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Name of Organisation
Home-Start Calderdale
Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers?
We were approached by voluntary action Calderdale who offered to fund the process. Initially we were dubious due to the fact that we are working towards our own organisation’s QA mark and this is taking up a lot of time. However we realised that IIV is a nationally recognised award that would focus purely on volunteers, which is the mainstay of our work and decided it was a fabulous opportunity
What benefits have you found from working towards Investing in Volunteers?
This process made us look closely at our procedures for supporting our volunteers and we went through existing practice with a fine tooth comb. It also allowed us to talk in depth with our volunteers about their experience of how our systems work for them.
Tell us about your experience of the assessment process in your organisation.
The process was very thorough and robust. We had an initial meeting with our assessor at which there was a mixed group of people including staff, trustees and volunteers. This allowed us to learn about the IIV process and begin to explore the criteria that we were going to need evidence for. After this we completed our self assessment paperwork. Once that was complete it was circulated to the volunteers who had agreed to help with the procedure and they were encouraged to check the evidence against the actual practice that they had experienced. Once the paperwork was approved by the volunteers it was submitted to our assessor. Following that an assessment day was planned and approximately 20 interviews were set up. The assessor chose a diverse group in terms of age, gender and experience and met with staff, trustees and home-visiting volunteers on the day. It was a very long day but all went smoothly and a positive atmosphere was in the office throughout. At the end of the day our assessor gave us brief feedback at the end of the day and then more in depth feedback a few days later on paper. The completed papers were then submitted to the IIV panel and approximately 2 months later we were congratulated by IIV staff for achieving IIV status!
5 Practical tips you would give another organisation working towards Investing in Volunteers
·Don’t panic – it is painless
·Involve your volunteers – they are your greatest asset
·Do not try to reinvent the wheel – you probably have most of the evidence already in place
·Talk to other volunteer organisations on your area for missing evidence – they may have suggestions for how they work that can be adapted to suit you
·Celebrate the fact that you are in a strong enough position to go through this process!
