LAST DAYS FOR THE EARLY BIRD SPECIAL!

In the first 3 weeks of bookings, the Adelaide workshop on Thursday July 27th has sold out and we have arranged another workshop for Friday July 28th, so no-one will be disappointed. Other venues around Australia are also filling fast and all are over 50% full.

If you are coming to the workshop book your place NOW and also get the early bird discount - this special price offer ends on April 30th.

Only two groups of people thrive on sincere recognition and genuine appreciation - men and women.

Jim Clemmer

From Me to You

5 Top Tips for Terrific Recognition Letters

Not Good Form

Understand that a thankyou letter (or card) needs to be carefully constructed to have the greatest impact. Shun any form of letters or cards addressed to ‘dear volunteer’ with your printed signature at the bottom. This is worse than sending no written thankyou at all.

Well Done Whoever

Be specific. Vague ‘well done’ messages detract rather than add to the impact of the written word. Be clear and acknowledge specific aspects of the work your volunteer has done that you truly appreciate.

Words, Words and More Words

Struggling for the words to write? Here are some key words describing positive actions that might fit for your volunteers: innovative, energetic, resourceful, supportive, focused, helpful, patient, efficient, reliable, committed, diplomatic, effective, enthusiastic, caring, dedicated, insightful, approachable and dependable. Keep your thesaurus handy for variations on these themes!

Going Through A Phrase

Need more inspiration? Here are some key phrases to convey your appreciation for their actions: ‘problem solver’, ‘good listener’, ‘rising to the occasion’, ‘thinking on your feet’, ‘motivating others’, ‘team player’, ‘out-of-the-box thinker’ and ‘going the extra mile’.

Personally To You

Personalize it. For that reliable and dependable volunteer: ‘Your reliability has always been something that I can really depend on’; or ‘I really appreciate that I can count on you to follow through and focus on completing the task’. For that volunteer who provides great service to your customers or clients: ‘I appreciate the way you treat our clients’; or ‘You deliver wonderful service to our customers’; or ‘You always know how to exceed our customer’s expectations’. For that volunteer who is an excellent team member: ‘I appreciate the way you share your knowledge and expertise with other team members’; or ‘Thank you for the way you contribute to a positive team spirit’.

P.S. Check out the other great personalizing tips from Issue No 2 of the Newsletter on '5 Ways to Personalize Cards'.

Adapted from the book Count on Me! 501 Ideas on Retaining, Recognizing and Rewarding Volunteers by Dr Judy Esmond

Bonus Focus - More Ideas on Recruiting Volunteers!

In a previous newsletter we offered the following Bonus...

BONUS! How would you like to be even more successful in your recruitment efforts? Then just email us a recruitment goal for this year. Several lucky readers will receive a FREE 'target' consultation with tips published in upcoming newsletters.

We received numerous requests for advice and unfortunately cannot publish all of them. Instead, we have decided to take a sample from different organizations and volunteering requirements and feature a few in forthcoming issues of the newsletters. We apologize that we cannot publish every request but hope that those published will 'spark' more ideas for you in your own volunteer recruitment efforts.

'Must Join' Committees

9 ideas on getting new committee members

A Quick Extract from Joan's email on her recruitment goal...

Have you researched the problem of getting people to go on committees? Any assistance you can offer would be helpful to me.

Joan Mitchell

Okay, hands up anyone else who has found it difficult to recruit people to volunteer as committee members?  Here are 9 quick tip ideas for Joan and for you.

Tip No 1 - Pick Me

Being a committee member is not for everyone - it really is a specialist volunteer position.  It is not a 'come one, come all' recruitment technique. Target the people with the skills that would be most useful to your committee and then ask them directly. 

Tip No 2 - Get Clear

Get very clear about what is required as a committee member. Roles, tasks and time commitment all should be 'honestly' presented up-front. 'White lies' to get someone to say 'yes' - such as 'it won't take much time at all' or 'there's nothing much to it' are fraught with danger. This is rarely the case. It diminishes their role as a committee member and sets someone up to fail by saying 'yes' to a commitment without knowing all the facts.

Tip No 3 - Time Out

There are 2 main questions people consider when asked to volunteer. One question is 'how much time will this involve?' Make sure there is a definite time frame for committee members. The longer the term of office the less likely someone is to say yes. Being on the committee forever excites very few potential volunteers. A '2 plus 2' term is often a good option. The volunteer commits for 2 years and then can leave or commit for a further 2 year term. But be flexible! A 1 year term with the option of another year might just help some people to say yes.  It's time to remove some of those rules and regulations that get in the way of your recruitment efforts.

Tip No 4 - Two Heads

A second question potential volunteers consider is 'can I do it?' With too many committees, the previous treasurer, secretary, etc leaves as another person is elected at the annual general meeting. The new committee member basically starts from the beginning in their learning curve.  Ensure a smooth transition process with committee members serving for a 2.3 year term.  This means you serve on the committee for 2 years and then assist your replacement for 3 months afterwards as they 'learn the ropes' from you.

Tip No 5 - Boring Meetings

When we conduct workshops we often ask - 'raise your hand if you have ever attended a boring meeting that was a waste of time'. Every hand is raised. Another reason that people are reluctant to join a committee is it often means boring meetings. It is now time to liven up those meetings so people want to come rather than 'shun' them. Here are a few more quick tips for meetings...

Tip No 6 - Roles for All

Spice up a meeting by changing and adding roles. Swap and experiment with roles. Here are some...'the facilitator' who leads the discussion and watches time; 'the referee' who calls a timeout when people stray from the topic; 'the scribe' who writes the notes on the whiteboard for all to see; and 'the gatekeeper' who makes sure everyone gets to speak on the issue. You get the idea - the chairperson doesn't always have to lead (and often dominate) the meeting process.

Tip No 7 - Eat up

Always have food at the meeting - not at the end but at the beginning. Having a cake and a cuppa at the start of the meeting reduces the formality, helps people to relax and adds to group cohesion. When people eat and drink together, they begin to share and form closer bonds

Tip No 8 - Time in, Time Out

Always, always start and finish on time (if not a little earlier). Sitting in meetings that have dragged on until daylight will ensure a quick departure of members from a committee. In all honesty, if you cannot discuss the really important issues, delegate tasks and make decisions in about an hour timeslot then what's happening? Much of the other information in meetings can be shared by other means - emails, voicemails, teleconferences, newsletters, etc.

Tip No 9 - Stand Up

One final tip for now. (Other 'meeting' tips will follow in future newsletters). Would you like to speed up the meeting process and ensure that decisions are made quicker than ever before? You would - then here is what you do. For your next meeting - remove all chairs from the room. Conduct a stand-up meeting. Try it! You will be amazed how quickly decisions will be made.

You can also get 100s of extra ideas on volunteer recruitment in Count Me In! 501 Ideas on Recruiting Volunteers by Dr Judy Esmond

Rural Results!

In the previous issue of the newsletter we said we would present the following in this newsletter...

• Rural Results - a success story from the bush on community groups working together.

However, this project is a work in progress and we have decided to bring you the results in greater detail at its completion later this year. 

In the next issue of the 'Ultimate Ideas' Newsletter...

• Web marketing and your recruitment message (Check out the webpage for The 'High Five' Workshop as we will discuss this technique next time)
• Holiday Recognition Ideas - 3 more great recognition tips
• Another volunteer recruitment 'bonus focus' from the field

Cheers Judy

© Judy Esmond, 2006

Dr Judy Esmond is a leading expert on how to gain, sustain and retain volunteers. She is author of best selling books and numerous research reports on recruiting, retaining and recognizing volunteers. Subscribe to her 'Ultimate Ideas' Newsletter filled with 100s of ideas on volunteer recruitment, retention and recognition at www.mtd4u.com

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