Category: organizational effectiveness

One of the challenges with volunteering is matching a willing contributor to the task. Organizations put out calls for volunteers, but many times, people show up and there is not a need or role for them. It quickly dampens their enthusiasm. Another scenario occurs when people say “I’d like to help” but are unsure as to where/when/how to do so.

One of the candidates for a Statehouse position has taken steps to solve both of these issues. She hosts a gathering, every Monday, from 10-Noon. Volunteers are free to come (or not) as they are able, and to choose their task when they arrive. No pressure, but it’s a defined way to “do something” in a collegial environment. Specific stations are set up to compile calendar events, write postcards, call representatives, post on social media, make protest signs, enter data, and other behind-the-scenes tasks. No time is wasted figuring out what needs to be done or how to do it. This could all be considered grunt work, but when you’re doing it with a group of people for a defined period of time, it feels more like a contribution than a burden.

Whether for volunteers or employees, combine structure and specificity to help people accomplish tasks and feel accomplishment at the same time.

Being in Vegas was a vivid reminder that the further someone is away from actual cash, the more likely they are to spend. The only place cash was accepted in Sin City was to buy poker chips. It’s far easier to toss one of those on the table than a $10 bill, and more likely that you’ll forget it’s real money you are playing with.

The same principle applies to credit cards — it doesn’t feel as real to swipe as it would to pull bills out of a wallet. It’s true for credit cards, too — which in part is why retailers push them. Buying with either type of card is less painful (in the short term) and more likely to encourage purchasing. Even writing a check is one step removed from cash and often makes big payments like taxes or a mortgage more palatable than handing over a stack of real bills.

There are many ways to encourage spending or giving. Move away from cash and accept electronic payments. Create a longer time horizon between payments, such as offering annual plans. Consider subscriptions, automatic renewals, or automatic monthly payments. Allow people to buy “points” to use instead of currency. Combine services into a package so your customer only has to make a single money decision.

Design your financial transactions like poker chips to make this behavioral phenomenon work on your behalf.

Striving for efficiency is a good idea — until it takes over the mission. If efficiency becomes the main goal, rather than supporting it, you have gone too far.

Nonprofits know “No money, no mission,” but if everything is cut in the name of productivity, the ability to deliver the organization’s purpose can become a casualty and keep you from being who you are.

Too much of anything is usually too much, and the quest for efficiency is no exception. Don’t trade your purpose for ROI and leave your mission behind.

Thanks, Mike!

After it snows, if you don’t shovel quickly and thoroughly, a slippery layer may form on the sidewalks. If that happens, some people put out salt pellets to melt the ice. While a little bit usually gets the job done, one house on my block went crazy with the salt. Weeks after the last snow, it still covers the sidewalk, degrading the concrete and serving as a nemesis to dogs’ paws.

They took the easy way out by letting the chemicals do the work instead of doing it themselves.

The same pattern occurs in organizations when people only consider the short-term ease instead of the long-term consequences. It’s faster to shove all the papers in a drawer, but it makes it harder to find them later. It’s quicker to do something yourself the first time, but then the other person never learns the process, and you have to do it forever. You can let AI do your writing, but you may pay the price on the back end if you don’t fact-check or edit.

Don’t make the front end the easy part of the process. Do the work initially and benefit from a positive residual effect.