EvenMORE For You

Cincy Excels at Recruiting & Retention

Volunteer Manager Olivia Courtney Finds and Keeps Talent

Covering a very wide geographic area around Cincinnati and making successful matches between Volunteers and Crossroads’ patients and families is what Volunteer Manager Olivia Courtney does every day.

Olivia is a high energy person who has been with Crossroads for more than nine years. Her proven strategies for Volunteer recruitment and retention were developed through a wealth of experience and they keep evolving with the times.

Volunteer Recruiting Strategies

According to Olivia, the national platform Volunteer Match is her go-to resource for recruiting new volunteers. The Cincinnati site invests in an upgraded subscription to the platform that includes boosting Crossroads’ information to the top of the feed.

Handshake is a powerful national recruiting platform targeted to college students. Crossroads recently established the Crossroads Handshake Account and a process for posting available Volunteer positions through a site’s SSDs. Stay tuned for additional information in a future edition of EM4U.

As high tech and national as Handshake and Volunteer Match are, Olivia also does very hands-on grassroots recruitment marketing like hanging flyers in grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, churches and even pet stores where a Volunteer who likes to visit patients with their beloved dog might be found. 

Similarly, she might hang a flyer recruiting Life Journal Volunteers in a Library in the vicinity where there’s a patient and family who would like a Life Journal. Olivia said 15 percent of her Volunteers are recruited through her hyperlocal flyers. 

Word-of-mouth is also very productive when it comes to recruiting new Volunteers, Olivia said. That’s why quarterly she does outreach to existing volunteers with prizes like Stanley Cups or a lunch date with Olivia for referrals to people they know who might also like to Volunteer.

Volunteer Retention Strategies

Investing in and building relationships with current Volunteers with phone calls, coffee meetups, anniversary cards and other ways that spark goodwill and engagement are activities Olivia deliberately takes the time for.

That’s why, if you need to chat with Olivia, you will likely find her in her car traversing the greater Cincinnati area in pursuit of and in appreciation of Volunteers for Crossroads patients and their families.

The Magic of Growth

By Danny Gutknecht
“Growth is the only evidence of life,” Cardinal John Henry Newman once said about people. This is true for companies, too. In fact, we can all can feel the vibrancy of growth when it’s happening. Growing fosters optimism and good energy, which are infectious attitudes that touch lives. Company growth generates environments that help us grow and creates opportunity for promotions and feelings of security because the company is more secure.


But kick-starting growth can be particularly difficult. Why? Because real, true growth is an internal process of transformation before it can be realized as an eternal manifestation. “Process” being the key word and concept.


What is the process for transformation? For both individuals and companies, this usually begins with a dilemma, shock, or some discomfort. Something in our lives or in our company isn’t working the way we want. We aren’t growing. What got you here, isn’t getting you where you want to go. Too many times we seek to “fix” the outside world, changing jobs, or a procedure or a way of doing something. But if changes aren’t changes within, they frequently result in a period of relief, before the same irritating pattern repeats in a different context with different content. 

This is where we are confronted with a decision. Do we reflect, interrogate our current patterns, their beliefs, attitudes, and perspectives or do we keep looping?


Transformation isn’t sudden; it’s a gradual process that can be emotional and thought-provoking. It requires us to examine and share our own critical assessment of faulty assumptions. It’s not always pleasant, but when we work through it, we begin to “see” and “feel” new possibilities in the form of insight fulfillment and growth. Next, and the critical step, is putting those new insights to work as part of how we show up — and then life gets better. 

Years ago, I realized that my approach to people management wasn’t getting the results I wanted. I didn’t feel like our team was putting their heart and soul into delivering to our potential. I was frustrated and irritated. Furthermore, I believed we had an excellent sales model and delivery model, yet something was off. I felt like people were “fighting growth.” But engaging in my process of transformation, I realized that as a leader, “I” needed to show up and share my challenges and frustrations with the team, they became more engaged and “wanted” to carry the load. 

And, as it turned out, our team started to feel safe enough to share their challenges. Our teams became more communicative, we began to spring into new growth — which is represented by the color green. Everyone became more intentional in everything we did, from sales and interviewing to camaraderie and cohesion. Perhaps, the color of magic in this case is that GREEN MEANS GROW!

Set up a Savings Rule with your Bank

Put a Set Portion of your Paycheck into a Savings Account

Through Crossroads’ EvenMore For You feedback tool, team members have requested that their paychecks be deposited into multiple accounts. While our payroll processor is unable to accommodate this request, it is something you can set up with your bank.

Most financial institutions allow you to create rules where portions of each of your paychecks are automatically deposited into separate accounts, such as checking, savings and money market accounts. 

Systematically saving a portion of each paycheck is a highly recommended way to consistently save money over time. It’s never too late to increase your savings and improve your financial plan.

Here are some financial tips to consider:

The 50-30-20 Budget Rule

Many Americans subscribe to the 50-30-20 rule where 50 percent of your income goes toward “needs,” 30 percent to “wants” and 20 percent to “savings.”

Build an Emergency Fund

Money to cover three to six months of necessary expenses is recommended. Your funds should be readily available in a savings account for easy access without penalties.

30-Day Savings Rule

Some people subscribe to the “30-Day Savings Rule.” Wait 30 days before making a non-essential or impulse purchase to think about whether you really want it. After 30 days if you’re still committed to the purchase, buy it. Or, after 30 days you may decide to save the money instead.

And Bring Your Own Meals!

Compare the cost of purchasing sandwich supplies and a beverage at a grocery store versus buying a meal at the nearby deli or fast-food joint. This is one of the most tried and true ways to stretch your hard-earned money.