Apathy and Volunteerism: Thinking outside the box

Part 2 of 2 (Please read part 1 first)

Rather than bemoan the lack of volunteering and apathy in homeowners associations, we should be thinking about what we can do about it. To simply say that we have tried and failed, and now give up is not sufficient.

First though, some parameters to guide our thinking.

We know that effective, frequent communication is important to building a successful volunteer program. However, it is a satisfier, not a motivator. Indeed, communication may have the unintended effect of creating such a sense of well-being and association effectiveness that members see no need to volunteer.

We also know that all the conventional wisdom stuff about encouraging volunteering in our associations is not working. At some point, we have to face up to the uncomfortable conclusion that the conventional wisdom is wrong, " 'cuz it ain't workin' no more."

What we find is that after trying all the conventional stuff and discovering that it (1) takes an enormous amount of effort and (2) simply doesn't work, board members give up. Instead of blaming their own ineffective efforts because they know no different, they blame their neighbors for the lack of interest, participation, spirit and volunteering. They blame their neighbors for not caring enough, for not following their lead, for not taking the same interest in the association as they do.

When conventional thinking and wisdom doesn't work, it is time for some unconventional wisdom and creative approaches. Aside from giving up, the worst strategy is keep doing the same things over and over again, expecting a different outcome. If it doesn't work, look for another idea, and keep trying until you find something that works.

Here are seven more or less unconventional ideas to get a long-term discussion going. (Some of these ideas may be in operation already. Let's hear about them.)

First, how much money does the association budget for programs and activities that build community spirit, a sense of participation, and a desire to volunteer? I bet most communities spend very little on these activities. Somehow, we have the notion that such expenditures are inappropriate. Yet, in the same breath as we object to these types of expenditures, we complain about the lack of participation and volunteers. I would suggest that such expenditures are not only appropriate, but essential to the long-term well being of a homeowners association. And the sooner we recognize that, the more successful the outcome.

Second, is there a member of the board specifically charged with the responsibility to build community participation, spirit and volunteering? If not, why not? If participation is as important as we say it is, then it should be the ongoing focus of an elected association officer. There should be an officer of the association accountable to both the board and the members for successfully building and maintaining participation and volunteering (Vice President of Volunteer Enlistment and Community Spirit).

Third, if you have a property manager or management company, what are they doing for your community to build community spirit and participation? Or, does professional management actually encourage (an unintended consequence) a further diminution of community participation? Do any property management companies have people on their staff who can work with community leaders to build participation? Do these people come with new ideas, apart from the now-failed conventional wisdom?

Fourth, we have go to stop thinking in terms of committees (e.g. newsletter committee), and start thinking in terms of tasks. In the modern world, people see committees as stressful activities, rather than useful consensus building tools. "I'm too busy to serve on a committee." Or, "I don't know anybody else, and I don't want to get involved." Our culture is shying away from the notion of committees. Instead of asking a person to join a committee, with all that implies, ask a member to help with the newsletter in a specific way (see below).

Fifth, instead of publishing a notice in the newsletter that the association needs volunteers for some activity, get on the phone and ask people. They won't come to you. You as a board member have to reach out. And expect to be turned down five times (at least) for every yes you get. But use those turn downs to your advantage, and keep coming back for help. Eventually, after five or six tries you will find people willing to get involved.

"Will you give a couple of hours this month to stuff, label, stamp and seal envelopes?"

"Will you drop by my house to pick up a check and take it to the post office and buy 3 rolls of stamps for the newsletter by next Tuesday?

"Will you pick up the newsletters from the printer and deliver them to ___ for stuffing on Friday.

The arguments I have heard about this kind of effort is that "it takes more time to round up the volunteers than it takes to do it myself." That is, indeed, true. But it misses the target. The objective of seeking volunteers to do a task is to build participation community spirit, and volunteering, not just to get the task accomplished. It is designed to get people involved. If done well, both objectives are achieved.

Sixth, what is your board doing today--right now--to identify and nurture successor officers and board members? That should be one of the critical functions of a board and a nominating committee. Yet, it is not part of conventional wisdom. There is no counterpart in associations to political parties which are invested by our political system to do such leadership building activities.

Seventh, what is your association doing to help members make intelligent voting decisions at election time? Making decisions is a stressful activity. If members don't know how to make reasoned choices among candidates, they will simply not vote. And those that do, will rely on the choices of the nominating committee. "Well, all the candidates must make good board members, since the nominating committee chose them. I don't need to vote."

I think what it comes down to is the recognition that (1) homeowners associations do, indeed, foster a culture of non-participation, albeit unintended, (2) unconventional thinking and action is needed to change things and (3) the association needs to invest more than token resources into building community spirit, participation and volunteering.

The role of the true servant leader is not to do the job, but to see that it gets done.

What unconventional wisdom do you have to add to the discussion?

Okay,
I read part 2. "The role of the true servant leader is not to do the job, but to see that it gets done. "

Sort of like the "MINUTE MANAGER" Book by Phd Kenneth Blanchard. Education of all Board members being a start. My Florida Association where I have a rental has a telephone relay system. NO ONE ever does not get information in any situation. These are 55+ folks.

Your 3rd item is a real dilly to answer. I often wonder if a manager might remove some of the inspiration of members to aid in simple tasks that involves members. I don't know.

So??? How unconventional should we become? Again, this is a great post with lots of food for thought.

What about member education?

People here know all about community associations....but.....How many of your members actually know that the Association is a volunteer organization and they have responsibility in it? Where does the average owner learn this fact? I'd bet they normally don't.

The home buyer hears this: The community has a pool and tennis courts and it only costs you $500/year. Buyer thinks "hey this is a good deal..I pay my fees and get these great amenities and ... The management company handles it all."

So maybe some of the apathy is just the average owner thinking they are paying for a service and getting it, just like they pay for water and power. They may not understand the need for volunteers and the responsibility they signed up for.

The question is how to change that situation.

Commenting of George's OP , we have to accept that one size doesn't fit all. All this, by the demands of demographics require we do no cookie cutter these innovations.

That means, to me, the Board must have a keen eye and a keen ear to discern what will work for their locale. This board knowledge may be to some extent passed down but in any event it has to be a continuing process, and that is why I rate George's suggestion that a Board member be assigned to report on "the state of the union", so to speak. If this person is given high support and some latitude, I think then, positive results will follow.

It is a thought provoking post. Those of us old in tooth are saddled with historic observations of innovative ideas over the years. At a Board meeting in the distant past the suggestion was made that maybe there could be an "Open session" for any member to discuss what was bugging them, and time limits were presented. The idea was voted down, in part, because the President stated if the Board allows this to happen, no one will stay for the rest of the meeting.

Great post! In fact, I've cut and pasted this and will pass it on to my fellow board members. If we are able to get people on our strategic planning committee, I'll distribute this to them - it would be a great way to start discussions.

Thninking out the box really is important - we had a board member who often said this is what our group needed to do (unfortunately, she's no longer with us because of - delinquencies). However, I plan to talk to her and keep her active as a volunteer because she was big on walking around the community and meeting people.

The statement about 20% of the people doing 80% (100, really) of the work is definately true. Our job is to find who those folks are, give them things to do and see what happens. One of our homeowners recently commented that many people won't do anything unless they can see they'll get something out of it - I think what our board will need to do is pump up some of the positive things that have happened instead of yakking only about delinquencies. People need to hear about that too, but maybe if we compliment people on doing things for the community without being asked, that will encourage others.

Oh my JohnK,I can't think of much in your post that really explains the facts. Correction! Much that explains the fact as explained in my document. You articulate your feeling well, too bad they are suspect.

I could be off base here for your association but probbaly not.

If you read your acceptance papers when you agreed to reside in your community, you also agreed to abide by all the CC&R's. This is not a small undemanding step you took. The Boards are also owners, and really their role on the Board comes after their agreement to serve the organization by signing your resident papers or whatever you call them. Have you given any thouight to the fact the owners elect the board and can recall the Board. The Board can not recall the owners and boot them out of the association. So who is more powerful. Another question? If you as an owner knew absolutely some Board member was skimming funds, do you have the legal obligation to blow the whistle? You bet your Booty and you could go to jaill along with the culprit, if you don't fess up.

I imagine you get my opinion so I will say no more about that.

Mary, You are correct about the intent of the HOATalk post above: Many owner's don't really know much about a HOA or condo association, which is why owner's refer to the association or the board as 'they'. In other words, they view the association as an outside group that 'runs' the community. As long as owners feel that way, then they would not see a need to volunteer.

Here's my view:

Almost any association replicates a town, the town replicates the state, the state replicates the nation.

In any one of the above the majority doesn't give a rat's butt as to what is going on. The majority don't understand what's going on nor do they want to know.

When the poop hits the fan such as with the national economy then you get people waking up and doing something; i.e. voting. BUT, all these people voted for "change" in the last election; what kind of "change" are they looking for? The change that is needed sure won't be the one that makes them happy. The change needed whether it be Federal or in individual states is to stop spending money and start coming up with a budget that works. That means no more free money to those that can't fend for themselves AND/OR raising taxes! Do you think that is the change Americans were hoping for? Heck no. The majority is looking for some magic pill to make all the bad stuff go away.

And your idea for mandatory community service? We already have that..........it's called Jury Duty. How many people are able to scam their way out of that? Quite a few.

I think you have hit upon something really important here, Gloria.

As John said--and I think he is right on the money--there is no such thing as altruism as we think of it.

Every act by every living thing is motivated by self interest. Simply put, people volunteer because they get something out of it. It may be nothing more than a good feeling (psychic reward) or perhaps a sense of assuaging guilt feelings, or social contact.

In building community spirit, participation and volunteering, I think the challenge becomes, therefore, offering a basket of varied and different rewards that will appeal to a significant number of members. They may not be direct financial rewards to the members, but they will likely cost some money, and should be included in the association budget.

The alternative, of course, is to pay for services rendered. I see nothing wrong with that. We pay postage to mail newsletter to members, so there should be nothing untoward to pay a member of the association to hand deliver the same newsletters in lieu of postage. But for some reason, we expect that delivery service to be "free."

As the chestnut goes, "If it is everybody's business, it is nobody's business." And that encapsulates one of the problem with homeowners associations. There is no sense of, or expectation for, accountability among members. Indeed, I have come to believe that homeowners associations foster a sense of nonparticipation among residents. It part of a larger societal and cultural issue of the diminution of "social capital."

I think board members develop a distorted sense of the problem. I think board members somehow come to expect that everyone in the community should have the same commitment to volunteer time and energy that they have made. And when it doesn't happen automatically (e.g. without effort), board members become disillusioned and cynical.

But from a members point of view, we elect the board to make the decisions and do the work so owners don't have to. It gets back to the notion of a home as a respite from the stresses of the world. And as long as the fees are reasonable and the management work gets done, association members are satisfied, albeit not happy.

It is Utopian to expect homeowners association members to volunteer in large numbers and to take an interest in their community outside of their own homes. I have not seen a single covenant declaration that requires owners to contribute time in addition to paying the assessment.

There are three obvious solutions. The first is to simply give up trying to build participation. The second is to start paying for services required and received. The third is to (1) start thinking outside the box and be creative, (2) invest more than a token amount of association resources in programs to build community spirit, participation and volunteering, and (3) work at it.

I have found through long experience that the best way to get someone to do something for you, for free (financially), is to ask face to face, not to post a notice in a newsletter. Telephoning is the second best.

At first, I expect to be turned down five or six times for every person I ask. But as time goes one, a person will only refuse you so many times before saying yes. And what I find, is that face-to-face asking is an investment in participation, community spirit, and volunteering that has a substantial return over time. It actually works.

Here is another radical outside-the-box thought: hire a person to secure volunteers for specific projects by going door-to-door or by telephoning owners/residents. (The AmVets pay telephoners to work from home, calling residents in a neighborhood before the pick up truck is scheduled to come by. It works for them.) Set some clear goals and perhaps offer a commission or bonus for achieving those goals. It is no different than paying a resident to deliver newsletters in lieu of paying the Postal Service to do the same job. Nor is it any different than paying an attorney or a landscape maintenance company, or an accountant, or a management company.

Does it work? We can ask people who are running for election to various local political offices. Given the number of people who knock on my door before an election to "get out the vote" or to ask for my support, suggests it does. Face to face works. Perhaps homeowners associations can learn something from politics.

yup.

and the converse of that, several years back we had a resident stand up at an annual meeting getting on our case for not having a Welcome Committee. We explained that we've had one off and on for a couple years, but the volunteers just drift away. She couldn't understand why the board just didn't do it and that if we couldn't "find the time," then maybe some of them should handle it for us.

We told them we'd be thrilled to have some volunteers step forward to handle that committee.

The Squeaky Wheel said she would chair it and claimed to have had about 3 or 4 other residents who were going to work with her on it.

After the meeting, I sent her our mailing list, or community local business information, copies of our CC&Rs for each of our 9 sections, the website for finding out which section a certain lot is in, our previous "Welcome Letter" that included all key details about our association, including history, who to call for what issue, our website, copies of our logo, both printed out and electronic, the resources for monitoring residential real estate transfers, etc etc etc etc.

In short, we provided the committee with everything they would need to hit the ground running.

After about a month I sent her a follow up email to see if she needed any more information or any additional help.

No reply.

A couple months later I ran into her on the street. I asked again and she said they were still working on some details and asked how do we find out who new owners are and how do we know when a home is sold?

I reminded her of the content information email I sent. It had all that information in it, where to go to find out when a sale is made. . . how to keep track of deed transfers, etc.

She thanked me and said they'd be right on it.

I even re-sent the detail that night, just in case she couldn't find it.

Fast forward to the next annual meeting, another resident stands up and asks why we don't have a Welcome Committee (she had just moved in that year and didn't know about the HOA until she got her assessment statement) . . . the Previous Squeaky Wheel was there and when everyone turned to her she bald faced said, "We were not able to get enough information from the board to get the committee off the ground."

Ouch.

Everyone turned back to the board. I did speak up and say that we sent as much detail as we had, which was quite a bit, but if there were any questions or if she were confused about any of the information she had, we'd be more than happy to meet with her and her committee members to do a workshop, if that would help.

She said that would be great.

We never heard from her again and she never attended another annual meeting.

I'm giving this old thread a little bump because I feel like there's a lot of valuable information here and I'd like to see the discussion continued.

I moved into my condo 3 years ago. Part of the reason I even wanted to live in a condo was to get a feeling of community. Little did I know there is almost no "community spirit" here.

I did run for the board, but I was very new and didn't really know anyone, and so did not get elected. I have been involved in 3 of our 9 committees. After nearly two years, I dropped out of two of them from shear frustration at nothing getting done and a complete lack of (timely) support from the board.

I haven't even been to a monthly meeting in a while because I've gotten so discouraged.

Now there is talk of doing away with the social commitee, and the next few months will be my last ditch effort to try to get some community spirit.

There are great ideas here. Any others would be very welcome.