7 August 2024

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this lively and interesting conversation. Our guests were split into two groups and below is a summary of both conversations.

Please feel free to continue the conversation or ask questions on this Forum thread.

Methods of communication

Many of you have noticed that the number of people not able to use electronic communications has reduced. The assumption was that most of those not using technology will be of an older generation, but this is not always the case. One guest commented that her two oldest volunteers were far more tech savvy than herself.

Confirm with the volunteer at the interview stage which method of communication they would prefer. There will still be a few that prefer to be contacted by telephone or post.

Emails are the most common method. However:

• One organisation found that at least half of the 400 emails sent were not being opened.

• People will often complain that they get far too many emails.

• NHS emails often end up in junk folders.

• Some do not regularly check their emails. For a variety of reasons not everyone has an email address. As mentioned above the numbers as not as high as they used to be so in these cases phone calls and the post is used.

Top Tip: If it is urgent or important use tracking and request a received or read receipt. This can also be useful if there are safety concerns for a volunteer who has missed a shift.

MailChimp is commonly used for newsletters and is a good way of monitoring how many of the emails are opened and if there are links, which are the most popular.

WhatsApp is a useful app for small groups but there are GDPR and monitoring concerns, so some organisations will avoid using this.

• However, one organisation finds it useful for their group of driver volunteers. The group is small, and the drivers do not volunteer regularly but respond to ad hoc requests.

• To keep the information shared on WhatsApp to a minimum once the request has been accepted the driver is then contacted separately with the details.

Top Tip: It is possible to set up a WhatsApp group that can broadcast only.

Devolved Communication

For those who have volunteers managed within teams, encourage the team manager to

communicate in the way that works best for their team.

• GDPR is, of course, paramount so training and occasional reminders were suggested.

How many times should you contact a volunteer before removing them from your database?

A common issue is volunteers who stop attending shifts without any kind of notification. Trying to find out if they wish to put their volunteering on hold for a while or stop altogether is not always straightforward.

• Most start off with an email and if there is no response a follow-up telephone call. If there is still no response most will issue a polite but firm letter in the post. An example shared by a network member on the call can be found as an attachment on this post.

“Please note if we do not hear from you, we will need to inactivate your role with us due to the length of absence from active volunteering in line with our local policies.”

• There were concerns about the amount of admin time being spent trying to contact non-attendees. It was agreed that they would much prefer to spend time on those volunteers who do attend and that sometimes there is a need to be quite harsh and terminate non-attendee links with your organisation.

“It comes to a point where you're spending so much time with the people who are not here that you're not helping the people who are here and they're the ones that deserve our support.”

Return of equipment, badges and uniform

Another exercise that some found very time-consuming.

Suggestions included:

• Include in the volunteer contract, those items which should be returned if the volunteer leaves.

• Set out an off-boarding process in your volunteers' handbook. This could help to manage expectations.

• Ask the volunteer to bring everything back when they have their exit interview.

• Some volunteers may have equipment like mobiles as they are out in the community. As a last resort some will send out a communication stating that the person with the equipment will be invoiced for anything that has not been returned.

Volunteer surveys and reviews

• By asking your volunteers to complete a survey every three months, it will help monitor their well-being and any issues they raise can be quickly addressed.

• For one organisation their survey highlighted that some of the volunteers felt that some staff didn’t want them there and they didn’t know who to go to for assistance. This has now been resolved by having a staff member on each shift as a volunteer champion or volunteer supervisor.

Volunteer experience

• To make sure that new volunteers have a good experience from the start some organisations appoint a mentor to provide support and guidance until the volunteer feels confident. Orientation tours with an experienced volunteer are also valuable.

• One organisation is planning to have annual reviews with each volunteer to make sure that the volunteers feel valued and in turn lead to a higher retention rate.

• It’s important to organise the occasional get-together so that volunteers have the opportunity to meet other volunteers.