Tim McShane wrote:
>
>      Our Board of Directors recently underwent a few Board Development
>      Workshops, and volunteer management was one of the topics addressed.
>      The workshop facilitator (who directed volunteers co-ordination during
>      the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games, and has remained involved in community
>      development) definitely recommended firing "bad" volunteers.  We were
>      also encouraged to recruit volunteers based on how well their skills
>      and experience met our needs, rather than just recruiting "warm
>      bodies."  Personally, as a volunteer and as a manager of volunteers, I
>      prefer to think of volunteers as "unpaid staff," with the same
>      responsibilities and rules for acceptable conduct as any other
>      employee.  I know it's difficult to "let people go" when there's so
>      much work to be done, but as Robert says, it can sometimes be more
>      work dealing with a difficult person than that person contributes to
>      the institution.  And as for bad will, if management has a problem
>      with a particular person, chances are other volunteers have problems
>      with that person too.
>
>      ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>      Tim McShane
>      Curatorial Assistant, Parks Canada
>      (also, Co-Chair of the Museum Division, Arrow 2000 Project)
>
>      Views and opinions expressed are entirely my own, and do not
>      necessarily reflect those of Parks Canada or the Arrow 2000 Project
>      Association
>
> ______________________________ Reply Separator ____________________________
> _____
> Subject: Re: volunteer horror stories
> Author:  Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]> ("Robert T.
> Handy" <[log in to unmask]>) at PCH
> Date:    2/1/99 2:36 PM
>
>  Has anyone ever heard of the idea that you can and sometimes should, fire
>  bad volunteers?  How much staff time was wasted on, how much bad will was
>  generated by this particular volunteer?  Doesn't sound to me like it was
>  worth it.  Yes, she would be upset.  Yes, it is difficult to do.  But
>  would
>  you tolerate that from a paid employee? No.  Would a paid employee be
>  upset
>  if he/she was fired?  Yes.  So where is the difference?
>
>  ------
>  Robert Handy
>  Brazoria County Historical Museum
>  100 East Cedar
>  Angleton, Texas  77515
>  (409) 864-1208
>  museum_bob
>  [log in to unmask]
>  http://www.bchm.org
>
>  ----------
>  From:   Heleanor Feltham[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>  Sent:   Monday, February 01, 1999 6:39 AM
>  To:     [log in to unmask]
>  Subject:        FW: volunteer horror stories
>
>  We had one little old lady volunteer who took over the desk at our branch
>  museum one morning a week.  She advised visitors that it would take them
>  four hours to see the place (which you could actually do in under an hour
>  without missing too much), told them off if she didn't like their
>  behaviour or dress, argued with the visitor services staff & other
>  volunteers - in public - and had fights with museum security.  She was
>  particularly awful with children.  Teachers with unbooked groups (who were
>  quite entitled to visit) might as well have tried to get past a dragon.
>  She would also trap innocent visitors asking simple questions and drag
>  them around the place for hours, given half a chance.  Everybody was
>  frankly terrified of her.  We tried all the usual counselling techniques,
>  quiet meetings over coffee, assessments, peer pressure - if she didn't
>  think you were asking her advice about some other volunteer, she dismissed
>  any criticism as rubbish.  Myself (senior person on-site), the Volunteer
>  Co-ordinator, our Department Head - we didn't actually involve the
>  Director, but we thought about it - we all tried to talk to her.  We
>  suggested that since she had increasing difficulty negotiating stairs (she
>  had taken possession of our branch sever years before, and now walked with
>  a cane) she might prefer a nice behind the scenes job with our main
>  library.  She loved that - but still turned up at our branch on her
>  regular morning - and used the 'walking problem' to avoid morning briefing
>  sessions!  She stayed, triumphant to the end, until our branch was
>  actually closed.
>
>  I can't recommend shutting down your museum as a means of getting rid of
>  an unwanted volunteer (and she still haunts the library), but it
>  certainly is effective!
>
>  Heleanor Feltham
>  [log in to unmask]
>
>   -----Original Message-----
>  From: owner-museum-l [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>  Sent: Sunday, 31 January 1999 13:26
>  To: MUSEUM-L
>  Subject: volunteer horror stories
>
>  I am presenting a session at our state museum conference on dealing with
>  difficult volunteers.  I'm looking for real examples of real problems
>  you have encountered with a difficult volunteer, plus how you solved the
>  problem!
>
>  Regards,
>  Susan Young
>  Shiloh Museum of Ozark History
>  Springdale, Arkansas
As the director of a small museum with over 80 volunteers, I can't
imagine a bad one. I have heard about them of course, but I suspect that
there are lots of bad employees too, so I want to encourage an outlook
that is so damned positive you've got to have good volunteers. It works
100 percent of the time for us!