) Projects Undertaken by the Organization The orientation programme should provide a clear brief to the new volunteers about the particular but main activities that the host organization is involved in and, need be, the specific areas where expertise is already available or missing (Hager & Brudne, 2014; Adolfová et al., 2016). This would be one incredible way of bringing out the current undertakings of the organization and effectively enable the new volunteers establish a clear niche where they can be of enormous benefit to the organization’s cause. B) System Orientation At this level, the new volunteers should be introduced to the management system or structure of the organization (Hanh, 2010). The author argues that this gives the new volunteers an opportunity to not only determine how best they can fit into the organizational context without unwarranted friction with the existing members but also provides incredible information on how to raise issues in the event of difficulty or non-clarity when executing their respective mandates. Further, it is during system orientation that such issues as space, rules as well as possibilities of job positions due to open up in the near future should be addressed to pre-empt chances of misinformation or assumptions. a) Organizational Structure Fundamentally, this aspect should strive to create a clear picture of how the entire organization works with clear reference to inter-departmental relationship (Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence, 2007). Administration, promotion and accountability issues in running of projects should be explained answering such questions as who reports to whom and who is in charge of what. Notably, in doing these, the question of what, where and how the new volunteers can chip in towards project execution should be consciously highlighted. Besides, as Hanh (2010) observes it would be important, at this point in time, to single out the significance of the volunteering programme within the organizational structure, its core purpose and any tangible achievements realized. b) Daily Routine New York Cares (2014) notes that this is the stage where workplace ground rules should be laid bare. This should include general information that guides the conduct of each and every one in their day-to-day functioning. The publication further summarizes this to include but not limited to – any restrictions and instructions on equipment use; general office layout and where the new volunteer will operate from during his or her tenure; access as well as storage of supplies and related materials, security procedures if any and office routine etc. c) Induction to the New Position New volunteers should be given an insight into what an ordinary day would be like especially when taking up a new job, cautions Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence (2007). Moreover, activity timelines should be brought up at this stage and any other tasks that the volunteer might be assigned. Importantly, as Lynch & Russell (2010) observe, it would be important for the volunteer to understand any existing evaluation criteria as well as the time when close supervision is warranted in the course of their duty. Additionally, the frequency of such evaluations as well as the various forms they take should also be communicated early in advance. C) Social Orientation During the orientation period, it is important to ensure the new volunteers become familiar with the various people who serve the organization at different capacities in addition to the specific roles played by each one of them (Adolfová et al., 2016). Indeed, if possible, the individual volunteers should be introduced separately to the members of staff so that they feel valued as part of the larger team. a) Organizational Culture No doubt, each and every organization has its own culture, built and developed over a period of its existence (Adolfová et al., 2016; Hager & Brudne, 2014). The authors opine that this culture is founded on organizational history which emanates from the behavior and thinking of its founders as well as the existing members of staff. Such cultural issues will include but not limited to – rules governing smoking and dress code; drink and food related rules, work gender relations, formal or informal work settings etc. Notably, such information comes in handy to the new volunteers as it forestalls any uncertainties and renders the transformation into the new workplace and the organization at large much easier. Conclusion In sum, it is important to point out that different organizations approach the issue of volunteer management, particularly orientation, differently depending on organizational culture and, to some extent, new volunteer-entry position. At times, information may be shared through volunteer interviews, others choose to make oral presentations to the selected group of new volunteers where as others use more than one approach in making the orientation programme a success etc. However, basically, the purpose of any orientation process is to make volunteers aware of their respective mandates in addition to the consequences of crossing over the line. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that volunteers may not grasp all the information during the first three days of the programme. As such, more information should be availed in form of continuous training as need may arise or as provided for by the host organization. In this case, training should be aimed at improving the quality and quantity of work done by the volunteer on behalf of the organization. References Adolfová, I., Bere, I., Brozmanová A., Dana, G., Alicja, S. & Oana, Z., 2016. Volunteer Management in EVS Projects. Cluj Napoca, Romania Ellis, J., 2011. Best Practices in Volunteer Management: An Action Planning Guide for Small and Rural Non-profit Organizations. Canada Volunteerism Initiative Hager, A. & Brudne, L., 2014. Volunteer Management Practices and Retention of Volunteers. The Urban Institute Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence, 2007. Effective Strategies for Providing Quality Youth Mentoring in Schools and Communities The National Mentoring Center at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Hanh, V., 2010. Volunteer Management. The Lahti University of Applied Sciences Lynch, R. & Russell, N., 2010. Volunteer Management: Challenges and Opportunities Facing Non-profits. United Way of King County, Seattle, Washington New York Cares, 2014. Great Volunteer Management System. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, New York City Student Volunteering Handbook, 2015. Don’t just stand there. Volunteer The value of volunteering and where to search for Opportunities. University of Greewich Read More