Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Management, Faculty of Social Sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kharazmi University
Abstract
Amid rising economic, political, and social crises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become pivotal in addressing societal challenges, with effective volunteer management emerging as a cornerstone of their success. Volunteers are integral to non-governmental organizations operations, yet ineffective coordination and mismanagement of large volunteer groups frequently lead to workforce attrition, undermining organizational goals. This study explores the barriers and challenges in securing volunteer human resources for non-governmental organizations , employing thematic analysis to analyze data collected through semi-structured interviews with managers and stakeholders of ten NGOs. The analysis identified eight main themes, seventeen sub-themes, and twenty-seven initial concepts, categorizing challenges into three groups: individual (e.g., conflicts between volunteer and organizational interests, volunteer ethical traits, demanding nature of volunteer work), organizational (e.g., lack of inter-NGO collaboration, shortage of managerial volunteers, ineffective networking), and environmental (e.g., budget constraints, restrictive national policies, absence of a unified governing body). The findings provide a detailed mapping of the current human resource supply chain, highlighting inefficiencies and offering actionable insights for NGOs to optimize volunteer management. This research also serves as a roadmap for emerging NGOs, enabling them to redesign processes, reduce resource waste, and enhance human resource efficiency, thereby strengthening their capacity to achieve mission-driven objectives.
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