Toxic Volunteers

Individuals volunteer for a variety of reasons: to respond to a human need, to feel part of a community, or to enjoy social interactions outside their career or family. In an ideal world, all volunteers would have the capacity to work well with others towards your mission. Unfortunately, if you have volunteers, you will have at least a few toxic volunteers – those individuals that “poison” the enthusiasm and efforts of your other volunteers and staff. They can turn a program sour overnight or so slowly your organization has a problem before you notice. 

Most organizations are familiar with staff management issues. Toxic volunteers, however, can present a different type of management challenge. A volunteer does not risk their career, salary, or benefits by their performance. Volunteer opportunities have a low barrier to entry, so volunteers may not stay if they are unhappy with their “co-volunteers” and you need to be less discriminating that you would be in hiring for a paid position.

Consider the list of “toxic types” below – do any of these sound familiar? By learning how to manage them, you can prevent them from “poisoning” your staff and volunteers.

Facing the Problem

Failure to manage a toxic volunteer can have consequences ranging from dissatisfaction to loosing key volunteers or staff. At some point you may decide that you must address the situation – either on an individual basis or organization-wide. Which actions you take depend upon the unique situation.

Consider the following steps:

• Solicit confidential information from those affected by the toxic volunteer. Discuss the problem and ask for ideas.
• Decide who will determine what action to take.
• Assemble the decision-makers and determine the course of action.  
• Take action.
• Monitor and review the concern to decide if additional actions are warranted for the individual or more generally for the organization.

The degree of action required is related to the degree of influence and toxicity. Analyzing and discussing the situation provides options and conveys to key volunteers and staff that the organization is concerned and is taking action. Consider these options:

Continue acceptance

If your largest donor or a person with critical and irreplaceable knowledge is the cause of the trouble, consider accepting the volunteer’s behavior. You should, however, still decide upon this course proactively. Dialog and support for the affected parties can mitigate the effects until other options become available.  If the situation looks dire, begin to take steps to replace or overlap the critical area covered by the individual.

Discuss the concern

Often individuals are unaware of the problems that they create for an organization. A discussion with the volunteer works well if there is a strong possibility that the volunteer has the capacity to change. Select one of your most tactful and/or esteemed individuals to address the concern. Ideally they would be someone not directly involved in the situation, but would be knowledgeable about how those actions affect the organization. Together they should map a plan for change and provide clear guidance on expectations and consequences. For instance, a “Loose Cannon’s” failure to follow procedures can backlash and affect an organization’s reputation. A candid discussion and written expectations can help prevent future problems.

Re-define responsibilities

Your organization may be able to redefine a volunteer’s responsibilities and eliminate the problem, but not the volunteer.  The “Pessimist” can be asked to help in a “devil’s advocate” role. The “Alienator” can be offered a buffer volunteer to aid in communication with other volunteers. While it is possible to avoid discussing the issue with the toxic volunteer, generally you will have more success with open communication.

Offer training

Training is a great option for both systemic issues and individual toxic volunteers. If several of your volunteers seem to be “Loose Cannon’s” group training on your communications policy might be an effective solution. The “Needy Helper” may be unsure about the appropriate roles and responsibilities for a position. Additional training and information about the position may easily eliminate the problem. Volunteers who participate in a training program should always be given the chance to self-determine that a position does not fit their capabilities.

Pair problems

Look for opportunities to pair two problems and mitigate their effects. If a “Needy Helper” who is always looking for direction is paired with the “Control Freak”, the former gets the direction he seeks and the latter can remain in control.

Dismiss the volunteer

If the toxic volunteer is acting illegally, you must dismiss the volunteer. If they cause your staff or volunteers to leave the organization, actively  contribute to a major loss of funding, or act unethically, you must seriously consider dismissing them. Even with lesser offenses, you may still need to dismiss a volunteer to keep your organization functional. The process is similar to how you fire an employee: document the concern, talk with the volunteer, set a course of action, document progress, and if necessary let the individual know that their participation is no longer desired.

Prevention

As in most cases, it is easier to prevent than repair damage. The development of a robust volunteer management program is one of the best ways to mitigate the effects of toxic volunteers.

Consider this checklist for a poison-resistant program:

• Job descriptions that include the knowledge, skills, and experience required;
• A method for matching people to projects;
• A method for evaluating effectiveness of key volunteers;
• A method for promoting volunteers;
• Appointing key positions (including board members) for a specified term;
• Training for volunteers that including expectations and policies;
• Clear and open channels for communication with volunteers; and
• Clear lines of authority.

Speak up early - let it be known that certain behaviors are not tolerated. Volunteers learn that problems are addressed proactively and if they are having a problem, your organization takes it seriously.