Volunteers from one generation can sometimes clash with those from a different generation. Review this chart to see why that might be.

While this chart certainly does not speak for all people born into different generations, it points to the need for the person managing volunteers to serve as a bridge between two styles of getting volunteer work done. It also indicates that having different types of volunteer positions is critical. There should be jobs that require group efforts and those that can be done alone.

Training sessions can contain information on communication styles and how that impacts the work the volunteer does in the organization. Training needs to help people with vastly different ways of viewing the world be encouraged to work together. That is what "civil" society is all about.

Those who work with volunteers, from the executive director or administrator of a program or organization to the person, who leads a committee to the manager of volunteers, often lead discussions. The goal of any discussion should be to involve as many people as possible.

The heart of sustaining a good discussion involves listening, questioning, and responding. Not only are the opening questions important, but so are the ones in the middle of the meeting or training session. Here is a short primer on types of questions to enhance the next discussion you lead.

• Open questions - these are open-ended, usually beginning with how or why.

Example: "Why is it important for use to keep information about clients confidential?"

• Linking questions - These are questions that create a sense of community in the group by linking things said previously to what has just been said.

Example: "Juan had a point earlier that seems to relate to what you said. How does your comment connect with his." (You can, also, ask Juan to repeat his point.)

• Hypothetical questions - This is a question designed to get the person to think about how changing the circumstances might impact the aftermath.

Example: "Suppose we said it was o.k. for volunteers to discuss the work they do and the people they see receiving our service. How might that change our organization and the volunteer program?

• Evidence questions - are used when someone in the group has made a statement with which others disagree or it is an unsupported opinion. The question needs to be a simple request for more information.

Example: "Mary has said the Children's Advocacy Group where she volunteers has no policy on confidentiality. I was wondering, Mary, how you know that to be true?"

• Clarifying questions - Sometimes a person makes a point, but everyone in the group does clearly not understand it. Clarification questions help the speaker expand on the idea and often others in the group will help bringing the point into clear view.

Example: "Can you try that again, I am not sure I understood it." "What do you mean by that?"

• Cause and Effect Questions - Critical thinking requires that people connect causes with effects. If we do X, then Y will happen.

Example: "When we tell clients that volunteers and staff will respect their privacy and not discuss it with others, and then that promise is violated, what might be the impact on the client?"

• Review questions - summarizing questions help adults mentally review all that has preceded and identify the key points.

Example: "What are the two most important things you have learned about confidentiality in this discussion?"

Not all training is done for volunteers or clients, customers, or patrons. Educating administration is, also, the responsibility of the person in charge of managing the volunteer workforce. Here are some techniques to keep those important people in the organization well informed.

• Champion support for the volunteer program by keeping top management well informed about your activities
• Provide statistical information with "punch."
  • document volunteer hours
  • document all tasks using logs
  • average service that is difficult to measure (use a pedometer for 15% of volunteers who are doing a great deal of walking in their duties, monitor 10 % of all phone calls). Then average these measures over the time the facility is open or the volunteers are on duty.
• Calculate money saved (if volunteers are placing phone calls to follow-up staff work, determine what that donated service is worth)
• Profile the volunteer work force. Volunteer managers, almost without exception manage the largest single department of workers in the organization. That management costs money. Divide the departmental budget by the number of volunteers. This can show cost savings and also highlight money needed.
• Keep logs of supervisory and managerial activities (evaluation meetings, hours on communication, such as newsletters, training, etc.)
• Prepare and annual report
  • Review the goals for the year
  • Report the result of the work done and goals achieved
  • Include anything done not in the goals and list them as such
  • Use data and numbers (administrators love them)
  • Know the average cost to the organization of each volunteer versus each paid staff person
  • Know the profile of volunteers, as well as full demographic reporting
  • Report contributions of resources to the program (money, paper, equipment loaned, vehicles used, etc.)
  • Make it a nice package that looks professional
  • Use the report to demonstrate how additional resources can help grow the program and keep the cost down.

Canadian Centre for Social Entrepreneurship Faculty of Business University of Alberta, Edmonton http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/ccse/

Community and Not-For-Profit Leadership Program The Banff Centre for Management http://www.banffmanagement.com/non_prof.asp

Interdisciplinary Studies in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Management The Centre for Voluntary Sector Studies Faculty of Business, Ryerson Polytechnic University Toronto, Ontario http://www.ryerson.ca/cvss/isnvsm.html

Nonprofit Management and Leadership Program Simon Fraser University Vancouver, British Columbia http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/bus/nonprofit/

Nonprofit Sector Leadership Program Henson College, Dalhousie Univeristy Halifax, Nova Scotia http://www.dal.ca/~henson/nonprofit/index.html

Non-Profit Sector Management Certificate Program Vancouver Community College Continuing Education http://www.vcc.bc.ca/ce/non_profit.html

Nonprofit and Management and Leadership Program Schulich School of Business York University Toronto, Ontario http://www.yorku.ca/dept/nmlp/

The McGill-McConnell Program for National Voluntary Sector Leaders Faculty of Management, McGill University Montreal, Quebec http://www.management.mcgill.ca/exec/vleaders/set00.htm

Close to 200 colleges and universities offer academic programs on nonprofit and volunteer sector management. They are usually master's degree programs, but not always. American Humanics sponsors undergraduate programs, as well. If you are looking to push out the professional development window, consider taking a course at one of these colleges. A full list resides at http://pirate.shu.edu/~mirabero. Thank Roseanne Mirabella, of Seton Hall University for keeping up with this list.