[Guide] Dealing with Difficult Volunteers

Difficult volunteers – every nonprofit has them.

Whether you’re dealing with a troublemaker, an unreliable difficult volunteers, or a problem board member – it’s never easy to confront someone who is donating his or her time to your organization.

While every situation is unique, there are a few guiding principles to keep in mind. Read this guide for tips on dealing with difficult volunteers, “disciplining” board members, and more.

Have a resource you’d like to add to the list? Tweet your ideas and helpful links to @VolunteerHub. We’ll retweet the article and mention your organization on Twitter.

5 Healthy Ways to Handle Difficult Volunteers

When a volunteer is causing problems, the worst course of action is to ignore the situation altogether. This only leads to bigger issues down the road. As this article points out, the best way to handle conflict is “upfront and directly.” Keep these five tips in mind the next time you’re faced with a difficult volunteer. http://careynieuwhof.com/2013/11/5-healthy-ways-to-handle-a-difficult-volunteer/

How to Handle a Difficult Volunteer Leader

Have an overly negative board member? A troublemaker? Or, how about one who has failed to show up for the last couple meetings? In these circumstances, knowing how to “discipline” the problem volunteer can be quite difficult. This article, from The Center for Association Leadership’s website, highlights some great pointers nonprofit executives can use to step in and nip issues like these in the bud. http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=51780

Eight Myths About Difficult Volunteers

True or False: Confronting problematic volunteers only makes things worse? If you answered “true,” it’s time you checked out this list of myths regarding difficult volunteers. Misconceptions like these can be detrimental to the success of your volunteer program. http://www.energizeinc.com/art/anewc.html

When Helping Hands Hurt your Cause

Do you know your options when it comes to dealing with bad volunteers? Here are five action-oriented steps that you can take to ensure your nonprofit confronts this issue. http://www.volunteerhub.com/blog/when-helping-hands-hurt-your-cause/

The Break-Up: How to Say No to Volunteers

No volunteer-based organization likes the idea of turning volunteers away. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s necessary. Here are three tips from Nonprofit Hub that can make saying “no” to volunteers a little easier. http://www.nonprofithub.org/featured/break-say-volunteers/

Strategies for Dealing with Unreliable Volunteers

From last-minute volunteer cancellations to the infamous “no-show” – dealing with unreliable volunteers can be a challenge. Here are a few ways nonprofits can build a more dedicated and productive volunteer corps. http://www.volunteerhub.com/blog/strategies-for-dealing-with-unreliable-volunteers/

How to Fire a Volunteer and Live to Tell About It

Can you fire a volunteer? Yes. In his article on the CASA website, Steve McCurley provides a detailed plan nonprofits can follow when it comes time to part ways with problem volunteers. http://www.casaforchildren.org

Difficult Volunteer Behaviors – What’s Behind It and How Do You Deal With It?

Before hauling off and firing a volunteer, it’s typically a good idea to take a step back and try and get to the root of the problem. It could be that the volunteer simply doesn’t understand his/her role…a problem that can easily be fixed. Check out this article on the Volunteer Maine blog, which highlights four main reasons a volunteer may exhibit challenging behavior. http://volunteermaine.org/blog/difficult-volunteer-behaviors-what%E2%80%99s-behind-it-and-how-do-you-deal-with-it

A Few Pointers On the Unpleasant Topic of Firing Volunteers

When it comes time to dismiss a volunteer, here are a few important guidelines you should follow. http://www.serviceleader.org/leaders/firing

When It’s Time to Fire a Volunteer

In this article, Wes Hartley explains a few steps your organization can take that may help you avoid taking such drastic action. http://www.sundaymag.tv/how-to-fire-a-volunteer/

Bookmark this page and check back often! As we come across new articles and resources relating to this topic, we will add them to the list.