Dealing with difficult volunteers can be one of the greatest challenges of effective volunteer management and there are a number of techniques you can use to try and resolve the situation.  Firstly you must clearly identify what the problem is.  Then you can attempt to resolve the situation using one of the methods suggested below.

DO NOTHING

After you have identified the problem you may realise that you do not need to do anything as it may resolve itself.  For example if a volunteer is with you for a limited amount of time it may not be necessary to do anything.  However if there is no solution in sight you should act straight away – refusing to deal with a problem that needs action will only make the situation worse.

CHECK YOUR PERCEPTION

Is the problem actually a reflection of how you feel someone should behave or a reflection of your attitudes?  Before tackling a problem head on, assess the situation as rationally as you can and perhaps talk it through with a colleague.  Stepping back and gaining some additional perspective may help you find the best approach possible for dealing with the situation.

PERSUADE THE VOLUNTEER TO CHANGE

It may be that the volunteer is not aware of their behaviour or that their behaviour actually reflects a need for them to be coached.  If you decide that this is the best option encourage the volunteer to identify the problem and solution themselves.  Often pointing out a problem or difficulty is enough to resolve a situation.

MODIFY THE SITUATION

If, after working with the volunteer to change, the situation has still not improved you must try to modify the situation.  This could include a number of options.  Firstly revisit the volunteer’s motivations for working with you.  Perhaps the role they are involved with is not fulfilling their needs and they would like to be reassigned to a different position.  Perhaps they are struggling with the role and do not feel confident enough to raise any issues with you – they may need retraining or to work different hours.  They may be finding the role too demanding or not demanding enough.

Hopefully through discussion and negotiation with the volunteer you will be able to resolve and modify the situation to the satisfaction of everyone concerned. 

DEALING WITH POOR PERFORMANCE

The key to dealing with poor performance is to encourage the individuals involved to identify the problems and find the solution.  Questions that can be used to do this include

What went well?

What problems did you encounter?

Why did they arise?

What can we do to stop this occurring tin the future?

Ensure that wherever possible you give positive feedback on the work of the volunteer whilst concentrating their attention onto the problem.  Make sure that you concentrate on specific issues and not on the personality traits of the volunteer – damaging your volunteers’ self esteem will not improve the situation.  As performance begins to improve ensure that you give praise and recognition on an on-going basis and continue to address any areas of concern. 

If performance continues to be a problem you may need to take further action by following your club grievance procedure.  The final stage of this procedure does allow for the volunteer to be "fired".  However, this is a last resort and careful management will hopefully avoid the need for this action to be taken.