Recruiting Volunteers: What You Have to Offer

The wonder of volunteerism
The movie, ”My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was a Chicago woman’s first screenplay and a runaway comedy hit. In a television interview promoting the movie, the actor who played the groom was asked how he landed such a great role. He explained how he volunteered to help some friends who were auditioning for another movie at an L.A. hotel. Over dinner at the hotel’s restaurant at the end of the day, he loudly said to them, “I just got a script I LOVE. I would KILL to be in this movie.” Little did he know that he was seated next to the writer for that script, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” who just happened to be auditioning for the movie at that same hotel. He got the part.

What does this have to do with recruiting volunteers? The actor’s story could be their story. He was visible, altruistic, and using his specific talents and skills. His story illustrates “the wonder of volunteerism”—its potential to put someone in exactly the right spot at exactly the right time to meet a goal he or she has at exactly that moment. Managing volunteers is also wonderful because it can put YOU in the right spot at exactly the right time to meet a goal YOU have at exactly that moment.

44% of Americans volunteer. Of those who don’t, 68% said they would volunteer if asked. Yet, often, those who manage volunteers feel that in order to recruit and motivate volunteers, they’re left with cliches such as these:
Volunteer and you will…

• Get involved. But what does being involved really mean?
• Help others. But how are you really doing that?
• Meet people. But how does this really help? What does this mean?

If, as a manager of volunteers, you feel that clichés are all you are left with, it’s time to give yourself a vote of confidence. You have so much more to offer. Consider these volunteer benefits the next time you have an opportunity to recruit.

What you have to offer

1. Help with business or personal goals. You can ask them, “What is it you want for yourself and your practice during the next three years?” You can encourage, “There is a way to volunteer and build your business.” You can probe, “ Is there anything I would ask you to do that you would not like or would interfere with your personal goals?”
2. Visibility without a lot of cost. Consider the costs of a typical ad campaign, web design, or public relations retainer. Visibility can be expensive. Volunteerism costs nothing but time. When people know you, they call you for advice, refer your work, invite you places, and mention your name in passing. When they don’t know you they can’t do that.
3. Confidence in professional knowledge and position. How do you measure your talents when you’re alone in an office? When you’re with others you respect, you get a better sense of who you are and how you’d like to grow.
4. A chance to fail without threat. If your members are like most dentists, they are achievers and exact problem solvers. Most likely, they hate to fail. By volunteering, they have an opportunity to test a new marketing concept or leadership function in a safe environment.
5. A chance to succeed. Use any statistics or success stories you have on how involvement influences the bottom line of a practice. (I recently discovered that three of my top five clients resulted from my volunteer board involvement.)  Your members most likely can show similar results if you ask them.
6. An opportunity to try new skills. You have lots of practical development areas to offer: people management, creative writing, meeting planning, interface with government, and using the Internet wisely are a few. You can give them a way to understand service and people that they won’t have back in the office. They can develop problem solving skills rather than relying on others to do it for them.
7. A chance to mentor or help. Many dentists like to pass on techniques to build the integrity of the profession. We know that Generation X and Y employees are looking to be trained more than the Baby Boomers were; they want to learn from the best while they’re aboard. They may not stay as long, but they’ll be learning while they’re there.
8. Be close to insider information and government decision-making. You can bring them closer to the knowledge that will influence their careers and their families. Be sure to have specific examples to make this real to them.
9. An opportunity to solve business problems. Volunteers often apply what they’ve learned on a Board to their own practices. My dentist was online at night on the web before anyone else I know. Imagine what he could share with other volunteers about what he has learned from years of net surfing.
10. A chance to experience the “Ya never know” theory. Here’s an example of this theory: Mr. Gary Comer sold the successful Land’s End retail and catalog business to Sears to allow time to develop his philanthropic efforts. In the future, many lucky volunteers will get to work with him and his creative, entrepreneurial mind. “Ya never know” who you will meet in volunteerism, where it will lead, how it will help you, how it will help your family, and how it will affect the government and the nation for years to come.

Your natural resources
In my recent book, Training from the Heart, I encourage trainers to use their natural resources to train others—specifically, to use what’s most immediately available to them to inspire the learner and drive performance on the job. You can do the same; use your own natural resources—yourself, your people, and the strength of the ADA—to motivate and recruit your volunteers.

Stop and think: “Am I using the people most immediately available to me? Have I used all of the ADA resources available to me? Have I asked my local hero? Have I sent an email to Cyndi Maxey? Have I asked the Fed Ex man whom I see every day? Am I working too hard at this? Who is the natural resource to help me now?”

As a volunteer manager, recruiting may seem frustrating at times. When you feel those clichés creeping into your recruiting lingo, re-think your approach and review the ten strategies above. Consider your natural resources. You have a lot to give. The ADA has a lot to give. Your volunteers have a lot to give back. Don’t give up.

Cyndi Maxey, CSP is a speaker, author, and seminar leader who specializes in speaking and listening programs. This article is based on a presentation she gave to the American Dental Association.