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GoldStar - Promoting good practice in managing volunteers from socially excluded groups
Full Report
Date Event
27.06.2006 Goldstar Regional Conference
(South West)
Number of Delegates Location
40 (click to view list) The Thistle Hotel
Exeter

Format
1. Interviews with GoldStar Exemplar project managers
2. Workshops: Issues raised and discussed

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GoldStar Interviews

Scott McMillan from Somerset Youth Volunteering Network provided a number of insights into how volunteers are recruited and supported:

What did they talk about?

Two key themes were addressed as part of the event, these being recruitment and selection and looking after volunteers.

In relation to recruitment and selection Scott indicated that it is not difficult to recruit young people, and the organisation employ a number of techniques to do this.

“We go out and wave the flag at as many events as we can get to, so we will do freshers days at colleges, market days in towns, we will go anywhere we can find young people and talk to them, but most young people come word of mouth; young people recruiting young people to join”

The project actually restricts advertising, as there is a worry too many young people will apply to become volunteers.

“We haven’t been able to advertise through the Millennium Young Volunteers Programme for the last three years, because we can’t deal with the numbers that might turn up”

Scott stressed the importance of potential volunteers feeling comfortable with the feel of the project in terms of being able to attract them. He commented:

“When they walk through the door of our place they feel instantly comfortable with the surroundings, they see lots of young people”

A number of barriers to recruitment of volunteers were raised by delegates.

One delegate indicated that it is not difficult to get volunteers, the issue is sustaining them. They indicated that the biggest issue in relation to this is transport, both in terms of access and cost. One delegate indicated the host organisation could not afford to pay travel expenses, which was proving a big barrier.

In relation to transport barriers a number of suggestions were put forward as to how this could be addressed, depending upon local circumstances. These included the use of community transport, a scheme known as ‘hitch a lift’, which enables the driver to claim mileage when picking other volunteers up. However, with respect to this initiative limitations of funding were also highlighted. The advantages of e mentoring were also pointed out in this context.

Confusion in relation to what volunteering is allowed without compromising receipt of different state benefits was also raised as an issue.

Barriers relating to completion of CRB checks such as the time it takes and understanding the process were also raised and how to deal with those that do not pass CRB checks. The particular problems faced by those without a permanent address was raised in this context. However, the potential contribution many people who do not pass a CRB check can make was highlighted. One delegate pointed to an example of a young woman who failed the CRB check but is now working in the Prison Service “giving back to society what she took out”. The importance of organisations being able to take the risk of taking responsibility for particular individuals that don’t pass CRB checks was highlighted. The importance of signposting those not suitable for the particular host organisation was also pointed out.

In relation to CRB checks it was also commented that “29 out of 30 people that should not work with vulnerable people will not show up on CRB records” and that CRB checks are just one of a number of steps that need to be taken. It was commented: “Yes your CRB check, you must do it, but it must be part of a bigger process”

The relative lack of volunteer placements for those with special needs was identified as an issue. One delegate commented, “Organisations aren’t willing to take on volunteers with special needs because they don’t understand enough”

In relation to induction and training Scott stressed the difference between how SYVN implement training and a number of other mentoring programmes. He commented:

“It can be up to six months between a volunteer starting and actually getting their first mentee and actually doing it. Particularly with young people you will lose them, particularly if you sign up today but you can’t start until next Easter. They are going to disappear”

In order to tackle this issue SYVN take on volunteers in a ‘tiered approach’, but commented, “underneath that we have to have an emergency back up system. We have a duty worker 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have other things in place so that when things disappear, they can be supported”

In this respect Scott commented, “You have to be there when they volunteer. There is no point in doing 9-5 Monday to Friday, unless that is when young people do their volunteering”

SYVN do three levels of training, Bronze, Gold and Platinum. He explained that the Bronze level was more about befriending and managing relationships, the Gold level dealt with specific issues young people identify and need training support with, while the platinum level involves the volunteer in helping to implement training themselves.

The project has a deliberate policy of having young trustees in post. At present the oldest trustee is 24. Scott indicated that the biggest challenge was confronting discrimination of older people who assume young trustees are not responsible enough to make decisions. He commented that young people “just rise to the challenge” and “I spend about 40% of my time training young people in their roles, but 60% of my time in getting the adults to cope with young people making those decisions”.

The project takes the training and support of volunteers very seriously. Scott commented:

“You have got to take it (training) seriously. You are asking a young person to take on a role of responsibilities for another young person. You can’t expect them to do that if you don’t put the advice, the support, the training, the back up into that young person”

He also indicated that training was accompanied by a much wider range of support. He commented:

“The other thing we have in place is a type of counselling service. Because, although we are about supporting volunteering, young people come with all these other issues that just seep out, for want of a different phrase and we have to pick that up”.

Scott stressed the importance of treating paid staff and volunteers equally, commenting:

“As far as I’m concerned if you are a volunteer, that is simply how much you get paid. You are there as a member of staff of that organisation and therefore entitled to everything that every other member of staff is entitled to at that level”

A number of other issues were raised by delegates in relation to training and induction.

The issue of accreditation of training was raised. One delegate representing a drug and alcohol advice service indicated they had a 16 week induction process in place accredited by Bournemouth College

However, Scott stressed the importance of ensuring that accreditation meets the organisations and individuals needs. He commented:

“Ideally it (training) should be accredited, but at the moment there are a lot of pieces of training that are being shoe horned into accreditation that doesn’t fit with what you are trying to do”  

The importance of organisations having access to equality and diversity training was also highlighted. One delegate commented:  

“In our organisation we recently had an equality and diversity day and some of the opinions that came out of that were terrifying frankly”

The importance of recognising the contribution of volunteers was also raised. One delegate commented:  

“We look at our volunteers as the jewel in the crown. Without them, we could not operate. Everything is about them. They have their own service user representative. They have their own volunteer representative. They virtually run our service”

2. Workshops. Issues raised and discussed

Delegates were asked to consider with colleagues sitting on their particular table, how they currently recruited volunteers, identify key barriers to recruitment and some lessons learnt in terms of recruitment and selection of volunteers, particularly those at risk from social exclusion. Delegates were also asked to identify key considerations in relation to supporting volunteers’ progress

A summary of issues raised during these round table workshops is set out below:

Recruitment methods

A wide range of recruitment methods were identified, including:

Barriers to recruitment

Specific barriers to volunteer recruitment identified included:

Selection

Some tips in terms of selection of volunteers included:

Key recruitmentlessons/considerations

A number of key recruitment lessons and considerations were identified including:

Induction and training

A number of key issues and lessons were identified in relation to induction and training, including:

Information on current GoldStar Exemplar groups and good practices relating to volunteers from socially excluded groups are continually being uploaded onto this website throughout the GoldStar Dissemination programme.

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