Our Partners
The Power of Team Reflection
How Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver Enhanced Their Volunteer Engagement Through Strategic Planning
Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver joined a reDirect SEE cohort in 2023 with the goal of bringing their entire team together to evaluate volunteer engagement processes. They were particularly interested in setting aside the time to learn about each person’s unique perspective and experience with the program. Using tools introduced during the cohort, they were able to design an action plan to review the different elements of volunteer engagement and break things down into smaller, more manageable steps.
Thinking with SEE
Overall, the SEE training helped provide clarity, context, and purpose for Habitat volunteers and staff who supervise volunteers. While none of the changes were extensive, they learned something important about each key element of volunteer engagement and saw success in the areas of Recruitment & Cultivation, Communication, Supervision & Support, and Appreciation & Recognition.
Small Experiment #1: The Annual VE Calendar
One tool that Habitat grappled with for years and struggled to find the time to put together was an annual Volunteer Engagement calendar. This resource helps nonprofits track all major events and communications related to volunteerism. According to Nicole StanekScott, the Director of Engagement at Habitat of Metro Denver, leaning into the different concepts embedded in the SEE framework helped them:
Develop a richer mental model of their organization's volunteer work
Stay organized enough to visualize the year “at a glance”
Ensure they were spreading out the responsibility of volunteer recruitment
Dedicate an appropriate amount of time to each of their different programs, and
Plan ahead to get clarity on the next year’s program budget, thus simplifying the process
“Joining the SEE cohort gave us an opportunity to prioritize [the calendar]. It hardly took any time to put together and has given us a holistic way to look at our volunteer engagement efforts throughout the year,” StanekScott said.
Small Experiment #2: The SEE Conversation Starter
Habitat for Humanity also wanted to foster a more supportive culture for their AmeriCorps members and supervisors. They used a tool from the cohort called the Volunteer Support Conversation Starter, which allows each person to reflect on their preferences in the work environment. The tool’s questions prompt thoughtful communication between team members and helps develop shared mental models of the work that members find meaningful. Importantly, it also prompts supervisors to examine how they might shift such environments to support meaningful work. Some of these questions include:
How do you know when your opinion is heard & respected?
How do you like to have your talents and contributions recognized?
What can others do to help you when you feel overwhelmed in your work?
Using this tool “empowered members to feel capable going into their mid-year evaluations...to advocate for themselves,” StanekScott said. In turn, the supervisors found the information useful to better support each member's needs.
Small Experiment #3: Volunteer of the Month
Finally, the Habitat team is always looking for new ways to show appreciation for the ~15,000 volunteers who support their programs each year, including their 200+ Core Volunteers. They had already been sending monthly newsletters to advertise volunteer opportunities and recruit help, so they added a “Volunteer of the Month” section to publicly thank them for their service. They also shared such features on their social media channels to strike a balance between asking for additional help and recognizing their existing volunteers. It’s proven to be a great way to show volunteers “the impact they are having through meaningful action,” and the volunteers seem to appreciate the recognition, too!
Reflections from reDirect
By setting aside dedicated time to evaluate their programs as a team, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver was able to plan improvements, perhaps in less time than they anticipated. Thinking with a SEE mindset helped them step into the shoes of their volunteers and staff in order to:
Build a deeper understanding of their roles and the broader volunteer landscape at their organization
Outwardly recognize that the volunteers’ engagement with Habitat had meaningful impact, and
Support greater bandwidth and capacity for personnel by discussing what “overwhelm” looks like in their work environments, and how to deal with it
Importance & Urgency
In many nonprofit organizations, the work is unending, and the needs continually outweigh the available resources. In this kind of environment, it’s easy to get into a tailspin chasing after the urgent tasks and delaying the important ones. But, since the work will always be there, sometimes the best thing we can do is hit pause and check in with ourselves and our teams. In other words, with our hands busy overseeing and running our important programs (urgent), it’s easy to put off evaluating how they are going (important).
We need to take time away from the busyness of program demands and interruptions and create environments where we can think clearly. And, as Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver recognized, it’s not only important to take the time to evaluate your programs, but to do it by engaging a team of decision-makers.
Join A SEE Cohort
If this story sounds similar to challenges that your organization might be facing, consider applying for one of our cohorts and tackle them head-on with the guidance of one of our SEE Coaches. We have cohorts located in East-Central Iowa, the greater St. Louis region, Colorado, and Wisconsin.
To learn more, contact ambassadors@redirect.org. Or, if you’re interested in hearing more about our approach, reach out to hello@redirect.org.