Investing in Volunteers Case Study
| Name of Organisation |
| Murton Wildlife Trust |
| Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers? |
| We felt that our work with volunteers deserved recognition, especially when volunteers in general get very little recognition in our particular line of work.This was our way of saying that we acknowledge their contribution and we follow the correct processes for us. |
| What benefits have you found from working towards Investing in Volunteers? |
| It made us look at the relevance of our procedures and how we fit in today’s working environment, dealing with child protection and equal opportunities especially. |
| How did the assessment work in your organisation? |
| The assessment process went smoothly as all volunteers and staff are fully aware of roles and responsibilities and this made the whole journey very much a team effort and opened discussion whilst going through the assessment. |
| 5 Practical tips you would give another organisation working towards Investing in Volunteers |
| Involve everyone from day one Have a methodical approach to organising all information required Do not worry if you do not ideally fit into all indicators as when going through them you will find that one way or another there will be some link with what you do Reassure volunteers when the interview process is being discussed that it is informal and no pressure is upon them to influence the outcome |
| What training/learning did you require to help you meet the standards and where did you source it ? e.g.VDS, local Volunteer Centre, local college |
| We were very fortunate in the fact that we had good robust policies and procedures, however our assessor guided us in looking at points of improvement.The main learning points we have been able to take away has been to look at any weaknesses and identify a strategy to cope with any threats to the organisation from within or out with.We are all the stronger for going through this process and thank the local volunteer centre for their support and our assessor for her listening ear and VDS for the opportunity to offer this standard to the voluntary sector. |
