MOTIVATING VOLUNTEERS

MOTIVATING VOLUNTEERS

VOLUNTEERS CORNER

Fasten your seat belts. We’re going to explore some of the motivational theories that influence volunteer firefighters. From such examination, we can gain a lot of “ah-has!” as we equip ourselves for lifelong understanding of what turns volunteers on (and off), why certain volunteers love one job and hate another, how motivation can predict job satisfaction, and how needs stimulate all of us as individuals.

Understanding the basics of motivation provides us with the informational tools we need to recruit, place, train, supervise, evaluate, and recognize people appropriately so that we can retain volunteers for a maximum amount of time.

Please lay aside any preconceived notions about the following theories as we explore them solely from the perspective of how insight into them can be useful in recruiting, retaining, and recognizing volunteers.

MATCHING PEOPLE AND WORK

The major tool we can use to try to match people to work they will enjoy and do well is provided by David McClelland and John Atkinson in their book Motivational Theory. They offer a framework for understanding how people are motivated. People, they say, craft their responses to stimulation through a dynamic filtering system of preference, experience, and feelings.

This information reveals a crucial key for motivating: How people feel about their work determines how long they will stay involved. The best fire apparatus, equipment, and fire stations in the world will not keep people around if the environment/ work does not “feel right,” and we must respect these feelings, as they are very real to the people experiencing them.

KEY POINTS

Some general observations concerning human motivation are given below.

1. All of us are motivated by the objectives of achievement, affiliation, and power.
2. Generally, one of them predominates over the other two in the various segments of our lives (home, work, and personal).
3. The order of predominance changes according to our needs and interests—i.e., a recently divorced individual whose primary motivator had been achievement may find that affiliation (or a relationship) has become more important than achieving.
4. We filter our experiences through the motivational factor that is primary to us.
5. Our motivator leads us to generate the energy we put into our actions.
6. We want all of our actions to lead to success.

MOTIVATING ACHIEVERS

Individuals whose primary motivator is achievement have the following characteristics:

• They want to do their personal best.
• They measure “success” against their past performances and those of others.
• They are deeply concerned about excellence and being rewarded for it.
• They take only highly calculated risks.
• They set goals and checkpoints for measuring progress.
• They like to solve problems and take responsibility for their actions.
• They like to accomplish.
• They like pressure and hard work.
• They need specific instructions (what’s right) and job designs.
• They tend to quantifyeverything; they turn projects into lists of tasks, which they can check off as they are
• completed.
• They need a definition of success and feedback along the way.

These people spend time thinking about how to do their jobs better, achieve important accomplishments, solve problems while keeping a high profile, attain concrete goals, and advance on a career path.

As we work with such people, we need to do the following:

• Give very clear instructions that include telling them what we want done, why, when, and where.
• Provide them with a plan for measuring success.
• Offer checkpoints along the way to help them know they are on the right path.
• Give them a concrete and measurable project.
• Understand that they can work independently; they don’t need oversupervision.
• Reward them by documenting their success to others in measurable terms —for example, by sending a spouse (or other significant party) a letter noting the exact number of hours the individual spent contacting a specific number of people or raising a specified number of dollars for a cause.
• Offer them a challenge that will stimulate their desire for measurable achievement, especially if it’s unique, the “first,” or the “biggest.”
• Involve them in the project’s designing process. They typically are very good at creating step-by-step plans for getting from point A to point B.
• Understand that their goal is to attain success through measured excellence or improved performance.

Jobs these individuals typically enjoy and stick with include raising funds, gathering data, managing finances, designing systems, keeping records, developing programs, chairing committees or events, and serving on boards.

MOTIVATING AFFIUATORS

Individuals whose primary motivator is affiliation are characterized by the following:

• A need to be accepted and liked.
• A focus on personal relationships—a desire to include others.
• A need for interaction, inclusion, and close proximity to others.
• A dislike of working alone.
• A deep concern for keeping people happy and congenial.
• A desire to know fellow workers personally and even intimately.
• A real concern for helping people in trouble.
• A desire to avoid risk if possible.
• These people spend time thinking about relationships, inclusion, keeping the peace, being liked, helping or “fixing” others, and their feelings and those of others.

As we work with such people, we need to do the following:

• Establish a personal relationship with them.
• Express our appreciation of them personally.
• Give them opportunities to interact with others.
• Recognize them in front of their peers.
• Help them feel included.
• Recruit them for assignments that involve serving people.
• Personalize recognition efforts.
• Learn about their families, pets, hobbies, and so on, and show genuine interest in the things that matter so much to them.
• Understand that interacting with others during working hours is not a waste of time but an insurance policy that these people will “stay with” a job.

MOTIVATING POWER-ORIENTED PEOPLE

Power-oriented individuals generally are characterized by the following:

• A desire to impact and influence positively.
• A desire to create—to cut their own push.
• A willingness to take risks, to be different, and to change things.
• A propensity for challenges; they see as challenges tasks that others view as impossible.
• A concern for reputation and position.
• A desire to advise and have their ideas heard.
• Strong feelings about status and prestige.
• An articulate and forceful demeanor; they often are viewed by others as being strong, powerful, and opinionated.
• The ability to see how things connect —to visualize the big picture and the steps to create it.
• These people spend their time thinking about influence, advising, channeling others and programs in the direction of their visions, and how to use their influence to change and challenge the status quo.
• As we work with such people, we need to do the following:
• Let them follow their own plans after they have been given their assignments, the needed information, and the parameters within which to work.
• Give them access to anyone and any information they need.
• Give them challenging work, then step back!
• Make sure they see the vision of what is to be done.
• Allow them to take risks.
• Reward them publicly.
• Give them a title that commands respect.
• Involve them in planning that requires advocacy and political savvy.
• Give them responsibility and authority.
• Ensure that they are continually sensitive to others.
• Recognize and encourage their activity.
• Channel their enthusiasm. (Good luck!)
• Move them frequently from job to job. They easily become bored if called on to do the same thing over and over again.
• Understand their extreme enthusiasm for conceiving and managing an original event or program and their subsequent lack of enthusiasm for having to maintain that effort. They are start-up leaders but not maintenance managers.