Employees Feel Like Volunteers or Slaves? 2 Changes to Make First to Create Engaged Volunteers

I bet every one of you has, at some point, been a volunteer (on a board or team). It is usually a huge challenge for a couple reasons. Often only 20-30% of the people do all the work. Most of the others either coast or don’t even bother to show up. If you are a leader of a team now, take a moment and ponder this idea. Imagine everyone in your organization was a volunteer. Would you treat them differently? Leaders who want volunteers must make two important changes. They must change their thinking about people and policy.

Treating employees as volunteers is the foundation for creating a predictably engaged workforce. By definition, volunteers do tasks because they want to. Slaves (disengaged employees) do things because they have to. Slaves (disengaged employees) are compliant. The word slave is emotionally charged. Let’s clarify. A slave, in this context, is a disengaged employee who must be under the control of another to perform their job because without that control they would not perform. Volunteers are committed emotionally and intellectually. Slaves are controlled by domineering forces either spoken or unspoken.

Which type of employee creates greater profitability, quality customer service, and innovative ideas, a volunteer or slave? Ask yourself, would you want all volunteers or all slaves?

It is a much bigger challenge to manage volunteers and it requires very different skills. Managing slaves is a challenge too but in different ways. Managers of slaves must put in controls and policies that create compliance. Managers of volunteers must spend their time helping employees understand the mission, vision, values, and strategy of the organization. They must also explain how the employee’s responsibilities fit into these and how they can contribute to the achievement of all of those items. Volunteers must also have their skills matched to the task they hope to perform. If the task is too difficult they will refuse it because it might embarrass them if they perform poorly. Conversely, if the task is too easy they get bored. The challenge of the task must match the skill of the volunteer or it won’t get done.

Managers of slaves must spend a good deal of time with attorneys to understand how to force accountability. Managers of volunteers must continuously manage trust. They must also continuously communicate with the volunteers to understand how the system is impacting their performance. The managers of volunteers must facilitate the removal of barriers to performance. Managers of slaves must create new rules when mistakes are found or when jobs remain incomplete.

Slaves must conform to policy. Volunteers must be treated as individuals with differences. Volunteers can self-manage. Slaves must be managed. Volunteers gain motivation from the tasks they perform and the progress they are making. Slaves work for wages or rewards and care less about the tasks they perform.

All these outcomes must begin after two very important changes in thinking. Two important changes must occur before leaders can begin to refine the culture of engagement. Leaders must think differently about people and differently about their policies.

Thinking differently about people

To create an environment of volunteers leaders and managers must begin to think about employees as unlimited human potential not as human resources. This potential, when released, can possibly add unlimited value to the organization. Resources can be used up. Potential can be tapped as an unlimited supply. It is for this very reason I have suggested, in previous blogs, the need for the Human Resources department to change its name to the Human Potential Department.

Thinking differently about policies

Two of the most popular employee management tools are the performance appraisal, in conjunction with management by objectives, and the pay-for-performance policies. These two policies are created for slaves not volunteers. Leaders must be willing to let go of these addictive policies. They are inconsistent with a culture of engaged volunteers.

Performance appraisals control behaviors with threats to either future promotional opportunities or future pay (if pay-for-performance is linked to the appraisal).

Here are some action steps for leaders. Decide which type of employee is desired, a volunteer or a slave. Decide to change your thinking and begin to build the new skills needed. This is scary for leaders because the leadership skills are so different and require discipline and effort to develop and to maintain those skills. Leaders have to think differently before they can behave differently.