During my very short experience in the volunteering community, I have learned more about Human Resources Management (HRM) in two months than what I might have learned during the past eighteen years of my life put together. Based on my little experience, I did not merely learn the nature of this field, but also I tried to discover the creative aspect of it.

Creativity and innovation are pretty much required in everything we do. As much as human nature might get accustomed to life’s daily routine, it also needs some change from time to time. That is exactly what I try to find in everything I do, even if it is small, it has to be different.

Not only is HRM about evaluating people’s work and achievements, it is also responsible for the development of their skills and solving their problems. Therefore, it has to be something “cool” – as I like to call it – to overcome employees’ fear of it and urge them to do their best to have a good profile at the end of their work’s period. It is also one of the key aspects that help increase one’s commitment towards the work place.

I will talk today about the HR’s role in the volunteering community and how they can be creative with their ideas and performance. Here in Alexandria, for example, volunteering is spreading all over the city, and there have to be new ideas whether for the project itself, or for the means to accomplish it. I have come up with some evaluation ideas for HRs in the volunteering community to use in their projects.

For the evaluation process, you have to come up with something catchy whether to attract the participants and encourage them to participate, or leave a good impression about oneself in general. For example, you can randomly throw small balls of green and red colors and those who catch them must mention a positive or negative point about the day depending on the color; green for positive and red for negative. You can also set up a debate with nine participants chosen randomly, six as the debaters and three judges. They debate for the positives and negatives for each session of the day, and at the end, the judges choose a winning team.

Such ideas and other ones aren’t usually used, and thinking about more creative ones and trying to apply them within the project increases members’ commitment as well as helps you be known widely by “word of mouth”.

Mazen Ahmed Qabbary

Photography: Mahmoud Mansi

EDITORS: Mennat-Allah Yasser Zohny & Nada Adel Sobhi