The Parks Trust, Milton Keynes
| Name of Organisation |
| The Parks Trust, Milton Keynes |
| Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers? |
| The Trust wanted to ensure that volunteering for The Trust was a beneficial experience both to the volunteers and to The Trust and to demonstrate that The Trust conformed to best practice in volunteer management. Although a lot of good practice was in place, there were gaps and it was felt that working toward the award would identify and address them. |
| What benefits have you found from working towards Investing in Volunteers? |
| Our policies and practices are now more robust and have been incorporated into the whole organisation. Volunteers work much more closely with The Trust and feel more valued. |
| How did the assessment work in your organisation? |
| The assessment worked fairly well – many of our volunteers work from home and work out of normal office hours so it was difficult getting them together for assessment. With a lot of flexibility, we eventually did it. It was hard hearing “a few home truths” but necessary to ensure that The Trust moved forward. |
| 5 Practical tips you would give another organisation working towards Investing in Volunteers - Don’t underestimate the time it will take to complete the award
- Fully involve volunteers in all aspects of the process
- Be prepared to hear negative things about how volunteers perceive the organisation
- Ensure the whole organisation is on board with the process before embarking on the award
- Collate all of your existing policies / practices before you start – you will be amazed at how much you already do.
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