The management of volunteers – what can human resources do? A review and research agenda

Abstract

There is an increasing interest from scholars and practitioners in understanding how nonprofit organizations can design and implement human resources (HR) practices to enhance desirable volunteer attitudes and behaviors. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of existing studies on the relationship between HR practices and volunteering outcomes. We use the ability-motivation-opportunity model (AMO) as a guiding framework to systematically integrate current knowledge on this topic. We identify gaps in existing research and offer detailed suggestions on how scholars can further enhance knowledge on how HR practices can lead to beneficial outcomes for both volunteers and non-profit organizations.

“Don't you want to stay?” The impact of training and recognition as human resource practices on volunteer turnover

“…First, this study contributes to the underdeveloped knowledge based regarding the impact of HR practices on volunteer retention and, thus, answers calls for more research (Alfes, Antunes, et al, ). Recognizing volunteers through discretionary awards and providing them with training, as evident in this study, are two HR practices that improve volunteer retention.…”

“…Their findings indicate that certain HR practices can impact volunteer attitudes and behaviors, and therefore, improve volunteering outcomes, such as retention rates (Saksida, Alfes, & Shantz, 2017), as well as organizational outcomes, such as client satisfaction ratings (Rogers, Jiang, Rogers, & Intindola, 2016). Even though efforts have been made to develop a theoretical understanding of the potential for HR practices to impact volunteer retention, this research area remains underdeveloped (Alfes, Antunes, & Shantz, 2016) leading Bartram, Cavanagh, and Hoye (2017) to note that there is an "absence of research on the impact of HRM within volunteer and grassroots community organizations" (p. 1907-1908). As such, this study responds to calls for research on the impact of HR practices on volunteer outcomes (Alfes et al, 2015;Studer & von Schnurbein, 2013) by focusing on two prominent HR practices-training and recognition-and their impact on volunteer turnover.…”

The role of technology in reconfiguring volunteer management in nonprofits in Hong Kong: Benefits and discontents

“…In parallel to the growing emphasis on the professionalization of volunteer management in practice (Alfes, Antunes, & Shantz, ), volunteer management has garnered increasing attention from the scholarly community. While no precise definition exists, volunteer management can be generally defined as “the systematic and logical process of working with and through volunteers to achieve an organization's objectives in an ever‐changing environment” (Safrit & Schmiesing, , p. 6).…”

Digital Design Considerations for Volunteer Recruitment

“…Formal models of volunteer recruitment exist that typically recognise a values -motivations -opportunities (VMO) framework to describe the key factors that underpin the decision to volunteer [2]. Put simply, a volunteer is attracted to the values of an organisation, the fit to personal goals (e.g.…”