AR Handbook – 19
15. Let each committee, together
with the Executive Committee,
evaluate the year’s activities and
make recommendations for the
coming year.
Ideas for finding volunteers
... and getting to work
Most associations have a difficult
time finding enough people to work
on association committees and
projects. Here are a few ideas that
can help:
1. Personalize. When you
need workers, ask for them
personally. Few people volunteer
their services. This doesn’t mean
they don’t want to help. People
simply like to be asked.
2. Rely on friendship. Have
someone they know and trust
do the asking. People respond
more positively to someone they
know. Isn’t it harder to say “no”
to a friend than a stranger?
3. Welcome new workers. If a
person agrees to help, welcome
the new volunteer. Establish the
feeling of belonging and being
needed early. New volunteers
lose their enthusiasm if they feel
neglected or taken for granted.
4. Reduce risks. Make the jobs
new volunteers are asked to do
as nonthreatening as possible.
People don’t like to take risks.
Prime considerations to make
when assigning tasks include:
a. How much time will it
take each day or week;
and how long will the
project or committee last?
People won’t sign on for life,
so don’t over-whelm them.
b. How “public” will the job
be? Personal risks increase
with the amount of exposure
individuals receive. New
volunteers often won’t agree
to get involved in koffee
klatches or other “public”
tasks, but will do jobs where
they are not visible to the
community, administration,
or school board.
c. How difficult is the
work? New volunteers can
often be induced to take
on more jobs if they first
have a few successes to look
back on. Start new workers
with relatively easy tasks
and build on such success.
Don’t ask the new volunteer
to take on difficult or
complicated jobs too soon.
5. Stress importance. Make
each volunteer feel important.
If members believe you’re “just
looking for people” they’ll
feel easily replaceable and less
responsible for doing the job.
6. Set time limits. Make sure
each job or committee has a
definite beginning and an end.
Let your members know when
they’ll be able to get “out from
under.”
7. Start slowly. Ask new volunteers
to do things they can already do
and which they already like to
do. Remember, reducing risks
for new volunteers is important.
8. Relate face-to-face. There is
no substitute for face-to-face
communication. Do all these
things in person; don’t rely on
fliers, letters, or phone calls to
do your recruiting job.
9. Be enthusiastic. Stress the
importance of the work. People
will respond according to your
mood and presentation. Don’t
apologize for or belittle the
work. If it wasn’t necessary, you
wouldn’t ask.
10. Set high standards. The
members will take their cue
from you, and no one gets more
than they ask for.
11. Lead with assertiveness.
Deal quickly and directly with
those who don’t meet your
expectations. Be encouraging
and offer help, but be prepared
to reassign the person if
necessary. If failure is tolerated
or ignored, others will either
follow or drop out with a “what’s
the use” attitude.
12. Reward good work.
Recognize and reward good
work – publicly. What you
can do will depend on the
local situation; but remember,
everyone likes a pat on the
back. The members receive little
“personal” reward from most
jobs and a simple “thank you”
from the association can go a
long way.