Hi Julie,
In our institution, volunteers are subject to the same ethical and
behavioral standards as employees. It just gets too messy otherwise.
If a volunteer is unwilling to accept these conditions, we pleasantly
thank them for their time but deny their application to volunteer.
Just because an individual wants to volunteer does not mean you have to
accept them or their unprofessional behavior.
Be that as it may, you may have inherited this person. In that case, a
one-on-one consultation with them privately would be in order. I'd
tell them exactly what is unacceptable, provide them with acceptable
behavior options, and ask them what conditions they are experiencing
that give rise to being out of control. It would be entirely fair, in
my opinion, then to give a warning that if they cannot modify their
behavior within an acceptable period, they will be asked to volunteer
elsewhere.
Above all, keep your cool. Document, document, document. And invite a
silent witness to attend the meeting if you feel personally threatened
by this person. We don't always have medical or psychological profiles
for our volunteers, and there may be extenuating circumstances for bad
behavior. This isn't excusing the bad behavior, but you may be able to
give the person more time to turn the corner if they aren't interacting
with the public or small children.
If you have a human resources person, she/he might be another source of
help, but I personally have found precious little assistance from that
arena, if the advice was being sought in regards to volunteers or
interns.
I've been blessed in the past with a steadfast group of "Regulars".
We've become very close, but even families have their upsets, and I've
certainly found myself in some strange, uncomfortable situations from
time to time.
Good luck!
Shirley S. Albright
Assistant Curator, Natural History Collections and Exhibitions,
Collections Database Administrator
New Jersey State Museum
33 W. State St., 3rd floor
PO Box 530
Trenton, NJ 08625-0530
(Office) 609.292.6331
(Fax) 609.292.7636
-----Original Message-----
From: Archives & Archivists [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Julie Holcomb
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 3:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: volunteer question
Hi all,
I need to fire a volunteer and I would like suggestions on how best to
handle this situation especially since I am doing this because of the
volunteer's of increasingly aggressive and disruptive behavior. Please
respond off-list if you have had to deal with a similar situation. I
can
compile the responses and post them later without attribution, if anyone
else is interested.
Thanks,
Julie
--
Julie Holcomb, MLIS, CA
Director of the Pearce Collections Museum/
Navarro College Archivist
Pearce Collections at Navarro College
3100 W. Collin St.
Corsicana, Texas 75110
Phone: (903) 875-7438 ~ Fax: (903) 875-7593
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Internet: http://www.pearcecollections.us
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more
we recognize the limitations and failings of human beings, the more
remarkable and even encouraging history can be." David Brion Davis
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