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Volunteer recruitment - registering your opportunities and good practice |
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Volunteer recruitment - registering your opportunities and good practice |
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Volunteer
recruitment - registering your |
What we do Volunteer Centre West Berkshire provides support to volunteer involving organisations so that the number and diversity of volunteers can be increased. We can also advise on good practice regarding volunteer recruitment, retention and management. Some of the key services we offer include:
If you would like to involve volunteers
within your organisation, you can advertise your roles with us. We will
Registering your organisation Please download and complete our Organisation Registration Form and return it to us. You only need to complete this form once. Organisation Registration Form Registering your volunteer opportunity You can complete this form as many times as you wish, depending on how many volunteer roles you have. Useful information on registering We have prepared a document which gives you further useful information about the registration process. Promoting volunteering in West Berkshire Once your volunteer opportunity is registered, it will be promoted via a number of methods, including:
And we take many, many more other opportunities to spread the word about volunteering in West Berkshire! Complete the forms, then post or email them back to us. That's all there is to it. Creating volunteer roles Before you register your volunteer needs with us ... spend some time thinking through what roles volunteers are needed to undertake will reap dividends. Being clear about roles makes recruitment easier and means that potential volunteers understand the volunteering opportunity available. A straight-forward role description that sets out clearly the skills, experience and time commitment required means that organisations are more likely to attract volunteers with the most to contribute to each role. In organisations with paid staff, setting out volunteer roles can also help to reassure staff about what volunteers are being recruited to do and minimise confusion about the different roles of staff and volunteers. We are able to assist you with the development of your volunteer
roles, as well as with the completion of the forms. Other volunteer recruitment methods Registering your volunteer needs with us will ensure we can promote your requirements to 1,000s of potential volunteers. However, we will be happy to advise you on other methods you may wish to use. Referring volunteers We meet potential volunteers in our office and using our database based registration procedure we are able to learn about their interests, passions, skills, reasons for volunteering and time available. Using this information, we can then establish the best volunteer opportunities for them to consider. We will then either make referrals for them by telephone contact at the point of registration, or they will take information away to consider and may then decide to make their own contact with you, but we do encourage them to tell you they received the information from us. If potential volunteers enquire online, we receive their registration details and will then send back to them full information, including your contact details in these cases they will almost always make direct contact with you. Selecting volunteers Once you have heard from a potential volunteer or their details have been passed on to you by us, it is crucial you maintain the interest by responding to them quickly. Get them on board as soon as you can -before someone else does! Although the procedure for screening volunteers can take a little time, especially if you require CRB checks, you could maintain their interest by sending an information pack or by inviting them to visit and find out about your organisation. However you do this, though, keep them informed. An application form can help you get the information you need from a volunteer, but try not to make it too daunting or too like a job application, and we advise you not to make completing this the first thing you require from a potential volunteer. Screening volunteers If the role of the volunteer involves working with vulnerable people
and/or working unsupervised it might be wise to have procedures for
screening potential volunteers. It is important to apply these
consistently to all volunteers; most people will understand that such
procedures are necessary to safeguard the organisation and the people
who use its services. Interviews Meeting with a volunteer can help you clarify what their interests and skills are and what your organisation is offering as a volunteer role. You might want to make clear what time commitment you are hoping for, the duration, and how long it is likely to be before they can start. Turning a volunteer down If they are really not suitable for a particular task, try not to turn down an offer of help - can you find them another role within the organisation? If you are going to turn a volunteer down, let them know as soon as possible, thank them for their offer and be as honest as you can about the reasons. It can be very demoralising not to hear anything, or to be told that help is no longer needed when the organisations is still advertising for volunteers. If it is not possible for you to involve a potential volunteer who approaches you please refer them back to us so that we can help them to find something else. Keeping us informed We welcome feedback this helps us ensure the information we keep is accurate and also enables us to keep the statistics we need so that we can keep others aware of the value we give to the local voluntary sector. Therefore, please do let us know the outcome of any volunteers that we have referred to you, and please do tell us if there are any changes to your volunteer requirements or contact details. Managing volunteers Managing volunteers can sometimes throw up difficult situations or leave you wondering what the best approach is. Whether you have queries around legal issues, support needs or other issues, we can offer you support and advice on all issues surrounding volunteering. Below is a checklist of some of the main points you may wish to consider:
Induction A volunteer's first few visits can be crucial in deciding whether or not they stay, so it is important to make them feel welcome and to introduce them to the layout of the building, other members of the organisation or team, and any procedures they will be expected to follow. Induction or training (formal or informal) at the beginning of volunteering, and the opportunity for ongoing training, can help make sure volunteers are clear about their role and have an understanding of the aims and structure of the organisation. It may be useful to have a simple volunteer information sheet or handbook with a guide to what the organisation does, who's who in the organisation, dos and don'ts for volunteers, health and safety information, essential telephone numbers etc. Supporting volunteers Volunteers need to have a named person in the organisation who acts as their point of contact. For some types of volunteering regular supervision may be appropriate; for others it may just be a case of knowing who they should contact if they need help or support or if they wish to develop or change their role. Some organisations support volunteers in additional ways such as social events to recognise the volunteers' contribution, or support meetings for volunteers to attend. You may find it helpful to have some organised way of allowing volunteers to have an input into the running or development of the organisation - such as a volunteer representative at meetings or on committees, or an annual questionnaire for volunteer feedback. Expenses As volunteers donate their time and energy to your organisation free of charge, it is important that they are not also financially out of pocket because of their volunteering. This is particularly important if volunteers are on a low income. Expenses should be reimbursed at the actual cost incurred with receipts (bus tickets, till receipts etc.) kept to show that they were genuinely paid for. In the case of mileage, this should be repaid at the Inland Revenue approved rates per mile and a mileage record should be kept of each journey. Never pay a flat rate to volunteers as this will be seen by the Inland Revenue as taxable income and can also result in volunteers being seen as paid employees and therefore subject to employment law (including the minimum wage). It can also jeopardise a volunteer's state benefits. Acceptable out-of-pocket expenses you can reimburse to volunteers include:
Training and sharing good practice We are happy to give advice on a one to one basis to organisations on all aspects of your volunteer recruitment, retention and management needs, and can talk to you about how we could work with your organisation on how specific training could be delivered. We also run occasional workshops on topics related to volunteering, and if you are registered with us you will receive details. Further information Please take a look at our presentation: A - Z of volunteer recruitment, retention and management Empowering West Berkshire Are you a community or voluntary group operating in West Berkshire?
EWB can help. Visit them at www.empoweringwb.org.uk Volunteer England Their Good Practice Bank provides a one-stop shop for volunteers and volunteer managers looking for advice and information about how to support volunteering. In each theme you will find articles, information sheets, case studies and links to other helpful guidance or external websites. Most sections include example and template documents to help you develop your own volunteer programme. You can also go directly to their Information Sheets. Visit them at www.volunteering.org.uk/goodpractice Queries If you have any queries about the registration process or about Volunteer Centre West Berkshire generally, please contact our director Garry Poulson on 01635 49004, or send us an email at: |