Templates

 Code of Conduct

At <insert your organization>, we believe that volunteers are a valuable human resource and play an important role in striving to meet the mission of our organization. 

We commit to our volunteers by:
  • Offering a volunteer program that has adequate resources, is well managed and has the appropriate infrastructure to ensure volunteers are working in a supportive environment
  • Ensuring every volunteer receives a thorough orientation and training and that at this training, the mission of the organization is clearly communicated
  • Providing the necessary supervision and accessible support so that you can fulfill your commitment to the organization
  • Informing you of all new programs, services and changes to policy that impact the services offered to our clients
  • Providing you with a detailed, current volunteer position description that not only clearly outlines your volunteer role but also how you will give and receive feedback
  • Creating an environment where there is open communication, a sense of teamwork and respect for diversity between volunteers and staff
  • Providing ongoing opportunities to learn and grow which includes the opportunity to experience various positions while you are volunteering with our organization
  • Recognizing you for your contributions and accomplishments in both formal and informal ways
As a volunteer at <insert your organization>, you act as an ambassador of our organization. 
 
Because of this important role, we expect volunteers to:
  • Participate in orientation, training and ongoing development opportunities
  • Work within the boundaries of your volunteer position description while supporting the vision, mission and policies outlined by our organization
  • Act as an ambassador of <organization> by taking ownership for actions and decisions made while volunteering
  • Approach your volunteer assignment as a professional commitment
  • Engage in discussions with staff in order to express your comments, suggestions, or concerns
  • Promote a team spirit by respecting differences in people, valuing diversity of opinion and working with others to achieve the goals of our organization
  • Value the importance of  providing exceptional quality service to our clients that is second-to-none by being friendly, informed and respectful
 Staff Board Meeting Agenda
 
A Training Session for Busy Staff … to ensure success with volunteers
 
Why are we here?
  • Thank your staff colleagues for taking time out of their busy schedules to discuss the importance of volunteer involvement in your organization.
  • Introduce the concept that volunteer management is ultimately about relationships. Specifically, the relationship between the volunteer and the mission of the organization. In order for this to happen, all staff in the organization needs to understand the roles of volunteers so that they can support the volunteers in the work they are trying to achieve.
  • Emphasize that, given the realities of the community, it is becoming more challenging to recruit volunteers. To this end, you are proposing that your organization makes a commitment to supporting current volunteers with the hope that you can keep people engaged and happy for a longer period of time. In order for this to happen, you need their help.
 A frank discussion...
  • Ask your staff colleagues to share their best volunteer experience and their worst volunteer experience. Use this as an opportunity to get them ‘talking’ openly and honestly about volunteering. You need to understand what has been the basis of their experience in order to understand their approach to volunteer involvement.
  • Ask the staff about the ‘vibe’ in the office when volunteers are there. Is it welcoming?
Ask staff to share some of the benefits of working with volunteers as well as some of the challenges? Address their concerns so that they feel that they have been heard.
 
Reveiw key trends in volunteer involvement
  • Provide some commentary on how these trends are effecting your organization and, based on the current demographics of your volunteer base, how you will need to be proactive in engaging volunteers in the future.
  • Talk about the necessity of valuing and supporting volunteers. Educate the staff on the various roles that volunteers play within the organization.
  • Present the opportunities that you see over the next year for your organization regarding volunteer involvement.
The organizations' volunteer program - what does it look like? 
  • Describe the role of volunteer resources in your organization and the role that you play.
  • Present an overview of the volunteer program. This will include the kinds of positions volunteers hold, policies and procedures, the process for screening and placing volunteers, how volunteers are trained, recognized and supported.
  • Explain that by sharing this information, you want them to understand that there is a process and there are opportunities for their involvement.
  • Introduce Code of Conduct for volunteers.

What do you want staff to do?

Pose the question for discussion:

  • What do you see your responsibilities to volunteers? How can you help build support for the volunteer program?
Explain that there are key action items that the staff can commit to:
  • Following the policies and procedures that are outlined.
  • Participate in volunteer orientation and training.
  • Understand their role in supervising and supporting volunteers.
  • Understand their role in valuing and recognizing volunteers.
Wrap up.
 
Thank staff for coming and reassure them that you are a resource for them as they continue to support volunteers in the organization.
 
 
Board Meeting Agenda

Why are we here?
  • Thank the Board for agreeing to hear your presentation and more importantly, for being key volunteers in the organization. Mention that without their involvement, the organization would not be able to exist.
  • Draw a parallel between the last statement and the fact that not only is their involvement as volunteers critical but the involvement of the direct service volunteers is also important.
  • Discuss the fact that volunteers were once a ‘nice to have’ in the organization. However, due to the changing society we live in, they are now a ‘need to have’ and are often the human resource that delivers the organizations’ services.
  • Emphasize that it is for this very reason you are here today, to discuss the current and future involvement of volunteers and how the Board can support you in the work you are doing within the organization.
  • Post the mission of the organization on the wall or screen and talk about how your role as the manager of volunteers is to build a relationship between the volunteer and the mission of the organization.
  • Just as they are volunteers as board members and are expected to act as ambassadors of the organization, so are the volunteers that you work with. Share the Volunteer Code of Conduct with the Board to affirm your commitment to volunteers.

Review key trends in volunteer involvement

  • Provide a quick overview of the key trends in volunteer involvement.
  • Present a demographic profile of your current volunteer base.
  • Provide some commentary on how these trends are effecting your organization and, based on the current demographics of your volunteer base, how you will need to be proactive in engaging volunteers in the future.
  • Talk about the necessity of valuing and supporting volunteers. Educate the board on the various roles that volunteers play within the organization.
  • Present the opportunities that you see over the next year for your organization regarding volunteer involvement. Spend a moment expressing your commitment to focusing on the retention of volunteers, and not just the recruitment of them.

What can the board do?

Pose the question for discussion:
  • What do you see your responsibilities to volunteers? How can you help build support for the volunteer program?
Explain that there are key action items that the Board can commit to:
  • Directing the Executive Director to support volunteer involvement and the effective management of volunteers. (refer to Betty Stallings resource)
  • Adopting the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement – particularly the Values and Guiding Principles with direction to the staff to implement the organizational standards.
  • Ensuring there is adequate resources for the volunteer program.

If appropriate, assigning a board member to work with the manager of volunteers to research and stay current on legislation (FOIP, Privacy Acts, etc.) that is relevant to the risk management work the manager of volunteers is doing.

Next steps:
 
Ask the Board for a return invitation in 6 months to update them around the progress regarding the implementation of the CCVI organizational standards.

Leave the Board with a copy of the Betty Stallings resource – 12 Key Actions of Volunteer Program Champions – CEO’s Who Lead the Way as well as A People Lens by Colleen Kelly, Executive Director of Volunteer Vancouver.  

 
Executive Director Meeting Agenda

Strategy session with your Executive Director regarding Volunteer Involvement
 
Why are we here?
  • Explain that you feel the time is right to look at how volunteers are engaged and managed within your organization.
  • Discuss the emerging trend in the voluntary sector around Integrated Human Resources. Based on this trend, you feel it is time to look at how your organizations’ key human resource – volunteers – are managed.
  • Explain that volunteer management is about relationship building. Further explain that in order to be strategic about volunteer engagement, the relationship that is built and nurtured should be between the volunteer and the organization. This warrants a discussion about how your organization ensures that this happens.
  • Explain that part of your reason for meeting today is to do a perception check regarding volunteer engagement in your organization. Are you on the same page?

Present the current demographic profile of your volunteer base.

  • Present an overview of current volunteer involvement in your organization.
  • Review the information on your volunteer base.
  • Explain that volunteers were once seen as a ‘nice to have’ in the organization. However, based on the current realities, they are a ‘need to have’.
  • Pose questions regarding the ED’s knowledge about volunteers engaged in the organization … is this information a surprise? If so, what surprised them the most? Do they feel the volunteer base is healthy? What do they think needs to be done in order to retain this base?
  • Ask your ED to define their vision of volunteer engagement for your organization.

Review the key trends in volunteer involvement.

  • Explain that in order to keep volunteers engaged, our organization needs to think not only about how they recruit and screen volunteers but how they retain them as well.
  • Discuss the importance of understanding trends in volunteer engagement and how it will effect your organization in one year? five years?
  • Point out the trends that you are seeing in your volunteer base.

Review the CCVI audit results and compare them to your completed version.

  • Explain that in order for the work of the manager of volunteers to be strategic, the support of the ED is required.
  • Outline some of the ways that you feel your ED could better support volunteer engagement in your organization. Ask the ED how they feel about your ideas and if they have any to add?
  • Ask the ED what their top 3 or 4 priorities are for the organization. Have they considered how volunteers could support this work? What would it look like?

Building staff buy-in in order to create a culture that values volunteers.

  • Introduce the idea that in order to be successful when engaging volunteers, everyone in the organization needs to value the role of volunteers. Explain that in order for this to happen, staff need to have buy-in to the process and believe that volunteers help in achieving the mission of the organization.
  • Propose that all staff have ‘working and support volunteers’ in their job descriptions. In addition, ask if when new staff is being hired that questions about their track record around working with volunteers be an interview question.
  • Suggest that a training session be introduced to describe to staff expectations around how they work and support volunteers.

Next Steps – building a volunteer plan.

Discuss how you can move towards the further development and maintenance of a volunteer engagement process. What can the ED do to support this? What do you need the ED to do?

Leave the ED with a copy of the Betty Stallings resource – 12 Key Actions of Volunteer Program Champions – CEO’s Who Lead the Way as well as A People Lens by Colleen Kelly, Executive Director of Volunteer Vancouver. Suggest that you meet again soon to discuss these documents and your organizations’ volunteer program.

For copies of the CCVI and the Audit Tool visit Volunteer Canada’s website.
 

 Thank you to Volunteer Alberta for providing these materials.

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Last updated: July 23, 2008