Exploring the Dynamics of Volunteer and Staff Interactions

Abstract

The quality of the relationships between volunteers and paid staff can have far-reaching consequences for organizations that utilize volunteer programs to support service delivery. We utilize a mixed methods case study design to explore volunteer and staff perceptions of their mutual interactions within a large library system in the southeastern United States. We consider which areas of these interactions might be vulnerable to conflict. Our findings suggest that conflict is likely to arise due to communication problems, behavioral or attitudinal issues, perceptions of job vulnerability, divergent expectations, lack of trust, and workflow integration hurdles. We argue that to avoid these tensions and promote effective service delivery, staff members must have appropriate training and preparation to interact successfully with volunteers.VOLUNTEERS SERVE AS key sources of human capital for many organizations in the public and nonprofi t spheres, often working in conjunction with the paid staff in those organizations (Gidron 1985 ). Engaging volunteers requires investments of eff ort, time, training, and fi scal resources so that both organizations and volunteers benefi t. Nancy Macduff ( 2012 , 256) argues that "the relationship between volunteers and staff can infl uence the success or failure of a program … and the ability to make positive organizational changes." As such, a purposive volunteer-staff relationship is critical. Despite the importance of these working relationships, many organizations fall prey to the misperception that volunteers are a source of "free labor" (Handy and Mook 2011 ). Such organizations may inadequately invest in the management of these valuable human resources (Hager and Brudney 2004 ;Machin and Paine 2008 ). Too often, paid employees fi nd themselves inadvertently directing and supervising volunteer labor, rather than being trained and prepared to take on this role (Nesbit et al. 2016 ). Th is situation can be particularly challenging when organizations increase their use of volunteers, such as during times of fi scal constraint when increased reliance on volunteers is often utilized as a strategy to reduce personnel costs (Brudney

Inside “Pandora’s Box” of Solidarity: Conflicts Between Paid Staff and Volunteers in the Non-profit Sector

“…The second factor is the professionalization of NPOs and the implementation of managerial practices to guarantee their efficiency, which usually clashes with their volunteering values (Ganesh and McAllum, 2012). In this regard, our results analyzing these two stakeholders' perspective are indeed consistent with their previous studies analyzing paid staff 's and volunteers' interaction as a trigger of conflict in NPOs (Macduff, 2012;Rimes et al, 2017). However, our study goes a step further identifying and labeling the existing types of conflicts provoked by these dynamics and these organizations' characteristics and, therefore, facilitating that actions to prevent or manage them are promoted in NPOs.…”

Stereotypes of volunteers and nonprofit organizations' professionalization: A two‐study article

“…For instance, if volunteers perceive themselves as less warm due to the professionalization of their NPO, the chances are high that paid employees feel the same way about volunteers. This could be problematic because mutual perceptions are at the core of intergroup interactions (Laczo & Hanisch, 1999) and if these perceptions happen to be misleading, they could trigger increasing conflict between the two groups of workers (Rimes, Nesbit, Christensen, & Brudney, 2017).…”

Past work experience and organizational assimilation in nonprofit organizations

“…Because of this direct link to service, NPO employees often feel more involved and satisfied than newcomers in other organization types (Homberg, McCarthy, & Tabvuma, ). In addition to feeling more involved in the organizational mission, they may feel more recognition and more integrated into the culture of the organization because they share goals with their fellow coworkers that may extend beyond for‐profit employment (Choi, ; Seemann, ); volunteer‐employee interactions, though sometimes challenging (Rimes et al, ), can also contribute to NPO employees' OA. These motivations and potentially stronger identification with the organization's mission should affect NPO employees' OA in positive ways.…”

“…The Bureau of Labor Statistics () reports that, “nonprofit employment, total annual wages, and the number of establishments grew steadily each year from 2007 through 2012.” Over this period, NPO employment increased 8.5%, from 10.5 million jobs to 11.4 million jobs. Many scholars and employment experts argue that employment in NPOs is unique compared to for‐profit or governmental entities due to differences in governance, service missions, and because employees frequently interact with and oversee volunteers who also work on behalf of the organization (Lewis, ; O'Neill & Young, ; Rimes, Nesbit, Christensen, & Brudney, ). Given employment growth in the nonprofit sector, our first question in this investigation asks whether nonprofit employees' entry and adjustment (also known as organizational assimilation) is comparable to the newcomer experience in for‐profit organizations, the context of most OA research to date.…”