Volunteering Masterclass

People Business PartnersLydiard Conference Centre

21st November 2012

Who am I?

• Moyra Weston – coach, consultant and expert in volunteering with over 22 years experience in the field.

• Headed Volunteering and Community Fundraising at Save the Children, prior to establishing Weston Coaching and Consultancy

• Founder of ‘We Dare to Care’

Our session today

• Bridging The Gap– How volunteering is changing and what

organisations need to do to respond• Tea/coffee/comfort break• Integrating lessons from Bridging The Gap

within the National Trust framework• Action planning• Q&A

Bridging The Gap

Part oneThe volunteering landscape

Levels of volunteering in the UK

• Levels of formal volunteering have been largely static over the last decade

Source: Citizenship Survey 2011 & 2008-09

Levels of formal volunteering

Proportion of people volunteering formally

01020304050

2001 2003 2005 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11

Year

%

At least once a month At least once a year

Why people volunteer (%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70 I wanted to improvethings/help peopleCause was importantto meI had spare time

Meet people/makefriendsUse my skills

Learn new skills

Source: Citizenship Survey 2008-09

What prevents people volunteering (%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60 Work commitments

Looking afterchildren/home

Have other things todo with my sparetimeHaven't hear aboutopportunities

Don't know groupsthat need help

Source: Citizenship Survey 2008-09

Bridging The Gap

Part twoVolunteering doesn’t exist in a

bubble

0

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

201020152020

Thousands

Source: nfpSynergy - Population Projections/National Statistics/nVision Base: UK ; 21774: The New Demographic Landscape

Age structure of the UK population

Choice• TV channels

– When I was a child there were three in the UK

• Drinks– Used to be tea or coffee

• Supermarkets– Much wider choice of food

than 20 years ago– Now sell financial products,

clothes, furniture, legal advice

The social media revolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs

Internet use by UK adults

Source: ONS (2010)

A one slide summary

• The world has changed quite significantly in the last decade (& will do even more in future) but:– Levels of volunteering haven’t– The ways organisations involve volunteers

haven’t changed much either (and are largely process driven)

The challenge we face

• Disconnect (growing?) between what people want from volunteering and what organisations are offering

• The need to embrace different approaches to getting and keeping volunteers

• We’re not competing for volunteers but for people’s spare time

PracticeNationally

Volunteering England (merging with NCVO)

CSV (Community Service Volunteers)

NNVIA (Network of National Volunteer Involving Ass.)

EVDC (England Volunteer Development Council)

AVM (Association of Volunteer Managers)

Volunteer Centres

Councils for Voluntary Services (CSVs)

Locally

Also:•Volunteers in the public sector (Health Service, Education etc.)

•Volunteers in the private sector (Internships)

Policy

• Office for Civil Society• Department for Communities and Local Government

Legal

Key elements:

•Volunteer agreements

•Expectations are not obligations

•Expenses and ‘if contracts’

•No obligation to provide or carry out work

Bridging The Gap

Part 3What are the gaps and what can

we do about them?

Bridging the gap

• What people are looking for in volunteering

• How organisations are engaging volunteers

• Actions to ‘bridge the gap’

Source: Bridging The Gap (2011)

What did they find?

• The legacy of the civic core

• Potential of past volunteers

• Gaps & why they exist

• How we can respond

The legacy of the civic core

• 31% of the adult population provide almost 90% of volunteer hours

• 8% of the adult population provide almost half the volunteer hours

Source: Mohan, J – What do volunteering statistics tellus about the prospects for the Big Society? (2010)

Potential of past volunteers

• Most promising opportunity to engage more volunteers is amongst past volunteers

• We have to understand and address their issues

• UK data– 1 in 5 people had

volunteered but weren’t now

– Changes in personal circumstances the main reason

– 54% of non-volunteers would like to volunteer

• Your organisation?

Source: Helping Out (2007)

Gaps• People want group activities but there are few on

offer• People come with skills but don’t always want to

use them• We have clearly defined roles but volunteers

want to shape their own roles• We want long-term volunteers but people want

shorter term, flexible ways to engage• We focus on our needs but volunteers have their

own goals

Source: Bridging The Gap (2011)

Why these gaps?

• Motivations, availabilities and interests change during our lives

• Volunteering is a two-way relationship• Skills transfer and development is

important• Time is our most valuable resource• In other words, today’s volunteers are

different!

How can we respond?

– Design specific, set roles and be open to volunteers determining the scope of what they can offer.

– Match skills to the needs of the organisation but don’t assume that everyone wants to use the skills related to their profession, trade, or education.

– Be well organised but not too bureaucratic

Source: Bridging The Gap (2011)

Less….

More….

How can we respond?

• Re-think how we involve people to achieve our mission

• Focus more on what needs doing than on how and when it is done

• Be flexible and provide greater choice• Provide opportunities for online engagement• Build meaningful relationships with volunteers

Source: Bridging The Gap (2011)

“Improving participation opportunities requires starting where people are and taking account of their concerns and interests, providing a range of opportunities and levels of involvement so people can feel comfortable with taking part and using the personal approach to invite and welcome people in.”

Pathways Through Participation

Useful reading/resources

• 21st Century Volunteer – nfpSynergy• Bridging the Gap – Volunteer Canada• Participation: trends, facts and figures – NCVO• Helping Out: National Survey of Volunteering

and Charitable Giving – Institute for Volunteering Research

• Pathways Through Participation – NCVO, Involve and Institute for Volunteering Research

• The New Breed – Thomas and Jonathan McKee

Integrating lessons from Bridging The Gap within the

National Trust framework

Discussion

• What has struck you most from this session and why?

Discussion

• How do you see these trends and issues impacting on volunteering with the Trust and specifically your property?

Discussion

• What actions could be taken at our properties to ‘bridge the gap’?

Discussion

• How can you support your volunteer manager to implement these actions?

• What support do youyou need?

Two things…

The 2020 ambition:Volunteers in every aspect of our work

All staff confident and capable of working with volunteers

The 2012 KPI target:64% volunteers strongly recommend volunteering with

the National Trust (2013 68%)

How we’re responding

40%Systems

&Processes

40%Capability

& Confidence

20%New offers

Systems &

Processes

Capability &

Confidence

New offers

Systems &Processes

Capability &

Confidence

New Offers

Years 1 - 3 Years 4 - 6 Years 7 - 9

Regular, routine volunteers

Family volunteers

Working Holiday

participants

Working HolidayLeaders

Supporter Group Committees

Internships

Governancevolunteers

Employee volunteers

Leisure Work

“Supporters” “Just like staff”

Micro volunteers

Virtual volunteers

Regular, routine

Working Holidays

Employee volunteering

Family volunteering

Governance

Supporter Groups

Internships

2012

2020?Family volunteering

Internships

Employee volunteering

Working Holidays

Supporter Groups

Regular, routine

Virtual volunteers

Micro volunteersGovernance

Action planning

Action capture sheets• Rate each possible action between 1 & 5 for

importance– 1 = high importance, 5 = low importance

• Estimate the amount of time required to complete each action

• Re-order– High priority & little time at the top– Low priority and lots of time at the bottom

• Share with a colleague and hold each other to account!

Q&A

How to get in touch

Email: rob@robjacksonconsulting.comPhone: 07557 419 074

Web: www.robjacksonconsulting.comTwitter: @robjconsulting

Blog: www.robjacksonconsulting.blogspot.com