Ways to Show Appreciation
The following ideas cost very little to perform, but can have immeasurable benefits. Remember, reinforce constantly (but also sincerely and specifically.)Prominently display letters of appreciation from clients/visitors to employees, volunteers, or the organization as a whole.
Celebrate successes. Make sure everyone in the organization hears the good news.
Send out press releases at end of a project, or whenever anything noteworthy happens.
Take people out to lunch (or breakfast!).
Publish an "Open Letter of Thanks" to your volunteers in the local newspaper.
Remember birthdays.
Spotlight a volunteer in the newsletter.
Throw an office party.
Send cards during the holidays.
Get a local company to donate coupons, then pass them out.
Take suggestions seriously
Give credit where its due.
Brag. But not about yourself.
Listen.
Smile.
Ask. Take all the credit for yourself.
Never take any of the blame.
Forget special occasions or other important considerations.
Criticize publicly. And loudly.
Call them into your office and have them wait while you make lunch plans over the phone. Or in any other way make them feel that your time is precious while theirs is insignificant.
Pretend their opinion matters, but never listen to what they say. And never, ever carry out any of the suggestions.
Help instill an "us versus them" mindset among volunteers and staff.
Always give menial, repetitive tasks, no matter what the volunteer asked to do and no matter what their skills are.
Keep volunteers in the dark about the organization's activities, goals, and objectives.
Order. Constantly.
Assume.
Ignore.
The following ideas cost very little to perform, but can have immeasurable benefits. Remember, reinforce constantly (but also sincerely and specifically.)
Ways to Alienate your Volunteers
The actions below are often done without a second thought, and may seem insignificant to you, but, trust me, they can be very costly in the end.
If you know of anything that should be added toeither list, please post it on the Volunteerism discussion board. Please also share your success stories in the nonprofit sphere.
Go To Page: 1
The copyright of the article Some Ideas You Can Appreciate in Volunteerism is owned by . Permission to republish Some Ideas You Can Appreciate in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
