LECTURE NOTES

HPT30203 - VOLUNTEERISM
DESIGNING A VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
Contents
⭐ Introduction
⭐ Key program design consideration
⭐ Host volunteers: Attractions
⭐ Host volunteers: Destination Service Organizations
⭐ Host volunteers: Events
⭐ Guest : Volunteer Tourism
⭐ Reflections on Volunteer Program Design
Introduction

A well-designed and organized program will mean that the volunteer’s

efforts will be managed in the most effective way and this should bring
positive outcomes for the volunteer, the organization and other beneficiaries.

Program design elements;

Organization (Attraction)
Scheduling (Destination service organization and events)
Role specification (events)
Program design and the role of the volunteer coordinator (volunteer
tourism)
Key Program Design Consideration

Rationale : Why have a volunteer program?

Organization: How does the volunteer program relate to

the wider organization?

Role specification: What will volunteers do?

Scheduling: When will volunteers be required?

Review: How will the program be evaluated?

Key Program Design Consideration
Rationale: Why have a volunteer program?

There are multiple reason for involving volunteers in an organization;

1. Economic factors
2. The need for specific skills
3. The enthusiasm of volunteers
4. Increasing access and community participation
Key Program Design Consideration
Cont. Rationale: Why have a volunteer program?

For most company, they start as;

✤ Volunteer-run organization
✤ Changes within an existing organization
✤ Expand an existing program
✤ Develop a new type of volunteer program within the organization

A new volunteer program should be aligned with the organization’s mission –

develop rationale for involving volunteers and paid staff are involved and consulted
(McCurley and Lynch, 1998)
Key Program Design Consideration
Organization: How does the volunteer program relate to the wider organization?

Volunteer tourists involved in a project at a destination are often volunteering

through a sending organization that either directly manages them in the
field, or may work in partnership with a host or other local partner to deliver
and manage the volunteer program on the ground.

Volunteer management ranges from highly formalized through to a very ad

hoc approach.
Key Program Design Consideration
Cont. Organization: How does the volunteer program relate to the wider organization?

An organization should have clear policies and procedures on

volunteer involvement and their management including;

i. Health and safety standards

ii. A designated contact person
iii. An orientation process
iv. Insurance for volunteers
v. Opportunities for volunteers to give feedback
Key Program Design Consideration
Role specification: What will volunteers do?

As part of designing a volunteer program, it is important to develop appropriate

roles and tasks to be undertaken by volunteers.

Four components of a motivating volunteer role:

1. Ownership
2. The authority to think
3. Responsibility for results or outcomes
4. The ability to ‘keep score’ – performance measurement
McCurley & Lynch (1998)

Good practice recommends setting out the requirements of a role in a job

description and person specification similar to those used in paid employment.
Key Program Design Consideration
Scheduling: When will volunteers be required?

The scheduling of volunteering is therefore important for both organization

and volunteer and can be a logistical challenge.

Too many volunteers at one time can mean the organization will not have
the capacity to deal with them all and the volunteers may feel unneeded or
underutilized.

In tandem with role specification, an organization will need to work out when
it needs volunteers and how many. Other factors to be considered; which
times of the year, week and day, opening hours when it involves with visitors,
physical workspace and capacity to supervise.
Key Program Design Consideration
Review: How will the program be evaluated?

It is important to build in evaluation at the program design stage.

The program needs to be regularly reviewed to determine if it is meeting its

objectives.

Program design needs to set up system for recording data such as volunteer
hours.
Host Volunteers; Attractions
🦋 Attractions illustrate the complex managerial relationship that can exist between an
organization and its volunteers.

🦋 As a volunteer-run organization grows, it is important to distinguish between managing

the attraction and managing the volunteer program.

🦋 Need a distinction for clarifying roles and responsibilities to prevent volunteer burnout
through overcommitment.

🦋 An attraction can have both a Friends group and volunteer program but they operate
as separate schemes, supporting the attraction in different ways.
Host Volunteers; Destination Service Organization

🦋 Destination service organizations are typical of those having to schedule

volunteers who make different time contributions: ongoing, seasonal and
episodic.

🦋 The volunteering shift may not always take priority and as volunteers are not
paid they are not compelled to attend on a regular basis in the way paid
staff might be.

🦋 Destination service organizations also need volunteers at unsociable times, for

example aero planes arrive at night and emergencies happen early in the
morning, which require flexible scheduling in order to meet the tourists’ needs.
Host Volunteers; Events

🦋 Episodic volunteering brings different scheduling challenges to ongoing

volunteering but planning is no less complex and time consuming for
organizers due to the short-term nature of events and the intensity of event
roles.
🦋 Time when volunteers will be required must be stated in the rosters.
Guest: Volunteer Tourism

🦋 Volunteer tourism programs present more complex planning issues when the
program is being coordinated from one country but volunteering actually
takes place elsewhere.
🦋 Developing a program involves first considering the type of volunteer tourism
program that the sending organization wishes to develop and the volunteers
they will be targeting. This includes deciding on:
a. Whether volunteers are traveling as individuals or groups;
b. The duration of trips, and if a program will operate all year round or only
at certain times;
c. If volunteers require specific skills or not; and
d. The amount and nature of tourism activities.
Reflections on Volunteer Program Design

- A volunteer program needs to be properly resourced with both staff time and
financial requirements
- An organization needs to set out clearly the rights and responsibilities (or
expectations) of both volunteers and the organization.
- Volunteers should be provided with a role specification, detailing the
requirements for the role.
- There needs to be clear and regular communication between the various
bodies involved in the volunteer program.
- The volunteer program needs to be evaluated regularly to ensure it is
meeting everyone’s needs.
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