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No More Homeless Pets Forum
March 8, 2004 Shelter Operations |
Denise Deisler of the Richmond, Virginia SPCA will share her insights into managing an organization successfully. How do you establish effective policies? Handle a crisis? Hire good help? Every day is a new challenge for people who play a role in managing a shelter.
Introduction from Denise Deisler:
Shelter operations -- never a dull moment!Daily, with a staff of about 65, the Richmond SPCA cares for 250-300 pets, performs 40-50 spay/neuter surgeries, hosts 30-50 school children for a variety of programs, conducts obedience classes, and answers calls for behavior assistance.
Moving seamlessly between personnel issues, volunteer problems, customer service questions and concerns, facility maintenance, and disease control can be challenging, to say the least. How do you keep all the balls in the air?
I look forward this week to answering your questions about management and policies to help your organization run more smoothly.
Questions
Developing emergency plans for a shelter
Developing a management structure to oversee operations
Creating good relationships between paid staff and volunteers
Shelter software
When adoption numbers go down is the director at fault?
Post adoption hotline
Stress reduction for dogs in shelters
Crisis plan for unexpected animal situations
Recruiting good employees
Implementing new policies and having staff meetings to discuss
Volunteer training
Staying in touch with adopters
Determining animal to staff ratios and budgets
Developing emergency plans for a shelter
Question from Leslie:
The one thing that has always scared me about our shelter is that we have no plans for evacuation. None of us knows what our plan of action would be in case of a tornado or fire and what we would do with the 30+ dogs and 80+ cats. Do you have a plan in place and if so, how did you go about creating a plan and what does it involve?Response from Denise:
The Richmond SPCA has evacuation plans in place - one for fire and another for weather related disasters such as hurricane, tornado or severe storms. A well researched and rehearsed plan is essential to avoiding tragedy. I encourage you to set one up as soon as possible. A good place to start would be to request that your local fire department assess your facility and the potential threats and enlist their assistance in crafting a plan. Education on prevention is a very important role they fill and I am sure they'd be happy to help. Another great resource is your local Red Cross. We are very fortunate in that our building is fire alarmed directly to our fire department, which is only blocks down the street. The geographic proximity to the nearest fire station should factor into your planning. In addition, every animal care and housing area is equipped with a sprinkler system and back up power. These systems are tested quarterly. That said, in the event of fire, we have divided our building into zones and supervisors are assigned responsibilities within their zones.One supervisor in each zone is responsible for evacuating all personnel and members of the public (people safety is paramount, we have between 100-250 in the building at any given time in addition to 250 animals) another individual within their zone is responsible for ensuring pets are secured in their run or cage and for placing wet towels under doorways to animal care areas PROVIDED IT IS SAFE FOR THEM TO REMAIN IN THE AREA AND DO SO. Because of safety features in the building such as sprinklers and separate ventilation areas, the threat of fire to the animal care areas is minimal. Each zone supervisor has a designated area outside to gather and report to the Director of Operations. The Director of Operations is responsible for reporting evacuation status to the Chief Operating Officer. The Chief Operating Officer is assigned to meet the fire department to access the level of threat (false alarm? small fire? large serious threat?) and follow the fire department's instructions. We do have a fenced outdoor area so that in the unlikely event we needed to evacuate dogs, and it was safe to do so, we could. During weather related disasters, zone supervisors have essentially the same responsibilities except people are moved to areas that have been designated as safe zones within the building, animals that are housed in areas with windows are moved to non-window areas, windows are taped and covered, and the Chief Operating Officer monitors weather reports to declare when it is safe to return to normal operations.
We periodically review emergency plans with our staff and when we have notice of impending weather threats we call all staff together and review again. We also have a designated area for emergency supplies - flash lights, batteries, cell phone etc. Hurricane Isabel hit Richmond hard this past fall, am proud to say that we had a brave crew of staff and volunteers that stayed the night and weathered the storm through power outages, water outage, high winds and very frightening conditions. They kept our dogs and cats safe from harm and did their best to keep them calm. Despite damage to the building, all pets and people were fine. Please contact your fire department and begin your planning. You will find it fairly simple and very comforting to have a plan in place.
Developing a management structure to oversee operations
Question from a member:
Could you share what your management set up looks like, and who oversees what, especially for the department caring for the animals? We have had a lot of infighting and confusion because we have two supervisors for two shifts who both report to the Director. One oversees the first half of the week, and the second oversees the second part of the week. What has ended up happening is that we have two shifts that blame each other for everything and don't work well together. One shift will even leave animals that need to be euthanized for the other shift so that they don't have to do it.Then we have a supervisor for up front at the reception/adoption desk who oversees that area. The problem is that the two areas are completely separate and don't communicate well. So animal care might have pulled the puppies from the adoption floor, for whatever reason, but not told the adoption staff, so they are still adopting out the puppies. This doesn't go over well!
This structure is not working at all, and we are looking for other management models to see if we can rectify this situation. Perhaps we need an operations manager to oversee all areas?
Response from Denise:
Our organizational structure is such that all staff members charged with animal care responsibilities fall under our Director of Operations. Reporting directly to her are the clinic supervisor, kennel supervisor, adoption supervisor and receiving supervisor. The Director of Operations does a great job of fostering a team approach and communicating clearly about the potential impact of one department's actions on another (both positive and negative.) She has weekly meetings with all four supervisors to provide them the opportunity to air concerns, present problems or ask questions. They trouble shoot and problem solve as a group. We have only one kennel supervisor, and she has a designated "number 2" person that fills in on her days off. We implemented this structure about 18 months ago, and it has worked out beautifully for us. Our supervisors view each other as peers and team members rather than adversaries.Best Wishes!
Creating good relationships between paid staff and volunteers
Question from Fran:
How do you balance your paid staff with volunteers? At our shelter we have a volunteer coordinator who does a great job getting new volunteers in the door. The problem is that they rarely stay, because after the coordinator gives them the initial tour and orientation, she is supposed to turn them over to the department they want to volunteer in.But generally the paid staff in that area doesn't want to be bothered training volunteers and sees them as in the way. So they start to feel that and don't want to come back, even though there is a great need for them. I think the staff may feel threatened that if the volunteers do a good job their own job will be in jeopardy.
Any tips on how to get paid staff working well with volunteers. How do we develop a good training program for the volunteers so they feel part of the team?
Response from Denise:
We revamped our volunteer program about a year ago in an attempt to address some of the same concerns you are expressing. We began by bringing our front line supervisors together with our volunteer manager to ask them what they most needed volunteer help with and what they were willing/able to do to help the volunteer program become valuable to them. We then developed volunteer position descriptions based on the needs the supervisors expressed. Some examples of positions were dog walkers, groomers, junior trainers, greeters, and off-site adoption assistants. The supervisors agreed that if the volunteer coordinator would "interview" volunteers for specific positions and provide a general orientation, that the supervisors would then provide position specific training and supervise volunteers in their chosen position.For example, if a volunteer expresses an interest in dog walking, they are interviewed, receive general orientation and are then scheduled for dog handling class. Once required training is complete the volunteer is then scheduled to work for the appropriate supervisor. This has worked extremely well for our staff and the volunteers. The volunteers know exactly what is expected of them, they are provided the necessary training to carry out their duties, they have a supervisor to go to with questions, and they feel they are valued and filling an integral role. Our supervisors and staff love it because they have committed folks with the necessary training to fill in the much needed gaps. Our supervisors have even taken on a role in volunteer recognition - they each have a bulletin Board devoted to "their" volunteers and they use it to post notes of thanks, adoption updates and photos as well as to communicate timely changes or events. They even hosted a potluck lunch to thank their volunteers. We do not place volunteers in positions that mirror paid positions.
There are Department of Labor legal concerns if you do this, as well as potential employee issues such as you mentioned. All positions are designed to augment or improve existing levels of care or service not to replace paid staff positions or duties. I encourage you to talk with your staff and engage them in solving the problem. Talk with your volunteers as well to ensure that you are meeting their desires/expectations as well. If you listen to the two groups most directly affected, volunteers and supervisors, you will come up with the winning solution for each!
Shelter software
Question from Fran:
What shelter software do you use to track your animals and do you have any recommendations on pros or cons? We have had difficulty finding one that we can afford that does what we need it to do. In particular we want to make sure we are tracking our donors, our volunteers, and our animals (how many we take in, adopt, euthanize, transfer to rescues, take in from cruelty cases). Thank you.Response from Denise:
We have used ARK for many years for sheltering issues and Giftmaker Pro for development. We have been researching software for nearly two years now and have yet to find a package that is both adequate for our needs and affordable! Our existing shelter software has not kept pace with the many changes in animal welfare and maintaining separate software for donors is cumbersome. The only shelter software that we have found that suits our needs is extremely expensive. I welcome suggestions from others.Comment from Aimee, forum moderator:
We got a lot of member comments asking about shelter software or mentioning what they used. It seems a lot of people use Petwhere, and you will see some other software mentioned here in member comments. Due to the volume of email, I thought it might be helpful to give some links to compare shelter software so you can find the programs that are right for you.Here are some good places to start researching different software offerings:
http://www.fundraiser-software.com/frp.html
One of our staff members has used this software previously at another shelter. They had about 7,000 donors, and started with the Basic program and then upgraded. The company was very helpful with transferring data from the old system to the new system.
The following link will take you to an article that compares the following six software programs: Petwhere, Animal Information Management Systems (AIMS), Animal Records Management Systems (ARMS), ARK, and Chameleon.
http://www.animalsheltering.org/resource_library/magazine_articles/may_jun_2000/asmmj00_shelter_software.pdf
This review is of an earlier version of Petwhere - there is a new version coming out (3.0) soon. Here is a direct link to read more about Petwhere:
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=petwhere&JServSessionIdr003=lb5ez2kra4.app14a
The Petwhere site will also provide a link to three report writer applications - R&R Report Writer, Seagate Crystal Reports, and Foxfire. If you have reporting requirements specific to your Board of Directors, County, or State that the standard shelter software reports do not offer, you can create your own customized reports by using a commercial report writing application. These reports can link to existing software to track animals.
Another program called Pet Ark tracks animals (intake, adoption, medical treatment, microchip information, etc) and creates cage cards for shelter animals. This program does not track donations or volunteers. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.petark.com.
Here are a few things to consider when comparing shelter software:
- Make a list of what you need the software to do.
- Look at which of these packages does it.
- Examine your systems - do all your computers operate on Windows 95 or 98? Some software packages don't run well on earlier versions of computers like Windows 95.
- Check out the software's technical support line and what they offer for free and what it costs when the free period is up. Some programs' technical support is very expensive and there may be additional costs if you want to add on additional capabilities and modules.
- Call one or two shelters using the software you are looking at and ask them what they like about it and what they don't like about it. Don't be afraid to shop around.
- Consider what you will need the system to do in the future. Make sure the program you choose will be able to grow with your organization.
Comment from Kathy:
One option, if you can find a volunteer or programmer sympathetic to your cause, is http://sheltermanager.sourceforge.net/about.php. This is written in MySQL a freeware, like Linux. You can get the software free and modify it with what you like - as long as you don't turn around and sell it.IT is a relational database software, so you can track anything in it. If you can find a programmer that will assist you with MySQL you could come up with exactly what you want.
Comment from Diane:
We use PetWhere, which is FREE for sheltering and Access for the donor database. You can also use a simpler database such as MS Works, which is usually free on most computers.Comment from Sheryl:
Two friends of mine have developed software for a Vermont humane society that they now are marketing to other shelters. They consider it affordable, but it's not my field so I can't comment on that.The software, PetOne Pro(c), is used to store information about all the people, animals, vets, donations, events and mailings that the Humane Society interacts with. It is used to track charitable contributions and other financial data, as well as details on all the animals that come to the shelter, their medical treatments and records, and adoptions. It is the primary means of gathering and storing all the operational data for the Humane Society and is used by both their front office and back office staff. The application comes in both a Microsoft Access version, which is suitable for up to 20 users, and an SQL Server version, which is designed for larger data storage and many more users.
If you're interested in learning more, contact Lynne Herbert at 802-863-9002 or lherbert@fusiononetech.com.
When adoption numbers go down is the director at fault?
Question from a member:
I was a very active volunteer for three years at the local humane society. About a year ago, our director was fired. The person who replaced him is a poor manager of people. Adoptions, after having been up consistently for a year and a half, have now been down for five consecutive months. I've seen one good employee after another quit or be fired while the worst employees were retained or even promoted. I quit recently because I couldn't stand to see the direction the shelter was headed.Here's my question, the adoption numbers for last month will be out in a few days. If they're down for a sixth month, part of me wants to inform the Board of what's going on. The other part of me wants to walk away. Any advice?
Response from Denise:
This is difficult to answer but my first instinct would be to extend the benefit of doubt. Is it possible there are alternative explanations for the circumstances you are concerned about? In other words, I would not necessarily conclude the Director was a poor manager of people based on this information.For example, the decline in adoption numbers could be attributed to something as simple as a difference in the way each director tracked statistics. We made a subtle shift in our reporting that on the surface would make it appear the adoption percentage had declined, when in reality our adoption numbers had not changed we just began reporting categories in a fashion we believed would be clearer to the community. So many things affect adoption numbers, such as intake numbers, types of animals entering shelter, changes in community make up, seasonality, other animal organizations, that I would not want to draw any conclusions about the director based on that alone.
Regarding employees leaving or being fired, it is quite common for staff turnover to occur when there is a change in leadership. It is difficult to determine the true circumstances surrounding an employee's departure because while the employee is free to discuss and characterize their reason for leaving or being terminated, the employer is not. I could give you many examples of staff members who for all outward appearances were dedicated, hard working individuals yet we had to terminate for very legitimate reasons such as theft. Because of confidentiality concerns, the employer's reason for terminating an individual cannot be shared with anyone. So again, I would not draw conclusions about the director based on personnel issues because I recognize that I am not privy to all of the information (nor should I be).
In my experience, when I assume the best about someone and approach them as friend rather than foe, my eyes are often open to things I had not previously seen. My approach would be to request a meeting with the director. I would share my concerns (in a non-threatening, non-accusatory manner) and give him/her a fair shot at educating me. While I was there, I'd offer my help. To go directly to the Board would set an adversary tone, and I rarely find that to be productive. Besides, any Board worth its salt should already be intimately familiar with statistics.
Please don't walk away. Replace your frustration and heartbreak with trust and faith, because we will accomplish so much more if we work past our differences, explore ways to find common ground and work cooperatively with each other.
Post adoption hotline
Question from Christine:
Our shelter is considering the creation of a post-adoption hotline to answer "new owner" questions about pet behavior, basic health, local resources, referrals, etc. We would ensure we are using a standard set of scripts approved by our in-house vets, trainers and behaviorists. The thought is that this would be a great opportunity for the volunteer staff to get involved. Are any other shelters doing something similar that we could possibly model ours after?In my "day job", I am a technology consultant. I have looked in to creating a searchable database, similar to the help functions for Microsoft. That would guide the hotline attendant to ask the right series of questions and determine the appropriate responses.
Response from Denise:
Excellent idea! We have a phone and web-based behavior help line available to public at large and adopters. Each adopter is provided a business card with the phone number and web address for the help line and encouraged to contact us with any questions. In addition, our adoption counselors make follow up calls to adopters and at that time remind them that the help line is there for their use. We have a behaviorist and trainers on staff that answer the help line questions, but a help line could very easily be set up in the manner you describe and be operated by volunteers. HSUS has scripts and behavior tip sheets available on-line and on disc through their Pets for Life program. You can see examples of the information and our web based program by logging on to www.richmondspca.org or visit www.hsus.org.Stress reduction for dogs in shelters
Question from Ann:
We are a no-kill, nonprofit shelter with no indoor/outdoor runs for our dogs. Some of them have behavior problems that we are working on, but progress is slow because the shelter environment is stressful - noise levels, kennels that face one another, confinement in a small area for hours at a time, etc. We are currently creating a stress reduction program for our animals with policies addressing daily activities and environment.The existing routine includes two walks (potty breaks at 7 a.m. and 3 p.m.) per day with occasionally some exercise time (one dog at a time) in the outside pens if the weather is decent and the staff has time. My current request of the staff and shelter manager is to pair up compatible dogs and ensure that each one gets at least 30 minutes of play/exercise outside per day.
Would you please comment on the basic requirements for shelter dogs in the way of daily exercise, dog-to-dog socialization, human interaction, etc? Thank you.
Response from Denise:
Actually, your initiatives towards stress reduction could serve as a model for other shelters to follow! You are light years ahead of many. I have only a few other suggestions to complement the great work that you are doing.Cage mapping is a means of identifying which animal housing areas in the shelter are most stressful. Doing this permits you to place your most fearful, shy or frustrated residents in the least stressful space in the kennel. You can learn more about cage mapping by visiting www.hsus.org and click on Pets for Life.
We also give our dogs stuffed kongs every night. A favorite of both dogs and staff is quiet time. Borrowed from Sue Sternberg, it consists of one person and one dog going to a quiet space (we often use the restroom or storage areas), placing a soft rug or blanket on the floor, ignoring the dog until he lies down on the bed, then stroking and petting the dog while talking in a soft/soothing manner. If the dog gets up, stop - only resume stroking/ talking when the dog lies down. Do this for about 15 minutes. The dog and your staff will appreciate the break from the noise and confusion. This is a great volunteer activity too. We do conduct dog playgroups under the supervision of our training staff. I would only recommend playgroups if the expertise exists to assess behavior and to appropriately match playmates. Keep up the good work!
Crisis plan for unexpected animal situations
Question from a member:
Do you have a crisis plan not for Mother Nature related emergencies, but for unexpected animal situations?We just had two recent cases at our shelter that didn't go so well! One was a large hoarding case where we had to take in 117 cats and 30 birds. We were not even remotely prepared to house or care for them. We didn't have fosters or even the right feed for the birds.
The second one was that we had parvo in the shelter. The puppy was carried by a volunteer throughout the shelter, and no one knew where the puppy had been and where he hadn't. Do you have disease control outbreak plans?
Response from Denise:
I am limited in my ability to answer your first question as we are an appointment-based admissions shelter and do not take in more animals than we have the ability to care for and place. That said, our animal control does call on us for help when they run into similar situations. When called upon, we take as many as we have space for and put an all call out to our volunteers for foster homes. We have also used a Boarding facility that has been very kind and generous in providing space during a crisis.I'd suggest getting together with animal control, private shelters (open and limited admissions), rescue groups and Boarding facilities and crafting an emergency plan together. When our animal control has asked for help, everyone in the humane community has pulled together and been able to accommodate all of the animals.
The best disease plan begins with prevention. Puppies have very clearly defined, limited areas that they are permitted in the building. Volunteers are not permitted to remove puppies from these areas. For post-exposure disease control protocol, I recommend that you consult with a veterinarian in your area as procedures will vary depending on the types of surfaces exposed and products available to you.
Recruiting good employees
Question from Gloria:
How does the Richmond SPCA recruit good employees and get rid of bad ones? We have a very difficult time finding good, caring, qualified people who will work in such stressful conditions for such low pay. Those that do often get burnout very quickly.I am part of the management team. Unfortunately, we have one employee who has been here 7 years, and I believe needs to move on. She actually breeds dogs. It has been rumored that she has taken animals from our shelter as they are being surrendered and takes them home to breed rather than checking them into our system. We have not caught her doing this yet, but I have caught her taking toys home that were donated for the shelter animals. The problem is that we have not had many written policies. We are working to change this. So she hasn't broken any rules, and we can't fire her for unjust cause, especially since she has been here so long. How can we start building the case to get rid of her and not have it come back on us?
Response from Denise:
We have no difficulties in recruiting and normally simply posting a position on our web site results in a great pool of candidates. Keeping them is a bit more challenging!I am always careful to be very honest in the interview process, preparing them for the good, the bad and the ugly. Some folks really don't understand all that is involved unless you explain it, and once you do some will decline. You might also research the possibility of having a probationary employment period.
Once you do hire, please be certain to provide adequate training and assign a mentor. The mentor should be a peer rather than a supervisor, someone the employee will be comfortable going to that has the ability to empathize.
Yes, the pay is low and conditions stressful. So try to provide other rewards and benefits as well as ways to relieve the stress.
We have weekly all staff meetings/trainings and always try to build in fun, competitive elements, such as scavenger hunts and SPCA jeopardy, to break up the routine and foster teamwork. We recognize employee anniversaries by giving them movie tickets. We are bringing a yoga instructor in at lunchtime. The more you can do to recognize and reward the hard work your staff does, the better off everyone will be.
Celebrate EVERYTHING! Announce adoption numbers, special placements or read complimentary letters from your customers and volunteers. Ask your Board to participate in or host staff appreciation day. The opportunities are endless and many of your local businesses are likely to help by giving in-kind donations of prizes. Bottom line is be certain that you are providing the tools and resources your staff needs to accomplish their jobs. Provide avenues of communication, and work hard to make your sure your staff knows that they are appreciated and valued.
I am reluctant to advise you on a particular employee as laws vary from state to state. Do you have a labor attorney you might consult with? You might check with your local Bar Association, they often will provide pro bono services to non-profits.
Comment from Michelle:
It took me about 4 years to finally find a good, honest, hard-working staff (of 3) with a bit of common sense who care more about the animals than getting rich working with them.How? I took out an ad in our paper for one week, asked for resumes, then gleaned the top 5 from all those that I got (which were TONS). I didn't waste time considering those written in pencil on notebook paper, or delivered by men dressed in torn clothes riding bikes who obviously had not bathed in days, or by email (sorry).
After that, I just looked to see whose work history did not change every month, what education they had and even how their resume looked. What did I end up with? A person who did Rottweiler rescue on the side out of her own pocket, a woman who had run her own ranch for 20 years and had just divorced, and a young Naval reserve woman, who lives with her fiancé and wants to join the college zoo program one day.
Why? I figured the Rottie rescue person obviously cared about rescuing and caring for animals. The former ranch owner was not afraid of hard work or getting dirty and knew how to care for animals as well. As far as the 23-year-old reservist, well, she joined at an early age to get some discipline and find some direction in her life. Pretty deep for a young'un!
With the others, I had to make rules, stagger break times, meet once a day, and constantly watch, watch, watch. Once I found a good fit, I eased up on the restrictions, and now meet only when we all need to address certain things. Mainly though, I keep an open door policy, and we can all just hang out and put out the little fires together.
The staff is happy, the animals are spoiled rotten, our adoptions have gone way up, and I'm happy as well. Good luck!
P.S. To Gloria: Document, document, document.
If ANYthing this staff person does rankles you a bit, sets off a red flag, or is blatantly flaunting the rules, write it down. Just get a regular notebook, keep it in a safe place (I kept my staff books in my trunk at one time), and make regular entries. Also try to document the GOOD things she does as well in order to help you weigh her strong and weak points. Then if you have enough information or missteps to fire her, you will have written proof. You also might want to ask another volunteer or employee that you can trust to document what they see that you DON'T because they work closer with her.
Implementing new policies and having staff meetings to discuss
Question from a member:
You mentioned that you have staff meetings frequently. At these meetings, are staff given a chance to comment on policies and procedures without fear of getting in trouble if they are concerned about a new policy? The reason I ask is that our shelter just started implementing some policies that many of our staff and volunteers are very frustrated with and don't want to comply with but don't know what to do.Just a couple of examples to give you an idea: No volunteers are now allowed to walk cruelty holds. This means that those animals never get outside from their kennels until their court date, which could be months because the staff doesn't have time. The volunteers are now not allowed back in the clinic area where intake is done (but also where bathing is done, grooming, and scared animals are held and calmed). Volunteers helping with these activities really helped the staff.
Now the Director has decided that we need to start watching how long we hold animals for, even though we are a no time limit facility. If an animal has been here longer than 3 months the staff is to "evaluate" it and make "an informed decision" on what to do. Many of the staff and volunteers are afraid this means death. Staff and volunteers aren't working here to euthanize and many have said they will quit.
Many of the staff don't feel comfortable speaking up because they don't want to get in trouble and the volunteers feel like no one will listen to them, because they aren't paid staff. There is great frustration and if we don't address this, it will just continue to grow. How do you let your staff and volunteers vent their concerns and frustrations?
Response from Denise:
Most organizations have both a formal network for communications, meetings, written policy, e-mail, newsletters, as well as informal communications networks, break room chats, rumor mill, hallway or situational conversations. We do provide the opportunity through formal channels such as meetings and training for folks to ask questions or express their concerns. Often though people are not as forth coming with their concerns in a group environment, even if reassured it is safe to do so. To encourage conversations and questions in formal environments I might ask someone in advance to break the ice and ask a controversial question. Usually if just one person starts the ball rolling, others are more comfortable chiming in.I rely heavily on the informal network as well. Information gained from the rumor mill often influences the topic for a meeting. We have also called special purpose meetings when the informal network information alerted us to the need. Employee surveys have also been a great source of information sharing when there has been a break down in communication.
Frustration with new policies usually stems from a lack of understanding what led to the change. Management may have failed to adequately explain what impacted the decision or to seek input from others before implementing. Staff and volunteers may not have fully understood what was explained to them and did not ask questions at the time.
I find that if I understand WHY a policy has been implemented and what the intention behind it is I can more easily support it. If, for example, I learned that volunteers could no longer walk cruelty case dogs as the result of some change in the law or a liability issue, then despite not liking the result (dogs don't get walked as often), I could understand the necessity behind the policy and support it.
So my approach would be to ask for an opportunity to learn more about the new policies for the purpose of gaining a greater understanding of the reasons behind them in order to be in a better position to implement and support them. Talk with a trusted member of management and ask if you might help arrange such an occasion. If you think staff and volunteers will not be comfortable asking their questions in a group environment, you may want to allow that they anonymously submit written questions in advance.
Volunteer training
Question from Amelia:
What kind of training schedule do you have for new volunteers and how often do you have refresher training for volunteers?Response from Denise:
All volunteers first have an interview with our volunteer manager. The volunteer manager then conducts orientation and a building tour. Then the volunteer scheduled for training specific to the duties he/she will be performing, such as dog handling class for dog walkers or adoption counseling 101 for off site volunteers. Some volunteer positions, especially those working with the education and training department, have additional, recurring training requirements, which are scheduled and conducted by the department. Otherwise we have no additional required refresher training, but periodically offer special training sessions when changes in policy or procedure warrant.Staying in touch with adopters
Question from a member:
My rescue group is only 2 years old. We're doing well and growing in both adoptions and our new spay/neuter program, but we are still learning what we should do in our area. We screen closely for adoptive families and feel that every dog and cat that comes through our program is part of our long-term family. We'd like to maintain contact with the families, and a few do bring their critters in to visit at adoptions, but our letter out last year resulted in few replies, even though we enclosed postage paid return letters.What kinds of questions do other groups put in follow up contact? How do they encourage response? Also how do they use this to increase fund raising? We really would like to be there for the families and help address any lingering issues... but are frustrated and just don't really know how to proceed. Any suggestions?
Response from Denise:
We send follow up letters to our adopters thanking them for choosing a shelter dog or cat, reminding them that we are here to help if they need us, and encouraging them to stay in touch. We attach a coupon for our retail store to thank them and prompt future visits. We do not send questionnaires.Our counselors do place follow up calls at scheduled intervals just to check in and see how things are going. As much as we'd love follow up information on how all of our adoptees are doing, we realize that it is not realistic to expect this from the majority of our adopters. We must trust that our screening and adoption process led to appropriate placements and that everyone is doing well.
To encourage feedback about adoptees we have an alumni page in our newsletter and on our web site, and an alumni Board in our lobby - we receive great photos and stories and believe that posting them encourages others to send in theirs.
I consider our webinar hosts, Best Friends, to be the masters of communications with their members. Attend their seminar "Fundraising: Building a Membership Base" if you can. Check out newsletters, solicitation letters and annual reports from other animal welfare and non-profit organizations. Decide which ones you like or find motivating and use them as a guide in developing your own style. Test your new style on a small audience (a group of a volunteer's coworkers? members of your church? local women's club?), hear their comments and make adjustments before mailing to a larger audience. A less expensive way, if available to you, would be e-mailing your correspondence or soliciting via your web site.
Comment from Linda:
Regarding staying in touch with adopters, our Boxer rescue, has in our contract that each adopting family must send in scheduled updates on their new dog. The first week update is phoned into the director and a 1, 2, 3, 6 month and one year update is emailed in through a link on our website. We have two volunteers that contact the families when an update is due. If not received in a timely manner, the family is contacted via a phone call. We find these updates to be an important asset, as they sometimes alert us to a problem or a concern the family might have that they would otherwise not know how to deal with!Comment from a member:
In a rescue group I worked with, we didn't have the staff to follow every adoption, but we had in our contract that we would visit and had the legal right (as the adopter signed the form saying so) to take back the dog if we found they were being kept outside or otherwise seemed unfit. We did visit as many as possible, but for those we didn't, I think the threat was strong enough to ensure the pet's safety.Determining animal to staff ratios and budgets
Question from a member:
I just want to know what are good (or average) "animal to staff" ratio or "citizen to staff ratio" at an animal shelter?I am trying to convince our Municipality that there are too few of us at the shelter but the administration keeps asking me to provide them with examples or "field averages."
All I know is that there are 15 of us (1 receptionist, 1 secretary, 2 animal tech's, 1 administrator, 2 drivers, 5 crew (feed/clean/animal control), 1 veterinarian, 1 janitor, 1 assistant to the administrator). We handle 6,000 animals a year (~25/day); 3,000 visitors; 200 adoptions; 20 school visits; 50 animals in adoption (average); 700 dead animal pick ups; 400 stray animal calls, and 12 rabies suspects a year.
We do not have additional support staff, so we organize our own adoption fairs, web page, participation in in-house and special trainings, statistics and reports, and public relations and advertisement. Our budget is about $200,000. We are an open door facility. Our hours are government hours except for the crew that comes in weekends to
feed and clean the animals.
The vet spends most of the time assisting on the care of the adoption colony, helping on euthanasia, doing SOP, legislation, special projects, community outreach and standardization of procedures. We would like to do the spays/neuters here (right now we refer them to local clinics), but if we start doing them here then there will be nobody to do SOP nor reports. Plus we would need people to take care of ordering surgery supplies and cleaning the surgery equipment.
I find that we need more staff, but I really need to know national averages.
Our city has 210,000 inhabitants. I also find salaries on the low range. The vet makes the most amount of money ($33,000. which is still low for a full time vet); the administrator makes about $24,000 and everybody else makes much less. How are the salaries?
Response from Denise:
Securing adequate funding for municipal animal control is difficult, especially with so many departments competing for their piece of the city budget pie. Do your homework. Gather information and statistics from national organizations, such as HSUS at www.hsus.org or national animal control association at www.nacanet.org. Another valuable resource for national statistics is Animal People News at www.animalpeoplenews.org.Contact other cities of like size and ask them to share budget and other relevant statistical information. At the City of Richmond's request, HSUS did a very thorough evaluation of the city's municipal shelter in September of 1999. In the HSUS report they cited $3-$5 per resident as the required cost for handling animals. Our city's animal control handled 4,200 animals that year with a budget of about $707,000 and 192,700 residents (about $3.70 per resident.) Based on this five-year-old report, your budget, if calculated at the mid-range of $4 per resident, would be $840,000!
You should be able to get salary information from the sources I mentioned above as well. In addition, contact your city's department of humane resources to find out what other city employees in like or similar positions are earning.
Once you gather the data, prepare a detailed comparative analysis and present it to your administrator. Be prepared to enlist the support of your community. You will need their help in making this a priority for your city leaders.
You are doing a remarkable job with the resources you have. Until you secure the additional financial support you need, please consider beginning a volunteer program or forming partnerships with local animal welfare organizations to get some much-needed help. They will also be great allies when lobbying your government for support.
Best Wishes!
