Recruiting and Training Volunteers & Building an Effective Volunteer Training Program

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CHAPTER 8

The Latest Approach to Volunteer Recruitment

Competency-Competence Pathways and Volunteer Resource Management Systems

Stephen Hobbs, EdD WELLth Learning Network

It is worth writing again and again: Volunteers are the lifeblood of a volunteer-basedorganization. While the organization mission, vision, and values are the backbone, the staff the skeletal system, the clients the organs of the body and the community the skin, it is the lifeblood-sharing efforts of the volunteers that keep the body nourished and vibrant.

With a slight variation on the theme of the Canadian Blood Services’ recruitment campaign “Blood: It’s in You to Give,” it is possible for volunteer-based organizations to present this recruitment campaign: “Volunteerism: It’s in You to Share.” The same intention is present. The same outcome is required. This campaign is to recruit volun- teers just as the other campaign is to recruit blood donors.

Without carrying the people and lifeblood metaphor to extremes, the case is made that “volunteers are important.” Therefore, the recruitment of competent vol- unteers becomes the focal point of volunteer resource managers. Note the adjective before “volunteers” in the last sentence; the aim is to recruit competent volunteers.

Recruiting or deciding on competent volunteers has become a science and an art. It is a science when the logical progression of steps and associated checks and balances are used to decide and confirm if the potential and competent volunteer is to move forward. Equally important are the creative, subjective insights volunteer resource managers use to guide their final decisions about confirming and forward- ing competent volunteers into the organization.

The suitable selection and use of an electronic volunteer resource management software and/or online platform is important to assist volunteer resource managers with their decisions. The selection and use of a volunteer resources management

205 The Volunteer Management Handbook : Leadership Strategies for Success, edited by Tracy D. Connors, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=697552. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-04-21 10:08:19.

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system (VRMS) increases the availability of data through information (Hobbs & Dyble, 2002) from which informed decisions can be made. However, these deci- sions still require personal interpretation to move volunteers forward.

An Internet search of vendors selling electronic VRMSs highlights the variety. These vendors claim their systems organize the work from A to Z. However, a buyer-beware recommendation is encouraged when choosing which system will work best for the nonprofit organization (NPO). During the VRMS review, ask this important question from the purchase requirement list: “Is the critical function of recruiting volunteers (screen, interview, and assign) forefront in the day-to-day use of the system? And if yes, is this function simple to use?” Volunteer resource manag- ers cannot be slowed down by cumbersome VRMSs. The recruitment strategy must flow easily and effortlessly with the aid of the VRMS. Also, access to and use by new volunteers, existing volunteers, and managers must be fluid.

This chapter links the wise use of a software or Internet-enabled VRMS with competence validation (explained later) to recruit competent volunteers. The com- plementarity of the VRMS and validation offers volunteer resource managers a prac- tical way to decide on the best volunteers to move forward into the organization. In other words, the system helps the volunteer managers recruit volunteers who com- petently fit the job requirements. This assistance is paramount to ongoing volunteer resource viability within the NPO, the realistic efforts of the volunteer resource managers and the coveted time given by the volunteers. Later in this chapter the volunteer competence management system (VCMS) replaces the VRMS mentioned here to emphasize the importance of competence validation.

Challenges with Volunteer Recruitment Today

Marketing to volunteers, just like recruitment (deciding on competent volunteers through screening, interviewing, and assigning), is fast becoming both an art and a science. From within the marketing noise, messages containing an ask must be la- ser-focused as the NPO delivers its message and receives a favorable reply. To gain the attention of people new to volunteering with the organization or to gain the attention of previous volunteers, volunteer resource managers and their com- munication colleagues must become skilled in techniques like social media and campaigning. Within the campaign, the recruitment process must be compelling to draw people’s attention from the volunteerism clamor and the living-life clatter every day.

What follows are ten challenges facing volunteer recruitment. This list is cursory and meant to highlight what is happening today.

Time Push and Pull

Time is a premium for everyone, perhaps more for those who hold a job than those who have time freedom to share their effort with NPOs. People are pushed and pulled for their time by family, friends, beliefs, desires, and work. This mix of variables is difficult to reconcile unless NPOs campaign in ways to bridge and entwine the per- sonal and work variables.

206 The Latest Approach to Volunteer Recruitment

The Volunteer Management Handbook : Leadership Strategies for Success, edited by Tracy D. Connors, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ashford-ebooks/detail.action?docID=697552. Created from ashford-ebooks on 2022-04-21 10:08:19.

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Savvy: Needs and Wants

Volunteers are becoming savvier in their giving decisions. They are seeking compel- ling reasons to become involved with an NPO. Whether in giving time, effort, and/or money, they are becoming choosier. Of utmost importance is the ease of access to becoming involved. When they want to sign up, the recruitment and placement sys- tem must flow easily and unfold intuitively for them to continue moving forward.

Process Efficiencies

New and existing volunteers recognize that organizations must exercise care in their recruiting. Volunteers are looking for efficiency in the recruitment process. They want to identify what they need to learn and how to move forward. Unexplained delays and process hiccups or lack of communication as to why they have not been chosen must be corrected quickly.

Learning and Development

Every day people are engaged in learning and development. Volunteers recognize that they gain a lot when volunteering. However, learning in and of itself is no longer a substantial reason to volunteer. The learning must have purpose; it must escalate to something more than when they started. Status quo volunteerism is losing its appeal, especially among the new generations of volunteers.

Rewards and Recognition

Woven into volunteer learning and development is the need for rewards and re- cognition. A reward is managed through extrinsic motivation. Volunteer Resource Managers (VRMs) manage volunteers to follow a clear ladder of tasks and how to move within the organization systems. Recognition is led through intrinsic inspiration. VRMs help volunteers link their involvement with achieving personal milestones and gaining confidence.

Communication: Dialogue

Volunteers seek clear, consistent, and connective communication. Transparency is important. They value the organization knowing what is expected of them and com- municating those expectations early in their connection. With the advent of effective Web sites (Allen, Goh, Rogelberg, & Currie, 2010) and social media platforms, com- munication channels have opened up to support office, office-field, field-based, and virtual volunteers. How people wish to receive communication is shifting as well. Therefore, a communication strategy pertinent to the type of volunteers targeted must be considered and available.

Competition: Organized Approach

The more organized the recruitment approach, the more likely the organization can tap into the group of unassigned volunteers who are interested in social connections

Challenges with Volunteer Recruitment Today 207

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or learning. Those who already align with an organization mission will participate in new approaches to organizing them so long as the process is not onerous for them to navigate.

Seasonal Considerations: Length of Involvement

Volunteers may be involved in short-term and/or long-term commitments. As they come and go, they must experience a system that supports their cyclical exit and entrance. Special event volunteers are present to fulfill the needs and assignments of the event. They are personally grateful to do so until the next special event or the return of the event next year. Therefore, the system must be robust to retain records of volunteers who only volunteer at cyclical special events.

Career and Job Advancement

People involve themselves in volunteer organizations as a way to gain experience, knowledge, and skill for resumes and job application. The experience of volun- teering provides them with insights into organization life transferable to other jobs. New immigrants volunteer to stay involved and gain insight into community; many use their volunteer experience as a next step along a career path. Volunteering for some can be a forced choice when assigned through judicial requirements. While the volunteer assignment is seen as giving back in return for what people have taken away, the underlying effect is to expose people to meaningful work. There- fore, the transferable knowledge and skills learned can be used in seeking other forms of employment.

Type of Volunteers

There are four broad types of volunteers who operate face-to-face, virtually, and/or in a blended format:

1. Day-to-day volunteers. They are available each day or week. 2. Special event (episodic) volunteers. They are available for particular and some-

times singular events as they arise or as they cycle through the calendar. 3. Managerial volunteers. They coordinate other volunteers on a day-to-day or spe-

cial event basis. 4. Governance volunteers. They are involved with board/organization discussions

and decisions.

Of these four types mentioned, recruiting competent managerial and governance volunteers is best served by using a VRMS. It is suggested that some special event volunteers holding senior positions be recruited using the VRMS and competence. However, for day-to-day and other special event volunteers, the VRMS may or may not be helpful. For larger organizations continually recruiting volunteers, the use of the VRMS will be helpful. More insights supporting purchase decisions follow through the rest of the chapter.

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Volunteer Resources Management System

Hobbs (1999) presented a three-phase volunteer resources management model in parallel to a human resources management model used in public and private organi- zations. Since then, researchers and practitioners have presented many illustrations, explanations, descriptions, and prescriptions of the VRMS. Merrill (2003, p. 81) pro- vided a compelling introduction to the many actions within the VRMS, recognizing that “volunteer managers deal with diverse managerial responsibilities.” Merrill asked readers to use a pad of sticky notes and pen to list all of the activities inherent in a VRMS. Once the notes are posted on the table or wall, she recommends applying a grouping technique, such as like affinity charting (a data-sorting tool) to arrange the various notes into a recognizable pattern. The meaningful pattern provides the head- ings and actions within the VRMS.

VRMS software programs became available during the 1990s. Volunteer resource managers were trying them out. Programmers were correcting their code with feedback from the field. The buzz had started; the electronic age of VRMS had begun in earnest. Instead of using spreadsheets and labor-intensive paperwork, volunteer resource manag- ers had access to new electronic systems to help their volunteer administration.

Jump ahead a decade, and even more technology platforms and software are available. These systems are touting the latest and greatest features and benefits, fash- ion, and functions explaining and describing performance and productivity aspects of their products and services. All are great, with choice discernment. Unfortunately, with new technology comes the marketing noise. It is crucial for volunteer resource managers to sift through the noise to find the most appropriate VRMS for their organization.

This chapter does not present or recommend any software or platform. Its inten- tion is to guide volunteer resource managers in learning how a VRMS supports com- petence validation of volunteers during the recruitment stage of their involvement with an NPO. Nonetheless, the content presented hereafter can be used to guide volunteer resource managers in purchasing an appropriate system.

Volunteer Resources Performance Management System

With the addition of the concepts and practices of performance and productivity just mentioned, new domains of knowledge and practices for the professionalism of vol- unteer management (Connors, 2010) have arrived. Here are refined definitions of the terms performance and productivity suggested by the author.

Performance refers to the individual—whether staff or volunteer—to improve performance through educating (training) and non-educating (training) interventions.

Productivity on the other hand is about the people—the organization as a collec- tive—to find the return on service, learning, investment and other key output indicators.

Whereas adult learning principles and education guided volunteer resource managers’ preparation of volunteers for assignments in the past, more research tools

Volunteer Resources Management System 209

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and techniques are available through performance improvement and human per- formance technologies. In addition, return on investment metrics and associated research adds more to measuring key productivity indicators. Therefore, the soft- ware and Internet-enabled platforms now herald an updated version of the volun- teer resources management system to include performance improvement tools and techniques.

When performance is included, it is possible to verify or validate the competence of volunteers before and during their involvement in the organization. Based on the capa- bilities the volunteer possesses, volunteer resource managers and managers to whom volunteers are assigned can confirm, verify, or validate volunteer competence.

Based on competence validation, volunteer resource managers, other managers, and volunteers can decide what education is needed to fill the gaps and what path suits the successful movement of volunteers into the organization and/or their contin- ued involvement in existing or new jobs.

The competence decision structure focuses on verification or validation of competence:

& Is the person competent? If yes, move on. If no, what education is needed? & After education, is the person competent? If yes, move on. If no, what education is

needed?

Because recruitment (screening, interviewing, and assigning) is a function in the updated VRMS, it is possible to use performance-improvement concepts and tech- niques like competence validation to recruit competent volunteers. A more detailed presentation of competency, competence, and competence validation follows. Note that this chapter does not dive deeply into the various subelements of screening, inter- viewing, and assigning, topics discussed in other chapters in this book. A search of the Internet will also reveal many useful resources.

Competency and Competence

Competency as a concept and practice has been discussed in all types of organiza- tions for over 30 years (Velde, 2009). It has received attention in pop culture and aca- demic documents as well as higher education and workplace discussions of prior learning assessment review and current learning achievement review.

Competency and competence are often aligned with human resource manage- ment. By extension, the concepts and practices are now connected with volunteer resource management. With continuing advances in technology and application im- provements, the concepts and practices have advanced why and how the compe- tency-based approach for managing people deserves attention.

World of Competency

Competencies are a way to better inform people of the work within the organization, no matter where in the world the organization and people reside and no matter their type or size of the organization (Velde, 2009). Green (1999, p. 5) defines a

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competency as “a written description of measurable work habits and personal [knowl- edge and] skills used to achieve a work objective.” They are action-based statements guided by Bloom’s (1954) original “action verb taxonomy” and its revision by Ander- son et al. (2000).

They become clear and consistent statements of what the organization requires and requests of the volunteer. Then the organization can state what it will supply in support of the competencies. In response, volunteers can align their requirements and requests of the organization to determine the degree of fit. In doing so they can identify what they will bring to their volunteer experience.

Competence and Competence Validation

Competencies beget competence when people self-assess and are validated against the outcome inherent to the competency statement action verbs. Competence is a state of confirmed knowledge and skill recognized by subject matter experts who themselves are validated competent in how to validate and are validated in the subject matter expertise they will validate or verify. In other words, people who validate have also been validated by subject matter experts. For example, if a person validates vol- unteers in house-to-house canvassing, then that person him- or herself has been vali- dated in house-to-house canvassing.

People who validate usually have two to four years experience in what they are validating. This experience, along with their own validation, guides the organization in its acceptance of the validation outcomes. Such a requirement is particularly impor- tant when competencies are deemed critical to the job.

If validators are without suitable experience yet educated in the validation pro- cess, they can involve other volunteers and managers. Working through a triangulated review, at least two experienced people join the validator during the validation. The eyes and ears of the attending volunteers will help the validator verify the competence of the volunteer.

Additional rigor accompanies the validation process. The person who validates cannot be the person who educates. Therefore, the person who educated the home- to-home canvasser cannot be the person who validates the person as being compe- tent. This three-way combination of volunteer, educator, and validator triangulates the results, thus adding legitimacy and trustworthiness to the whole process and its results.

Volunteer Resources Competence Validation Performance Management System

The next generation of electronic VRMSs has evolved. They now include the concepts and practices of performance improvement and competency and competence. These additions have been initiated by issues of compliance. Government and industry regu- lations require a proven record of competence, especially when cases of illness, in- jury, and death occur. The medical field is using competency-competence and evidence-based assessment on a larger scale, as evident in myriad books now available.

In addition, the professionalism of volunteer resource managers and fundraising managers means more stringent ethical protocols are necessary to meet regulations

Competency and Competence 211

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and community expectations. Legal requirements around performance management require more formal documentation for the professional VRMs themselves, other staff, and the volunteers who support organizational initiatives.

Before moving on, and to lessen acronym ridiculousness, the updated VRMS will be referred to simply as VCMS (volunteer competence management system). Compe- tence validation and performance management or performance assessment are vital elements within this new system. The term and system inherent to VCMS will replace the VRMS concept introduced earlier and will be used throughout the rest of this chapter.

The VCMS is an investment, not overhead. Competent volunteers are key to orga- nization effectiveness. Through the use of this system, VRMs and managers can take corrective or preventive action to increase the personal capacity of each volunteer and collectively the organization’s capacity. The money invested in the VCMS will pay for itself quickly.

Recruiting Volunteers Using Competencies

People have capabilities and talents already. They bring them to the volunteer experi- ence. Therefore, it is advantageous for volunteer resource managers to confirm the knowledge, skill, and attitudes that potential and existing volunteers possess before assigning them to jobs. The more volunteer resource managers know about their vol- unteers’ knowledge, skill, and attitude competence, the more these managers can use additional volunteer management techniques of talent planning, succession mapping, and education analysis to keep the volunteers up-to-date, motivated and inspired, and stimulated to stay in a vibrant atmosphere of respect and growth.

A differentiator among NPOs is the quick and efficient pathway they use to recruit volunteers. As mentioned, challenges abound in awakening people to volun- teer opportunities and the subsequent recruitment portal and process to enter the organization.

Competency-Based Recruitment Model

Exhibit 8.1 highlights the three major elements involved in recruiting volunteers using a self-assessment of competencies and competence validation approach and provides an overview presentation of the elements working together. These ele- ments are screening, interviewing, and assigning. These three elements are helpful to volunteer resource managers as they decide which people to involve as volunteers.

The first element of recruitment is screening. This element includes:

& Writing a competency-based profile & Providing access to the self-assessment portal & Running the screening report to decide who is invited or not for an interview

Exhibit 8.2 highlights the sections of the whole model considered to be screening.

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ASSIGNING

Job Posting

Job Profile

Self-Assessment

against

Application Criteria

Application Review

and Selection

for Interview

Candidates

Selected

for Interview

Candidates

Rejected

for Interview

Competency-Based

Interview

Successful

Candidate

Offered Position

Unsuccessful

Candidates

Notified

Supplemental

Education

Job Assignment

SCREENING INTERVIEWING

EXHIBIT 8.1 Deciding on Competent Volunteers: Screening, Interviewing, and Assigning

Job Posting

Job Profile

Self-Assessment

against

Application Criteria

Application Review

and Selection

for Interview

SCREENING

EXHIBIT 8.2 Deciding on Competent Volunteers: Screening, Interviewing, and Assigning

Recruiting Volunteers Using Competencies 213

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Profiling a Volunteer Job

Educational institutions use a DACUM (develop a curriculum) process or variation to identify learning outcomes and learning objectives around which courses are developed and delivered. The learning outcomes identify what people will learn (knowledge, skill, and/or attitude) from the program as a result of their involve- ment. The learning objectives identify the particular knowledge and skills pre- sented and in what order, and what actions will be taken in the program to fulfill the learning outcomes.

Similarly, collecting the required and requested knowledge, skill, and attitude re- quirements for a volunteer job are turned into competency categories and competen- cies. The competency categories are like learning outcomes while competencies are like learning objectives. A collection of competencies form a profile. Competency statements are written using Bloom’s (1956) three-phase action verb taxonomy (i.e., cognitive, affective, and psychomotor).

The competency statement is written with an action verb and enough description to clearly identify what the person must be competent in when validated. Generally the statement contains two to nine words. The subsequent descriptive and explana- tory statements contain five to nine words. For supporting statements considered straightforward, five words; for statements that require a little more explanation, nine words. Also, the competency statement is a balance between writing a mechanized- robotic competency statement versus a statement so generalized it applies to every- one (unless that is the intention). Every competency must clearly demarcate the knowledge, skills, and attitude required and requested for the job. Once written and used, the profile as a whole is the organization’s statement of volunteer’s accountabil- ities and responsibilities. Exhibit 8.3 presents two examples.

Access Portals

When an NPO advertises for volunteers—including on its Web site (Allen et al., 2010)—it lists the access portal to enter the VCMS. Upon signing on, the VCMS accepts volunteers as users. They are taken directly to the self-assessment function and asked to follow the instructions and/or use the job provided.

Access to Technical and Recruitment Support

The type of user support required focuses on technical use questions and the recruit- ment process. The technical support of lost passwords and navigating the system can be offered through the organization or left with the vendor support group. If set up properly, the entry and navigation by the volunteer is intuitive and requires the least amount of clicks possible. In fact, limiting the entry of any form of written data during the self-assessment is preferred. Therefore, a simple click-and-click format is best at this point of the volunteer’s use of the system.

The recruitment support takes the form of answering generic questions about what volunteers need to do, where to, go and what happens as they move forward using the VCMS. A frequently asked questions Web site segment can accompany the job profile advertisement on the organization Web site. However, a percentage of

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people will still phone. Therefore, someone conversant in the online process will need to support these callers.

Self-Assessing

After signing on to the VCMS, people are directed to the self-assessment of the profile competencies. The type of self-assessment format will vary by type of VCMS. How- ever, the key questions must center on criteria similar to these:

1. When was the last time you took the action described in the competency statement?

2. How much experience do you have in taking this action? 3. Can you take the action independently?

Questions like these guide the person in clearly sharing competency currency, experience, and autonomy.

Level of Confidence

The results of the self-assessment are an indicator of the person’s level of confidence. These results are given by the system through the statistical algorithm used behind the scenes to calculate the competency score. The score of a person who has not

EXHIBIT 8.3 Two Competency Statement Examples

Competency Actions

Demonstrate respect Knowledge 1. Define respect. 2. Describe ways of gaining respect. 3. List the benefits of being respected.

Skill 1. Obtain and or maintain a high level of personal, organizational,

and societal values. 2. Engage in law-abiding behavior. 3. Respect the property and possessions of others.

Competency Actions

Chair meetings Knowledge 1. List the purpose of a meeting. 2. Identify when it is appropriate to have a meeting. 3. Identify who needs to attend the meeting. 4. Describe the need and method for keeping order in a meeting. 5. Discuss when to take minutes and when to assign taking

minutes to another member.

Skill 1. Develop a meeting agenda. 2. Take minutes. 3. Communicate minutes. 4. Chair a meeting.

Recruiting Volunteers Using Competencies 215

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taken the action for five years, has about one year of experience, and requires assistance would be lower than that of someone who took action within the last three months, has five years of experience and can work independently. Further discussion about the algorithm is best left to discussion between the organization and vendor.

In the job advertisement, when the organization makes the next statement or a variation thereof, it is demonstrating clarity, consistency, and connectivity with new volunteers. From the beginning of the volunteers’ experience, they are shown fairness and respect in their application.

Dear Volunteer: As you respond to the self-assessment, underestimating your con- fidence of competence could lead to no interview and overestimating your confi- dence of competence could lead to difficulties during the competence-based interview. Therefore, it’s advisable you answer truthfully. The feedback you re- ceive upon reviewing your self-assessment report guides your decision of what actions to take. You could seek immediate education and update your self-assess- ment or seek more education to apply again later (merely a suggestion).

Knowing-Doing Gap

The feedback volunteers receive after reviewing the results of the self-assessment clearly identify what they need to learn and do to raise their score. Therefore, the self- assessed profile report forms a learning contract that guides the volunteers’ learning and development.

Screening for Recruitment Report

The screening for recruitment report is available to volunteer resource managers after the job advertisement has run its course and provides data from which these managers learn about volunteers’ knowledge and skills. These insights help the managers iden- tify education and noneducation interventions for the incoming volunteers. Obvi- ously, the more volunteer resource managers are prepared to expedite the volunteers’ entrance to the organization, the greater the benefit that will be realized by the volunteer and organization.

Larger organizations mounting campaigns for a large number of volunteers can run the screening report on numerous occasions to bring volunteers in for interview- ing. Therefore, a constant supply of volunteers aligned with the organization is availa- ble for interviews and/or given education support to improve their alignment.

Interviewing

The second of the three elements of the recruitment process used to decide on volun- teers entering the organization is interviewing (see Exhibit 8.4). This element includes:

& Informing volunteers who will be interviewed and the process to follow & Informing respondents who will not move forward to an interview on how to im-

prove their assessment for next time

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& Interviewing volunteers using a competence validation approach to confirm the competence volunteers possess

Inviting Interviewees

Based on the criteria set forth for interviewing, people who match the criteria are con- tacted for an interview. With access to the self-assessment report new volunteers are clear about what they need to learn to fully match the NPO needs. They prepare for the interview with full insight as to the knowledge, skill, and attitude they have and must gain.

Communicating “Why Not” to Help Reapply

Volunteers not invited to an interview are contacted and given an update on what they need to do to reapply again. Access to their self-assessment report confirms the NPO communication about “why not” and what particular competencies they must update and/or upgrade to apply again.

Resume Submission or Not

Depending on the interview committee requirements, interviewees can submit their resumes. Resume building or document upload functionality is often included in the VCMS. Adopting the “no resume” submission approach is a great green alternative. Instead of working through a pile of paper resumes, VRMS simply check volunteers’ online files. The self-assessment, in many ways, replaces the need for a resume.

Competence-Based Interviewing

Competence-based interviewing (Kessler, 2006) is meant to select the best person or people to move along the system of volunteer involvement. During a

Job Posting

Job Profile

Self-Assessment

against

Application Criteria

Application Review

and Selection

for Interview

Candidates

Selected

for Interview

Candidates

Rejected

for Interview

Competency-Based

Interview

SCREENING INTERVIEWING

EXHIBIT 8.4 Hiring Competent Volunteers Screening, Interviewing, and Assigning

Interviewing 217

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competency-based interview, the person is given tasks and asked questions to con- firm the self-assessed competencies (knowledge and skills). In other words, the inter- viewer(s) can confirm the volunteer’s (a) level of competence and (b) knowing-doing gap. Additional organization culture questions can be asked to gauge the awareness the volunteer has of the organization and its operations. Kessler’s (2006) book is a helpful resource for the competence-based tools and techniques for conducting the interview.

Competent Interviewers

For competency-based interviewing to work to its full potential through the addition of relevant competence validation data on the VCMS, the single interviewer must be educated in how to validate and be validated in what (the subject matter) will be validated during the interview.

An option is to convene a group to validate. A minimum of one validator in the interview group will use the eyes and ears of the others to confirm competence. The validator enters the result of the interview in the VCMS. Depending on the competen- cies considered, through this approach it is possible to interview several volunteers at the same time.

Assigning

The third of the three elements of the recruitment process used to decide on volun- teers entering the organization is assigning (see Exhibit 8.5). This element includes:

& Helping volunteers who will not move forward understand what happens & Guiding accepted volunteers forward to their assignments with/or without

education

Two options are available as a result of the competence-based interview.

1. The person does not move forward. In other words, according to the compe- tence validation they did not meet the criteria necessary to keep moving for- ward. When these situations arise, volunteers are guided to the education resources necessary to meet the criteria. They can be called in again or asked to reapply.

2. The person is invited to continue and is assigned to a manager.

Managers’ Involvement

With assignment of the volunteer(s), managers have access to each person’s portfolio of competence. Managers are aware of how quickly they can assign work to volun- teers and provide education support to strengthen their competence. Volunteers may participate in a general or specific orientation. However, depending on the outcome of the interview, volunteers may be competent in the topics covered in the orientation.

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The next statements summarize action steps for deciding on competent volun- teers through screening, interviewing, and assigning.

& Gain expertise in chosen VCMS. & Identify jobs that require use of the VCMS and the online competency-based

approach. & Write competencies for the job(s) (profiling). & Identify duration of recruitment campaign: weeks, months, ongoing. & Identify campaign portals including Web site. & Provide technical and recruitment support. & Provide access to VCMS to sign on. & Identify where and how to complete the self-assessment. & Run the screening report to decide who is invited or not invited for an interview. & Provide education resources by competency (resources available through

VCMS). & Inform volunteers who will be interviewed and the process to follow. & Inform respondents who will not move forward to an interview how to improve

their assessment for next time. & Decide on submission of resume and/or relevant documentation by interviewee.

ASSIGNING

Job Posting

Job Profile

Self-Assessment

against

Application Criteria

Application Review

and Selection

for Interview

Candidates

Selected

for Interview

Candidates

Rejected

for Interview

Competency-Based

Interview

Successful

Candidate

Offered Position

Unsuccessful

Candidates

Notified

Supplemental

Education

Job Assignment

SCREENING INTERVIEWING

EXHIBIT 8.5 Hiring Competent Volunteers: Screening, Interviewing, and Assigning

Assigning 219

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& Assign interviewer or assign interview group. & Interview volunteers using a competence validation approach to confirm the

competence volunteers possess. & Guide volunteers who will not move forward after the interview to understand

what happens next. & Brief accepted volunteers on their assignments. & Assign volunteers to managers.

Implications for Using a VCMS

Like any technology developed to help people save time, effort, and money, the VCMS must be used to its maximum to ensure its viability and functionality. Listed next are eight implications useful to volunteer resource managers in their reflection and discus- sion before purchasing and installing a VCMS in light of the competence/validation/re- cruitment (screening, interviewing and assigning) process presented earlier.

Accountability and Responsibility Implications

Following a competency-competence validation recruitment process makes sense from regulatory, legal, and professional standard perspectives. However, not all cur- rent volunteer recruitment processes include these perspectives. Therefore, using this approach to recruit every volunteer may not be applicable.

Take the time to discuss the merits of the VCMS in light of the accountability and responsibility assignments by volunteer job. The clearer the competency presentation, the clearer the volunteer and managers become about the complementarity surround- ing what is required and requested of them.

Learning and Development Implications

Learning and recruitment are often disconnected elements of the VCMS resulting in early engagement disconnects and increased early departure for new volunteers. When NPOs link the two elements, they will experience faster involvement of new volunteers, improved alignment to productive action in support of NPO strategy and tactics, decreased voluntary turnover, and better adherence to mandatory compliance requirements.

Rehnborg, Sinatra, and Bies (2010) highlight the importance of building and growing the capacity of NPOs to manage volunteers. To establish and sustain pro- gramming, NPOs must commit to a continuous learning approach linked with recruit- ment of competent volunteers (and subsequently retention). Therefore, the NPO must clarify its learning and development position for the strategic, tactical, and operational roles of volunteer resource managers and volunteers and provide a simple process to encourage incidental, informal, and formal learning (Billet, 2008; Marsick & Watkins, 1990).

Based on the results of the self-assessment of job competencies, volunteers iden- tify what they need to learn. With the assistance of volunteer resource managers and other managers, volunteers are given the necessary education resources to fill the

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competence gap. The performance improvement implication of matching education with learning means both training/instructing (e.g., attend a workshop) and nontrain- ing/instructing (e.g., use a job aid) interventions are required. Therefore, volunteer resource managers and managers must become conversant and practiced in the appli- cation of competency-based performance management and its functionality within the VCMS.

The VCMS provides metrics on the effectiveness of the educating-learning pro- cess. The competence validation records become the data source to analyze and syn- thesize the recruitment of volunteers. The metrics indicate the return on investment (liability side of the balance sheet) and return on learning (asset side of the balance sheet) of volunteer recruitment and education. The addition of these measures is help- ful in clarifying the value of volunteers from recruit(ment) to exit. In addition, this knowledge provides critical insights for funding proposals and justification of existing funding.

Legal Implications

Where legal issues may arise with volunteer involvement, it is helpful to know vali- dated competencies are legally defensible. When a volunteer is validated competent to the competencies of the job, the NPO and its volunteer resource managers and other managers are assured of legally admissible documentation helpful should legal questions arise. The VCMS is a repository of this documentation and provides proof of a rigorous process to link competence and compliance.

If it can be shown that volunteers were competent and their self-assessments demonstrate agreement (i.e., the people are confident in their knowledge, skills, and attitude) with competence validation, then the reason for questioning noncompetence is twofold.

1. The volunteers chose not to work within the competencies and their competence. If this is the case, then the legal issues fall to the volunteers.

2. However, if the organization is shown not to have provided the guidance in shar- ing the competencies and a process to gain competence and subsequently placed volunteers in jeopardy, then it is the manager and executives of the organization that have legal issues.

Because legal issues and their interpretation vary depending on court rulings, it is advisable to seek legal advice before purchasing the VCMS.

Volunteer Resource Manager Implications

A lot of pressure rests on the shoulders of volunteer resource managers to recruit and support volunteer involvement in the organization. Managers who are assigned to vol- unteers want to know they are receiving the best volunteers possible. More important, they want to know what volunteers know and can do and be given insight into what volunteers need to learn. The use of competencies, competence validation, and the VCMS helps volunteer resource managers assign the best people possible with clear portfolios of current knowledge, skills, and attitude.

Implications for Using a VCMS 221

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The VCMS provides a green alternative to reading and processing stacks of re- sumes. It lessens the time it takes to answer volunteers’ inquiries about their jobs. It distributes the most current insights about what the organization requires and requests of volunteers.

However, for some people, the use of this technology can feel somewhat cold and foreboding as volunteers question what happens to the data they enter. More im- portant, they may ask, “Will someone talk to me and answer my questions?”

Manager Implications

The use of technology, and especially a VCMS, must align with the mission, vision, and values of the organization. Senior staff and governance volunteers—through the volunteer resource managers and other paid and volunteer staff—must back its use for its full recruit(ment) to exit intention.

When the volunteer manager knows the strengths and learning requirements of new volunteers, he or she can become focused on how to help the assigned volun- teers. Therefore, competencies and confirmation of competence is a useful way to know the status of assigned volunteers.

Managers must know where they stand with organization competencies and vol- unteer competence. The key directive is simple: Keep guiding the volunteer through competence validation with the support of the VCMS. Where competencies are con- sidered critical (versus important), managers should know not to let volunteers engage in those actions until validated.

With the help of the VCMS, assigned volunteers can be briefed on the connection between busyness and business. NPOs cannot escape this business quandary. While volunteers are asked to do more with less, they are still being asked to do so by improving performance to increase productivity (business). Because some volunteers involve themselves for the social aspect of volunteering, their attention may not be focused on reaching productivity indicators. Their work, while they appear involved and doing things, may not be efficient (busyness). Managers can use the competence validation process to guide volunteers to business and productivity while maintaining times of social connections and busyness.

Volunteer Activity, Reward, and Recognition Management Implications

Every volunteer enjoys recognition and rewards to some degree. Simple thanks and constructive learning conversations about performance improvement are appreciated when delivered with respect. During meetings, sharing stories of exemplary work highlights the person and provides examples of what is working well. Advancement in job roles motivates others.

Using the VCMS, volunteer resource managers have access to a formal record of competence useful to different types of internal and external rewards pro- grams. Once certain milestones are reached, celebration occurs. Of growing inter- est is the link between competence validation as prior learning assessment and current learning achievement for obtaining higher education and professional credits and certificates.

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Volunteer-Corporate Career Management Implications

For some, volunteerism is a pathway to move through different job assignments, in- cluding time in governance positions. Their progression along this pathway is self- managed recognition. Complementary recognition by the organization adds to the experience. In a sense, they have adopted a volunteer career management approach to their involvement.

Other volunteers are there for workplace career management reasons. Some cor- porate volunteerism programs encourage staff to involve themselves in volunteer- based organizations. Businesses view volunteer experience as a way to gain new insights, support corporate responsibility initiatives, and inspire and motivate staff in culturally stimulating ways. Therefore, volunteering is seen as positive for the career portfolio.

And yet others seeking career moves volunteer to gain experience and/or pre- pare them for access to the workplace or to more bold moves in offering their experi- ence as evidence of their competence necessary for a new job. The VCMS provides evidence in a documented form viewed online and/or on paper.

Virtual Volunteers Implications

With the advancement of communication technology, people may volunteer for orga- nizations and not reside in the same location, city, or even country. Various social media tools like Facebook (Pages) or Ning provide a home base for volunteers to connect.

Through the use of VCMSs, these virtual volunteers have a common link to per- formance requirements and their reward and recognition support. With this clarity and consistency, virtual volunteers can go about supporting the NPO in programming and fundraising.

Technological advancements in virtual learning environments and simulations provide another interesting avenue for volunteers. The growing use of three-dimen- sional graphics education programs, Second Life, and community-building simula- tions and gaming are useful tools and techniques for validating competence of volunteer knowledge, skill and attitude. These virtual situations are indicators of com- petence transferability. In fact, NPOs will take up the virtual world as a place to recruit volunteers, raise funds, and offer programming.

Conclusion

While not exhaustive, the statements in Exhibit 8.6 highlight the pros and cons of using a VCMS. Each statement concludes with a connection to clarity, consist- ency, and connectivity. “Clarity” suggests simplicity, clearness, and transparency; “consistency” suggests reliability, regularity, and constancy; and “connectivity” suggests linkage, association, and correlation. In other words, clarity is to strategy as consistency is to structure as connectivity is to relationship.

Conclusion 223

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EXHIBIT 8.6 The Pros and Cons of Using a VCMS

Clarity Consistency Connectivity

Pros

Presents the knowledge and skills by job and by competencies and thus states the requirements and responsibilities critical and important to the job.

Notifies people automatically if there are edits (add, delete, alter) to competencies so they might maintain their competence currency.

Encourages people to self-manage their competency-competence portfolio.

Identifies what must be learned after the self- assessment to apply or maintain a job.

Promotes green standards when using the paperless recruitment process. (Only print a resume for the interview if applicable.)

Assigns ownership of portfolio of competency data entry to volunteers.

Promotes a continuous action learning focus for jobs from the beginning.

Lessens the possibility for performance issues along the recruit(ment) through exit path.

Demystifies the belief training and/or taking a test equals competence.

Indicates the volunteer will be educated beyond recruitment.

Provides different types of job profiles people can download to determine fitness.

Provides clear and concise statements about the volunteer recruitment process (within the volunteer competence management system).

Cons

Operates primarily online. Navigating the Internet can be challenging for some volunteers. A clear pathway and VCMS job aids are required to guide people in its use.

Uses primarily text-based data input. Because the ways of validating vary and the proof of validation may be an artifact (like a document, picture, or audio file), recording the artifacts requires considerable storage space that could be separate from the VCMS.

Involves access to computers at home and/or in the nonprofit organization office. Therefore, the volunteer must have access to a computer to complete self-assessments, review portfolio of competence records, and apply for awards and rewards.

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Hobbs, S., & D. R. Dyble. (2002). Making your data collection meaningful. In T. D. Connors (Ed.), The nonprofit handbook (3rd ed., Management, 2002 Supple- ment), pp. 21–41. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Kessler, R. (2006). Competency-based interviews. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press. Marsick, V., & Watkin, K. (1990). Informal and incidental workplace learning. New

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