I recently finished a research project looking at how volunteers and paid staff communicate with each other at nonprofit organizations. One part of that was measuring how satisfied volunteers were, and I considered four types of satisfaction—satisfaction with the way the organization supports me, satisfaction with my ability to make a difference, satisfaction with the way the organization empowers me to do the tasks I’m doing, and satisfaction with the relationships I have because of my volunteer work (Galindo-Kuhn & Guzley, 2001). Interestingly, volunteers in the study rated satisfaction with the organization’s support lower than the other three. That is, volunteers were least satisfied about the way the organization supports them, which included things like getting help or information when needed. This is a problem because satisfaction with organizational support was the only type of satisfaction linked with a number of positive communication variables, which means that other satisfaction may be important, but satisfaction with support is the only type of satisfaction that improves communication. Nonprofit workers—let volunteers know you appreciate them and provide the support they need in terms of information and assistance.
Reference:
Galindo-Kuhn, R., & Guzley, R. M. (2001). The volunteer satisfaction index: Construct definition, measurement, development, and validation. Journal of Social Service Research, 28, 45-68.
Filed under: Job Satisfaction | Tagged: Job Satisfaction, Nonprofit Organizations, nonprofits, Satisfaction with Organizational Support, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Satisfaction, Volunteers in Organizations
