Enhancing Volunteer Engagement at Dogs Trust Basildon
Volunteering at Dogs Trust Basildon has a rich history dating back to 1891. The center has implemented a successful pilot scheme to better integrate volunteers into their teams. Learn about the vision and challenges of the new face of volunteering, ongoing recruitment processes, volunteer roles available, and more in this insightful guide.
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Volunteering at Dogs Trust Basildon
Volunteering History of volunteering within Dogs Trust, and the issues faced by centres Pilot Scheme for the new face of Volunteering Recruitment of volunteers Volunteer Roles Retention of volunteers Rota s Absence A word from our volunteers Questions and answers
Introduction Karina Grimwade - Volunteer Coordinator and Line Manager for Home from Home fostering scheme Background in people management and customer service Been with Dogs Trust since opening of Basildon centre Passionate about animal welfare and so had a career change to move into this area Special place in my heart for the waifs and strays and often found with a dog who needs a little extra TLC
History Volunteering has been an every day part of life since Dogs Trust began as NCDL in 1891. With the opening of the first rehoming centre in Bridgend in 1966 our volunteers became an even more integral part of Dogs Trust life. As time went on and volunteers were utilised for more and more roles each centre worked slightly differently, meaning there was no real template for how things should be done. Inevitably this created some problems that were recurrent in multiple centres, some of the main problems were: No rotas No time commitment No go to person for volunteers to have regular contact Basic application process Lack of integration with the staff A revised volunteer scheme was introduced at Basildon when the centre opened in 2014 to try to integrate volunteers into the teams more, and to try to ensure that the volunteers time was being used wisely. The pilot scheme was a success at Basildon, and has since been rolled out to the Manchester centre, and partially rolled out to some of our other older centres. The scheme will be used as a template for future centres that Dogs Trust open.
The new face of Volunteering The vision The challenge Initial application process when the centre first opened Applications Shortlisting Selection event Outcome Feedback Integration and on-going interaction
Ongoing Recruitment Competition to become a volunteer Role descriptions Application forms Advertising Selection event Induction On the job training Uniform and name badges
Volunteer Roles What do you want volunteers to do? Create new roles as the team develops Canine Assistants Visitor Support Home Visits Maintenance Gardening Kennel Cuddlers Dog Walkers
Retention of volunteers 72% retention rate at Basildon compared to some centres estimating their retention rate to be less than 20% Volunteers have been given an opportunity to work with us, they have earned it, and so therefore are more likely to stay Invitations to training sessions Invitations to fun days and staff outings Christmas awards Volunteering at events Merit certificates
Rotas and volunteer levels One of the key issues raised by other centres was that they didn t know when volunteers were coming in, and so couldn t plan around this. When creating the new vision for volunteering at Basildon, we always wanted volunteers to work from a rota. What works for the centre? Set a rota, and keep to this. Booking holidays Signing in sheets
Absence Management Following many discussions within Dogs Trust and other charities who have volunteer involvement it was found that the main issue with volunteers was absence. Initial contact Try to find a solution and problem solving Repeated absence End of volunteer agreement, if necessary
