Self-Directed Teams: A Case Study (Part 2)

In our last post, we heard about the abundant opportunities that self-directed teams of older adult volunteers can present. Now, we hear how the Madison (WI) Senior Center has successfully implemented these teams — and how you can, too.

Center Director Christine Beatty shared her approach in the National Council on Aging (NCOA) Webinar Self-Directed Teams: A Strategy for Significant Service.

Madison proved to be a good area to test this kind of program, as 41% of its workers are in professional and technical management, and 56% over 25 years of age have associate, bachelors, professional, or graduate degrees.

First Steps

The center’s first step was to create a more-sophisticated volunteer program. They used matching software to find roles for volunteers that matched the volunteers’ interests. In the past, they had done a cursory job of understanding volunteers’ backgrounds and abilities, so they started over, re-enrolling all volunteers.

For project consultants, they explored the use of stipends and provided professional-level responsibilities. They also created team consultants to develop self-directed teams that would benefit the senior center.

Teams and Projects

Next, the center set up several self-directed teams, which responded by producing a wealth of projects:

— The Public Relations Team determined a need for an internal welcome committee, advised on the center’s physical space and image, created new PowerPoint presentation and DVD promotional piece, formed a speakers bureau and began a project to encourage older adults to complete their Census forms.

— The Volunteer Recognition Team identified new recognition opportunities for different cohorts, replaced the center’s traditional luncheon with multiple, discounted events and took on leadership roles with those events.

– The Program Development Team interviewed multiple agencies regarding senior adult needs for programming and activities in the city of Madison, and it is preparing recommendations for policy making groups and the Madison Senior Center Board.

— The LGBT Senior Alliance Team has done outreach to other agencies and creates social activities for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered senior adults.

Characteristics of Good Teams

What makes a good team? Beatty said these elements are important:

— A clear, elevating group goal, or charge.
— Teamwork values and relationship development.
— A results-driven structure — the center was clear about the results it needed and wanted.
— Competent team members. The center always used the term “candidate” when volunteering; it did not promise anyone they could be on the team. Instead, it carefully assessed people’s skills and experience levels.
— Unified commitment from all team members — the center asked its team members to commit.
— Standards of excellence — because if major political decision-making bodies were going to use a report, for example, it must be a quality report.
— Organizational support — including a volunteer coordinator and executive director.
— Interdependence and shared work.
— Collaborative goals and decision-making.
— Self-monitoring of the team’s processes.

How to Develop a Team

To develop a strong team, share your organization’s vision and mission, and provide training and skills for collaboration. Provide a supportive organizational culture, and frame collaborative rather than individual goals.

Both patience and time are needed. Beatty recommends spending the time upfront to give volunteers the training and agency background they need to do a good job. In their case, a city staff person helped with training and team development. Check to see if local resources are available in your area, too.

Work to develop team trust and relationships. Delegate with authority to accomplish great things. Support change and innovations. Don’t be defensive; realize that fresh new eyes are looking at issues and contributing positively.

And start reaping the benefits of self-directed teams — to the volunteer, the community, and your organization! What experiences have you had? Please share your thoughts below!

Self-Directed Teams: The Basics (Part 1)

One way that organizations are making use of the rich resource of professional-level older adult volunteers is through self-directed teams.

As you learn about how organizations are tapping the rich resource of professional-level older adult volunteers, you’ve likely heard about self-directed teams. But what are they, exactly? And how can they work for you?

In a recent National Council on Aging (NCOA) Webinar, Self-Directed Teams: A Strategy for Significant Service, Christine Beatty answered these questions. Beatty is director of the Madison (WI) Senior Center, past chairperson of the National Institute of Senior Centers, and an NCOA member.

In this first of a two-part series, we share her thoughts on the basics and benefits of self-directed teams. She began with this definition:

What Are Self-Directed Teams?

“Self-directed teams are intended to conduct their own goal setting, decisionmaking, plan strategy and implementation, monitoring of task and group process effectiveness, conflict management, negotiation of resources, and reward/recognition process.” (Manz & Sims, 1987; Spreitzer, Cohen & Ledford, 1999)

In other words, self-directed teams call the shots. But they aren’t new; they’ve been used in Sweden and Great Britain since the 1950s. In the United States, the concept advanced significantly in the 1980s when Asia began capturing the market for steel, electronics, and automobiles from U.S. corporations.

Self-directed teams also were part of the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement. These teams empower employees to make decisions that affect their own work. As a result, they bring their minds to work — they make decisions and take responsibility.

Benefits

This concept causes us to think of moving away from the normal way we do work — and away from bureaucratic hassles, Beatty said. It also improves recruiting and retention, increases productivity and reduces operating costs. Here are some examples she shared from the corporate world:

— AT&T increased the quality of operator service by 12%.
— Federal Express cut service errors by 13%.
— Johnson & Johnson reported inventory reductions of $6 million.
— Shenandoah Life Insurance cut staffing needs, saving $200,000 per year, while handling a 33 percent greater volume of work.
— 3M’s Hutchinson facility increased production gains by 300%.

Challenges in the Nonprofit World

These qualities are important, of course, to the nonprofit world as well. And while nonprofits rely heavily on volunteers, most CEOs do a poor job of managing them, according to a 2009 article Beatty shared from the Stanford Social Innovation Review, “The Volunteer Workforce.” Organizations often do not match volunteers’ skills with assignments, recognize volunteers’ contributions, measure the value of volunteers, train and invest in volunteers and staff, or provide strong leadership.

As a result, more than one-third of people who volunteer at a nonprofit one year do not return the following year — to any nonprofit. This attrition costs an estimated $38 billion in lost labor.

She noted a 2004 report from focus groups conducted by NCOA’s RespectAbility initiative that shares the concerns of nonprofit leaders. For example, they worry that boomers may not commit to causes, that they are caregiving for older parents and working long hours. Budgetary concerns may prevent organizations from hiring a volunteer coordinator, which hampers the organization’s ability to build a strong volunteer program.

Opportunities

So what are the opportunities?

Three-fourths of 78 million Boomers plan to work after retirement and half want jobs that “help others,” says a survey by Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation. As of this year, there will be a projected 75 million potential volunteers in the United States.

These volunteers can help build an organization’s capacity and leadership, and solve important community problems.

How did Beatty apply self-directed teams to take advantage of these copious opportunities? We’ll take a look at her solutions in our next post, Part 2. In the meantime, please share your own thoughts on this concept — and your successes with self-directed teams — in the comments.