General networking discussion

20 February 2025

Another great discussion with network members on mandatory training, recruitment and out of hours volunteer support.

Mandatory Training

• Some volunteers are doing the same mandatory training as staff even though not all of the content is relevant.

• Printable versions are available, but this can be costly.

• For those who are not able to access digital learning one organisation sends out slides and the volunteer completes a declaration of understanding that they’ve understood.

• Some do all the training on the e-Leaning for Health which has specific volunteer modules, followed up with a local induction.

• Some would like to use face-to-face training more, but it reduces the number of people trained and takes up a lot of the volunteer manager's time.

• Top Tip: E-Learning has most of the catalogues open for anyone to complete, so if any volunteers are interested but the module is not directly related to their volunteer role, they can still access the course and receive a certificate at the end of it.

• Smaller organisations are still able to run personalised inductions, making the sessions fun and getting to know the volunteers.

• There have been occasions where due to financial struggles people have given up their internet connection.

• There can also be issues with people coming on site for training with volunteers not being able to come in on the designated days.

• One organisation piloted a scheme where they issued volunteers with a laptop to complete the e-learning training, but it wasn't very successful.

Recruitment

• Those with a lot of young volunteers who only commit to 100 hours have a large turnover.

• In one organisation the number of retired volunteers has reduced to 30% and they are looking at some targeted recruitment to increase the percentage.

• More mature volunteers are needed to act as mentors for the young volunteers.

• In some areas the 40-60 age group are taking on extra paid work to combat the increasing cost of living and so have very little time left to volunteer. One organisation is looking at promoting volunteering as a way of gaining new skills to try and attract this age group.

• In some parts of the UK the travelling distance and geography of the area can also cause an issue for people to volunteer as well as do the training.

• At one Trust a good number of volunteers have gone on to apply for jobs with the Trust. It’s a great way to source new members of staff, but it does mean that they are constantly trying to source new volunteers.

Recruitment idea: Hold a recruitment fair and ask volunteers to ‘bring a friend’.

Advice from the group on recruiting volunteer mentors

• Good volunteer mentors need to have been with you long enough to be confident of the role and area they will be mentoring.

• A mentor doesn’t necessarily need to be a mature volunteer as you may have young volunteers with the right skills, and mentoring will increase their confidence.

• People don’t always put themselves forward for this kind of role so it may be worth formalising and promoting it within the service.

Support for out of hours volunteers

Some organisations have volunteers in during the evenings and weekends and this is often a cause for concern as there can be a lack of support. One organisation did try mentors but unfortunately it wasn’t very successful.

Other possible solutions to support these volunteers were:

• WhatsApp groups – keep them small.

• Assign a contact person for each department or ward.

• If you have one, make your switchboard a point of contact.

More useful tips on this subject can be found on the notes from a discussion held on 18 September 2024 on How can volunteer managers support volunteer safety?

More ideas and top tips from network members can be found on a variety of topics here