You won’t have heard the term “fractional leader of volunteers”. That’s because I made it up! But if you’re a smaller social impact organisation who wants a good volunteer program, it may be exactly what you’re looking for.
Briefly, fractional leaders of volunteers are highly qualified, experienced professionals (CVAs maybe) that come in part-time on a contract basis for organisations that may not have the resources – or the need – to have a full-time leader in house.
The idea of fractional leadership isn’t new. Small and midsized companies have been using fractional chief financial officers or chief marketing officers, etc. for decades. I am simply moving the concept out of the corporate world.
Fractional leaders bring the sort of dedication, knowledge and skills that are usually out of reach for smaller organisations.
The time that they don’t spend with you, they may spend doing the same thing for one or more other organisations. Thus, the term “fractional”.
Understand; although the position is contracted, the leader isn’t just a consultant; they actually do the work of managing your organisation’s volunteers.
There are several benefits to having a fractional leader of volunteers.
The main three are:
- They are there only for the amount of time you need them, so you aren’t scrambling to find work for them during their down time.
- Being a contract position, you have more flexibility and control. Not only do you choose the number of hours they work, but those can be changed according to operational need, and the position can be terminated much more easily and more amicably than with an employee. There is no term commitment expectations.
- It is less expensive. Although you will be paying more per hour than you might with an employee, you only pay for what you need, and you are not responsible for benefits, employment insurance, etc.
Easier, cheaper and you get top quality service to further your organisation’s mission.
So if you’ve never even heard of one, how would you know if you need a fractional leader of volunteers? Here are three signs that this option is right for your volunteer program.
You’re facing budgetary constraints or uncertainty.
Tight budgets and financial uncertainty are a normal part of business for not-for-profits. This is especially true for new, growing and specialty organisations. Financial resources to hire someone full-time to run your volunteer program may simply be unavailable.
This means having the executive director or some other staff member manage the volunteers as and when they can. Besides taking time away from their own duties, this “corner of the desk” management will negatively impact the program, which therefore impacts your mission and/or clients.
You’re concerned that the program isn’t having the impact it could have.
It is a strategic benefit to have an experienced person in this position.
Oftentimes, especially in small and growing organisations, volunteer programs lack a cohesive plan. This is common when the program is steered by multiple people or by someone who is not solely dedicated to the volunteers. This is not a knock on the person running your program now; just a reason to bring on someone with more education and experience in this particular field.
If you believe your volunteers are important to achieving your mission, you owe it to your cause to hire someone who specialises in managing them well.
You’ve been wanting more organizational and financial flexibility
Running a not-for-profit takes an incredible amount of agility. You need to pivot and change continually in order to deal with altered funding or unforeseen opportunities or challenges. Locking your organization into a yearly salary commitment for a volunteer coordinator can be hard.
Hiring an on-demand fractional leader of volunteers allows you to use your resources where and when you need them most.
Do you have a seasonal component to your charity (such as the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign) or a big event coming up that requires an influx of temporary volunteers? You can give more or fewer hours to your fractional leader to match those needs.
It is a very flexible situation. During times you don’t need a leader of volunteers, you can divert those resources into other areas.
You need more decision-making freedom.
If hiring a full-time volunteer coordinator is challenging, so is firing one. If the relationship doesn’t work out, separating from them can be an uncomfortable and acrimonious process.
On the other hand, if a fractional leader of volunteers isn’t working out, it is much easier to just terminate the contract and move on to someone else.
The same is true as your organization grows and your needs shift. You may decide you need a full-time leader. With a fractional leader of volunteers, that process is easy and painless. In fact, the fractional leader will usually be happy to help train and settle your new hire into the position.
Is this for you?
Every not-for-profit is different. A fractional leader of volunteers may or may not suit your needs. The final decision is yours. I just wanted you to know that the option is out there.
