Volunteer Induction

Discussion was had around the merits of face to face and virtual inductions for volunteers. Some of our guests were able to do face to face however, there are still a number of organisations who have restrictions in place and the only alternative is virtual training.

Some of our guests had large training rooms available to them so it made sense to do as much face to face training as possible. This also helps where there are volunteers who may struggle with getting to grips with online training.

Those with limited or no space moved more to the virtual training. However, virtual inductions can be quite boring so one of our guests made a move to not only keep them short but made them interactive and fun. The virtual route can also be more flexible allowing sessions to be run in the evenings and on weekends. This works particularly well for the younger volunteers.

One Trust uses a very funny Two Ronnies Health & Safety video as part of their induction training.

Working with community organisations

A guest recommended contacting local residents’ associations as a useful community link. Different faith groups often work together and they have reached out to local synagogues and mosques encouraging people to volunteer.

Platinum Champion Awards / Nominate a Volunteer / Royal Voluntary Service

Royal Voluntary Service’s Platinum Champion Awards celebrate volunteers across Britain. Know someone that deserves recognition? Nominate them today. Nominations close on 10 April.

Volunteers’ Week

One of our guests is new to her post and asked what others do for Volunteers’ Week. She would like to organise a gathering for volunteers but Trust capacity for face to face events is 50 people.

• Encourage staff and senior team members to come and work with volunteers so that they can find out first hand what they do. One Trust’s CEO drives a volunteer buggy as part of the week’s events.

• For those organisations who are still being very cautious with Covid restrictions still in place create a volunteer thank you card with a short but heartfelt message. This can be done as a printed and / or electronic version.

• Another guest who still has a lot of restrictions in place so they have created a “Proud to be a volunteer” badge.

On 21 April we will be holding a focussed discussion to help everyone plan for Volunteers’ week. To register please click here.