Allen,
I would agree with Andy about not recognizing years of service but rather actions. I'd cringe if people started comparing their lengths of service with each other at bike farm. "I've been here 5 years! Longer than anyone else in this room." It's the kind of quantification that can lead to weird power dynamics and hierarchy. I'd much rather someone remember what I've added to the org over the years, then my length of service.
At the same time, I have thought about the same issue of how to best retain volunteers and energize around making Bike Farm the best it can be. Over the years I've found that there are four great motivators which garner dedication in a volunteer:
*They are actively helping people.* This one is the most obvious and it needs to be there. People need to feel that what they are doing is good for the world and that they are making a difference.
*They are getting something special and real out of this. *We have some shop perks which include ordering privileges, monthly $20 credit for used parts, and free stand time for volunteers who have hung out for at least 2 months and hold down a shift.
*Volunteering is helping them in their career/how they make rent. *This one is slippery since the most common expression of this motivator is a volunteer getting a job as a bike mechanic. Being a dedicated volunteer looks great on a resume, especially if you have a fancy title like "Shop Coordinator". But often when folks get that desired job, they have to take a break from volunteering to focus on it. Still, this outcome is the best we could hope for, and often those volunteers come back better trained after a few years. I always let volunteers know that they can put me on their resume as a reference. I have written many letters of recommendation over the years. That's a real perk for some people.
*This is a social outlet for them. *This is by far the greatest motivator for volunteering. Making friends and building a community strengthen dedication. It's what hooked me back in the day.
With these things in mind, I try to think of every action and see if it fulfills one of these drivers. Volunteer parties are great for the social reason. Soliciting awesome donations from big name bike shops or manufactures is great for the "getting something real" motivator. And when talking to people, I try to understand which of these factors is the greatest motivator for them and I try to help them achieve it.
So ask people what they are here for.
I could talk way more about this topic. There's a whole other dynamic of volunteering in that you only get new dedicated volunteers when there's a hole to be filled. But I'm curious to hear what others have tried.
-momoko
On Thu, Jul 13, 2017 at 6:11 AM, Andy Greif andygreif60@gmail.com wrote:
A volunteerism consultant once suggested to consider not recognizing years of service but recognize actions that you appreciate. We use to send volunteers postcards and pictures describing what we appreciated in their service to our mission. Sometimes recognizing years of service encourages a volunteer to stay on when their service is no longer helpful to the mission.
406 Valverde Commons Drive Taos, NM 87571
Andy: andygreif60@gmail.com 207-229-8199 Justine: justinen7@gmail.com 207-281-2107
Live Edge Bowls by Andy Greif Website: www.liveedgebowls.com Email: liveedgebowls@gmail.com
-----Original Message----- From: Thethinktank [mailto:thethinktank-bounces@lists.bikecollectives.org] On Behalf Of Edward Kirkwood Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2017 12:09 PM To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org Subject: [TheThinkTank] Volunteer Appreciation
Broke Spoke Community Bike Shop is looking to implement a more formal volunteer appreciation process in an effort to retain and acknowledge volunteers better. Looking for input on how the rest of the community bike shop world handles this. Do you acknowledge individuals for length of service by hours volunteered or simply an anniversary of their first date of volunteer service? What tiers of acknowledgement do you implement such as 1 month, 2 months, up to 6 months and then perhaps each year after that, 1 year, 2 years ...........and so on?
Volunteers are our most valuable resource and as we try to expand our hours of operation we need more folks since we are a 100% volunteer organization.
Allen Kirkwood Broke Spoke Community Bike Shop Lexington, KY
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