Paying Your Volunteers

The idea that all workers, paid or volunteer, are, in essence, volunteers is not new. In today’s highly competitive job market, employees, especially in technical fields, frequently entertain job offers from headhunters. What makes people stay at a company? Most think erroneously that money is the number one motivator. It’s not.

An acquaintance, a chemist in the computer industry, recently complained to me that his company didn’t recognize him for one of his inventions — a special solution that washes silicon chips. He told me his company pays him a big salary, but “what I want is recognition for what I’ve done,” he said. He was frustrated because he hadn’t been singled out for his unique contribution on several projects.

“Psychic income” refers to what motivates people other than money, such as respect, recognition, and challenge. Psychic income may be the only non-eternal benefit people receive from serving in the church, yet it’s often in short supply. Simple things such as a thank-you note, clear communication and expectations, a strong leader who makes one excited about the work — all contribute to psychic income, which makes volunteers feel their service was worthwhile.

I was recently asked to participate in a “interpretive movement” team for our Sunday morning worship service. (Interpretative movement, in my opinion, is a euphemism for “dance” … but at least I didn’t have to wear a leotard.) A men’s chorus sang “The Lord’s Prayer,” and our team used simple arm-and-body movements to express the meaning of the prayer. The worship experience was powerful.

I’m not an interpretative-movement-kind-of guy; my wife gasped when she heard I had said yes. Yet from the moment I was asked to participate in the service to the long rehearsals to the thank-you note I received in the mail a couple days after the service, I felt appreciated, important. I believed my service contributed to the worship of God.

Why? Because our leader, a volunteer whose full-time job is nursing, kept us focused on why we were doing what we were doing — to lead people in holy worship. Plus, she did the little things that translated into psychic income for the team: the warm invitation, the follow-up phone calls, clear expectations, well-directed rehearsals, and the brief but heartfelt thank-you note.

I may even, uh, do it again sometime.

— Dave Goetz is editor of ChurchLeadership.Net. To comment on this devotional, e-mail Newsletter@LeadershipJournal.net.