They’re individuals you might have thought of as being part of an organization’s structure, but for many organizations,

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They’re individuals you might have thought of as being part of
an organization’s structure, but for many organizations, volunteers
provide a much-needed source of labour. Maybe you’ve volunteered at
a Habitat for Humanity build, a homeless shelter, or some other
non-profit organization. However, would you consider a volunteer
assignment at a for-profit business? Many large corporations and
start-up companies are relying on the willingness of enthusiastic
product users to voluntarily help other users with questions about
products or services via online discussion boards. Some suggest
that this movement will transform the field of customer service,
using fewer paid employees and more volunteers to respond to
technical questions such as how to program a new high-definition
television or set up an Internet home network. Self check-outs.
Self check-ins. Self order-placing. Pumping your own gas (although
most of you are probably too young to remember having an attendant
who pumped your gas, checked your oil, and washed your windshield).
Filling out online forms. Businesses have become very good at
getting customers to do free work. Now, they’re taking the concept
even further, especially in customer service settings, by getting
‘volunteers’ to perform specialized work tasks. 14 MGT B240
Principles and Practices of Management The role that these
volunteer ‘enthusiasts’ have played, especially in contributing
innovations to research and development efforts, has been closely
researched in recent years. For example, case studies highlight the
product tweaks made by early skateboarders and mountain bikers to
their gear. Researchers have also studied the programmers behind
open-source software like the Linux operating system. It seems that
individuals who do this type of ‘volunteering’ are motivated mainly
by a payoff in enjoyment and respect among their peers and to some
extent the skills they’re able to develop. Now, as the concept of
individuals volunteering for work tasks moves to the realm of
customer service, can it work and what does it mean for managers?
For instance, at Verizon’s high speed fiber optic Internet,
television, and telephone service, ‘volunteers’ are answering
customer questions about technical matters on a company-sponsored
customer-service website for no pay. Mark Studness, director of
Verizon’s e-commerce unit, was familiar with sites where users
offered tips and answered questions. His challenge? Find a way to
use the potential resource for customer service. His solution?
‘Super,’ or lead, users — that is, users who provided the best
answers and dialogue in Web forums. The experiment at Verizon seems
to be working well and these online ‘volunteers’ can be an
important addition to a company’s customer service efforts.
Studness says that creating an atmosphere that these super users
find desirable is a key consideration because without that, you
have nothing. A company that worked with Verizon to set up its
structure said that these super or lead users are driven by same
online challenges and aspects as fervent gamers are. So they set up
the structure with an elaborate rating system for contributors with
ranks, badges, and ‘kudos counts.’ So far, Studness is happy with
how it’s gone. He says the company-sponsored customer-service site
has been extremely useful and cost efficient in redirecting
thousands of questions that would have been answered by staff at a
Verizon call centre.
How would these ‘volunteers’ fit into an organizational
structure? Take each of the six elements of organizational design
and discuss how each would affect this structural
approach.