34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-opening look at volunteers today, May 12, 2008
This review is from: The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer (Paperback)
As someone scratching their head trying to figure out how to get more people involved in our ministry, I turned to this book which talks about the challenges involved in recruiting and working with volunteers today. To say the least, it was a real eye-opener.
While just shy of being a "Boomer", my outlook on life and commitment is much more 'old school' than the new breed of volunteers. This book really helped me to understand the differences, and gave me a lot more respect for younger people. Their outlook on life is different, yes, but in no way inferior - and understanding their motivations, needs, and outlook on serving and commitment, will make a difference for both of us.
The book has three parts: The Volunteer Recruiter, the Volunteer Manager and the Volunteer Leader. The Volunteer Recruiter looks at this new breed of volunteer, painting a profile of the 21st Century volunteer. They talk about the need for providing easy on-ramps, and treating recruiting more like a courting relationship. The goal is not all that different - this new breed is quite capable and interested in committing, but it's going to be more on their terms, out of passion, and will come after they see themselves making a difference - it won't be signing on "up front" for long-term commitment out of someone else's 'need.' The first part also looks at two great sources of volunteers - retired Boomers and young professionals. It has a great discussion of seven "sins" of recruiting efforts:
Sin 1 - Expecting announcements to work
Sin 2 - Go it alone
Sin 3 - Recruit only those able to make long-term commitments
Sin 4 - Assume "No" means "Never"
Sin 5 - Recruit any BIC (Body In Chair)
Sin 6 - Ask busy people to do busy work
Sin 7 - Recruit professionals who know nothing about volunteer management
Part two gets into managing a new breed of volunteers. The increased need for understanding their individual needs and motivation, feedback, perks, and understanding role of relationships. There's more to having a "huddle" than just a fancy new name for a "Team Meeting." Chapter six has a good discussion on 'Empowerment' and how that differs from 'Delegation'. Chapters 7 and 8 were good inclusions in the book as well: Managing the Virtual Volunteer; and Managing (or Canning) High-Maintenance Volunteers.
The final part of the book is on the Volunteer Leader, with discussion and a case study on successfully leading a volunteer organization. The book is broadly applicable, useful for any kind of volunteer organization.
Overall, the book is a must-read for anyone new to recruiting or managing volunteers, or anyone from the old school working with volunteers who wonders why 'these kids nowadays are so afraid of commitment!'
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good read, October 16, 2008
This review is from: The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer (Paperback)
I bought this book after recently being hired as a first time volunteer manager. My employer has tasked me with finding and retaining a large volume of volunteers, and to breathe new life into the volunteer program - a daunting task! I ordered this book, along with several others and found this one to be the most informative. It is a quick and conversational read (at less than 200 pages) and hit all of the points I was looking for. I found the advice to be sound, sensible and realistic. Some of the other books I have purchased are very "Textbooky" and dry and I had a hard time reading them. This book was the exact opposite. I would recommend this book to anyone starting out in this industry, and to those who are looking for new ideas to recruit volunteers. I especially found that the "intergenerational" aspect of volunteer recruiting explained in this book to be helpful. Knowing more about how people think and why is important to finding the right people.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Information on Today's Volunteers!, July 17, 2008
This review is from: The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer (Paperback)
The New Breed gives excellent descriptions of 21st century volunteers as opposed to those 20 years ago. It really helps us understand the 6 great seismic shift that took place which changed the characteristics of volunteers today:
1. Family Dynamics
2. Isolation
3. Flexibility
4. Generations
5. Technology
6. Professionalism
It gives great insight into retiring boomers and gen @ and why they are the newest volunteers today.
This book also has a lot of practical tips for recruiting, managing, and leading a team of volunteers. I appreciate the writers' approach to establishing the power and passion of the volunteer team: passion, focus, strategic thinking, community, training, and development. I also really enjoyed the resources that were given in the back of the book such as volunteer expectations, responsibilities of the position, volunteer application, and team-building activities.
This book definitely has great ideas... however, I picked it up thinking it would be more for church volunteers... I think this book is more suited for organizations that need volunteers. However, there are definitely ideas and resources that I can adapt to fit the church setting. Oh, and I really like that this book is very organized!
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