00:31:45 Sarah @ Billhighway: Please join us for CEX >> https://leveragechapters.com/ 00:32:01 Sarah @ Billhighway: May 7th in Chicago and May 10th in DC (or virtual) 00:32:13 chris goyette: Signed up and can't wait! 00:32:29 Sarah @ Billhighway: Yay, Chris! So excited to see you in person :-) 00:32:49 Sarah @ Billhighway: Here's the Benchmarking Report you can check out >> https://www.billhighway.co/2022-chapter-performance-benchmarking-report/ 00:34:01 A. DeeJay Hastings: Good afternoon everyone 00:34:19 Sarah at Billhighway: What are some of the things you're already doing? 00:34:43 Sarah at Billhighway: Scroll down on the poll for more options 00:35:38 Claire Alston: trying to be preventative -- telling people to take breaks or limit number of committees before they get tapped out 00:35:40 A. DeeJay Hastings: We use the “bite size” approach. 00:35:58 Sarah at Billhighway: Love Beth Z! 00:36:01 Leisl Moriarty: Well, we introduced services but not tech specifically. 00:36:12 Claire Alston: I WANT to introduce tech, treat like VIPs, and do more recognition, and all those cost money :( 00:36:57 Wesley Carr: All of the above 00:37:12 Sarah at Billhighway: Yes, Claire...does anyone have ideas on how to do this with less money? 00:37:31 A. DeeJay Hastings: Volunteering roles with “Quick turn-around” 00:37:41 Claire Alston: Members do love a badge ribbon and those are inexpensive 00:37:48 Frances Atkinson: Term lengths too long 00:37:50 Carla Stec: Another factor that leads to burnout is committing to too many projects 00:38:19 Lina Forero: I think it's less recycled leadership...but them having to be recycled because others don't want to step up, or they don't step up *well* 00:38:20 Maggie Helmus: For recognition - we do items during National Volunteer Week such as a video thanking volunteers from staff and ideas how they can also thank their volunteers. All of which is free 00:38:22 Monica Rynders: admittedly, it's hard to tell when the leadership is recycled because they can't find anyone or because they don't WANT to find new people 00:38:26 Robin Iten Porter: One challenge is opening up opportunities to newer members of the field ... our eligibility often screens them out. That is a culture and generational issue. 00:38:29 Bruce Hammond: Lack of clarity in volunteer roles is a huge piece for us that I'm working on in my new roles. 00:39:13 Michele Champion, CAE: Recognizing our volunteers in our magazine with a "Chapter Spotlight" 00:39:49 Tina DeNeen: Is there a number higher than 10? 😁 00:39:50 Monica Rynders: We send out an email during National Volunteer Week/Global volunteer month, and then also on International Volunteer Day. we started doing it a few years ago - before I took it on, we never did anything for volunteer recognition and expected local chapters to recognize each other 00:39:57 Lina Forero: im low-- but i'm also new to the association profession (and I came from being a social worker in Domestic violence) 00:40:00 Frances Atkinson: It's exhausting to spend so much energy to make volunteering easier, but you don't see the results 00:40:02 Leisl Moriarty: Firefighting while building a ship is exhausting. 00:40:03 Barbette Barlow: Ive only been in this role for 1 year so not burnt out....yet. But my previous job was a big burnout. 00:40:04 Claire Alston: My burnout and my chapter directors' burnout is for sure a factor here. I think it really impedes the creativity and time for pilot projects that would be less burdensome for volunteers 00:40:05 Monica Rynders: we also do linkedin posts 00:40:49 Claire Alston: I'm trying to get my leaders (who signed up for a 3-year term) to embrace "adhocracy" 00:40:56 Sarah at Billhighway: Remember: all of us feel some level of burnout 00:41:08 A. DeeJay Hastings: In some cases, you’ll need to see a pattern, say 3 cycles, to see if someone drops out. One cycle of nonresponsiveness is inadequate to assess burn out 00:41:18 Brynn Huneke: We are looking at Tradewing for a new member engagement platform. It is way more affordable than any of the other options we've looked at. Doesn't have as many of the bells and whistles, but that's good for our members who get overwhelmed with new tech. 00:41:25 Claire Alston: I FOR SURE hear about burnout, but we haven't gotten to the solutions bit 00:42:07 Sarah Sears: We see a lot of burnout (medical field), but our members tell us they are also tired of talking about it 00:42:30 Monica Rynders: we did a volunteer survey last year and we had a lot comments about volunteers feeling burned out bc their fellow leaders weren't doing the work, and they dont know how to hold them accountable. i dont know yet either 00:42:54 Lina Forero: talk openly with members. I think first personally with key volunteers and then to a larger group (slowly increasing in size) 00:43:01 Lori Rasor: Many of our units are consolidating chapters to avoid burnout, # of leaders needed to fill positions, and simplify finances. 00:43:25 Claire Alston: We're setting some expectations for committee involvement... you have to attend x meetings in a year or we will kick you off 00:44:20 Claire Alston: I'm also in Sarah Sears's boat -- my members' industry is burning them out already 00:44:28 Claire Alston: (medical) 00:45:05 Frances Atkinson: Claire the same thing is happening with my members. Public health 00:45:33 Frances Atkinson: Difficult work/life balance after COVID 00:45:41 Erin OSullivan: @Lori - I would love to hear more on how you are consolidating your chapters. Are they moving to virtual events? 00:46:27 Claire Alston: Anybody in the medical space dealing with this feel free to add me on linkedin, and I'd love to know about any existing opportunities for us to share ideas and resources - https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-alston-a1800b297/ 00:47:20 Alicia Deadrick: Our industry boomed during COVID - so people were stressed to meet the increased demands. And now with the AI boom (& other factors), there's a decrease (budget cuts, layoffs) - their time feels critical and they are very overwhelmed 00:47:51 Bruce Hammond: Lack of clarity I think often leads to lack of purpose... 00:48:10 Sarah at Billhighway: Yes, Bruce! 00:48:23 A. DeeJay Hastings: QUESTION: A system that gives volunteers lots of work WITHOUT any recognition or rewards and that wouldn’t motivate people to do the work. Is that a burnout by not being motivated? 00:48:49 Lina Forero: agreed @bruce 00:48:49 Monica Rynders: Inadequate support can also come from other volunteers - I was on a regional meeting with several chapter leaders. One leader was talking about how they were struggling to get new volunteers. The Region leader's response? "If you pray, people will come" 00:49:02 Monica Rynders: that's not the response the chapter leader was looking for 00:49:16 Sarah at Billhighway: DeeJay asked a question... QUESTION: A system that gives volunteers lots of work WITHOUT any recognition or rewards and that wouldn’t motivate people to do the work. Is that a burnout by not being motivated? 00:49:21 Lori Rasor: @Erin Our structure includes 30 state societies; 16 divisions, and over 150 chapters. Many of those chapters were formed many, many years ago and may not still make sense from where our industry (natural resources) is located. Many of our chapters are being rolled up into the state society level as a way to manage volunteers and simplify structure. Our folks really like face-to-face interaction, so we're seeing a mix of virtual and in person events. 00:50:32 Claire Alston: I heard the term "social cost" applied to volunteering in a recent webinar and it clicked for me that outreach is interpreted that way by my membership committee, and I need to encourage them to view it in a pro-social light 00:50:39 Erin OSullivan: Thanks so much for sharing @Lori! 00:51:53 Frances Atkinson: One of our biggest challenges is recognizing generational bias. We have brought in DEIB experts to train our leaders. 00:52:25 Frances Atkinson: Our students don't feel heard and our seasoned members feel pushed out 00:52:40 Sarah Sears: We have many more volunteers for national committees than we can possibly place, but when we refer them to the Chapter opportunities, the general attitude is that it's not as prestigious. We're having to make a real effort to convey that volunteering at the Chapter level is a precursor to national volunteering. 00:54:13 Brynn Huneke: @Peggy - what was the name of the individual you just mentioned who works with members on dealing with stress? 00:54:19 Sarah at Billhighway: Nabil 00:54:32 Brynn Huneke: Thank you! 00:54:34 Sarah at Billhighway: I'll find his LinkedIn profile 00:54:36 Michele Champion, CAE: Nabil El-Ghoroury 00:54:38 Barbette Barlow: We are a tech alliance. Many of our officers and high-contributing members are on other tech standards Boards. They can't balance all of it, but have to participate in all these groups for their position. 00:54:49 Sarah at Billhighway: Thanks, Michele! 00:55:24 Shelley Wales: Here's Nabil's website: https://executivetherapy.solutions/ 00:55:36 Sarah at Billhighway: And here's his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnabilelghoroury/ 00:55:41 Sarah at Billhighway: Thank you, Shelley! 00:56:12 Barbette Barlow: That's exactly what we said to one of our leaders! Trying to find a vice chair if possible, otherwise we will need to hite someone part time to assist. 00:57:06 Kari Zick: We have some presidents who have been president for over 5-7 years. They can't find anyone to take over. 00:57:30 Sarah at Billhighway: Creativity is Negativity's enemy 00:57:44 Barbette Barlow: Yes, @Kari Zick, People don't want to volunteer for fear they are 'stuck' in the role for ever. 00:59:43 A. DeeJay Hastings: Perhaps, the lack of flexibility on the part of staff can contribute to people avoiding volunteering 00:59:49 Barbette Barlow: I'm going to have to drop off unfortunately. Will you send the recording? 01:00:02 Leisl Moriarty: I work for counselors. I counsel chapter leaders every day despite not being certified to do so. 01:00:07 Sarah at Billhighway: Check these blog posts out >> https://blogs.volunteermatch.org/how-to-recognize-and-avoid-volunteer-burnout https://www.fishandwildlife.org/blog/burnout-fighting-the-1-enemy-of-volunteer-time 01:00:37 Shelley Wales: Thank you for these articles! 01:00:38 Sarah at Billhighway: Yes, Barbette! We're recording this session and will share afterwards :-) 01:01:14 Bruce Hammond: Peggy's point about refocusing on what drew someone to volunteering originally is a really good idea I'm going to take away. 01:01:33 Leisl Moriarty: It's been significant to build trust. Or in my case, rebuild it. 01:01:58 Sarah at Billhighway: That was a good point, Bruce....asking "why" did you initially volunteer? Is that still true? If not, is there a new "why"? 01:02:34 Monica Rynders: i forgot who originally said it but there's a phrase that "some balls are glass, some are plastic" - I recently had to coach a volunteer and explained this to her because she was feeling very overwhelmed by learning everything 01:02:50 Kai Wright: AI ? 01:04:14 Sarah at Billhighway: July 10th - Staff Liaison Training - Peggy will share details 01:06:32 Lori Rasor: We are finding our young professionals are more interested in micro volunteer opportunities or being part of a "group" rather than a committee that has specific requirements and obligations. 01:07:16 Sarah at Billhighway: If you're looking to reduce the volunteer workload, you can see how other associations are doing it >> https://www.billhighway.co/category/case-study/ 01:07:56 Sarah at Billhighway: That sounds cool, Peggy! 01:08:15 Sarah at Billhighway: Have to make it more fun to do the job! 01:08:48 Sarah at Billhighway: Here's Beth Z's webinar on ChatGPT in case you want to look into using AI for your chapters >> https://www.billhighway.co/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chatgpt-the-hottest-and-scariest-technology-of-2023/ 01:08:51 Claire Alston: My chapters definitely need microvolunteering ideas 01:09:30 Sarah at Billhighway: Do you do role specific training? Put your name in chat so we can reach out. 01:09:38 Carla Stec: We do role-specific training 01:09:47 Colleen McMahon: We do role specific onboarding training for our Membership, Finance, and Education leaders. 01:10:01 Tina DeNeen: We do. We have an on-boarding video "course" and we maintain a procedures manual. 01:10:05 A. DeeJay Hastings: Yes. I just held a track chair training yesterday. 01:10:06 Kari Zick: We do role specific training (president, secretary, treasurer, membership chairs etc. 01:10:06 Mary Ressler: Help at event registration, take pictures at events, welcome new members, write an article 01:10:07 Teresa Henderson: We do financial training for treasurers. 01:10:10 Monica Rynders: We don't at the moment because it needs to be updated - when I started at the company, the role specific training that existed was outdated and that was 5 years ago 01:10:22 Frances Atkinson: We do role training (Chair-Elect, Section Councilors, etc.) Also, just revised leadership guidelines with very specific information on each positions. 01:10:36 A. DeeJay Hastings: We also do new board member on-boarding call. 01:10:48 Crystal Edwards: We offer role-specific training, but only for some roles. Would love to connect with others that offer role-specific training. 01:10:59 Lori Rasor: @Teresa, interested in treasurer training, we are considering a training. 01:11:49 Wesley Carr: We're in the process of rolling out monthly "Leaderships Labs" One-hour, virtual gathering that focus on a new topic each month. Financial management, mbr recruitment/retention, program planning etc. The idea is we'll have at least one session for each of the Exec Comm positions. We'll see how it goes. 01:12:19 Sarah at Billhighway: That sounds awesome, Wes! You'll have to update us on how it goes ☺️ 01:12:28 Frances Atkinson: Even months, we have leadership meeting on best practices (DEIA, leadership engagement, etc.) Odd months staff does trainings (budgets, communication, etc.) 01:13:04 Sarah at Billhighway: Love that you have a theme and alternate, Frances! 🙌 01:13:35 A. DeeJay Hastings: On all of our volunteer training, we include the following components: overview of roles and responsibilities, alignment to strategic directions/plan, timeline that includes check-in calls, support system, rewards (if any), technology requirements, and feedback/input for improvements. 01:13:52 Lina Forero: we do a volunteers day for volunteers at our big conference of the year to allow for volunteers to connect, be celebrated, share their why, etc 01:13:52 Colleen McMahon: Wesley, we are doing something similar. Our monthly leader calls were reworked this year to be focused on a specific topic. In the past the same 5-10 people were promoting their same events. This month we did a preview of our new website, next month using Excel with your membership reports, etc. 01:14:06 Sarah at Billhighway: National Volunteer Week is coming up! Paint the story, tell the story...how has X chapter made an impact? 01:14:26 Sarah at Billhighway: https://www.pointsoflight.org/national-volunteer-week/ 01:14:56 Sarah at Billhighway: Do you offer any kind of peer-to-peer, mentoring, slack, etc. to connect the people? 01:15:04 Shelley Wales: Yes, online community in Higher Logic. But activity is slow these days. 01:15:06 Susan Kohn: we have an online community for district officers 01:15:07 Kari Zick: We are working on a peer to peer program. 01:15:08 Frances Atkinson: We are organizing a "Meet and Greet/Happy Hour" for volunteers. They only connect with one another at the in-person meeting. Surveys stated that they really wanted to connect throughout the year. (we have 1200 volunteers to 85 staff) 01:15:14 Lina Forero: they have a group for volunteers on our platofmr 01:15:15 Monica Rynders: we have an online community for them but staff still has to support networking bc they're primarily lurkers 01:15:16 Tina DeNeen: Higher Logic 01:15:29 Colleen McMahon: Wesley, we are doing something similar. Our monthly leader calls were reworked this year to be focused on a specific topic. In the past the same 5-10 people were promoting their same events. This month we did a preview of our new website, next month using Excel with your membership reports, etc. 01:15:35 Monica Rynders: i would like quarterly peer group calls 01:15:40 Claire Alston: periodic meetings with networking for chapter leaders only 01:15:50 Sarah at Billhighway: Do you have a group/community that is rocking? 01:15:52 Michele Champion, CAE: We have seasoned leaders mentor incoming leaders . 01:15:54 Leisl Moriarty: If I'm on a call and have a specific need, I reference those others who could be helpful to them. And then following I provide a direct introduction outlining the connection and knowledge sharing. 01:15:56 Monica Rynders: HigherLogic says our engagement stats are high, but it's still such a struggle 01:16:17 Sarah at Billhighway: If you have any examples, we'd love to see them! 01:16:24 Meredith Nethercutt: Would love examples of structured mentoring programs - we are looking to start one! 01:16:26 Wesley Carr: That's awesome @Colleen... We're doing our first one next month. I hope we have a good turnout. 01:16:32 Monica Rynders: some people use the community to complain, and the negativity keeps other people away 01:16:37 Kari Zick: Wold love to see mentoring programs 01:16:40 Frances Atkinson: Some of our Sections have interested members shadow them at the Annual Meeting 01:16:59 Carla Stec: We have online communities and leader mentor opportunities. Mentor opportunities are very popular. The online communities are going to take more time to get increased use. 01:17:11 Monica Rynders: we are using higherlogic thrive to roll out several new features this year to our community platform: volunteer profiles/sign ups, subject matter directory, mentor/mentee matching 01:17:37 Monica Rynders: if anyone is attending superforum in April, come find me :) I'm presenting 01:17:46 Sarah at Billhighway: Back in the day, we did a post on how NAIOP launched a Chapter Mentoring program >> https://www.billhighway.co/how-naiop-launched-a-chapter-mentoring-program-to-engage-members/ 01:18:07 Kari Zick: Monica, What is the Superforum in April 01:18:19 Monica Rynders: HigherLogic's conference, it's April 10-12th 01:18:28 Monica Rynders: it's in Maryland 01:18:29 Kari Zick: Got it 01:18:38 Sarah at Billhighway: Here's the agenda >> https://superforum.higherlogic.com/agenda/ 01:19:00 Colleen McMahon: We have a spot in our weekly member email that is almost always highlighting a volunteer or a State event. 01:19:11 Sarah at Billhighway: Put it on the calendar, National Volunteer Week is APRIL 21-27, 2024 01:19:16 Sarah at Billhighway: https://www.pointsoflight.org/national-volunteer-week/ 01:19:42 Monica Rynders: does anyone ever have issues where some volunteers are upset someone got highlighted but they didn't? 01:20:21 Frances Atkinson: Monica, that has happened to me in the past. Now, I'm very specific on the roles that are being recognized 01:20:34 Colleen McMahon: We sent all our State Leaders, RVPs, and BOD members succulents last year. Bought them on Etsy and customized a Thank You. They LOVED them. And posted it on social media. 01:20:39 Monica Rynders: this year our theme is global community - so we're specifically going to highlight our volunteers outside of the US 01:21:07 Colleen McMahon: This year for Volunteer Week we are doing these little boxes that have some chocolate and something else with a note of thanks. 01:21:13 Leisl Moriarty: We created the Pinnacle Award last year, recognizing state/territory associations for innovative projects that benefit the association, profession or membership. 01:21:17 Alicia Deadrick: We do a big round up of all volunteers on Dec 5 (international volunteer day) in a social video & send them each a letter thanking them for their service/engagement 01:21:25 Wesley Carr: Special SWAG for chapter leaders, asking them to lead a training session for other volunteer leaders 01:21:50 Danelkis Serra: Love the steals! 01:22:18 Leisl Moriarty: Details on Pinnacle can be found here: https://schoolcounselor.org/Affiliate-Exchange/All-Things-ASCA/Promotions/pinnacle 01:22:20 Monica Rynders: we have about 2,000 volunteers. I would love to do swag but I don't know if we'll have the budget without planning for it years in advance 01:22:21 Frances Atkinson: We also provide wearable swag that has "APHA Leader" at our annual meeting, plus ribbons 01:22:23 Colleen McMahon: Special SWAG is a great idea. We did something special for current leaders and had other people trying to buy it from us. 01:23:01 Sarah at Billhighway: Additional ideas for NVW to celebrate volunteers >> https://www.billhighway.co/idea-swap-ways-to-celebrate-appreciate-volunteers/ Here's the blog with more ideas on preventing burnout >> https://www.billhighway.co/managing-and-preventing-chapter-volunteer-burnout/ 01:23:56 Alicia Deadrick: The video in Canva (it would take too long to dig through LinkedIn :D): https://www.canva.com/design/DAFSuHxmWz4/NOepmT3YvSzQaCf5Prea5Q/edit?utm_content=DAFSuHxmWz4&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton 01:24:12 Frances Atkinson: I had inexpensive frames made naming the committee and year, then had a picture taken of them 01:24:18 Monica Rynders: i also try to be careful about setting a precedent - if we do a lot one year but don't have the bandwidth the next year, we have to manage expectations 01:24:27 Monica Rynders: @frances, that's great! 01:24:28 Becky Folger: Swag - 01:24:30 Colleen McMahon: @Monica We printed a bunch of stickers with logos and hashtags. Those were inexpensive and popular. 01:24:34 Frances Atkinson: Exactly 01:24:52 Becky Folger: For swag - we made special conference lanyards for chapter leaders 01:25:01 Alicia Deadrick: We are international, so shipping is tricky, but volunteers often get discounts on training programs and/or annual conference as a thank you 01:25:26 Leisl Moriarty: We're doing a FIRE sale of all of our end of inventory items at their leadership training this summer. 01:25:32 Monica Rynders: we do that! okay good, we do something good :) 01:26:24 Wesley Carr: Yeah, they loved it... and our Educ team liked having more eyes on the system 01:26:58 Sarah at Billhighway: Join us next month to talk about Membership with Elizabeth Engel >> https://www.billhighway.co/event/membership-mastery-building-a-strong-national-chapter-partnership/ And don't forget to join us in May at CEX 2024! >> https://leveragechapters.com/ 01:27:00 Monica Rynders: this is what we did on linked in last year - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/asq_april-is-global-volunteer-month-and-this-activity-7053826961168592897-iJMB/?trk=public_profile_like_view 01:27:21 Monica Rynders: we highlighted the different generations that volunteer with us, and then did a separate nextgen post 01:27:22 Leisl Moriarty: My inbox just brought joy with official approval to attend CEX. 🥳 01:27:52 Sarah at Billhighway: Thank you for sharing all the examples today! Love all the "steals" ideas 01:28:11 Sarah at Billhighway: Yay, Leisl! Can't wait to see you there 🎊 01:28:17 Carla Stec: Thank you for a great presentation and lots of fantastic ideas! 01:28:17 Monica Rynders: our volunteers get 30% off conference/events registration 01:28:18 Shelley Wales: Thank you all. I needed this today. 🤪 01:28:19 Wesley Carr: Thanks Peggy and Sarah... As always, this was an awesome session! 01:28:24 Michele Champion, CAE: Great session, thank you, Peggy! 01:28:31 Sarah at Billhighway: Billhighway Success stories >> https://www.billhighway.co/category/case-study/ 01:28:32 Lina Forero: the deep dive in dc (in person correct?) link for that please? 01:28:32 Erin OSullivan: Thank you! 01:28:33 Meredith Nethercutt: Wonderful program - thanks all! 01:28:34 Maggie Helmus: Thank you!! This was so great - taking away a lot of ideas 01:28:34 Brynn Huneke: Thanks Peggy! Fantastic session. 01:28:41 Kari Zick: Thank you!!!! 01:28:43 Martha Huckaby: Thank you!!! 01:28:43 Frances Atkinson: This was awesome! Thanks so much Peggy and Sarah. 01:28:44 Teresa Henderson: Thank you 01:28:46 Becky Folger: Thank you!