Why you say "Thank you" to volunteers
Yes, you do it because it's polite and appropriate and we live in a world--ideally at least--where human decency matters. But that's not entirely it, either. You also do it because you want the door to be open for that person to volunteer again. We know the two are connected--showing appreciation to someone and getting them to help again--but how?
One of my favorite blogs, Psyblog, sheds a little light. The post, "Why Thank You Is More Than Just Good Manners," is based on the research of Francesca Gino and others. I point this out because it was a Gino study that led me to write what I think is one of the better articles I've written, "A Piece of Good Advice." Also because I think it's possible I have a bit of a social psychology crush on her (don't tell my wife).
This is how Psyblog author Jeremy Dean summarized the results:
"In fact the experimenters found that people weren't providing more help because they felt better or it boosted their self-esteem, but because they appreciated being needed and felt more socially valued when they'd been thanked."This feeling of social worth helps people get over factors that stop us helping. We are often unsure our help is really wanted and we know that accepting help from others can feel like a failure. The act of saying thank you reassures the helper that their help is valued and motivates them to provide more."
Why is this important? When you think about how to appreciate your volunteers, think about how you can express it in ways that show the social value of their contribution rather than ways designed to make them feel good or boost their self-esteem.
(PS - The same thing works for your staff, too.)
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Comments
I agree that showing volunteers exactly how their efforts have benefited their community is crucial. But a simple "thank you - you rock!" goes a long way, too. I know that when working the volunteers on the ASAE volunteer groups that I staff, I try (yet don't always succeed) to tell them repeatedly how much their work is helping ASAE's mission or goals, as well as how their volunteer work benefits others like themselves; for example, how volunteer work by a small-staff association executive is helping other small-staff association execs do their jobs better.
I've also noticed that a personal handwritten note is often very well-received - perhaps because it's such a rarity these digital days?
Posted by: Meredith Bower Holt | October 25, 2010 7:13 AM
Thank you Scott! You're post reminded me of some direction I received a few years ago. I used to sing in church pretty regularly. Our worship leader once talked to the vocalists and musicians about how to respond when someone said thank you for or praised a performance. In part, this was because we wanted to acknowledge that our gifts were from Jesus. The other part was to acknowledge how the music or experience was making a difference for either the performer or the congregation.
So rather than saying, "Oh, thank you", (which sounds like "Yes, I'm good aren't I?"), say, "I'm so glad the song moved you. My favorite lyric is...because..." I see this as a reflection of what you're saying -- because the contributor is showing the value of the contribution rather than drinking in the praise.
Thanks for getting me to think...um, I mean...thank.
Posted by: Carolyn Hook | October 28, 2010 12:29 PM