Five Steps to Successful Volunteer Management

Transcription

1 Five Steps to Successful Volunteer Management This guidance explains how to make best use of the Volunteer Toolkit. Please read it first and use it alongside the templates. STEP 1: ADOPTING A VOLUNTEER POLICY All organisations, large and small, who work with volunteers need to have a Volunteer Policy in place. Most volunteers expect it, all volunteering agencies expect it and most charities now have them. A Volunteer Policy sets out a general framework for how the organisation will work with volunteers, covering things such as equal opportunities, expenses, induction procedures, insurance for volunteers, health and safety and grievance procedures. The Volunteer Policy needs to be agreed at the most senior level of the organisation (i.e. your branch Trustees), and can then be referred to by any volunteer or anyone in the organisation working with volunteers. Consistent procedures for working with volunteers should result in people feeling more supported, recognised and more motivated. The Policy should be considered again annually and revised if necessary. If your branch doesn t already have one, then download the sample Volunteer Policy from the Toolkit. This is drawn from a best practice branch policy that was checked for soundness by Volunteering England and approved. Nevertheless, you should study its contents, making adjustments to the text to make it fit for purpose. Circulate the draft Volunteer Policy to all your Trustees and put an item on the agenda of your branch s next Executive Committee titled Adoption of a Volunteer Policy. Do not be surprised if some time is required for this discussion. Aim for broad agreement and for the Policy to be adopted (it can always be reviewed and revised later). 1

2 Notes a. The Volunteer Policy is a template and a guide. It has been compiled using best practice policies from a few CPRE branches. However, you are completely free to edit and delete statements that are not appropriate for your branch or that you do not have the resources to follow through on. b. (Expenses) Many CPRE volunteers do not claim expenses, seeing it as a way of supporting the charity. Nevertheless, it is best practice to offer expenses to all volunteers equally and circulate expenses forms. It is up to you to set mileage rates and decide exactly which expenses volunteers can claim for. Much of this will depend on your financial resources and the kinds of volunteers you are hoping to attract (e.g. younger people may have a greater need to claim). Whatever you decide, make sure it is clearly documented in the Volunteer Policy and be ready to talk openly about it to your volunteers. c. (Membership) You should not expect all volunteers to join CPRE. It is enough to make people aware of CPRE membership and hope they are moved to join in their own time, but it should not be a condition of the volunteering. The exception is for new Trustees (most branches have CPRE membership as a constitutional requirement for Trustees). d. (Health and Safety) Although much health and safety legislation applies only to workers and employees, organisations do have a duty of care towards volunteers and those people who may be affected by their activities. This means giving volunteers proper information, training, use of safety clothing, supervision and so on. As such, your branch should consider conducting a brief overall risk assessment for the volunteer programme and smaller risk assessments for individual roles where required. All branches should check they have the correct insurance in place and that it covers volunteers. Essentially, volunteers should be covered under employer s liability insurance and public liability insurance. Some branches also have professional indemnity insurance in place. Policies should explicitly mention volunteers because they may not automatically be covered. More information about health and safety issues are contained in the Volunteering England guide Volunteers and the Law, included in the Toolkit. e. (Legal) Although the Volunteer Policy should be sound in all aspects, you need to be aware of legal issues when working with volunteers. These relate to employment rights, benefits, tax, insurance, health and safety, overseas volunteer rights, data protection, copyright and other issues. These topics are best covered in the Volunteering England guide Volunteers and the Law, included in the Toolkit. 2

3 STEP 2: WRITING ROLE DESCRIPTIONS With a Volunteer Policy in place, the next step is to consider what you need volunteers to do. While there is no harm drawing up a general request for help, experience shows that an organisation is far more likely to recruit volunteers when it can be specific about its needs and the part a volunteer will play. A role description sets out a specific role for a volunteer, clarifying what kinds of activities the volunteer would be doing, where the volunteer will be working, the time commitment, any skills required or training provided, and how the volunteer will benefit. It is normal for several volunteer role descriptions to be advertised at one time, as an organisation seeks to bring in new volunteers with specific skills and interests. Plan a brainstorming session or add a short agenda item to your next management meeting to consider where the gaps are in your branch. Some gaps will be obvious (i.e. we need a new Treasurer or our Membership Secretary is about to retire ) but others may require a leap of faith (i.e. a trained volunteer to redesign the website or someone with experience of organising fundraising events ). Be as clear as possible about what the volunteer would be doing and who would be supporting them. Look through the 16 volunteer role descriptions provided in this toolkit and choose the ones that seem most appropriate to your needs. Adapt them as necessary. Adapt the sample Volunteer Application Form in the Toolkit - it will be needed alongside the role description for any interested parties. Notes a. You will not find a role description for a Branch Chair in the Toolkit. However, you will find a link to our separate, more comprehensive document Chair Recruitment and Induction Pack which contains a role description and much more. b. Each role description template contains a broad list of activities that could fall under the voluntary role. You should edit this as you see fit, according to your specific needs and emphasis - it is not anticipated that a volunteer would undertake all of these tasks. c. If there is no branch office or if you do not have space for volunteers to work from the branch office, then make it clear that the volunteer will need to work from home. An estimation of time commitment has been given for each role you can edit as this as you see fit. d. For senior roles, the contact given is the Chair. For other roles, the contact details of the branch office or most relevant member of staff/key volunteer should be 3

4 listed. Ensure that the contact person listed has a copy of the role description and is available to receive any enquiries. e. When writing role descriptions always put the branch name and not simply CPRE, else any potential enquiries may come through to National Office. STEP 3: USING VOLUNTEER CENTRES AND MATCHING ORGANISATIONS With role descriptions written and a clearer idea of the kind of volunteers required, now is the time to start advertising. The most important places to start are the local Volunteer Centres in your county (there may be more than one). Volunteer Centres are local organisations that act as a bridge between groups working with volunteers and people looking for volunteering opportunities. It would be worth making an initial face-to-face appointment so the Centre can register your interest and any opportunities available. There are many other third party organisations that match individuals with voluntary groups, as well as many places online where people look for volunteering opportunities. Some will have their own templates for registering roles, but it won t take long to adapt your information to fit. National and local newspapers also run weekly adverts for voluntary roles, although some may charge a small fee. Work through the Guide to Volunteer Centres and Matching Organisations document in this Toolkit, considering which sources would be appropriate for which role description (i.e. all roles should be placed with the local Volunteer Centre, Trustee roles would be placed with REACH, a website volunteer role might be well placed at the local University/College etc.). Get in touch, send them your role descriptions/adverts and let them do the rest It is useful to keep a simple spreadsheet recording which adverts are active with which centre/advertiser at any one time, as well as keeping a note of which volunteers came from which source. In this way you can inform agencies when a role gets filled and you can target your efforts to specific agencies over time. STEP 4: ADVERTISING YOUR ROLES Running adverts in local newspapers, magazines, parish council newsletters and other rural publications will help you to spread the word about volunteering opportunities. Placing posters on noticeboards and in shop windows and handing out leaflets at events/shows are also great ways to make your opportunities visible. All role descriptions should also be uploaded to your branch website and a regular column of volunteering opportunities in your branch newsletter will alert any members 4

5 with specific skills. Encourage Trustees to circulate information and talk about opportunities in the course of their work. Adapt the sample Volunteer Poster and pin up on noticeboards and in shop windows around the county. Adapt the sample Volunteer Leaflet and hand out at events/shows or circulate with your newsletter. Adapt the sample Newspaper Adverts to send to newspapers or any local publications that accept advertisements (free, paid or donation basis). It is useful to keep a note of places that accept posters and a list of publications that accept advertisements for future reference and to cross-reference with volunteer enquiries. Notes a. Leaflets, posters and advert templates are provided for generic use but could be easily adapted to a specific role. b. The leaflet template should be printed on both sides of one A4 piece of paper and then cut to make two A5 leaflets. STEP 5: INDUCTING VOLUNTEERS As volunteers come forward, it is important to give them a clear induction. An initial telephone call or should be used to establish their interests, outline available roles and identify whether the individual has relevant experience/availability. If all seems well, the potential volunteer can be invited for a further discussion in person. Depending on the role this first meeting may form part of the induction or there may be further meetings before the volunteer joins the branch. During an induction, it is best practice to provide new volunteers with a written agreement setting out what the volunteer can expect from the branch and what is hoped for from the volunteer. There is no obligation to do so but some branches have found it helpful, especially for long-term volunteers or for those taking on a major task, to clarify the expectations for both parties. For other volunteers such agreements may be seen as unduly formal or restrictive. However, all volunteers should be given a copy of your Volunteer Policy, an expenses form, guidance to handling confidential data (if relevant to their role) and contact details for the branch and National Office. Some branches bundle this up into a Volunteers Handbook or Volunteers Induction Pack. 5

6 Download the Volunteer Agreement in the Toolkit and keep it on file. Where you deem necessary, complete it with volunteers at an induction meeting. It should be reviewed after three months and then whenever either party deem necessary. Download the Data Protection Guidelines for Volunteers in the Toolkit and give to volunteers that have access to CPRE membership records or contact databases. Download the Volunteer Expenses Claim Form and ensure it is consistent with your adopted Volunteer Policy. Download the Volunteer Induction Pack - Contents Page and insert all listed documents. Many exist in the Toolkit. Give to all new volunteers, together with copies of your branch newsletter and any other relevant publications to the work. Notes a. To ensure that the relationship remains one of volunteering rather than employment, any Volunteering Agreements should refer to intentions rather than obligations and avoid employment-related terms such as contract, sick leave, annual leave, disciplinary procedure, promotion, dismissal, worker, employed, employer or employee. It should be clear that the relationship is binding in honour only and is not intended to be legally binding. More information about volunteers and employment rights are contained in the Volunteering England guide Volunteers and the Law, included in the Toolkit. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Although all documents included in the Toolkit should be sound in all aspects, you do need to be aware of legal issues when working with volunteers. These relate to employment rights, benefits, tax, insurance, health and safety, overseas volunteer rights, data protection, copyright and other issues. These topics are best summarised in the Volunteering England guide Volunteers and the Law, included in the Toolkit. More detailed advice and information on specific areas can be obtained from: Volunteering England: National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO): KnowHow NonProfit: If you have any questions about recruiting or managing volunteers in your branch, please contact the Branch Development Team at National Office: developmentteam@cpre.org.uk,