March 15, 2025

Volunteer Management

Volunteer Management - Is Your Museum Really Ready?

By Karin Hostetter

Volunteers are an important part of many museums. Volunteers do work for us; they educate visitors; they answer questions; they bring in money. But having a successful volunteer program means laying some strong foundations.

Start with the main foundation of the museum itself - its mission. Volunteers' main reason for existing should be to support the organization's mission, no matter what their job. Every staff and volunteer should be able to state exactly how what they do directly supports the mission. It is not enough to say they do some job to support the mission, but they must know how they support the mission. For example, someone working at a gift shop supports the mission by making additional information supporting the resource available to visitors; a person leading tours unlocks the resource to visitors; and a person stuffing envelopes sends out opportunities for interested individuals to interact with the resource.

Once everyone embraces that volunteers support the mission, it is time for staff to acknowledge the cost of volunteers. Contrary to the hope of many, volunteers are not free. They require resources of which time and money are two. What resources is your organization willing to commit to managing volunteers? Begin with which staff person will be the overall manager. Depending on the number of volunteers needed, a full time volunteer manager can be hired, diverting some funds to management or the task of volunteer managing can be given to an existing staff person and adding on to job responsibilities, diverting time to volunteer management. Staff also need to understand the impact volunteers might have on their own work. If volunteers congregate near other staff work areas, noise levels increase. Some staff easily can tune this out and others will be totally distracted. 

Volunteers have social needs which can affect staff. While many reasons exist for individuals to volunteer, two are high at the list: the need for a social network and the desire to learn from the experts. When volunteers need the social connection, they can get that from other volunteers and from staff. As volunteers come in at varying times throughout the day and week, if every one of them stopped by staff desks and talked only 5 minutes each time, that adds up to several hours of the staff person's day. When the desire to learn from experts is what draws an individual to volunteer, interruptions to the staff day can be thirty minutes or more at a time. Managing these interruptions takes planning. Staff might post designated "open office" hours where they plan their work day to welcome volunteers stopping by or a volunteer staging area might be provided away from the main area of paid staff.

And space is another resource volunteers need. They need an area to hang coats, leave purses or backpacks, record their hours, and receive communications. Maybe this is a nook with just a desk and bulletin board or maybe it is an entire room designed for volunteer use. Space is often at a premium in museums, so designating some for volunteers is sometimes challenging.

Yet one more foundational block to consider is the main role volunteers have within the organization - fundraising, work force, idea bank. Each purpose requires a separate set of strategies for recruiting, training, communicating, and rewarding.

Finally, decide who is in charge, who has the authority to make decisions, and who has final responsibility. The overall structure greatly influences the relationship of the volunteer program with the organization. At the most basic level, volunteer programs are either staff guided or volunteer guided. This is determined by the answer to two questions: first, how much input do the volunteers need in order to provide the resources as defined in the purpose of the volunteer program, to accomplish the defined tasks, and to feel valued; second, how much time is staff willing to put into discussions and compromises?

In a staff-dominated structure, a staff person makes decisions, initiates communication, matches jobs with volunteers, solves problems, recruits volunteers, etc. It is time consuming, but one person always knows everything going on and can keep the pieces connected. Change is easier to manage and communication is more streamlined. Processes are simplified and fewer personalities need to be considered. Volunteers primarily do an assigned job. Volunteers might not feel connected or that their voices are heard - this can lead to high turnover.

In a volunteer-dominated structure, volunteers manage themselves in most situations. They might have a leadership board and several committees to share the work and make sure everything is done. Volunteers have a strong sense of ownership and commitment. However, they can lose sight of their role to support the organizational mission and finding leadership each year can be challenging.

No matter what structure is in place, it should be clear and effective. Drawing up an organizational flowchart can be helpful. Does it make sense? Is leadership clear - who is in top decision-making positions?

Once all the above foundational aspects are determined, orientation for new paid staff should include time on the role of volunteers to the museum and the expected culture of staff/volunteer relationships. If all the foundational elements are firmly in place, you are now ready to start recruiting volunteers.

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Karin Hostetter has over thirty years experience with museum education. With a career that includes natural history museums, cultural history museums (including first person interpretation), nature centers, and zoos, Ms. Hostetter is experienced in interpretive writing, program and curriculum development, and staff and volunteer training. Ms. Hostetter is owner of Interpret This, a consulting company specializing in interpretive writing, program and curriculum development, and volunteer program management. When she is not consulting with other museums, she likes to volunteer and contract teach at them with a special love for preschool and family programs.

Photo: https://www.publicdomainpictures.net

Rescheduled! New Dates April 7 -may 3, 2025!

Planning and Designing Interpretive Panels for Cultural Properties

The Planning, design and text copy development for interpretive panels is a practical “how to do it” course to develop updated or new interpretive panels for heritage sites, historic homes, natural areas, zoos, and other related sites. Panels are the most widely use interpretive media, world-wide, to quickly present a message or story to site visitors in a memorable fashion. We will look at the interpretive planning process, interpretive design concerns, interpretive text writing for panels, panel fabrication materials, panel pre-testing evaluation, and even how to write a RFP (request for proposal) to have your panels fabricated. This is an important course for any interpretive staff member, planner, designer or manager.

The course includes an e-copy of John’s Interpretive Planning Textbook, and a e-copy of John’s new The Interpretive Trails Book.

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Thinking of creating interpretive panels for your site? Learn all about them by joining John Veverka for MS270: Planning and Designing Interpretive Panels for Cultural Properties staring April 7, 2025.

The Volunteer Handbook

Volunteers should be considered unpaid staff and, like a staff handbook, a strong volunteer organization should have a volunteer handbook. This course goes beyond understanding various aspects of a volunteer program to putting the volunteer program to paper. Create an outline and some draft text for a handbook providing consistency within the volunteers as well a legal support if ever needed.

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Thinking of starting or updating a Volunteer Program? Do you need to create a Volunteer Handbook? Learn all about how o create an effective volunteer program by joining Karin Hostetter for MS259 The Volunteer Handbook starting April 7, 2025.

Early Bird Discounts Available for Full Length Courses

An Early Bird Discount is available for anyone who signs up for a full length course from museumclasses.org 30 days prior to the start of that course. 

Sign up for a full length course up to 30 days prior to its start and save 20%!

For our course list or to sign up: http://www.collectioncare.org/course-list

To take advantage of this discount, you must enter coupon code EARLYBIRD at checkout at collectioncare.org

Earlybird discount for May 2025 courses is April 4, 2025

2. Planning for a new collections storage facility? Want to improve an existing storage area? This course is for you!

MS202: Museum Storage Facilities and Furniture

April 7 to May 3, 2025  

Instructor: Molly Winslow

Description:

If you are building a new storage facility or retrofitting an old one, this course provides the blueprint for how to approach architects and engineers as well as redesigning your facility yourself. The course covers the philosophy of storage, the construction requirements, security, fire and water prevention, types of furniture, and how to plan for collections growth.

The course will start with a refresher on the agents of deterioration and environmental issues to assure that the students have a common base to begin.

After this introduction, topics include determining storage and defining space, architectural design considerations and issues such as lighting, security and planning. We will discuss general information about storage furniture types and storage materials, how to modify existing cabinets and information on homemade storage systems. The last section includes specific information from a variety of vendors, specifics on writing a Request for Proposal (RFP), and what to consider when making a decision on a furniture type and vendor.

The instructor will add readings and other information depending upon the students and their individual institutional problems and concerns.

3. Do you have a volunteer program at your museum? Hoping to set up a new volunteer program? Do you have a Volunteer Handbook for your program? This course will help you understand and write a Volunteer Handbook for your volunteers.

MS 259: The Volunteer Handbook  

April 7 to May 16, 2025  

Instructor: Karin Hostetter

Description:

Volunteers should be considered unpaid staff and, like a staff handbook, a strong volunteer organization should have a volunteer handbook. This course goes beyond understanding various aspects of a volunteer program to putting the volunteer program to paper. Create an outline and some draft text for a handbook providing consistency within the volunteers as well a legal support if ever needed.

May 2025 Courses

1. Are you thinking about creating an Education Collection to use for hands-on programs in your museum? This short course will give you some tips and tricks for creating and using an Education Collection in your museum.



MS 014: Education Collections

May 19 to 23, 2025

Instructor: Karin Hostetter

Description:

What do you do with collection objects that no longer belong in the scientific collection but are too good to throw out? What do you do with the donations that just don’t quite ‘fit?’ Use them in education collections. Their value as educational objects for the public is immeasurable.

3. Looking for a collections management database? This is the class for you!

MS 214: Collections Management Databases

May 5 to 30, 2025   

Instructor: Sarah Kapellusch

Description:

A collection database is a necessary tool for accurate and efficient collections management. In Collection Management Databases you will learn what characteristics distinguish one database system from another; how a database can be used to manage inventory, conservation, pest management, and other aspects of collections management; as well as how to prepare your collection and documentation for entry into a database.

4. Most museums have some archival materials in their collection. Does yours? Do you know the best way to manage and catalog those materials? This course will show you!

MS 234: Archives Management

May 5 to 30, 2025  

Instructor: Jennifer Edwards

Description:

Archives include flat paper, photographs, bound pamphlets, books, small 3-dimensional objects, and magnetic media. The Archives Management course covers an introduction to the materials found in archives and typical use of these materials including use patterns, retrieval needs, finding aids, handling and exhibition. The last half of the course details optimum storage options for archival materials. Storage includes furniture, storage techniques, standardized and specialized housing such as folders and boxes and custom-made housings.

5. Do you train docents and interpreters at your museum? Would you like to learn more about interpretation and the best methods for training your interpretive staff? Join us for this course designed especially for Interpretive Trainers.

MS 271: Training for Interpretive Trainers

May 5 to 30, 2025   

Instructor: John Veverka

Description:

It’s often difficult to teach interpretive techniques and principles to others when you may have not had any formal training in interpretation yourself. The course provides ways to develop and deliver interpretive training courses and workshops for cultural sites and staff charged with developing interpretive training for their docents, volunteers, seasonal interpretive staff, or full time interpretive staff.

This course includes a copy of our new e-textbook, the Interpretive Trainers Handbook.

Course Goals: Upon completion of this course participants will:

– Have interpretive training program lesson plans and schedule of instructions drafted out.

– Have a working knowledge of key interpretive elements they should be teaching.

Conferences and Meetings

Double check each organization's website for more information.