Returnee Coordinator guidebook

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Introduction

What’s in a word? If the word is "returnee," it is filled with meaning for AFS staff and volunteers. AFS returnees begin to be developed when they make the decision to go abroad with AFS. From that moment on, everything we do (or don’t!) has an impact on their connection with AFS throughout their lives. They can and do become host parents, natural parents, donors, and of course, wonderful committed volunteers!

The Returnee Coordinator has an important role in creating and strengthening that lifelong bond between AFS and returnees. Thank you for filling this important role in AFS. We look forward to hearing your success stories throughout the year, and to your contributions to our knowledge about the most effective ways to engage and mobilize our AFS returnees!

Remember—we are here to help you be successful!

How returnees help AFS meets its mission

In reality, AFS returnees become ambassadors for our mission and values. Over the past 52 years, AFS has grown and prospered largely because the students whose lives have been changed forever by their AFS exchange experience. We want to offer returnees the opportunity to:

Prolong a meaningful exchange experience by continuing their relationship with AFS returnees, students and volunteers;
Pass on what they have learned and seen during their time in AFS;
Continue to form new relationships and further their personal development;
Help others have a life-changing and successful AFS experience!

The Volunteer Life Cycle Model

(Note: see attached flow chart)

AFS Returnees must be cultivated and nurtured continually in order to keep them connected to AFS throughout the various stages of their lives. The Volunteer Life Cycle is a model which assists us in developing a structure through which returnees and other volunteers can successfully play a productive role in furthering the mission of AFS. As Returnee Coordinator, you will be an invaluable resource to your Team if you get to know the returnees from your Team. Your relationship with them, and ability to assess their strengths and skills for service to AFS, will give the Team Volunteer Coordinator a prime target group from which to recruit!

Why returnees get involved

Research done by the United Way of America has revealed the top reasons people choose to give their time to an organization or cause:

To meet new people/make friends
To learn new skills
Wanting to “give back”
To help their children
Because they were asked ~ This was the #1 reason people gave for volunteering!

Our returnees may get involved with AFS for the same reasons; however anecdotal evidence says most want to continue what was perhaps the most meaningful experience of their life to date. They often have a strong need to share that experience and to help others learn from it. Here are some key reasons returnees might want to stay involved with AFS:

Prolong a meaningful AFS experience
Share the experience with others
Gain skills and new relationships with like-minded people
Have the opportunity to help others experience the world through AFS
Keep an international focus in their life

From your experience, are there others?

Why returnees don't become involved with AFS

Knowing why our returnees generally don’t remain connected with AFS is as important is knowing why they might want to.

Fear of over-committing their time
Perceived or actual financial costs (i.e. driving 40 miles to interview a prospective AA student)
Lack of knowledge about opportunities to be involved!

The best way to reconnect with a returnee is by offering them something they may want. Go back to the list of reasons returnees will want to continue their involvement with AFS. Think of some activities or techniques that might tap into those reasons. These might include:

You could say: "Volunteering for AFS can involve as much time or as little time as you are interested in contributing." Be sure to emphasize the range of activities available; refer to the Volunteer Interest Survey if you are stuck for ideas.

You could say: "Recruitment costs are reimbursed by your chapter or Team." Phone calls, mileage, postage and or printing may all be reimbursable if approved in advance by the Team. The chapter may also have funds to help defray any costs associated with recruitment, such as booth space, small ads, etc.

You could say: "AFS has a wide range of volunteer opportunities that fit even the busiest schedule." This is an especially important thing to remember! Host family recruitment, for example, has many different aspects that volunteers may select from, such as distributing information, participating in a one-time phone-a-thon, posting information in a company bulletin, organizing an Hosting Information Night, doing a recruitment activity at a Middle School, doing informational interviews with families, etc. Even these tasks can be broken down into smaller tasks – keep going until you find something that meets the needs of the prospective volunteer.

Finally – whenever you are recruiting volunteers, keep these things in mind:

Promote a positive image of volunteering
Focus on the range of activities open to volunteers
Communicate the specific benefits of volunteering with AFS

The importance of inviting involvement

Understanding of the art of asking is your most valuable tool.

The art of asking

When you first contact returnees, your message and presentation needs to:

Remind them what AFS does to change lives
Offer personal stories about changed lives (and ask for their story)
Describe what AFS can still offer them
Use the language the listener understands. Keep in mind their needs, motivations and interests, and weave their goals and purposes in with yours.

Not all asks are alike

The most important thing to remember is to ask! It sounds simplistic, but as you will recall from the first section in this guide, it is the number one reason people get involved!

In the technique of asking, research tells us that there are some techniques or methods that are far more effective than others. Is it easier to say ‘no’ to or ignore a piece of mail? Sure it is! Is it more difficult to say ‘no’ to someone who is talking to you personally, effectively explaining a very real and compelling need? In the order of effectiveness, here are the top methods of asking someone to be involved:

Techniques

One-on-one: By far the best and most effective method because it offers opportunities for persuasion, removal of objections, negotiation, and a high degree of personalization.
One-to-a-group: Speaking to a group is still an effective means of asking people to do something, but the smaller and more intimate the group, the better. That way, a dialogue can take place with many of the same features and benefits as a one-on-one conversation.
Phone: While you may need to spend extra time and energy to establish rapport over the phone, it still allows for a dialogue to take place which will help you determine the returnee’s needs, interests, and motivations and availability.
Mail: The least effective means of connecting with returnees is through the mail. It is easily ignored, and generally is not compelling enough to stir someone to action. A piece of mail should only be regarded as a prelude to a personal conversation, or if in the form of a newsletter, to serve as a passive reminder of their AFS ties.

Assess returnees interests and abilities

We owe it both to the AFS organization and to the prospective volunteer to interview well. It is essential to recognize and deal with “high risk” volunteers, or screen those clearly unsuited for certain jobs and redirect them to more appropriate placements wherever possible. Just as important is to recognize “high potential” candidates. One of the greatest faults of many volunteer programs is the under-utilization of those volunteers who have unusual skills, organizational capabilities or extraordinary potential. These people often go undetected because they weren’t interviewed as effectively as they might have been and once they were placed in a particular position, they were forgotten.

Skills Needed for Effective Interviewing

Ability to converse easily with strangers.
Acceptance of all people.
Skill in observing or sensing other people’s reactions, attitudes, concerns, and personality traits.
Ability to listen attentively and hear accurately.
Experience as a volunteer.
A good knowledge of the range of volunteers jobs in the organization.
Ability to speak clearly and explain things well.
Capacity to recognize individual strengths and potential.
Experience in working with persons of varied racial, religious, educational and economic backgrounds.
Familiarity with the organization and its programs.
Ability to efficiently guide the conversation without sacrificing sensitivity or purpose.

Interview questions should attempt to learn what a person is not just what a person does. Too frequently the interview is viewed as a mechanism to use to fill out the blanks on the volunteer interest form. Questions like that are best left to the survey form . By reviewing th form just prior to the interview, you will be ready to move on to more important areas of inquiry.

The following are some suggested kinds of questions that help determine a persons’ attitudes, values, interpersonal relations, emotional stability and motivations (achievement, power or affiliation). These questions should be changed to adapt to your own style and needs, and the particular interview situation. The important thing they suggest is how to phrase questions to enable people to talk freely about themselves.

Samples of Non-Directive Interviewing Questions

What have you enjoyed the most in previous volunteer assignments? What have you enjoyed the least? (Attitudes)
What kind of people do you work with best? What kind of people are you most interested in working with in the program and why? Are there types of people you feel you’d be unable to work with? (Interpersonal Relations)
What would you consider to be the ideal volunteer job for you? Why? (Motivation and Values)
What things have you done that have given you greatest satisfaction? (Motivation and Values)
Why are you interested in doing volunteer work? What about AFS in particular interests you? (Motivation)
How would you describe your energy or activity level? (Work Habits)
What sorts of things makes you angry or upset - e.g. on the job or at home - and how do you deal with these feelings? (Emotional Stability)
How would you describe yourself in terms your "work style" - more a leader than a follower? or vice versa? Do you enjoy making decisions and/or problem-solving, or do you prefer more “black and white” tasks that are well defined?

One of the most important factors in being a good "asker" is being a good listener. Experts in the field suggest the following:

Demonstrate genuine interest in the prospective volunteer.
Be patient and give enough time for the prospective volunteer to give thoughtful answers.
Build the interview on what the applicant has already said (link new questions to previous statements; ask for elaboration or more details about a particular answer).
Stay alert. Listen for key words and phrases. Also, listen for main ideas, not just facts and figures.
Withhold evaluation and decision until the interview is completed. Hear the person out before deciding anything.

Are we ready for returnees?

Before you start calling returnees, you will want to ensure that your Team or chapter is really ready to welcome and involve them. Help lead your Team and Local Team leadership in discussions of the following important questions:

What are our attitudes towards and expectations of returnees—especially recent returnees?
What is our plan for integrating returnees into our group?
What is the Team’s shared understanding of the role and responsibilities of the Returnee Coordinator?

The article on the following page may provide some insight on the potential difficulties newcomers—especially young returnees-- can experience in established AFS groups. You may wish to copy and distribute the article, using it as a basis for conducting discussions about a local AFS group’s "readiness" to integrate returnees and other volunteers.

Relationships between volunteers: a vital but often-neglected area

From the Non-Profit Times, Nov 1990 Vol 4, Number 8

The questions of how well volunteers work with one another is relevant whether you have a corps of volunteers working within your organization, an independent group of volunteers such as an auxiliary or friends association, or simply your all-volunteer board of directors. Sometimes volunteers treat each other in ways no salaried staff would even dare to consider!

Newcomers vs. Veterans

Most organizations like to recruit a continuing flow of new volunteers so that they can expand their programs and services. But what happens when a new volunteer is brought on board? Ideally, the person will be warmly welcomed and put to work. Unfortunately, however, newcomers sometimes encounter open or subtle resistance from long-time participants, which they may express in a variety of ways:

Unwillingness to share decision-making – relegating the newcomer to support jobs requiring lots of work and little input.
Limiting access to information so that the newcomer does not learn how things are done or why certain projects are underway.
Reluctance to listen to fresh ideas, often dismissing them with some version of "we tried that already."
Not including the newcomer in the social aspects of the work, such as pre-meeting lunches or car pools.

Diversity – Goal and Problem

Often organizations recognize that their volunteer corps is too homogeneous. Their best bet for the future lies in recruiting a more diverse group of volunteers including men and women, a wider age range, racial minorities and various backgrounds more representative of the community served. But such diversity directly challenges volunteers already active - particularly because of the social dimension to [volunteer groups] or committees. Volunteers tend to prefer working with volunteers who are already friends.

Volunteers, like any other group of people, may need some preparation in order to feel comfortable with others different form themselves. It is indeed a challenge to mesh people of varying ages, races, incomes or educational backgrounds – yet it is a necessity from the organization’s perspective. Remember that expansion of the volunteer corps won’t happen unless it is monitored and supported.

Some Dangers and How To Avoid Them

Unless the integration of veteran volunteers and newcomers is someone’s responsibility, you run the risk of polarizing the two groups. The experienced people can feel unappreciated and see the newcomers as "replacements." The fresh recruits can feel relegated to the periphery of the action. Ultimately, there may be a power struggle that results in both sides leaving. You cannot afford to lose the veterans’ experience and continuity, nor the newcomers’ perspective and enthusiasm.

Here are some ways you can make both types of volunteers more comfortable with one another:

Involve long-time volunteers in the decision to reach out to new recruits. Get them to help identify what skills are needed that the present volunteer corps may lack. Invite them along to speak at recruitment events.

Ask experienced volunteers to lead the orientation and training sessions for newcomers. But build some two-way learning into the curriculum by giving the recruits the chance to share some of the things they know.

Name-tags are a simple but effective way of helping people start conversations at volunteer meetings. Add a line or two identifying the veteran’s current assignment or job title and the newcomer’s special interest in joining the group. This is especially valuable when introducing community representatives into your group.

Develop a buddy system matching veteran and newcomers one on one, but give the pairs real work assignments and build in a timetable for ending the formal relationship when its training value is over.

Make it a rule that new ideas will be given a fair hearing, perhaps by first listing all the positive aspects of the concept before airing negative points.

If it sounds like something that has been tried before, give the person making the proposal a chance to explain what might be different about the idea this time around.

Build in rotation of positions so that no one person can dominate a committee or special assignment. This gives newer volunteers the potential to take on leadership positions, without having to wait until someone dies and leaves a vacancy! You can permit volunteers to return to a favorite position after a term away, but requiring periodic change keeps everyone fresher.

As with so many other aspects of management, the potential pitfalls of volunteer-to-volunteer interaction can be avoided with planning and concern. The result will be a volunteer corps that grows and develops as time goes on.

Getting them started

Giving returnees a packet of materials to review is a good way to get them started, until you have time to arrange for their formal orientation. Knowing returnees come with a basic understanding of AFS makes it easier! They will still need to understand what the benefits and expectations of a new role with AFS will mean.

Returnee Coordinators are encouraged to assemble a “Welcome Back to AFS” folder, which can contain basic or general information about AFS, or information and materials specific to the roles available to returnees in the Team or Local team. Some examples of what might be included:

Letter of welcome (example below)
AFS Programs Abroad catalog
Host Family recruitment brochure
Facts about AFS
Roster of local volunteers with address & phone numbers
Roster of hosted students, host families and current AA's with address & phone numbers
Sample returnee job descriptions

Sample of welcome letter for returnee packet

Dear Returnee,

Welcome back to the worldwide family of AFS! We want to help you continue your life-changing AFS experience through ongoing involvement with us. Enclosed in this packet are materials about AFS programs. Please take a moment to review them and familiarize yourself with the exciting opportunities offered to returnees by AFS.

You will be contacted shortly by a returnee coordinator who will talk to you about your interest in AFS involvement. This will give you an opportunity to ask questions about the materials, and get you off to a wonderful start on your new AFS adventure as a returnee!

We look forward to working with you. Welcome back to the AFS family!

New volunteer orientation outline

Note: more material is provided in the pdf file, but has not yet been uploaded.

Resource Material

Media:Area Team Returnee Coordinators Guidebook.pdf