by Edward A. Schirick, C.P.C.U., C.I.C., C.R.M.
Preservation of an organization's assets is one of the primary
goals of risk management. Most of those who work with volunteers would
agree they are valuable assets, worthy of developing and preserving,
notwithstanding the fact this can be a challenging task.
Identifying and Screening Volunteer Resources
Treat volunteer workers just as you would an employee. Create a job
description, which includes a list of the qualities and skills needed
for someone to successfully perform the role and duties needed.
Develop a volunteer worker application designed to gather critical information
about their work history, as well as their volunteer history. Include
questions designed to draw out the type of volunteer work they've
done in the past, what they'd like to do now, and why. Ask them
to identify the skills and knowledge they have that would benefit your
camp. Relate these back to the job descriptions you created. Consider
including a section about certifications that would be valuable for your
camp, such as first aid, or CPR skills.
Seek references, and permission to contact those references, as well
as supervisors, or administrators at the organizations they served previously,
whether as an employee or volunteer. Human resource professionals recommend
that you contact all references presented. Resist the temptation to assume
acceptable performance, especially when clergy or people you may be mutually
acquainted with are included as a personal reference. Document thoroughly,
just as you would for a prospective employee.
Checking Criminal History and Driving Records
All volunteer workers with responsibility for or access to campers should
undergo a criminal background check. Historically, this has been difficult
to accomplish. First and foremost, understand the background check laws
in your state. (For information, visit www.ACAcamps.org/publicpolicy/regulations.)
A comprehensive national criminal background check is best. However,
the types of checks available and the various processes are confusing.
To understand the options visit, www.ACAcamps.org/publicpolicy/cbc.pdf.
Several American Camp Association Business Partners offer discounted
background check services to ACA camps. Go to www.ACAcamps.org/partners
for more information.
In addition, some of the camp insurance underwriters have made discounted
criminal record checks available for their clients. Check with your insurance
broker for more information about these value-added benefits through
certain insurance companies.
Motor vehicle record checks are available from state departments of
motor vehicles. You can ask volunteers to provide their own driving histories,
or do your own independent check. Services and costs vary by state. (For
details about each state, visit www.ACAcamps.org/publicpolicy/regulations.)
Some insurance companies will provide driving history record checks as
part of their underwriting process. Once again, check with your insurance
brokers.
Regardless of which resource you use, be sure to treat every volunteer
equally and fairly. Remember to secure permission to conduct these investigations
from each prospective volunteer. Ask your legal counsel to check your
volunteer application for compliance with applicable credit reporting
laws, notification, and disclosure requirements.
Determining Competency/Training/Supervision
This is the same problem camp directors confront with employees. Preparing/training
volunteer workers is as important as preparing/training employees. The
preparation process is especially challenging when volunteer workers
change weekly or accompany campers from affiliated or member organizations
where the camp has less control over this process.
Directors would be wise to avoid assigning volunteer workers to duties
that require "hard skills" such
as lifeguarding without a prior opportunity to determine their competency.
Consider offering training prior to their arrival at camp. This could
be an on-site visit over a weekend, for example. The Internet also offers
a highly adaptive environment to accomplish training. This approach might
help mitigate the time pressure everyone experiences in the summer that
can lead to superficial training experiences. Providing precamp training
would allow you to conduct a refresher course once the volunteer arrives
at camp under less time pressure.
Determining the type and amount of training is facilitated by the use
of job descriptions and volunteer applications. Investing more time before
the volunteers arrive at camp might pay big dividends in terms of their
confidence and performance. It may also help you sleep better at night
during the summer.
Supervision is the other key part of the volunteer worker challenge.
Everyone is grateful for the time and value volunteers bring to our
camp organizations. Our ability to serve campers without them would
be greatly hampered or in some cases impossible.
Feeling grateful and appreciating volunteer workers should not deter
you from supervising them the same way you would an employee. Provide
feedback, both positive and negative promptly and diplomatically. Catch
them doing "something
right" as often as you can, and remember to check on the critical
or key result areas of their duties regularly. Human resource experts tell
us that people pay attention to the issues their "boss" focuses
on regularly.
Conduct a formal performance review of your volunteer workers and decide
if you want them to return next year. Provide additional information or
training for them if you want to help improve their performance next time.
Document, document, document!
When Does a Volunteer Worker Become an Employee?
Whoa! Wait a second! How does a volunteer worker become an employee?
Well, unfortunately when this metamorphosis occurs the result is not
a beautiful butterfly. Instead, the result can be an ugly set of circumstances
with negative financial implications for your camp. Consider the facts
in this potentially real set of circumstances. You are blessed with a talented
group of volunteer workers. These men and women have wonderful skills and
have saved your camp thousands of dollars.
They are at camp in the spring working on projects (new roofs on a couple
of cabins) you'd like to have done for the summer. You host them
as you always have by providing rooms and feeding them. You provide the
materials, equipment, and tell them where you want them to start. Your
caretaker works closely with the group providing direction, and you check
on them periodically.
Suddenly something goes wrong. One of the crew loses his balance and
falls off the roof of a cabin. He is seriously injured. He'll
recover, but his medical bills will be substantial, and he'll
lose some time from work. He has medical insurance, but no disability
insurance at his job, so while he is laid up and can't work there
will be no income for his family. He loves your camp. He went there
himself, but in the face of this devastating situation he is compelled
to contact a lawyer.
The bottom line in this scenario has at least two possible outcomes.
The first, his lawyer realizes that because he received free room and
meals each time he volunteered that this constituted "remuneration." Therefore,
under the worker's compensation law of your state he is eligible
for worker's compensation benefits. This will differ from state to
state.
This eligibility could come as a surprise to your worker's compensation
insurer. But, at least his medical bills and rehabilitation expenses will
be covered. He will receive some lost wages protection and maybe even a
settlement for any permanent partial disability that could result. The
worker's compensation insurer may not renew your policy.
The other outcome in this scenario is the lawyer seizes the opportunity
to bring suit against your camp's general liability insurance alleging
you were negligent and are therefore responsible for causing the volunteer
worker's injuries.
The difference in the outcomes could be substantial. Worker's
compensation limits the "employee's" ability to recover
the benefits provided by the worker's compensation law in your
state. It is an exclusive remedy. Civil litigation could be quite expensive
and result in a larger insurance claim. But, either way the financial
implications for your camp could be significant and quite negative for
some time to come.
Control and Transfer the Risks
Encourage volunteer workers, especially those on building committees
and others who might be involved in riskier activities to identify the
risks for themselves. This will help to raise awareness.
In addition, provide personal protective equipment—hard hats,
eye protection, and gloves for example, and require proper footwear for
all volunteer workers. Volunteer workers can be expected to wear personal
flotation devices and follow other safety practices while at camp.
More fundamentally, consider avoiding the risk of volunteer worker injuries
by not putting them in overly risky situations, like replacing a roof.
Instead, transfer the risk to independent contractors. Secure certificates
of insurance from them. Request additional insured status for your camp
on their general liability insurance for any injury or damage they cause
while on your premises. Keep these certificates of worker's compensation
and general liability insurance permanently.
Consider how you'd like your insurance to work if a volunteer
worker is injured. Then ask your insurance broker/advisors to join you
to explore the options for protecting them and your camp organization—preserving
everyone's assets as much as possible.
Originally published in the 2007 July/August
issue of Camping Magazine. |
