Yes, I agree with Becky.

If he has complaints regarding the docent training
program, have him work with the appropriate staff
person to improve training. And, if he is considered a
fairly good teacher, have him start teaching some of
these training programs.

If he will not go to the President himself with these
complaints, as has been suggested to him, it may be
time for the President to take some time and talk to
him--since the President may be the only one this guy
will actually respect and possibly obey.

If the problems in the community are as bad as you
have suggested, the President would want to take the
time and handle this situation, once and for all. I
know, if I was the President, I would want to get the
situation handled, even if I had to do it.

gaw

--- Rebecca Fitzgerald <[log in to unmask]> 
Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2007 15:15:49 -0500 
From: "Rebecca Fitzgerald" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Volunteer Woes 
To: [log in to unmask] 
wrote:

> Well, unfortunately, you can discipline all you
> want. You can even "fire"
> this volunteer. But you can't shut him up. The
> reality is that anyone who
> knows this guy probably understands his carping. 
> 
> On the other hand, the old saw, "Keep your friends
> close, and your enemies
> closer" is true. You might want to invite him to
> express his "concerns" with
> you (or your Board President, or your Exec.
> Director.) As a result of this
> conversation perhaps there is some task or project
> that this fellow could
> take on to help "improve" your museum and make him
> feel more like an
> "insider." 
> 
> I'm just devious enough to put him on a public
> relations/marketing
> committee. If he had to help craft the marketing
> message he'd probably take
> some ownership in it and want to see it succeed. 
> 
> Good luck!
> 
> Becky Fitzgerald
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
> Of Cait Dallas
> Sent: Saturday, January 13, 2007 1:51 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Volunteer Woes
> 
> Our volunteer coordinator has had a recurring
> problem over the last year
> with a long-time volunteer who has generating
> significant turmoil within our
> volunteer pool.  I'm looking for some advice about
> how to deal with this
> type of problem and how to avoid this situation in
> the future.  See my
> specific questions below.
> 
> The problematic behaviors include:
> 1 - Creating "us" vs "them" divisions within our
> large docent pool (150
> individuals) and between docents and staff. Much of
> this is the result of
> one individual repeatedly discussing his personal
> discontent with the
> current docent training program, some of the
> professional staff, and with
> the management of the institution in general.  This
> volunteer has found an
> audience within the docent pool, so the ubiquitous
> volunteer grapevine gets
> repeatedly charged with negativity as word spreads
> via email and chats in
> the volunteer lounge.  Fortunately, serious
> discontent with our museum seems
> to have spread only to a relatively small number of
> volunteers.  However,
> even those volunteers who are pleased with the
> museum are clearly aggitated
> and expressing concern about the negativity. 
> 
> 2 - Discussing his grave concerns about the museum
> openly in local
> restaurants.  This has resulted in local business
> owners and employees
> asking the inevitable question "What is going on
> over there?".  
> 
> 3 - Trying to play the staff off of one another
> through private
> conversations. 
> 
> As staff, we've rebuffed his attempts to undermine
> colleagues by suggesting
> that he take his complaints to our President. For
> the most part though we've
> focused on putting out the small fires that flare up
> in his wake.  This is
> time-consuming and of course doesn't address the
> source of the problem.
> 
> My questions are:
> - Does having a volunteer policy and handbook really
> help minimize this type
> of problem behavior?
> - Is the institution of a volunteer policy and
> handbook with outlined
> expectations about behavior (including grounds for
> dismissal) likely to
> cause a major disruption in the volunteer corps? 
> Will they be offended? If
> so, how can we minimize it?
> - What specific procedures have you found to be
> effective in disciplining or
> dismissing volunteers?  
> 
> Sorry about the long-winded nature of this inquiry,
> but there seems to be so
> little that is straightforward in the museum world. 
> Thanks in advance for
> your help!
> 
> Cait Dallas
> Curator of Collections
> Ten Chimneys Foundation
> Genesee Depot, Wisconsin
> [log in to unmask]

gaw

Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
NEWS - Astronomy, Space, Science:
< http://buhlplanetarium.tripod.com/#news >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://www.planetarium.cc > 
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago: 
  < http://adlerplanetarium.tripod.com >
* Astronomer & Optician John A. Brashear: 
  < http://johnbrashear.tripod.com > 
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries: 
  < http://www.andrewcarnegie.cc > 
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh: 
  < http://www.incline.cc >


 
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