Leonard Cheshire Disability

Name of Organisation

Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers?

We had developed volunteering policies over the years, but wanted an expert assessment of how well these policies were working. We also wanted to work in partnership with our corporate volunteering partner, Barclays, who wanted to achieve IIVE status.

What benefits have you found from working towards Investing in Volunteers?

Improved staff satisfaction was a huge, unexpected benefit. The team who managed volunteers were really pleased that we had achieved the award. Volunteers were very pleased with the award and their motivation has definitely improved.

Tell us about your experience of the assessment process in your organisation.

The assessment process went smoothly, though we had problems getting volunteers who worked during the day to make time to see assessor, who also working only during the day. There were a few areas that we could have improved on, and the assessor was constructive and practical in making suggestions for improvement.The Volunteering Centre partner was very helpful and, for a small organisation, would be a great source of ideas and inspiration.

5 Practical tips you would give another organisation working towards Investing in Volunteers

Involve your volunteers and staff in making the decision to for IIV; they won’t then see it as an “audit” of their performance

Have a chat with IIV beforehand, to see how they would audit your volunteering programme; for example, our programme involves volunteers and clients working together off-site, so there is no easy way to get a group of volunteers together for an assessment visit

Enjoy it! The process is designed to make you feel confident in your volunteering programme and the certificate at the end makes all your hard work worthwhile