Calculating the Rate of Volunteer Attrition

What is your turnover rate of volunteers? This effective practice from Nancy Macduff provides a five-step approach to calculating attrition rate and discusses the importance of exit interviews. Knowing your attrition rate can be helpful in generating a retention plan. More

How Do I Develop Creative Volunteer Roles?

As a rule, volunteer assignments are patterned along the job descriptions of paid staff. This is because volunteers are seen as helpers or assistants to employees. While there is nothing wrong with this frame of reference, it is also limiting. Why not try a more creative approach to designing ways volunteers can contribute? Keep in mind that volunteers can be flexible, particularly in their schedules. It is safe to assume that the individual or community needs your organization is addressing exist around the clock. So focus on these needs without defining the "solution" within the confines of a Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 parameter. More

How to Generate Conflict Between Paid Staff and Volunteers

Learn what not to do in this gently humorous look at the inevitable small frictions between volunteers and staff members. More

Supporting, Recognizing, and Challenging Volunteers

Supporting, recognizing, and challenging volunteers are all separate tasks, but together they provide a strong volunteer program with satisfied volunteers. This article will address these three issues separately, but keep in mind how they work together. Maintaining volunteers is one of the most difficult and integral parts of any volunteer program. More

Do As I Say: Quick Tips for Masterful Communication

This article lists several ways of using communications strategies in the workplace. Make sure you’re being heard. Consider language choices, follow through, uncertainty, active listening, and conflict management, as well as many other tips. More

Unleashing the Genius in Your Workforce

Stephanie Chick is a colleague and friend whose personal mission is to help corporate employees unleash their personal genius inside the workplace and beyond. While she has specialized in the area of African-American women, her thoughts apply to a wide range of employees. Recently, she had an insightful discussion with BusinessWeeks’s Marshall Goldsmith on why unleashing employee potential is critically important in today's challenging business environment. Why not tap into the creative side of your volunteers?More

A Checklist of Critical Merchandise Display Factors

A merchandise display can do much more for you than make things look pretty. Consider: great merchandising can sell more merchandise by encouraging customers to linger, moving customers through the store, enhancing the image of your store, and increasing your average transaction amount. More

Humor: From Smiles to Sales

“During tough times, your customers seek out products with a touch of whimsy or ones that are downright funny—gifts that lighten moods and deliver smiles. Across the board, both retailers and vendors are finding that humor does indeed sell. "People like to laugh and feel like children again. They love to be delighted," says Paolo Crevedi, managing director for wholesaler Alessi, in New York City. More