BMG Exclusive: Kate’s Guidelines Updated – Official Announcement at DCI

The DCI has something for everyone.  There is a campaign track, designed for potential candidates and campaign leaders.  There is also a grassroots organizing tracks.  

Since 2005, I’ve been thinking of adding a new guideline.  I love the simplicity of the “20 words.”  But, I finally decided that this was so important that I have added three words:

MAKE IT FUN!

Updated after much thought, here they are…

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL VOLUNTEER BASE

1) Welcome us.

2) Give us meaningful and achievable tasks – don’t waste our time.

3) Treat us with respect.

4) Make it fun.

5) Feed us.

6) Thank us.

Twenty-three words, which are key to having volunteers successfully participate in your campaign.  They are very simple, and with the exception of rule number two, very easy to follow.

1) WELCOME US. Greet people, make us feel welcome.  Introduce yourself when a volunteer comes into your office.  Ensure that both the office and phones are configured and staffed to ensure that people are greeted and welcomed. A simple way to begin to accomplish this is to put a big sign that says “WELCOME VOLUNTEERS!” at the entrance.   Part of the “welcome us” rule includes making sure that new people are introduced to other volunteers.  Pair up experienced volunteers with newcomers.

Skipping number two, for now and on to number three,

3) TREAT US WITH RESPECT. It is important to respect the fact that we are giving up time from our families and paying jobs to volunteer.  It includes giving us the respect of responding to our phone calls and e-mail.   Respect includes something as basic as asking us what kind of work we want to do.  Volunteers understand that what we want to do may not be what best meets the campaign needs.  Ask us what we want to do and tell us what you need.  Most volunteers understand “campaign chaos” and the last minute nature of campaigns; but we still want the respect of giving us appropriate notice when asking us to help. One additional facet of point three is to tell volunteers what our specific task is geared to accomplish – – what the goals are.  Part of treating us with respect is to not make people feel like failures, especially when dealing with forces beyond our control.  Respect our experience and our knowledge of our community.

4) FEED US. This can be as simple as offering us a cup of coffee during a cold standout or a bottle of water to bring with us on a hot canvass.  Granola bars and raisins are easy to manage food. Some of us might find providing homemade snacks to be an enjoyable way to help.  There are great cooks and bakers in the volunteer ranks.  It saves money and adds a nice atmosphere.  A little sustenance will make us more efficient, obviating the need for breaks to buy food.  

5) MAKE IT FUN. If we aren’t having fun, we’re less likely to come back.  Whether it’s having a few refreshments together after a volunteer session, or having a theme like “Talk Like A Pirate Day” celebration, people need to have fun.  Build a sense of camaraderie in the volunteer corps.

6) THANK US.  Make sure we know that our work is appreciated.  It is key for staff to ensure that the candidate (or senior staff) knows who is volunteering.  Thanking includes everything from e-mails to snail mail to phone calls.  The occasional “thank you gathering” is never out of place. Even if we do not attend a thank you event, we appreciate the invitation. Thanking is so important that it needs to have a system in place.  The system should include a mechanism for local volunteers to communicate to staff, in a structured way, the names of people who are volunteering in the community and are out of sight/out of mind for the office staff.

2) GIVE US MEANINGFUL AND ACHIEVABLE TASKS – DON’T WASTE OUR TIME.

Rule number two is the most challenging. Some suggestions:

–          Plan ahead.  Have a job file of tasks that need to be done.  These can include photocopying, responding to written requests, filing, data entry, writing thank you notes.   Avoid a situation when a volunteer walks in to help and is told that there is nothing to do or a volunteer calls and is told don’t bother coming in.

–          Be creative.  Every time a staffer thinks, “This is important, but I don’t have the time,” think of how the task could be tailored to allow a volunteer to own it.

–          Look at what staffers are doing and think, “Can a volunteer do this task?”

Ideally campaigns should have available a variety of tasks.  In some cases campaigns offer very little in between “Go hold a sign” and “Go organize a senate district.”  If a campaign wants us to do more than we can achieve, give us the priorities.  Example: Phone banks are a higher priority than lawn signs, if that is the campaign’s strategy.

The corollary, “don’t waste our time,” includes good concise training.  Don’t consider volunteer time to be an expendable resource.  Some campaigns may consider it more efficient to do one big training, even if it means volunteers who are ready to go are waiting.  Train volunteers in small groups, and then get us going.  If we are coming to phone bank, have us go straight to the actual location.   Going to headquarters to get assigned to a different location can waste time, and in this age of cell phones, can be avoided.  Let us call on our way to our shift and give us our assigned site.  If people are being bussed to a canvass location, utilize drive time for training.  Consider a “drive thru” deployment system.  If you have experienced people coming in for GOTV, then when the team is en route, have the point person check in.  Have a canvass packet ready when the car pulls in.  Hand the packets out and send them out to turf.  The fewer people there are at HQ, the more efficient you are.

REAL EXAMPLES OF HOW TO MEET THESE GUIDELINES

DEVAL PATRICK WINDMILL PROGRAM

CAMPAIGN STARS

THURSDAY VOLUNTEERS

FRIDAY, PHOINES AND FUN

CONCLUSION

Campaigns are challenging and exciting.  Volunteers can and should be an important complement to staff.  A campaign that consistently follows “Kate’s Six Guidelines” will succeed with retaining volunteers..

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