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Volunteer Evaluations
Thanks for all you have done to complete your AFA Evaluations by the May 16th Deadline. Once all evaluations results are received, the Central Office Staff will be compiling the data. The collection of the evaluation feedback is just the FIRST step in this process and we want to make sure you all are clear on what happens next...
Week of June 4th-6th: Conversations take place with Board Members for general themes
Week of June 9th-16th: Conversations take place between Board Members and Volunteer Leaders
Week of June 16th-30th: Conversations take place between Volunteer Leaders and Volunteers
June 30th: Evaluation process completed for 2008
So, what are the exact next steps?
1) All volunteer leaders should expect to hear from your Board or Staff Supervisor (or Ryan Hilperts, AFA Conference Coordinator) very soon to set up a conference call for the week of June 9th-16th. The purpose of this call will be to discuss the evaluation results for yourself AND those individuals you supervise.
2) All volunteer leaders should be setting up conference calls with each general volunteer you supervise for the week of June 16th-30th to discuss the evaluation results, their involvement, their successes, opportunities for growth AND long term AFA involvement plans. We have a pretty quick turn around time designated for these calls and would like for them to take place between June 16th - June 30th. Given summer schedules/vacation/programs, it is our suggestion that you GO AHEAD AND PRESCHEDULE THESE CALLS NOW.
Thanks in advance for this! We were very pleased with previous years' success of those who participated in the evaluations process. But we know that our targeted area for improvement this year is making sure that these follow up calls occur for all volunteers.
Please contact Anne Arseneau or Jason Pierce if you have any questions!
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Volunteer Position Description Review
The first stages of the 2009 volunteer appointment process began with a call to all urrent volunteers to review and revise their current position description(s). The volunteer position descriptions include a position impact statement and performance standards/indicators of success, providing critical guidance and direction to volunteers. Thank you to all Volunteer leaders who submitted their revisions. Revised position descriptions were due to volunteer supervisors by Friday, May 16th and will be reviewed by the Board at their June meeting.
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Volunteer of the Month - M.L. GoughM.L., Director of Student Involvement at Rhodes College, serves AFA as a member of the Educational Programs Committee for the Annual Meeting. Andrea Weber, Educational Programs Chair, nominated M.L. for her enthusiasm and creativity in regards to the Call for Content. Through her innovation, she created a call script to recruit facilitators and potential topics for the 2008 Annual Meeting, which has yielded over 160 program submissions! Thank you M.L.!Please contact the Central Office to recommend a Volunteer of the Month.
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AFA Evaluation Time - Why Feedback Is Important:In the words of one of my favorite professional colleagues and friends, "feedback = love." (You can site that one to Mr. Mike McRee of LeaderShape, Inc.). All AFA volunteers have recently completed the first phase of our AFA 360° Evaluation. The next phase of the evaluation occurs in June when each volunteer will have a phone conversation with their supervisor to reflect on: the volunteer experience thus far, opportunities for growth, commendation, and perhaps most importantly, identifying interest in future AFA involvement.Within the AFA Volunteer Management Plan, we are committed as an Association to both the professional development of all of our members (including our volunteers!) and to our performance management as an organization. This formal opportunity to "evaluate" the volunteer experience is really just an opportunity for each of us to pause mid-volunteer year to reflect on how it's going and make any course corrections to improve our experience (both as volunteers and volunteer supervisors). I think one of the most unanticipated outcomes for each volunteer of the evaluation process is the celebrating of success and accomplishments that result from our 360° evaluation. (Remember, "feedback = love") Most volunteers seem to anticipate "negative" feedback when what they really hear through the evaluation process is the value they are bringing to the team and how much their efforts are appreciated! (Why is it our human nature to not recognize the significant ways in which we are contributing?)As we prepare for our individual conversations, here are six principles of Volunteer Performance Evaluation to keep in mind:
- Feedback on volunteer performance evaluation does not necessarily mean criticism.
- Volunteer performance feedback should not be reserved for just the formal evaluation process.
- Volunteer performance evaluation underscores the importance of volunteer contributions.
- Volunteers do not volunteer to do a bad job. (Constructive and supportive feedback is a vital part of the recognition process).
- Performance evaluation helps the organization better involve volunteers and ensures that volunteers are contributing as much as possible.
- Performance evaluation IS and should be a mutual exchange opportunity.
*Excerpted from Graff, L. L. (2005).Best of All: The Quick Reference Guide to Effective Volunteer Involvement. Dundas, Ontario: Linda Graff and Associates, Inc.
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The Informed Volunteer: Conference Call EtiquetteOne of the most challenging parts of being an AFA Volunteer is that the majority of our efforts and collaborations as volunteers occur with great distance and little face to face time. Emails can be very effective at managing group conversations, but periodically, it's important to come together for a conference call to discuss and share ideas/action plans on current initiatives.If Conference Calls are a less regular way for you to do your work (after all, most campus-based professionals are very used to the face-to-face meetings) then here are some tips* for good conference call etiquette:
- Take the call in a quiet place and learn how to mute your phone (you may think background sounds can't be heard or aren't distracting...but you're probably wrong). And please don't take the call on "speaker phone" unless absolutely necessary (multiple people participating from the same location).
- If you can take the call in front of your computer, do so. It's easy to access relevant documents and you can take notes on next action steps.
- Someone should take notes and record committed "next action" steps for the group. Be sure the person taking minutes feels comfortable speaking up and asking for clarification.
- With multiple people on a conference call, where many people sound alike, it's polite to identify yourself when you speak.
- Give all participants a chance to speak - especially those who are more reticent to speak up!
- Try to limit the calls to an hour at most - past that, your ears start to ache...
- Take the call on time - you can disrupt efficient use of time if multiple people are calling in a few minutes late.
- The "organizer" should create an agenda and stick to it - this makes the call more efficient and productive for all.
Common courtesy and effective use of volunteer time can go a long way toward keeping volunteers engaged. Keep these in mind for successful conference call etiquette and you'll be appreciated by your fellow AFA volunteers!*Hall, R. A., Roberts, E., Nelson, E. (2007). Conference Call Etiquette. Retrieved May 20, 2008, from http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/whitepaperdetail.cfm?
itemnumber=24336
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