News

Palliative Care Volunteer Managers from 11 services took part in our workshop on the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement last week.

Facilitated by Colleen Williams, Director Education and Training from the Centre for Volunteering, the workshop was a great opportunity for managers to learn about the benefits of following the standards and how to take the next steps towards implementing them at their services.

One attendee whose service has already implemented the standards said by doing so they have improved their service,

“Team members now have a better way of working with our volunteers. It also got the attention of the executives who are now more aware of the importance of volunteers and how they fit into the team.”

Another service is expanding by adding community visiting and is using the standards framework and language to help shape new policies and procedures.

The National Standards are designed for volunteer organisations that strive for best practice and address 8 key areas of volunteer involvement:

1. Volunteering is embedded in leadership, governance and culture.
2. Volunteer participation is championed and modelled.
3. Volunteer roles are meaningful and tailored.
4. Recruitment is equitable and diversity is valued.
5. Volunteers are supported and developed.
6. Volunteer safety and wellbeing is protected.
7. Volunteers are recognised.
8. Policies and practices are continuously improved.

During the workshop managers were guided through the steps to implementation – identify the benefits and challenges, conduct a gap analysis, secure support and resourcing, develop an action plan for improvement, and finally celebrate, review and maintain progress.

Another workshop is planned for attendees to reconvene and work together on their gap analyses.

A list of resources to assist with implementation such as checklists, evidence guides, and gap analysis tools are available on the Centre for Volunteering’s National Standards for Volunteer Involvement website.