Selection and evaluation of telephone hotline volunteers
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of four instruments in terms of predicting the capability of telephone hotline volunteers. The four components of the evaluation package included values, listening skills, personality trait type, and telephone behaviors. The instruments to measure these components were the Rokeach Value Survey, the Jones-Mohr Listening Test, the Myers-Briggs Trait Type Indicator, and the Crisis Call Behavior Checklist. The subjects used in this study came from the COPE Hotline located in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. The 25 subjects were all volunteers to the hotline, primarily female, who had undergone a 26-hour training program. The subjects first ranked 36 values on the Rokeach Value Survey. Secondly, they completed the 126-item Myers-Briggs Trait Type Indicator. Third, they took the Jones-Mohr Listening Test, which is a 30-item tape-recorded test in which the volunteer must listen to a statement and then select a phrase from a written list of four which best represents the intended meaning of the statement. The dependent variable was the Crisis Call Behavior Checklist. In this case, the volunteer was evaluated on the basis of an actual phone call to the hotline by the director of the hotline. The results of the study were evaluated on the basis of correlation and multiple regression. The question to be answered was: Do the three instruments serve as good predictors of success for telephone hotline volunteers? No significant difference was found as to one's values, Myers-Briggs Trait Type, or listening skills in terms of the subject's Crisis Call Behavior Checklist score. Hence, neither the Rokeach Value Survey, the Myers-Briggs Trait Type Indicator, nor the Jones-Mohr Listening Test served as good predictors of effective telephone volunteers. Further study as to effective methods for the selection and evaluation of telephone volunteers is recommended.
This paper has been withdrawn.