URL: http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/culture.html
For Volunteer Managers:
Online Culture
Most of your communications with online volunteers will be done via
email. Learning to communicate in text-only can be a challenge for
some people, volunteer and manager alike. Sometimes, you have to
interpret people's communication and assist them to be clear and
effective online.
You will experience a wide variety of communicators as you work with
online volunteers:
* Some write emails exactly as they talk, using punctuation and
"smileys" to show emotion or expression.
* Some write formally.
* Some write short and to the point.
* Some write often.
* Some interpret silence as approval, others as disapproval.
* Some who email you and then call, as they aren't absolutely
certain of technology and need the approving voice.
* Some write emails littered with punctuation, spelling and sentence
structure errors, but are very articulate on the telephone.
* Some are not completely aware of all of the functions on their
email software (setting line length, type size, having a
signature, setting the default to reply to the sender rather than
everyone, etc.)
* Some "documentors" and some "snippers": Some feel it is necessary
to keep the full reply even if it is the 6th message passed.
Others like to respond in a concise manner, so much so that it can
be hard to figure out what they are responding or referring to
(this may not be a culture difference, as much as a difference in
email systems or the person's technical know how).
As is noted in Working Together Online, an excellent publication by
Maureen James and Liz Rykert, in association with Web Networks,
http://www.web.net, "Drawing out the human tone and feelings from
online text can be tricky." Even silence can be misinterpreted. "One
reason that silence occurs is that the person posting the message
hasn't been clear about what kind of response they are looking for."
Working Together Online offers what the Virtual Volunteering Project
feels is the some of the best advice regarding communicating with
volunteers online:
"Never make assumptions about what you are reading. Learn to move
slowly in what feels like a very fast medium."
One person who involves volunteers virtually told the VV Project
Manager, "A few times when I 'etalked' with people for years as if
they were undergrads, then found out they were department heads!!!"
The same has been true for the VV Project Manager, only in reverse: "A
few times I have corresponded with an online volunteer for several
weeks as if that person was a working professional, because of the
tone of the person's emails and the quality of work. Later, I've
realized, upon reviewing the original volunteer application, that the
person is actually 14 or 15 years old!"
Written online exchanges can't tell us everything about a person, and
can even be unintentionally misleading. Also, working with volunteers
online, even those you have met face-to-face at some point, means you
are unable to visually read a person's facial or voice "cues" about
how they are feeling, their enthusiasm (or lack their of), etc.
Brenda Ruth of the Boulder Community Network, a VV Project Affiliate,
has a lot of experience working with online volunteers, and says,
"There are very distinct personalities behind the words and it is easy
to get in the mode of seeing e-mail as a long to-do list, rather
than human interaction.
"Email opens up lots of opportunities for people who aren't
comfortable in face-to-face communication. I find that people are
OK about saying, 'no,' moreso than if I called or was in person.
Falling back on my communication studies in college, this makes
sense because so many 'yes' answers are prompted by how the
request was made in voice tone, physical proximity and inclusion
of touch.
"The most successful projects are when I have declared
expectations of what I expect when, and the volunteer can agree to
it, or not and turn it down, or modify. I also find this when
working with organizations, that people who aren't direct in
physical meetings are so by email.
"There is also the documentation factor that is available on email
and not in physical contact. Knowing that people can relook at
what is said, or save what was said I think changes interaction
online. One can't fall back on the classic, 'I called and left
several messages last week...' You have proof that you did or did
not send or receive them. For me personally, I will double check
facts before I write something I am only a little bit familiar
with. Whereas in speaking I wouldn't hesitate to make an educated
guess."
Penny Leisch of the Arizona Pioneers' Home Volunteers Association
(also a VV Project affiliate), offers this advice for communicating
with volunteers via email:
"People interpret written words based on their experiences, culture
and education. Some people are very literal, good readers and very
good listeners. Other people need the same information repeated
several times before they assimilate everything. These people need
to be led through tasks step-by-step.
"Online volunteers may come from a variety of cultures and my
everyday terms can mean something totally different to them. For
instance, in Australia a 'downy' is what we call a comforter or
bed cover in the US. I can usually tell when there is a cultural
difference by the physical structure of the written grammar. I've
learned to watch for these types of indicators.
"Some people probably remember doing an exercise in school where
one person stands at a chalkboard and the class gives verbal
instructions to guide them through drawing a shape. The person at
the chalkboard has not seen the shape. Usually, the result is a
very different from the intended shape.
"The most important instructional writing guideline is 'don't
assume'. Most of us tend to forget to start at the beginning and
include absolutely every step. A good experiment is to try writing
yourself instructions for a task. Then, follow your instructions
exactly as they are written.
"My policy is to write email in the same manner I would write a
recipe or instruction manual. I try to be clear, concise and
present my thoughts step by step. The language I use is simple. I
avoid technical terms and email abbreviations and sniglets, unless
I've worked with the person enough to know they will understand my
references. "
Learning to communicate with volunteers primarily via email is an
ongoing process, and electronic communication isn't for everyone. John
Bergeron of the Glaucoma Research Foundation (also an affiliate) adds,
"It's very hard to teach good email etiquette. Those who use email
frequently tend to be much easier to communicate with online. (In
my experience,) sometimes it's necessary to tolerate poor email
skills and supplement them with phone conversations. I have a lot
to learn still about making effective online partnerships!
Thanks to Brenda Ruth of Boulder Community Network, Penny Leisch of
Arizona Pioneers' Home Volunteers Association, John Bergeron of
Glaucoma Research Foundation and Susan Ellis of Energize, Inc. for
their input into this document. Complete information about the VV
Project Affiliates and how they involve online volunteers is available
at http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/orgs/index.html
Orienting and evaluating new online volunteers is discussed in detail
at http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/orient.html. Managing volunteers
virtually is disucssed in detail at
http://www.serviceleader.org/vv/manage/index.html.
A related page is our suggestions for accommodations for online
volunteers who have learning disabilities or emotional and anxiety
disorders. Most of these suggestions are fundamental to the successful
management of ANY volunteer. This information also will help you
address the various learning styles and working styles of volunteers.
Part of our suggestions for Working via the Internet with volunteers
who have disabilities.
Another related page is Making email communications more effective, a
helpful article written by Susan Ellis, based on her own experience as
part of a board of directors that communicated primarily online.
You may also want to refer your online volunteers (and all staff,
actually) to these online Netiquette guides:
Netiquette Guidelines
http://www.dtcc.edu/cs/rfc1855.html
Includes an excellent bibliography for more information as well.
by Sally Hambridge of Intel Corporation.
Netiquette
http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/index.html
by Virginia Shea, published by Albion Books. This online edition
contains all the text and graphics from the bound book.
OTHER RESOURCES
E-Mail Communication and Relationships
http://www.rider.edu/users/suler/psycyber/emailrel.html
Dr. John Suler of the Department of Psychology at Rider
University, presents a very detailed document that explores the
psychological dimensions of environments created by computers and
online networks. "It is intended as an evolving conceptual
framework for understanding the various psychological components
of cyberspace and how people react to and behave within it." Part
of an even larger work, Psychology of Cyberspace, also available
on this Web site.
The forums of the Virtual Community Center at Electric Minds,
http://www.minds.com/. The Center is made up of many online
discussions covering the social aspects of working together
online, primarily as an online community and in terms of
many-to-many communications.
Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams
http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol3/issue4/jarvenpaa.html
an in-depth academic study by Dr. Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa that
"explores the challenges of creating and maintaining trust in a
global virtual team," particularly those that involve people of
different cultures and interest, and varying degrees of
committment.
If you find this or any other Virtual Volunteering Project information
helpful, or would like to add information based on your own
experience, please contact us.
_________________________________________________________________
* Virtual Volunteering Resources How to find and involve volunteers
working from home or work computers, online resources for
volunteer managers, advice for individuals who want to volunteer
virtually, etc. These pages are updated and added to each month.
* How Your Agency Can Utilize the Virtual Volunteering Project
Tips on how to use this Web site, information about our offline
services, and how we can help you introduce or expand virtual
volunteering in your agency.
* Virtual Volunteering Project home page
Information for those who wish to
quote from, copy and/or distribute the information on this Web site
If you do use Virtual Volunteering Project materials in your own
workshop or trainings, or republish materials in your own
publications, please let us know, so that we can track how this
information is disseminated.
_________________________________________________________________
part of the Volunteerism and Community Engagement Initiatives
of the Charles A. Dana Center
at the University of Texas Austin
Copyright © 1999 The University of Texas at Austin. All Rights
Reserved.
Last updated Monday, 05-Apr-99
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