Volunteering – change of motivation
When coordinating volunteers, we need to be aware that volunteers are changing. Their personality changes, they are constantly enriched with new and yet newer experiences; their life situation, life goals are changing; their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the host organisation may change; the amount of help the organisation receives may change; the degree of the volunteer’s geographic mobility may change. The goals set when volunteering is started can also change: those set previously have been achieved and new ones are selected and looked for with matching activities. As stated earlier, the organisation has an impact on how long-term the relationship with the volunteer will be, and partly on the extent and direction of change in the volunteer’s initial motivation.
At the organisational level, it is important to be aware of the high value of volunteering with you for many years. The organisation also devoted a lot of energy to the relationship and, consequently, to the quality of volunteering. It is worth sitting down with the volunteers individually to maintain a conscious retention, even using the mentoring discussion technique presented in the previous Evaluation section. The literature on motivation research is very rich, but less research has been done into motivation change. We briefly present two research results to give a perspective to the experiences of the organisations and coordinators involved.
One research compares the initial (at admission) and subsequent (after 1 year of volunteering) motivations of hospital volunteers.[1] A similar attempt was made a few years later by volunteers at the Museum of Fine Arts for 5-7 years:[2]
| On joining | After one year / 5-7 years of volunteering |
| Hospital volunteers | Volunteers of the Museum of Fine Arts | Hospital volunteers | Volunteers of the Museum of Fine Arts |
| Actual task, activity (interesting task!) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Leadership and management topics
(well organised volunteer work) |
4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| The actual organisation (I welcome and support this organisation) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Real / implied benefits (attractive with many entry opportunities, guided tours, and community membership) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| The categories used in the Museum of Fine Arts questionnaire are in italics, while those used in hospital volunteering are in normal font.1 – most important, 4 – least important |
The survey on the Museum of Fine Arts confirmed the trend of motivation that can be observed elsewhere, especially with regard to old and new types of volunteering, the homogenisation and blending of categories. It has been observed in older people that self-development, originally classed as a new type of motivation, has become a more important motivating factor over the years, while for the younger ones the old type of motivation factor, community, has come to the fore.
This may also be consistent with the fact that, while volunteer motivation on the principle of utility is initially more prevalent, emotional commitment becomes more important later on. But it is also consistent with the tendency to decrease career-related motivation as age advances, and social goals become more prominent and, over time, more emphasis is placed on moral purpose and community.[3]
As a general suggestion, we can summarise the lessons of motivational change for volunteer coordinators with the words of DORNER, László:
- It is not enough to measure motivation and volunteer abilities only in the first interview after recruitment, and their continuous monitoring is of paramount importance.
- A good-spirited, cohesive organisation and an open-minded volunteer coordinator with high social competencies make it possible to identify the causes of change in motivation as quickly as possible.
- It is worth integrating the new member into the team right from the start of volunteering, and it is just as important to strengthen the relationship with clients and provide emotional support in case of initial setbacks (to avoid dropping out).
- It is important that a volunteer can feel like a basic but also unique member of the organisation who can choose volunteering based on his interests.
- Therefore, it is worth noting only the issues related to volunteering, but also those related to volunteers’ interests and social activities.
- After that, you can try several options for change (e.g. giving more volunteers more responsibility, challenges, decision-making powers and more autonomy if they so desire).
- Changing volunteer roles within the organisation is recommended from time to time to avoid burnout and loss of motivation.
- As they develop their skills, they will also be able to pursue new activities (see greater responsibility).
- Provide the widest possible range of training opportunities for volunteers in order to expand their abilities and thus the repertoire of volunteering activities they can perform (sense of competence).
The activities of volunteers at the Bródy Sándor Library in Eger, involve the following benefits:
- part of a good team,
- develop their communication skills,
- their personal relationships.
References:
- [1] Meggyes I. – Murányi M.: A kórházi önkéntesség módszertana. 2010, Budapest, Kórházi Önkéntes Segítő Szolgálat Alapítvány
- [2] Csordás I.: Önkéntesség – Az önkéntes motivációk alakulása 5-7 éves időtávon a Szépművészeti Múzeum Önkéntes Programjában (záródolgozat). 2014, Budapest, Semmelweis Egyetem Mentálhigiéné Intézet. p. 9.
- [3] Dorner L.: Az önkéntes motivációk változása – hazai és nemzetközi kitekintés. (előadás) Önkéntesmenedzsment kihívások hosszú távon. Konferencia, 2016. szeptember 22. Budapest, Szépművészeti Múzeum – Magyar Nemzeti Galéria
This article based on the following document: This article based on the following document: Practical Guide for the Establishment and Operation of Volunteer Programmes at Institutions : abridged English version