Relationship management with conservation volunteers a strategic communication approach

Abstract

Communication plays an important role within an interdisciplinary problem-solving context such as nature conservation. Within this context, conservation organisations depend on, and compete for, volunteers to help them reach their conservation goals. Therefore, the relationship with volunteers, built and maintained through communication, becomes crucial. Conservation volunteerism is a subsector of ecotourism where organisations such as Shamwari Conservation Experience (SCE) offer individuals opportunities to act as conservation volunteers, to help reach the organisation’s conservation goals. These volunteers do not only provide labour input for the organisation, but also assist the organisation financially as they pay for the volunteer opportunity. Such conservation organisations attract volunteers through their communication. Importantly, the volunteers then function as communicators of behalf of the organisation during and after their stay at the venue. Since communication is essential in this context, the present study investigated how relationships with volunteers can be managed at SCE through a strategic approach to conservation communication. Viewed from the domain of corporate communication management, the theoretical framework is based on the systems theory and two-way symmetrical communication. Specifically, it is argued that strategic conservation communication, as informed by the constructs of strategic communication management and stakeholder relationship management, could benefit conservation organisations. Qualitative and quantitative data was gathered to elucidate the research problem. The aim was to assess how SCE manages its communication to and relationships with volunteers, and how volunteers assess SCE’s communication and their relationship with SCE. To attain this aim, methodological triangulation was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with SCE managers and coordinators as well as a select number of volunteers, to gather qualitative data. That data were supplemented by results from a content analysis of SCE’s Facebook Page. For quantitative data, self-administered questionnaires were distributed among volunteers to extract their viewpoints. The present study found that SCE does not follow a specific approach for strategic communication about conservation matters in its management of stakeholders. However, SCE mostly is successful in managing volunteer relationships. The findings show that SCE volunteers are generally satisfied with their experience at SCE, where participants felt they contributed to conservation activities and became more aware of conservation issues. Noticeably, volunteers gave a positive assessment of the way which SCE manages their relationships with the organisation. This study also found that there is a strong focus within the organisation on conservation but not necessarily on conservation communication. The data also indicated that strategic conservation communication could be employed to help conservation organisations reach their goals and build sound relationships with volunteers. This may give them an edge within a competitive voluntourism market.