Standards are go! Eastern Volunteers share best practice advice

Do you have a copy of the National Standards for Involving Volunteers in Not for Profit Organisations sitting on a shelf in your office? Do you think it's time to give your organisation's policies and procedures an overhaul?

Nicole Ryan is the Manager of Volunteer Services at Eastern Volunteers. In May 2010, she said 'yes' to these questions and went about reviewing their policies and procedures to make sure they were meeting the framework set out by the National Standards.

'The standards seemed daunting', said Nicole, 'but it was a good chance for us to revise our policies and procedures and make sure we were running our programs in the best way that we could.'

The National Standards represent best practice in volunteer management, to ensure that volunteer rights are protected, that their role is clear and that they work in a safe and healthy environment.

How did you get started?

Nicole started by speaking to Volunteering Geelong, who run the Leading with Standards program.

'When you're starting, it seems like a long process, but once you get going it's not so hard to do – and the great thing about doing the Leading with Standards program is that you get help along the way', says Nicole. 'After the initial workshop, Volunteering Geelong provides one on one support, which really helps to demystify the standards.'

How did you approach the project?

Eastern Volunteers decided to concentrate on two of the eight standards to start.

'We could have audited against all eight standards but then we just would have had a whole list of things to do. By choosing two standards we had a clear focus and set of outcomes.

'A lot of people who do this process start with the first standard, Policies and Procedures, but it's a bit of a catch-all section. If you do the others first, you'll find that you have covered quite a bit of that section. We decided to start with Management Responsibility (#2) so we could have a clear outline of who was responsible for volunteer systems and processes overall.

'We also looked at Recruitment (#3) to give us a chance to review and document what we were already doing. As a result we have produced a volunteer handbook, a volunteer policy and a clear orientation procedure. These are new and all really valuable.'

What was the process?

As part of the training, Nicole developed a clear process to gain support for the project and get people involved.

After completing an audit of existing policies and procedures, she presented the results to the board to get their support.

The next step was to get input from people who actually use the policies and procedures. A project team of five people from the organisation was set up.

A wider reference group was also established for people who were interested in the project, but weren't able to commit to regular face to face meetings. They were kept up to date via email, and had a chance to provide their feedback and comments.

Next, all the draft documents were sent to the management group for their feedback.

Finally, each policy was reviewed and endorsed by the board.

'We already had policies and procedures for the organisation, so we didn't start from scratch', said Nicole. 'Mostly, the process is around documenting what we're already doing, and then making sure it is enshrined in practice.'

What are the challenges in doing a project like this?

Getting the right people involved
Getting support and buy in
Having someone who is in charge of the process and comfortable writing documents
Sticking to the standard you decide to do, and not getting distracted by others as you go

Best advice?

You don't have to start at Standard #1
Set your scope carefully – work out what you want to achieve and do it in bite size chunks
If you come across something else which needs doing but belongs to a standard you're not currently tackling, note it and move on – stay focused!
Remember: it's not really as scary as it looks

What's next?

Another two standards!

'Basically, it's an opportunity to make sure our program is as good as it can be. We can see what were doing well – and what needs improving.'

For more information you can:

Read our article Volunteering Geelong is Leading with Standards
Attend a training session, National Volunteer Standards, which Nicole is presenting in March.

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