St Dunstans

Name of Organisation

St Dunstan's

Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers?

I was new in post and wanted to ensure that I met best practice guidelines. I wanted to be fully informed about working with volunteers to ensure that our volunteers were supported.

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

I have developed closer working relationships with colleagues as we have worked on issues such as paperwork, training etc. It has also enabled me to work more with the volunteers and seek feedback from them. The process gave me the opportunity to reflect objectively on the recruitment and induction process for volunteers. I feel that staff are generally more aware of the work undertaken by volunteers and are better able to support them.

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

The self-assessment was a worthwhile undertaking as both staff and volunteers were involved at the outset. The assessor was available for support before the assessment and advised when she thought that the organisation was adequately prepared. She checked the paperwork prior to the day of assessment and there was an opportunity to check that there was sufficient evidence. The day of the assessment, the assessor discussed volunteers before interviewing both staff and volunteers. The assessor had been given a timetable for the interviews prior to the day. The volunteers seemed happy to be involved. The assessor had indicated which volunteers she wanted to see. A couple were not necessarily ones I would have chosen but the assessor had a complete picture. Because of the number of different volunteering roles, the assessor needed to contact some volunteers by phone after the assessment day. This prolonged the time before I saw the final report. The report was fair and balanced. I felt involved in the entire process and well supported by the assessor.

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

• Involve senior management at the outset.

• Engage volunteers in the process, e.g. on the self-assessment, drafting policies etc.

• Work with staff who will be working with volunteers.

• Allow plenty of time to embed all policies, practices etc so that volunteers are fully aware.