About GoldStar 
Effective communications with volunteers
Two-way communication is important in any organisation; there are a variety of communication methods used including face to face discussion, group meetings, newsletters and social events. Many organisations also seek to address language and cultural barriers to effective communication with volunteers. The opportunity should always be taken to communicate in a supportive way, and there are many examples of how different organisations have done this.
Below are a few examples of how other organisations have accoplished this: |
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Women’s Rape and Sexual Abuse centre uses a buddying system to help new volunteers integrate into the organisation |
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Torridge Voluntary Services have developed the grass roots project to enable the community to have regular contact |
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Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre
The Women's Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre in Cornwall, (WRSAC), delivers accessible, reliable, and effective support services for women who have experienced rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence.
They recognise the importance of helping new volunteers to integrate into the organisation as quickly as possible, and the idea of using a buddying system to help this process has been adopted. The main features of this system are:
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Getting off on the right foot – newly trained volunteers meet their buddy and the rest of the volunteering group at a “buddy night” which is a working/social event;
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Buddy responsibilities – are set out in a written form together with a buddy checklist to help buddies and new volunteers with key information;
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Making it stick – it is a mandatory requirement at WRSAC that volunteers attend monthly Group Support Meetings, and to undertake one-to-one supervision with the Agency Supervisor and/or volunteer manager;
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Ad hoc element – due to the extremely supportive culture of the agency, many volunteers exchange telephone numbers and assist each other in an ad hoc way when required;
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“Buddy Circles” – these are formed to allow volunteers to meet more regularly in less formal situations.
Torridge Voluntary Services
Torridge Voluntary Services (TVS) is the Council for Voluntary Services for Torridge District in Devon. TVS provides infrastructure support for the voluntary and community sectors and volunteering in Torridge, as well as providing direct services.
The Grassroots project at TVS aims to create a sustainable culture of volunteering in rurally isolated and hard to reach communities, and a collective approach to enhancing community well-being. TVS has developed the good practice of providing a "toolkit and information pack" to all of their Community Contacts to help them to function as "micro" volunteer centres in their particular community. The main features of this Toolkit are as follows:
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Grassroots Guide to Happy Volunteering;
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Grassroots Guide to Safe Volunteering;
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A number of factsheets aimed at groups covering; recruiting, screening and supporting volunteers; volunteer expenses; insurance and other information;
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Guidance for engaging volunteers with support needs;
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Directory of Services – A comprehensive list of services available locally to support local people covering areas such as young people, older people and addiction, with associated contact details;
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Volunteer recruitment tracking sheet;
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TVS policies and procedures.
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