To volunteer or not to volunteer: a study on the volunteer evaluation of communications strategies used by an NGO in changing the behavior of medical professionals.

Abstract

Despite the vast research done about organizational behavior, communication strategies and campaigns, little is discovered about how communication strategies in campaigns contribute on behavior change of individuals. Most of the studies are about health and policy campaigns while there is limited research on campaigns made by non-government organizations. This research is about the evaluation of the communication strategies used for volunteer relations of a Philippine non-government organization as perceived by the volunteers themselves. A total of twelve medical volunteers are interviewed about their experiences as volunteers in OSP, the communication process, their personal evaluation of the communication strategies used by OSP, and how all of these contribute to their behavioral intent to stay in the organization and continue volunteering. Analysis of the data reveals that aside from the self and normative beliefs the volunteer has about volunteerism in OSP and the communications strategies OSP uses in their volunteer relations, emotional experiences and professional experiences also contribute to the behavioral intent to volunteer or not. Volunteer evaluations show how effective the communication strategies are in influencing volunteers and medical professionals in committing as volunteers in OSP. This study presents what volunteers look for in organizations. Non-government organizations and other volunteer-based organizations will find this research useful in their volunteer relations and in their ensuring of effective communication among the staff and the volunteer stakeholders.