Respect and reciprocity

Volunteers can add a huge amount of value to an organisation, from strengthening and widening service provision to providing specialised skills to improving community relations. However, your volunteers will have their own motivations, such as a desire to share or develop specific skills, or may need to fit their volunteering around other commitments. Achieving a balance between the needs and interests of both the volunteer and the volunteer-involving organisation – reciprocity – is key for harmony in the volunteering relationship. Not only that, but volunteers, while not expecting equal rights alongside paid staff, do want equal respect.

Appointing a volunteer manager within your organisation – either as a dedicated post or as part of a wider role – will do much to achieve this. Good volunteer management will make the volunteering experience more effective for all involved and offer a mechanism for managing any discontent on either side. However, there may be times when the relationship breaks down due to a lack of respect or reciprocity on one or both sides, and this is not always straightforward to address.

Volunteering England formed the Volunteer Rights Inquiry in 2009 to investigate the types of conflict arising between volunteers and how this might be reduced or resolved, without placing an undue burden on organisations. Following an extensive evidence-gathering exercise, its final call to action, published earlier this year, concluded that much can be done within organisations themselves to improve conditions for volunteers. At the heart of this is the Inquiry’s ‘3R promise’ which asks organisations to focus on getting it Right, offering Reconciliation and accepting Responsibility, by committing to eight simple criteria. By following the advice in the 3R promise, you will find your organisation better able to understand and respond to the needs of volunteers, and deal with any issues that may arise.

ENDEAVOUR TO GET IT RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING

Many problems reported by volunteers appeared to stem from a lack of preparation for issues which arose, from simply wanting to feed back on their volunteering experiences to reporting instances of harassment. Following good practice guidance for managing volunteers and ensuring that you have up-to-date policies can make it much easier to provide consistent support. Guidance for developing policies and sample documents can be accessed via Volunteering England’s Volunteer Management Portal.

A number of volunteers who gave evidence to the Inquiry also expressed frustration at the response to their attempts to express themselves, which could exacerbate the problem or even cause subsequent conflict. Problems can be minimised if you are able to provide time and space for volunteers to share their feedback – formally or informally – and respond to it.

OFFER MEANS TO ACHIEVE RECONCILIATION IF THINGS GO WRONG

Many problems can be resolved simply, as long as they are addressed quickly and efficiently. Much will be guided by the policies that have been put in place, so making staff across the organisation aware of these will help to reduce the risk of problems arising.

Identify a trustee with responsibility for volunteering, who will monitor volunteer complaints and encourage rapid resolution in emerging conflicts. Not only is this helpful in providing an external, if not entirely independent, viewpoint, but also involving the trustee board – or board of directors – also helps to embed the culture of involving volunteers across the organisation. This in itself can be helpful to making volunteers feel valued and happy in their role. If the issue escalates to the point where it can no longer be resolved within the organisation, organisations such as Volunteer Centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux may be able to offer independent mediation and support.

WE ACCEPT OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Defining who is responsible for volunteers, and how, as well as how you respond to conflict, will be an important part of policy development. Having clear statements on these issues will help to manage expectations on both sides. The Call to Action Progress Group is made up of a number of volunteer-involving organisations and will undertake continuing work around the issue of volunteer rights, including reviewing complaints processes and sharing lessons. The 3R promise was intended to be applicable to all types of organisation and sector, so your input will be invaluable in developing it further.

Reporting publicly on the implementation of your 3R promise will reflect positively on the organisation, for example if featured in volunteer recruitment advertising or annual reports, as well as providing focus for implementing the promise. Organisations are already doing much to improve the volunteering experience and following this advice will only help to build on the work that is already taking place.