General networking discussion group summary - 27 July 2023

Thank you to all of the members who joined this networking session. As always there was some great conversation and sharing of knowledge.

Here is a short summary of some of the topics discussed.

New Projects

• A cancer centre coffee bar that has been closed since covid has had the green light to open again.
• New Reconditioning (exercise and therapy) volunteer role.

• Strategic project looking at the volunteer offer within healthcare across the Humber region.
• Building a culture of volunteering - ‘normalising’ volunteering across an organisation.
• Learning about good practice so that an evidence base can be built.
• Improving team dynamics by introducing a 10-minute report on volunteer work at staff monthly meetings.
• Bringing together various groups of volunteers so that they feel it’s not a competition about who is more important or does more.
• A volunteer conference is to be held in October. There is only a small budget, but they are aiming for 300 volunteers to attend. There will be keynote speakers from the Trust and NHS England. A member of the Helpforce team will be attending as a guest and will share a round-up of the event on her return.
• Developing micro volunteering opportunities to give people a taste before they make a bigger commitment.

Recruitment - How is everyone finding recruitment at the moment?

• Some have had a decline in people applying recently.
• Struggling to get car drivers.
• Some have had an influx of applicants.

There could be a number of reasons why some are struggling to recruit at the moment.

• Roles being very specific.
• Fatigue post covid
• School holidays
• Cost of living / Fuel costs
• Applicants require more flexibility

The conversation on this question led to some saying that they need to rethink their advertising strategy. There is a range of media now to advertise for volunteers but, particularly on social media, they need to be posted and updated regularly to make sure that they are noticed.

Questions

How do we manage the breadth of our services to ensure continuity?

Does anyone have examples of dealing with difficult conversations with a volunteer? Forum thread here.

Useful links

• Children’s Cancer Charity https://www.candlelighters.org.uk/ The website also has a list of voluntary roles.
• How to write the perfect recruitment advert
• Focused discussion summary on marketing your volunteer roles
• Focused discussion summary on volunteer recruitment