Building Volunteer/Staff Harmony

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BUILDING

of relpect and appreciation shown to

the lolunteers in the Hepplewhite

SymlhOnyorchestra. Neither trusteesnor lunteer association members are

aHo. ed parking reimbursement,

despve the fact that parking continues

to bet serious problem. Our efforts to

fundraise are thwarted by the director

of development through lack of atten-

tion to the importance of projects or

outright lack of interest. We ask ques-

tions and cannot get answers. The staff

seem to have little interest in the efforts

of trustees to raise money or the volun-

teer association to promote orchestra

programs and raise money. They

always seem more interested in other

things. We must meet to talk about

this matter.

The Hepplewhite Symphony has a prob-

em. A poor relationship between two parts

f the orchestra family has reached "g~ ass." This fictional account relateskommon

omplaints heard in homes, parking

restrooms when volunteers and staf

candidly. The relationship between

volunteers must improve during the

some orchestras won't be around as

Century dawns.

The Hepplewhite Symphony is J . ructured

like most orchestras in America toda . It is

located in a mid-size city. A board 0 trustees

hires the general manager and the conductor.

The trustees raise about 40 percent of the

BY NANCY MACDUFF

VOLUNTEER/STAFF

HARMONY

The contribution of;r.ihev I t m b ! . · asso-ciation was less than e percen of the

total budget last y ~r. Ess~n9 lly it

has remained the sa~ped for

the past five years. Volunteers are not

pulling together with the staff to raise

money. They frequently make impos-sible requests of the staff and have little

appreciation for the responsibilities

staff have apart from working with

volunteers. As the person responsible

for overseeing the volunteer program,

Ihave often found the president of the

volunteer association critical of staff

and more interested in arranging park-

ing reimbursement for volunteers than

raising money. We need to discuss

what Isee as a difficult problem that is

draining time away from my img.4":

tant tasks.

Weare extremely disturbed by the lack

Two days later the general manager and

the conductor received the following "confi-

dential" memo from the executive committee

of the volunteer association, with an attached

note from two members of the board of

trustees saying they concurred with the alle-

gations in the memo:

The general manager of the HIPlewhite

Symphony arrived at work 0' Monday

to find a hand-delivered me .0 from

the director of development:

HE RELATION-

HIP BETWEEN

TAFF AND

OLUNTEERS

UST IMPROVE

URING THE

990s OR SOME

RCHESTRAS

ON'T BE

ROUNDAS

HE 21ST

ENTURY

AWNS.

6

NOV E M B E R DEC E M B E R



related to the board of trustees: While trustees

employ the general manager they too are

volunteers, and the principles of volunteer

management apply to them no less than tovolunteer association members.

The volunteer coordinator is seen by

both volunteers and staff to have a key

linking role. This person communicates the

views of volunteers to the staff and explains

the demands on staff time to the volunteers.

The roles and responsibilities of both staff

and volunteers should each be very clear to

the other.

Staff members need training and orien-

tation on working with volunteers. A train-

ing session on supervision with application to

volunteers can help to prevent problems of

poor volunteer / staff relations.

Both the general manager and the vol un-

teer coordinator need to develop effective

management skills. As the chief executive

officer of a nonprofit, the general manager has

multiple responsibilities: to recognize whatan effective nonprofit program looks like; to

evaluate the current organization; and to help

the staff set goals and objectives for the future.

By developing these skills, the general manag-

er directly influences the effectiveness of the

entire organization.

Training in "team-building" enhances

volunteer/staff relations. Volunteers, staff,

and musicians are a team. Just as an orchestra

uses a team approach when selecting a music

director, so too it should work as a team when

it comes to volunteers. Involving volunteers

at all levels of the organization in planning

and decision-making can lead to more "buy-

in" of fund raising goals or season ticket sales

GUARDING THE VOLUNTEER INVESTMENT

What would be missing from your

orchestra if it had no volunteer sup-

port? Ticket sellers? Secretarial

help? Docents in the schools? Ushers at chil-

dren's concerts? Solicitors for donations?

Ambassadors to the community? What about

T-shirts and people to sell them? Elegantsocial affairs? Phonathons? Data entry?

Newsletters? Adult education? Without vol-

unteers, how would you stage those smashing

fundraisers that contribute significantly

toward the orchestra's budget?

If your orchestra is lucky enough to have

an active volunteer association, its members

are probably helping to provide most of these

services, and possibly more. The success of

their efforts depends on volunteers and staff

working in concert.

It will come as no surprise that relations

between staff and volunteers can be strained.The points of stress are not new. In recent

years, however, the need for increased activity

by volunteers, particularly in fundraising and

ticket sales. has exacerbated the problems.

Orchestra volunteers are operating in a

rapidly changing environment. Manyorches-

tras have experienced dramatic growth in the

past decade. Budgets have doubled and even

tripled, requiring a proportionate increase in

contributed income. The number of sub-

scribers to classical concerts is flat, if not

declining. In many places music education in

the public schools is nearly extinct. There has

been an enormous proliferation of "causes"-

many of them seeking support for human

needs that touch our hearts-and these causes

have decreased the number of volunteer hoursand dollars available to the arts. In addition,

the volunteer force itself is changing, and now

includes more employed and retired men and

women and fewer traditional non-employed

persons.

Adapting to these changes requires each

of us to adjust, whether staff or volunteer. If

we are to succeed in negotiating the road

ahead, we need to identify our problems and

discuss them openly and honestly. Together

we must plan for the future in an atmosphere

of trust and understanding.

Volunteers are a vital resource to Amer-ican orchestras. They can provide the creativi-

ty, energy, hours. and dollars that make the

difference between success and failure. Is

your orchestra prepared to take advantage of

that potential?

-Carole C. Birkhead

C A R O L E C B I R K H E A D I S A P A S T P R E S I D E N T O F T H E l O U I S V Il lE

O R C H E S TR A , I T S V O lU N T E E R A S S O C IA T IO N . A N D T H E

A M E R IC A N S Y M P H O N Y O R C H E S TR A L E A G U E 'S V O l U N TE E R

COUNCIl.

28NOVEMBER DECEMBER 9



THE ORGANIZATION CLIMATE AUDIT

Read each situation and decide how frequently it occurs. Circle appropriate number. Try to respond to every situation.

SITUATION USUALLY SOMETIMES RARELY

1. "They never" or "we always" are words heard when 1 2 3

referring to volunteers.

2. Volunteers ask for credits or measures of their worth. 1 2 3

Examples: paid parking, discounts.

3. Volunteers and staff both use words like "together, we, 3 2 1

our project" (meaning staff and volunteers).

4. Reports on volunteer activities during management 3 2 1

meetings come from most department heads.

5. Volunteers are visible on board of trustee committees. 3 2 1

6. Decisions affecting volunteers are made by staff without 1 2 3

consulting the volunteers.

7. Decisions affecting staff are made by volunteers without 1 2 3

consulting the staff.

8. Volunteers say "thank you" to staff publicly. 3 2 1

9. Staff treat volunteers who serve as trustees or directors 1 2 3

with greater respect than other volunteers.

10. Orchestra projects are planned collaboratively between 3 2 1

staff and volunteers.

11. Volunteers focus on the past rather than on future 1 2 3

possibilities.

12. Volunteers jump appropriate organizational structure 1 2 3

lines to get answers to their questions from staff.

13. Staff are too busy to explain the "rules of the game" to 1 2 3

volunteers.

14. Management and trustee leadership are visible at 3 2 1

volunteer association events.

15. Volunteers are asked to give input and assistance in most3 2 1

projects, not just fundraising.

16. Staff say "thank you" to volunteers publicly.3 2 1

17. "They never" or "we always" are words heard when 1 2 3

referring to staff.

SCORING: Add the numbers you circled. If there are situations for which you did 110tcircle any 11llmbers.add 2

points for each situation. A score of 38-51 means you have excellent volunteer-staff relations (but don't let up!); 28-

37 means you are doing some things right, but could use some tuning up in some areas (the situations can help you

identiftj those areas); 17-27, you have a serious problem and need to take action immediately.

TOTAL:

Check whether you are:

SYMPHONY

Vohmteer Trustee __

Date:

Staff__ Other

29



N A N C Y MA C D U FF IS A N IN TER N A TION A L LY R E C OGN IZE D

A D U L T E D U C A TOR W H O S P E C IA L IZE S IN V OL U N TE ER A N D

N ON P R OFIT MA N A GE MEN T.

So, whatever happened to the volunteers

and staff at the Hepplewhite Symphony

Orchestra? Here is how the general manager

responded to the director of development, the

executive committee of the volunteer associa-

tion, and the trustees who endorsed the memo

from the volunteers:

Will she be successful? Too early to tell'

But she has started in the right direction by

bringing volunteers, staff, and trustees togeth-

er to plan an audit of communications that so

directly influence the orchestra's capacity to

raise money, increase ticket sales, and develop

new orchestra constituencies. •

9 9DECEMBER

I share your concern about volun-

teer/staff relationships here at the

H50. I noted with interest a recentarticle in SYMPHONY that addresses

many of the issues you raised. I

enclose a copy. 1 believe you have an

abiding interest in the success of the

orchestra and would be willing to

work with me to build a strong volun-

teer and staff team. I propose that we

meet soon to plan the working envi-

ronment for both staff and volunteers.

Perhaps we could begin by distribut-

ing an Organization Climate Audit. I

will call you soon to set up a meeting

time.

Clear communication is essential. It

includes:

• straight talk from both volunteers and

staff;• active listening by volunteers and staff;

• emphasis on building a teamwork envi-

ronment;

• volunteer work areas in close proximity

to staff;

• paying volunteers with a constant flow of

information;

• management and trustees working contin-

uously with volunteer association leader-

ship to promote understanding of the

larger needs and goals of the orchestra;

• "thank you's" coming often to volun-

teers-publicly, even when volunteerscontributed only part of the total job.

NOVEMBER

targets, for example.

Staff should be represented on the volun-

teer association board and the volunteer associ-

ation should be represented on the orchestra'sboard of trustees and its committees.

Volunteers need to understand all institu-

tional roles including their own. Volunteers

jump the lines of communication in an organi-

zation when they don't get their questions

answered. It is essential that all staff working

with volunteers see their role as supervisory

and educational.

Open, honest evaluation of volunteer

activities is a necessary and appropriate activ-

ity. Volunteers need to evaluate their own

efforts, including gathering information from

staff who worked with the volunteers on theproject. This is a joint effort, not a session

where the staff outline a list of transgressions.

Volunteers can improve only if they identify

the weaker elements of an event or program

and take steps to correct them.

Staff should also be evaluated on their

supervision and management of volunteers.

When applicable, the performance appraisal

should include assessment of a staff member's

ability to work effectively with volunteers. [f

management does not take volunteer /staff

teamwork seriously enough to evaluate staff

on a regular basis, why should the staff?

Integrate the money raised by volunteers

into the budget of the orchestra: A team

approach to volunteer/staff relations means

that everyone works together to further the

mission of the orchestra. Fundraising goals are

arrived at jointly. If the volunteer association's

budget is part of the orchestra budget, it builds

a sense of teamwork.

Monitoring how often the volunteers are

included in planning for new projects will

give a measure of how effective the relation-

ship is between volunteers and staff. For

example, a director of volunteers in a large

urban setting measures how consistently the

volunteer association assists in orchestra pro-

jects-everything from stuffing envelopes to

meeting with the marketing department at a

problem-solving session on reaching a target

audience for season subscriptions. This staff

member knows things are "O.K." if there are

frequent requests for the special expertise that

volunteers bring to the orchestra team.

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Building Volunteer/Staff Harmony

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