A variety of topics were discussed at this session. Here are the highlights:

Group 1

Improving collective potential with community partners. One of our guests is making headway with some brilliant potential collaborative work.
Impactful conversations about why volunteers are so vital and so important. Money saved through having volunteers. Social return on investments although it should equally focus on the patient's social return on investments.
Strategies being aligned to People plans and business plans within trusts to get the senior buy in from the start, so the strategies are formed by those voices rather than hidden.
Recognising how to passport volunteers between services. They should already have a DBS check although organisations may have their own mandatory training that they would be expected to do within the trust once they have come on board.
The invaluable information support other organisations can bring into a trust. Their knowledge and understanding about the local community support services and especially supporting discharge processes between hospital to home.
One of the frustrations is that volunteers can suddenly appear in a trust, and the volunteer manager may not know where they have come from. It needs to be made clear that there is only one entry point for volunteers through the voluntary services team.

Group 2

A question from Sally in Lincolnshire. “Does anyone have examples of good practice around staff champions and volunteering staff support for volunteers? If you are, for example, in an organisation where you have multiple sites with volunteers on them how do you support those volunteers? “

Example 1: Elderly assessment unit. The ward manager works closely with the compassionate care team, so they have regular visits from volunteers, and the service is promoted widely including social media and any reports.
Example 2: After doing a short presentation one of our guests was approached by a clinical team to do some volunteer management training. This is a breakthrough and will help to retain volunteers. They are also planning to do some short videos on best practice with your volunteers. They have also recruited a volunteering liaison supervisor to be the steppingstone between services.
Example 3: Invite senior members of staff, including the exec team, to shadow volunteers for a day. This can help to increase the visibility of volunteering across an organisation and provides recognition for the impact that volunteers are making.

If you have any other examples that you think may help Sally, please use this forum.

Another question discussed was regarding Better Impact privacy and how long personal data is retained.

Answer (from Better Impact website): if a volunteer leaves an organisation, their record will immediately be disassociated from that organisation by Better Impact. The personal details of the volunteer will be retained separately by BI for 2 years from that date (or whenever the personal record was last accessed).

Link to privacy page on BI website: https://support.betterimpact.com/siteguide/privacy-uk-eu/

The Big Help Out

Our guests were all wondering what to do about the Big Help Out (part of the Coronation activities) as it will be a bank holiday weekend and not practical for volunteers just to volunteer for a day. So, there was a conversation about how to promote the benefits of volunteering and encourage people to step up and volunteer without being on the ground on the day. Also, the month between the Big Help Out and Volunteers’ Week will provide a good opportunity to promote and celebrate volunteering.

Big Help Out info from NCVO

THE BIG HELP OUT - WHAT IS IT?
Designed by Shaping the Future with Volunteering and Together coalitions.
A campaign to showcase how volunteering benefits both communities and the people who take part.
Six-month campaign, including a National Day of Volunteering on Monday 8th May.
Opportunities will be shared on the Do It platform, with other plans being developed.

The Big Help Out app will be launched late March – volunteers will be able to access taster sessions, information about volunteer roles and specific opportunities.

Campaign branding and imagery will be available for public use.