Customer Reviews

Handling Problem Volunteers

This book (actually an 8.5 x 11 manual) is one level down from Helen Little's "Volunteers: How to Get Them, How to Keep Them" (the book I recommend if you buy only one), and it is a tie between this book and Susan Ellis' "The Volunteer Recruitment and Membership Development Book" for runner up.

The author's are prolific on this topic, with many books (manuals?) to their credit, but to the point of devaluing their knowledge. Instead of filtering and distilling and integrating knowledge that can be used, they are spewing out multiple volumes that require the buyer to spend precious time attempting to discover applicable knowledge. Having said that, I recommend this specific manual for purchase.

Among its positive points are its distinction among the five generations from which volunteers are drawn, and the unique strategies that must be adapted to each generation's distinct needs and expectations; its focus on the importance of understanding the differences between staff and volunteers and how to devise strategies that play to the strengths of each in collaborative ways; its direct discussion of "mandated volunteers" who have been sentenced to community service or must perform community service as part of early retirement programs; and its specific attention to how short-term volunteer tasks can be used to attract and evaluate potential longer-term volunteers.

This is a serious manual and an excellent complement to Helen Little's core work cited above.