How Do You Handle Team Members Who Aren't Pulling Their Weight in Volunteer Projects?

Hey all,

I've been facing this problem for the last few months. In our office, a specialized team was formed by the senior management to organize events, conferences, and seminars. The team was created by asking for volunteers; it was not imposed on anybody. Initially, there were 9 members in that committee, and we collectively decided on our responsibilities. However, as the work progressed, we realized that only four to five members were actively working, often extending their official hours. There were numerous suggestions from members who were not actively participating but consistently offering ideas.

These less active members, who were taking credit due to their seniority in terms of age and position, were not contributing effectively. It became evident that they were primarily interested in profiting from the situation rather than working towards the team's goals.

I am seeking advice on how to address these inactive members, as it has become apparent that they are motivated by personal gain rather than the team's success. We are keen on teaching them a lesson to emphasize the importance of teamwork. Without addressing this issue, many individuals may lose faith in the concept of collaborative work.

Please share your suggestions.

Cheers,
Archna

Hi Archana,

It is quite natural in a working environment that we cannot avoid such situations. Feel that you are gaining experience in how to treat colleagues and how to share work among themselves.

"Remember, all bosses wear a success cap but never come forward to take failure."

Dear Archana,

You may know the meaning of "Working partner" and "Sleeping partner". The people who are referred to are categorized as "Sleeping partners".

1. List out the areas they are not working towards.

2. List out the areas they are supposed to contribute.

3. Assign those responsibilities to them, and they need to fulfill them.

4. Perhaps, a small amount of fee (sitting fee) can be paid to the members for attending the meeting (hoping that they will become more involved).

5. Ensure that the term of the committee will be for a year. Then, automatically, new members will be selected.

6. You can involve young people in the committee, so that they can contribute more than the 'old lions'.

Maybe I can share my experience. Once in a meeting, my boss asked the people to come up with suggestions on 'how to keep the office clean'. As expected, no suggestions came, but I made a few suggestions. We need to place 'waste baskets' in strategic locations so that waste materials, papers, etc., can be disposed of properly. In the end, the responsibility of purchasing those baskets fell to me, and I did it.

So, my little experience suggests that you should try to involve young people.

When we work diligently, we tend to focus more on those 'who do not work'.

Finally, don't focus on those people. Just continue with your work. Avoiding them may sometimes yield good results.

I hope the above will be useful to you.

Best wishes,

Senthil Raj

Hey Archna,
This is a very common situation and I face the same dilemma being in our company Welfare Society.
Maybe you should together with the active members take a stand and talk to the Managers who decided on forming the committee in the first place. That is if you are planning on an official approach to solve this method.
The other solution I see is together with the active members you can plan out a coming event. But at the last minute you can change the details and maybe adjust the schedule etc and since the sleeping members do not take part in all the ongoing activities they will not be aware of the changes. When inquired you'll can explain that all meetings and organizing was carried out after discussing with the members who did participate in organizing and the people and so on………
Now this may sound like a cunning plot but…………….. you needed to teach them a lesson ryt????????? :)
Cheers,
Ashra

Dear Archana,

Yes, this is a very common situation. Sleeping members are sleepy only when they have to do some work; otherwise, they may be cunning enough to stay updated.

I propose to the management that this group of 9-10 members is very big, and only 5 members at a time can manage the event. We should distribute the events among two further groups - Active and Sleepy.

You can always propose that having such a big group is a waste of Company Time, which you have observed in the last event.

Subhash

Hello all,

Thanks for the responses; I'm relieved to receive so many replies regarding this issue of mine. I know that it is a common problem, but I do not want to accept it. If I acknowledge it today without conveying the message that what they did was wrong, this kind of practice will surely persist.

As an HR professional, I believe it is our duty to address such practices, especially where people seek to profit from such actions. I would also like to know if this occurs in situations outside the office, where actions are based purely on a voluntary basis, and yet individuals have made incorrect commitments.

I am eagerly awaiting responses from all.

Regards,
Archna

Treat them as non-person for a few meetings. Assume them as stone and do not react to their suggestions. They will come back and contribute actively. Try this out.

One important point to note is that most volunteer work or extracurricular activity is usually an open item in most organizations. Hence, it is very important to emphasize the basis for the work among and between your employees who show interest. For example, if you are working on improving conditions for the poor, medical camps, or whatever, everyone should have the same objective - i.e., to help the economically weak. Period. There is no other agenda.

As a result of this approach, your work will begin to create awareness in your employees. This will result in a movement where there is a common goal and objective. At the end of the day, the one who does the work will benefit. One needs to actually experience this inner cleansing. Those who have other agendas will automatically fade away. This is the law of nature.

Hence, please communicate your objectives from time to time. Do not extend the list of objectives. Keep it simple.

Best wishes, SK

Hello Kishore, I really liked the idea. We have used this also, but I'll surely use that again. Thanks, Sai Kiran.

We had a clear agenda for everything. These team members (who are not participating) are senior in terms of age and experience. They also decided the division of responsibilities, which was communicated to all the other members of the team. But every time you ask them, "Sir, we did this," they will give you one thousand suggestions and then say, "Leave this up to me," and then just gone. I remember the task they took was also not performed by them. It was just in the last few days that everybody had to finalize things.

Hi Kapesh, I did not understand your message. If you could just elaborate a little. Thanks to you all. Looking for more ideas to convey the message of non-performance and other things to them. Regards, Archna.

Dear Archana,

I agree with Mr. Kishore. Though you cannot avoid this kind of people, you can start ignoring them. You should not get disturbed by their presence.

You have to know the difference between:
Circle of control - Things that are under your control - you can change.
Circle of concern - You can only feel for that but cannot control.

If the above problem falls into the first one, you can take some risk in solving it. If it is the second one, then you can only feel for it. Don't get disturbed but carry on with your duty.

This is my way of looking at things - I don't know whether this inspires you!

Regards,
Sathyamoorthy Iyer

Hi friend,

I read your problem. This is a common issue in all organizations. Seniors often try to impose the workload on juniors.

I have also worked with a security company. I believe that if one can manage a security company for four or five years, they can handle all grievances, whether they are related to employees or the employer.

I suggest that you mirror their behavior. If they are lazy, you can also try being lazy. Just because they are seniors does not mean they can do as they please. There is upper management overseeing these seniors. If you show laziness, they might start working due to their reputation. It will then become their responsibility to solve all problems related to seminars, functions, etc. It is possible that they may try to remove you from the committee. If they do, they may later realize your importance. They may remove you from the committee but not from the organization. If you are confident, other members may select you later.

Try this approach once or twice, and you will see the results.

Parveen

Hi!

At the outset, I would like to say that it appears this is not a team but rather just a group of people working together, and there seems to be some problem in the leadership as well. So, as a first step, the said group has to be converted into a team with proper bonding and a sense of belonging with an appropriate team leader. In this case, as the task is to organize the said events, the leadership may be situational leadership. Once these are established, half the battle is over.

Sleeping members also play a role in the entire play, at least for constructive criticism, which is necessary to maintain balance. The rest of the problems may take care of themselves once the team is in a winning mode, as nothing succeeds like success.

The views expressed above are my personal views and should not be taken as suggestions from sleeping members. :P I will add more later.

With best regards,
Alok Goel

Hi Archana,

Well, in this case, the best policy is to ignore such people as that is the best possible way to teach a lesson to them. Try to practice that, and you will see results after some time.

Cheers,
Ashish Jain

Hi Dear,

There is a universal proverb that you might have known from livelihood: "The bullocks, while ploughing the field, the farmer always beats the bullock which is walking faster than the other." Like that in teamwork, those who are carrying the workload on their shoulders, their job is always like that. So never mind!

My suggestion is, first of all, you should organize your work. Identify the specific area for each respective person. Then, observe the seating arrangement and engage with the people. After that, assign them some job tasks with specific targets. The rest of the important tasks should be shared among you and your colleagues. This may somewhat solve your problems.

Regards,
PBS KUMAR
Email: pbskumar2000@yahoo.com

Hey all,

Thanks a lot for the whole bunch of wonderful responses. I'm feeling so good now after reading all the thoughts expressed here.

Dear Alok,

There are times when you work in a group and you do not have a leader. It is the criticism and non-work of these sleeping members which suddenly make a leader. But actually, the leader never worked like a leader due to various reasons; otherwise, the things would have been sorted out long ago.

Looking forward to more suggestions from all of you on this.

Thanks again,
Archna

Hi Archana,

I mean whether you feel that you are not working for the team or there is no leader in your team, you are still contributing your work to the organization. This means that every individual is putting or adding some work to the organization. If you think you are only doing your work, then also you are contributing to your org and the same with your colleagues. This is how an organization is complete teamwork; if anybody delays the work, it hinders the whole process of the organization.

When you talk of a team without a leader, that means your organization is giving you a chance to have your leader or become a leader, show up your capabilities, work enthusiastically. There are times when you feel your boss is not listening to you, but never lose your confidence and nor compromise the quality of work; someday it will pay back to you and develop your personality.

Regards,
Kapesh

Dear archnahr,

All active participants know the extent to which the work has been accomplished; now, keep the current state frozen. Simulate a possible, not-possible situation in front of the whole group. Ensure that the non-active participants contribute as if you all do not have a solution or do not know how to proceed. This would be a simulation game involving different routes like Route 1, Route 2, Route 3, etc.

Make sure that you, as active participants, raise negative points such as what if this fails or what if it takes more time, to stimulate discussion. Some individuals may skip this exercise due to an inability to handle resentment. It is expected to provide you with multiple options to consider.

With regards,
vennpuru

Hello,

Very interesting.

I forgot to add that at times when all the team members met to discuss or brainstorm, they were all present. We did exactly what is written by Vennupuru. The outcome was some very negative remarks by one of them, that at one point everybody was feeling depressed.

The other thing is there was a teammate I trusted a lot, I think everybody did. This person has given a lot of suggestions and sounded very positive. He took a lot of responsibility, and we all agree as he is very senior. But the outcome was ZERO; when he was required the most, he was not there. And once the things started gearing up for one of the seminars, he came up again with some suggestions and criticism with a lot of sarcasm. We all got hurt, and I'm still today. And this is one of the reasons I want him to know what teamwork is.

Kindly share your inputs.

Cheers,
Archna

Hi Archna....

What I remember is the Iron Lady, Indira Gandhi's quote - "There are two kinds of people in this world, those who love work and those who take the credit. Is it not better to be in the first group?"

The first group will always have lots of work... In fact, you can tell by looking at their desk; there will be piles of files.

And now we have something which is taught to the kids in the B-school where I teach at times...

Smart working and hard working - you know the difference... There is a story...

Lord Shiva and his wife, Goddess Parvati, were happily living with their two 'kiddos' - Lord Master Ganesha and Lord Master Muruga. One day someone gifted the family a unique and mouth-watering kind of fruit... Remember, it was just one fruit, and you know what happens when two lord kiddos find just a single fruit - obviously, they didn't want to share it either. So the parents had only one option... It was decided that the kido lord who did 5 times around the world first would get to taste the much-desired fruit... Then what happened?

Suspense...

Lord Muruga had his super-sonic peacock jet at his disposal; he had already started circling the 'small world.' But alas, our cute Lord Ganesha had only the mice gaadi... Do you know what he did?

Suspense...

He went around his parents 5 times and sought their blessings!!! Man, he knew how to impress his parents... What a strategist, right?

By the time Lord Muruga came victoriously... our Lord Vigneswara was licking his fingers after the treat...

So... the moral of the story is... you can only wake up those who are actually sleeping; you do your best and get going... One day, everyone concerned will realize who is who, and then it will be fine... The exposure you get from voluntary efforts is worth more than anything else... What do you say?

Regards,

Jeeves. 8)

Hi Archana,

As you think it's a problem for everybody, they have their own KRAs, decided by someone, maybe your manager. Make sure whatever work you do is communicated to him directly or indirectly. At the end of the day, whatever work you do, there should be some recognition as well. Check if this helps. I am not saying you should carry an umbrella to your boss, but they should know that you and your team are working, not everybody.

Regards,
Siva

Hi Archna,

Very interesting issue this...

The main problem in this situation, as I see it, is that it is voluntary. When it is voluntary, there is nothing to draw out the performance from those people who only talk grandly and actually do nothing. It is dependent on their self-motivation primarily.

The only thing that can be done is what some people have already suggested here - during team meetings, praise the members who have worked in front of those who have not, and hope that it pinches them. If it does not, then throw out the non-performers and replace them with more sincere and committed people... :wink: :D State the message that either people perform or they stay away.

Regards,
Devjit

Hi Jeevs & Devjit,

WOW!! That is an inspiring story. I have read this one a lot of times. Thank you for reminding me of it.

In my case, I'm not worried about hard work or smart work. We all arranged everything without working hard. :D Lately, everybody knows who did the work and who did not. And, truly speaking, I'm least bothered about the credit part as well.

My problem is just that when you form a team voluntarily or involuntarily, is it not your duty to perform all the responsibilities you have taken in front of the whole group? Obviously, we cannot make any person work, but if we talk about motivation here, it is money that they are motivated with. Is money everything? There is nothing called morals and values for these people, and they are good experienced individuals; one of them is an ex-army personnel. The situation has depressed me a lot.

I want to know what all of you think about this. Am I wrong somewhere in drawing a conclusion about these people?

Cheers,
Archna

Hi Archna,

When it comes to addressing this issue, you need to be more assertive at times, which currently seems to be lacking. If you find yourself in a position where you have to take the lead, why not embrace it wholeheartedly? Instead of waiting for someone else to share the responsibilities, why not take charge?

Certainly, this may not align with the concept of teamwork, but, my dear, it also does not represent true leadership. Strive to be more assertive and lead with the same vigor you exhibit in your office. How many individuals have achieved the level of success you have at this point in your career?

Furthermore, if financial incentives can inspire team members to engage in voluntary work, consider discussing this with your managers as it could prompt a shift within the team dynamics.

Lastly, please do not burden yourself with the responsibility of changing the entire world (I realize this may sound a bit blunt :D); there are individuals better suited for that role, just as there always have been.

Take a moment to relax and enjoy yourself.

Abhinav

Hello Archana,

You are facing a problem which I think prevails in almost all teams. I think I have a recipe that can work:

1) Next time there is an event, invite your sleeping buddies to coordinate the event.
2) Your sleeping buddies might come up with new ideas and understand their responsibilities, so they will involve themselves more.
3) If your sleeping buddies are not efficient enough to lead, then make them realize the reality and all of you busy bees can make them quit.
4) On the issue of taking credibility, that is again an art. It seems your sleeping buddies have expertise in that. Always remember you are a professional, not a socialist. You are here to work, get noticed, and be rewarded. You will find your way.

Regards,
Siddhartha Maini

Hi Siddharth,

I have done exactly what you are saying. For some time, I and other active members of the team will not take the initiative in organizing the next event. I'll wait for some time to let them start, and internally we will already prepare our own plan for the event without involving our sleeping members (I prefer not calling them buddies because of the problems they have created). We all want to see whether they take any initiative or plan for the event and DO SOMETHING for the event or not. Once the clear picture is there, we will all come out as winners.

Cheers,
Archna

Hi Archana,

Very Interesting issue you have raised on this forum. I could find time at 11.20 pm to go through the recent discussions after a long pause. I have gone through the entire thread and would like to share such experience of mine ON TEAM WORK.

I wanted to join a voluntary organization, in which I was highly impressed with the team whomsoever had shown interest for that organization. The credit of wonderful hardwork was appreciated time and again. In the first meeting few people ditched to the coordinating members and vanished at the last minute. The others present had to pay extra money from their pockets, which they did not incur. Infact I volunteered to pay the money as a senior person of the group, thinking that the loss should not be borne unnecessary by those who had not been party to it. Anyway, I went by the decision of the group leader and every body present shared the expenses, as a good teamwork.

I do not know whether excess money share resulted into the exit of few other members who were present in the first meeting; but certainly I had received the feedback, that this was one of the reasons. The core team was decided with their roles and it was assumed to be happy beginning.

In the second meeting of identified core team members, the agenda was decided, and significantly light was thrown on legal aspects and lot of efforts, which were depending directly upon the official support liquidated due to non-presence of required official. The third meeting was called and the same story was repeated,…. started the meeting with good start but confused me personally when again it came on formulating the agenda as a way forward. I reacted to the group that decision shall be pending again by the non-presence of official in the third meeting too and we are back to square one. My reaction might had hurt the group, but I was not invited in the next meeting, I PRESUMED that I am not required.

CAN WE CONSIDER IT A TEAM WORK?

I chased out of my interest if I can contribute but I was told that the group is meeting separately and they shall let me know the progress. I contacted again few of the members who had picked up my call and they updated me and simultaneously out of my bad part, I offered few suggestions if that could be in the interest of organization. No feedback was given to me even after their meeting.

I received a call after few days when there was some trouble in organizing an event. I tried to offer my services if the last chance taken by the group fails. I was promised of giving the feedback this time also but did not receive any call; I do not know if I was wrongly understood.

I do not know if all this going on was teamwork?

How much we had known each other on personal capacity, GOD may bless them all. I never wanted to gain sympathy of the team members from my difficult phase of life. However, with my social network, I am capable of handling this by the grace of GOD. It is just being shared out of my emotions that the treatment of my son was going on and still going on…he is suffering from HEPATITIS A&B, my old father was hospitalized for operation and still he has to undergo another operation.

The worst part is that the team did not understand each other and started BLOWING EACH OTHER.

I am thankful to dear Archana for bringing such issue in our forum where people still need to understand the importance of TEAM WORK. I think Knowing team members would better constitute a good team and team working. I honestly feel kicked out from that organization at this stage. I think I am.

Should I still continue in that voluntary organization, will you kindly make it convenient to advise?

I need the advise of other valued members of the Citehr too.

Parashar

P.S. My personal advise to you for your organization is to say goodbye to sleeping partners than keeping them hanging no where. If at all they are required, show courage to talk to them headon. This is my suggestion not an advise.

I was one of the lead speaker in recent Global HR Meet and had mentioned about Citehr community. People took interest in knowing about it. I am happy to inform few Citehrians were present already in that meet.

CHEERS

Dear Parashar,

Thank you for your suggestion of leaving the sleeping partners out of the team; we did exactly that, and the results were tremendous.

Regarding the case that you have presented, here are my suggestions:

- You mentioned that you voluntarily participated in the organization, so why do you have such high expectations in terms of "INVITATIONS" to attend another meeting?

- In the first meeting, it was not only you but other members as well who contributed excess money, yet no one except you raised this issue. I might be mistaken here, and you could be right that most of them did not turn up for the second meeting because of this. But who knows the truth.

- Concerning the presence of an official in the meetings, I am not certain if it was necessary. The so-called official was involved in every step and provided total support to the organization. HIS SUPPORT WAS THERE THROUGHOUT.

- I conducted a two-day session at one of ASIA's best Management Institutes on Teamwork and discussed this case of mine with them. The upcoming Managers, and some of them Leaders, also provided me with a wonderful conclusion which I will certainly share with everyone in a few days.

- You were a part of the Organizing committee and yet requested an invitation; that's SURPRISING. This is surely not teamwork.

- Giving suggestions but not following through is the real problem. If you can chase those people and offer suggestions, why not work and lead by example?

- Now, regarding personal matters, when discussing this openly, let me also address this:

Second meeting: My brother was down with typhoid, and I was the only one available to take care of him. Nevertheless, I made sure to attend the meeting. Interestingly, I was also unwell, but I attended because I was the team leader.

Third meeting: Just three days before, I lost my father's ELDER BROTHER, but I ensured my presence at the meeting, which was organized by only 4 members of the so-called organizing committee. Another member lost his CHACHA, and he could not attend, but he was actively involved in the work, not just in words.

May God bless your son.

Regards,

Archna

Thank you, sir, for the praise. But this is not only about me; it is about our whole team, and I'm proud of being a member of the team. It is DEVJIT, GEETI, KIRAN, ALOK, ASHISH, NITIN, and me; we all worked like that. I forgot to mention NITIN in the last post. He was diagnosed with stones and had tremendous pain, but he did all the work and took charge. He was not well on the day of the meeting also, but no one could guess. So, this is my team— all passionate and like-minded.

I know there are a few passionate people like me, and I found all of them on this forum. You will be surprised to know that I will not be taking the lead in arranging the meeting now due to personal reasons. So, it is a chance for you to take the lead and run the show. I know you would not disappoint us. The other team members are always there for support.

Best Regards,
Archna

Hats off to the entire team. It is commendable that all of you were able to achieve this due to your passion and like-mindedness.

Dear Archna, many thanks for entrusting me with the responsibility. However, now that you know me, please do not place your trust in me for a responsibility that I may not live up to. Therefore, I may not be the most suitable candidate, and I believe this opportunity should be given to someone more fitting.

Thanks again,
Parashar

Teamwork? What is that? We are very poor in that, be it a big team like our cricket team or a small team like Tennis (Look at Mahesh Bhupati and Leander Paes). Well, the clear way to involve everyone is through discussions and regular meetings to establish clear responsibilities. There is also a need to review progress at regular intervals. You should also discuss rewards for successfully handling roles. Clarity in tasks and roles is required. Proper responsibility and authority need to be assigned. Review of progress is a must. Rewards must be clearly declared. Or else, it will be like the story of "Everybody, Anybody, and Nobody." Have a great day and stay in touch.

Regards,
Sanjeev Sharma

Hi,

Up to now, everybody has vented their views regarding the so-called teamwork. Now is the time to really show teamwork with the same zeal and enthusiasm, and with the same members from the first meeting to the third meeting, along with all the inactive members (including myself) and highly proactive members.

Let's start working for the fourth meeting and make this a memorable event. This forum is for everyone, and we should begin sharing our ideas, views, suggestions, and advice for the initiation of the new event.

Looking forward to all the team members cooling down and starting to share their invaluable experiences for a memorable event.

Best regards,
Alok Goel

Hi Archana,

My observations are as follows:

There must be a central coordinator when such a group is formed.

There must be a central monitoring mechanism (i.e., some written/unwritten rules or guidelines for the members) and also for monitoring individual contributions/progress.

There must be some mechanism to regulate/elect their membership/continued membership. If they do not participate, there must be a way for their exit from the group.

Some group and/or individual incentives may work such as 'The Most Effective Contributor'. Incentives may be monetary or, alternately, non-monetary (i.e., in kind - gift, citation, social recognition, etc).

Self-regulation is often missing. Therefore, you could speak to the bosses who actually conceptualized this plan and point out the shortcomings that the system is creating.

Regarding monetary spendings, I think there needs to be a monitoring mechanism and audit on expenses. Often, a budgeting exercise helps to control 'wastages' and needless money splurging.

Lastly, some team-building sessions, perhaps not quite related to this group but generally including these group members emphasizing the essence and benefits of team working may work, though gradually.

Hope some of these tips help.

Do remember to keep your cool as an HR professional (as I am one amongst you who has faced numerous such situations) but act with tact and firmness.

Regards,

Rahul Kumar