Skip to main content

Recruiting volunteers

So, I've begun to be active in an affiliate group of my university's alumni association. Their handbook is a good one, and here's the list on recruiting volunteers that I found to be quite well put.
  • Do not assume that people are too busy. Sometimes busy people like to be busy.
  • Be a friend and make sure they are welcomed.
  • Do not belittle the job.
  • Do not make it sound too easy.
  • Give the job a name, define a timeframe, provide guidance and relay expectations.
  • Do not add to the responsibilities during the job.
  • Make sure the task is achievable and the goal is obtainable.
  • Speak the language of the person you are trying to recruit. Ask yourself, what do we do that would be of interest to them?
  • If you are not personally committed, assign someone else to do the recruitment.
  • Always recruit volunteers on the basis of the service to clients, not to the needs of the [organization]. People work for people, not things.
  • Tell people what they will do, how long they are expected to do it, and who will benefit.
  • Remember that you are trying to remove people's reasons to say NO, not force them into volunteering.
  • Never use guilt when trying to recruit.
  • Be honest and upfront with people when recruiting. Do not minimize the work or time required.

    • Popular posts from this blog

    An Army of Davids

    So, I've been spending some time with Glenn Reynold's book (Glenn being of course the seminal and highly influential Instapundit ), and I must say that it gives me lots of language I can use to talk about phenomena that are easily observable right now. I think you could say that Glenn Reynolds has done for technology what Virginia Postrel did with design topics . Which is to say, they beat the drum and say, hey, look at what this democratization of knowledge can do for you! In that vein, the book is really pretty visionary, pointing out the magic of the internet age. And I for one see it as magical. You know how Laura Ingalls Wilder's Pa in Little Town on the Prairie said to Laura that it was an amazing time to be alive (that was in the 1890s)? I've been actively thinking that to myself for the past few years, and An Army of Davids gives me ample evidence to back that up with its talk of citizen empowerment and the "comfy chair revolution." The theme of ...
    Read more

    Public sector information design

    Here's an article from the UK's Design Council talking about how information design is important in public-sector efforts. Of course, it's helpful to everyone, but this is a good example of the universal need for better presentation of information--and more design.
    Read more

    Get Out of Your Own Way

    This book, by Robert K. Cooper, was on the library's newly arrived shelf. It's pretty good, although if you read biz books a lot, there's a lot you'll want to skim. Still, the principles he talks about are good to think on. The subtitle of the book is "the five keys to surpassing everyone's expectations." These keys are: 1. Direction, not motion 2. Focus, not time 3. Capacity, not conformity 4. Energy, not effort 5. Impact, not intentions Each key has three or four supporting chapters that talk about subprinciples. Some things that I identified with from key one is that a) "good and great are the enemies of possible," a quote Cooper attributes to his grandfather. It's pretty self-explanatory though. The other thing is he talks about "what's automatic, accelerates." Basically, if you can put effort into something until it becomes automatic, you've won the battle. So focus resources on issues and behaviors that will eventually...
    Read more