ChurchCrunch - Exploring the Intersection of Technology and the Church

This is a Guest Post by Chris Ames.

Now we’re moving.

You’ve identified the undertapped resource of the online volunteer, and you’re ready to make it official with the right people for the job. The first thing I recommend is to terminate them. Right up front. Hand that pink slip across the table and say, “You’re fired.”

If you can get your hands on a Donald Trump toupee, then I give you +100 points for style.

That’s a bit overdramatic, but what I’m trying to say is that one of my best practices for managing online volunteers is to identify and set term limits for your online positions.

Ready for some schooling? After the jump:

Volunteers Have Expiration Dates

Remember how I said online volunteering can happen within the cracks of everyday life? It is a tremendous benefit that we are trying to exploit.

The problem is that your ministry or non-profit isn’t the only thing vying for that time. It is in competition with a thousand other contenders like Hulu or World of Warcraft or a million other things. And sometimes, these other entities are going to creep in and start winning the war of attention span with your people.

Eventually, everyday life is going to fill the cracks of everyday life. This shift in priorities is called burn out.

Your volunteers are not going to tell you when they are burning out and you aren’t going to remember to ask them. Chances are you won’t even notice the signs at first.

On a long enough timeline, for most volunteers, authentic enthusiasm becomes forced enthusiasm. They will still want to be enthusiastic, but they won’t be. The flame will have extinguished. They will dread that email or phone call to tell you they quit. They will either deny it to themselves outright or procrastinate.

The result will be a disenfranchised volunteer doing a poor job serving your ministry. Without even knowing it, you’ll be losing quality. But if the first cost is quality, the second is opportunity. Because it’s likely that some other person is sitting on the sidelines wishing they could fill that position and be of service to your non-profit… if only it was vacant.

But Don’t All Volunteers go Through Lulls in Enthusiasm?

Some volunteers will go through a lull in enthusiasm.

This can be caused by an unexpected busy season in their own lives or other circumstances outside their control. Having a term limit may be just the thing that keeps them from quitting. They will want to honor the commitment they made and, while doing so, may come through the other side and get a “second-wind”.

Term limits can help prevent some volunteers from giving up too early. But here is another scenario that I went through personally while serving at my local church once. My wife and I volunteered in the 4 yr old room for a 1 year term and we became pregnant about three months into it.

Towards the end of our term things got understandably hectic. My wife was exhausted and so was I. We wanted to quit, but we had committed to a year and our church didn’t have any suitable replacements because they were gearing up for the next recruitment effort.

Knowing that our service had a definite end date helped us tough it out and honor our commitment.

Set term limits up front, right in the beginning, so that volunteers know when their service will end. They can always re-enlist for another round if the fire is still lit. I’m not saying cut them loose. I’m saying schedule a time in the beginning for a guilt-free conversation between you and them.

Feelings that could go suppressed (and unaddressed) for months, or even years, have the opportunity for ventilation.

And then, after they are refreshed, they’ll be back.

[Image from Dustin]