MOTIV8

Name of Organisation

MOTIV8

Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers?

Motiv8 has a long history of involving volunteers in the delivery of services to young people who are at risk of offending. Throughout our existence we have strived to ensure best practice in all areas of our work. With this in mind, we chose to go for Investing in Volunteers confident that the process would support us in the review, evaluation and development of our work. In addition to the benefits we experienced in completing the assessment process, achieving the award also served to demonstrate to the community, Funders, partners, service users, staff, volunteers and others that Motiv8 is a professional organisation committed to achieving and setting the very best standards.

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

There have been many benefits from working towards Investing in Volunteers. The initial assessment process helped us to identify areas of our work that we have been carrying out at a very high standard and we enjoyed the increased confidence, positive moral and self esteem that this brought. In addition we also identified areas of our work that needed further development and with the support of our assessor we worked through our development plan to achieve this. The process not only supported our direct work with volunteers but also influenced and highlighted other areas of our work that needed to be reviewed and developed. We are currently working towards achieving level 3 PQASSO, a global quality assurance system for organisations like us. The process of achieving Investing in Volunteers as well as achieving Investor in People has supported this work.

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

The process of working towards the award allowed for everyone at Motiv8 to gain a greater understanding of the valuable contribution that volunteers make across the organisation. Our policies and procedures, promotional and publicity materials have all been developed to reflect our culture and feelings around involving volunteers and our corporate and individual responsibilities to ensure that they are fully supported within their roles.

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

• Set up a steering group at the earliest opportunity. Have clearly identified roles and responsibilities.

• Allow enough time to complete the self assessment process and implement your development plan.

• Make sure that everyone in the organisation knows about the investing in volunteers process, what you are trying achieve and why.

• Keep people regularly updated. If you do not, momentum can be lost and enthusiasm may wane.

• Celebrate your success sooner rather than later. Do not miss the moment.