by Lauree Handlon, MHA, RHIA, CRCR, CSAF, CCS, FAHIMA, FHFMA
The basis for this blog developed from a mini-qualitative study investigating barriers to volunteer engagement with three different Ohio-based professional organizations conducted in the fall of 2022 for coursework with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).
Barriers to Volunteer Engagement
Many professional organizations struggle with recruiting and retaining volunteers for positions critical for continued operations at the local, regional, and national levels. Education, certification, networking opportunities, and career support services represent a few benefits professional organizations provide to members. The creation of tangible benefits for the members generally transpires through volunteer efforts. Therefore, volunteers represent an essential resource, and without the assistance of crucial volunteers, the support necessary to continue operations, serve members and fulfill an organization’s mission and vision face the risk of ceasing to exist.1
Professional organizations often repeatedly tap the same volunteers for multiple roles without sufficient succession planning and execution due to low numbers of engagement. Recurring requests on the same involved volunteers produce strains on the already limited resources, which may lead to burnout, creating a more significant gap in accessible assistance and questionable organizational sustainability. 2 When professional organizations experience persistent limitations to resources, programs, and events, the organization’s operations inevitably decline and potentially discontinue. With fewer benefits like educational programming and networking opportunities, the members themselves disengage and potentially leave the organization.
By understanding the barriers to volunteer engagement, professional organization leaders can proactively diminish obstacles and ultimately protect the member-driven organization. Applying the knowledge to reduce hindrances may assist in producing a resilient volunteer team and, in turn, benefit the professional organization’s members by providing stronger operational support for the organization.
Through a mini-qualitative, grounded theory approach, multi-Ohio-based professional organizations' volunteer perceptions of barriers to obtaining and retaining volunteers were explored. The core themes identified include competing priorities, relationships, and role responsibilities.
Theme 1: Challenges with Competing Priorities: Time constraints from career and personal demands emerged from discussing competing priorities.
1. Career Demands. Demands from full-time, income-providing positions hinder professional organization volunteer engagement. One key informant stated, “I was challenged to give adequate time [to the professional organization] and still keep my job, keep my boss happy.”
2. Personal Demands. Demands of family, friends, and other volunteer commitments occupy an individual's time. One key informant stated, “I think that the demands of work life versus family life versus volunteer life play a huge role, and I know I stepped back because our family life was getting more intense.”
Theme 2: Deficiency in Supportive Relationships: The absence of personal connections and undervalued impressions surfaced from relationship barriers.
1. Absence of Personal Connections. Respected internal connections with other volunteers are identified drivers of professional organization engagement. One key informant stated, “People are at the heart of what can make or break any volunteer commitment, and I feel like that is what keeps most of us coming back.”
2. Undervalued Impressions. Inclusion and feeling valued are critical for volunteer engagement. One key informant commented, “If I feel that like what I can offer is not wanted or if I feel intimidated to share," and "Once people are there, they need to feel wanted and not like they made the wrong decision getting there."
Theme 3: Unclear Role Responsibilities: Undefined time and intensity of commitment and unclear task expectations materialized from role responsibilities.
1. Undefined Time and Intensity of Commitment. Vague time and intensity of the commitment detract volunteers. One key informant noted, “People are probably afraid of the time commitment” without understanding through clear time commitment expectations of what they might be getting involved in.
2. Unclear Task Expectations. Hindrances include ambiguous expectations related to role responsibilities. One key informant stated, “[responsibilities need to include a] list of specific actions.” Another key informant detailed, “[Unknown expectations] may hinder people from volunteering because sometimes when you sign up for a role, it is not necessarily cut and dry.”
Uncovering the why behind the barriers preventing professional volunteer engagement assists in developing strategies to lessen the obstacles. Recognizing volunteers only have so many “yes” responses to give in committing time means volunteers need structure and support. Organizations seeking new volunteers should broach expectations with the volunteers to address competing priorities and unclear role responsibilities before official engagement. Both parties must recognize the expectations through documented and open communication about:
1. Time commitment,
2. Clear role responsibilities, and
3. Available micro volunteer opportunities – ways to commit with small effort but impactful.
To address personal connections and inclusion, the professional organization should consider the following:
1. Supporting
team development, such as a team-building retreat at the beginning of each
association year with continuous mini-sessions throughout the association year.
2. Activities encouraging volunteers to collaborate, promote developing relationships, build trust, foster positive communication, and inspire confidence.
3. Authentic acknowledgment of volunteer contributions using specific accomplishment celebration.
Above all else, making volunteers feel needed and genuinely recognized by organizational leaders generates an inclusion sincerity that could be more powerful than any other effort to create and maintain engagement.
Professional organization volunteering produces benefits
that extend outside the volunteer connections with the professional
organization and into other areas of life, including career and personal
relationships. Specific insight into barriers contributing to volunteer
shortages in Ohio-based professional organizations arms organization leaders to
be preemptive in reducing volunteer engagement obstacles. Awareness of these
barriers strengthens the critical operational support of professional organizations
and ultimately benefits the organization’s members.
References
1Bates, K. (2017). Drivers of engagement for volunteers in a non-profit. (858) Master’s Thesis, Graziadio Business School. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/858
2Hudson, S. K. (2021). Improving volunteer engagement in non-profit healthcare organizations. Open Journal of Business and Management, 9(3), 1367–1408. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojbm.2021.93074
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