Volunteering

Despite continuous change, some organisations struggle to provide the sort of development opportunities that individuals need to develop their skills, knowledge and behaviours. One solution to this intractable problem, and one that seems to be gaining momentum, is providing developmental opportunities through volunteering to work on community-based projects.

Companies like Barclays Bank and Abbey National operate a ‘Matched Time Scheme’ scheme whereby the company matches the amount of personal time that individuals are prepared to give up to work on community projects^[12].The Boots Company has taken their volunteering scheme one step further, through the introduction of a national qualification – Certificate of Recognition as a Community Associate – which recognises volunteering activities in company time. Through the certification process individuals and line managers have a means of recognising and valuing the skills and behaviours developed through volunteering.

There are a number of benefits of volunteering from a knowledge management perspective (Evans, 2002).

At the individual level:

• Exposure to different cultures and different ways of working, thus helping individuals see things from a different perspective.

• An opportunity to apply existing skills in new environments. While this may not seem particularly developmental, applying existing skills to a new area can help individuals re-visit their assumptions about why things are done in a certain way within their own organisation. This can then lead to suggestions for improved practices back within the workplace.

• An opportunity to stimulate innovative thinking and learning in unfamiliar territories.

• For some, an opportunity to ‘try out’ more senior roles before an internal career move.

At the organisational level:

• Enhanced opportunities for knowledge building by learning from the experience of other businesses.

• Used as part of a strategic approach to development, volunteering can lead to enhanced skill-sets e.g. strategic thinking, project management, team working, creative thinking, influencing and negotiating. It can also provide important ‘out of the box’ developmental experiences for certain groups of employees. The importance of volunteering then, from a learning and development perspective, should not be underestimated.

• More motivated, energised and committed employees.

One final thought about the dangers of not being open to learning from the outside world comes from the lessons learnt from the Space Shuttle Challenger project.

Lessons From The Space Shuttle Challenger Project

( Source: John Bank, 1999)

The disastrous launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger on 28 January 1986 is attributed, in part, to the homogeneous company culture of the decision-makers – male engineers with identical engineering backgrounds and similar personality profiles. The NASA managers were so hell-bent on reaching their objectives that they ignored safety warnings from outside contractors Rockwell (about ice on the launch pad) and from Morton Thiokol (about the cold temperature and rubber O-rings) and their own engineers who opposed the launch.

Because the NASA managers were too similar in type and backgrounds they easily developed a ‘group think’ mentality and a management style that let programme objectives override good judgment. Since research indicates that individuals cannot be made to change their management profile drastically in the long run, the way to change the aggregate profile of NASA managers is to bring in a small but significant number of managers from the outside, who would add the desired diversity to the team.

Does this example have any resonance with the way people behave in your organisation?

Where does ‘group think’ get in the way of your organisation moving forward?

What success have you had in getting others to value the knowledge that can be gained from outsiders?

How can you ensure that those who think and act differently to others are heard and feel valued?

So what can HR do to help their organisations benefit from learning through everyday practice? Some options to consider include:

• Review your training and development portfolio to identify whether it reflects the different approaches for maximising knowledge transfer discussed in this chapter.

• Re-educate managers on the importance and benefits of informal learning, providing them with options and examples.

• Offer to facilitate team meetings and project reviews to help teams focus on learning outcomes.

• Encourage and support managers who are prepared to trial new ways of working, such as cross-boundary team working.

• Introduce a knowledge exchange slot at your own team meetings then, once embedded and benefits realised, share the lessons learnt with others in the organisation.

^[12]See www.volunteering.org.uk