No sooner have we read that youth volunteering has dropped, according to a recent nfpSynergy survey, than we see pictures everywhere of people with brooms offering to clear up after the riots. The goodwill is very much there in the psyche of the great British public – but how can we capture that goodwill, and where are the guidelines for managers in charities to feel they are managing their volunteers on a level playing field?
The handling of volunteers in the charity sector is, quite frankly, very mixed. In my dialogue with charity human resources directors there is definitely a feeling that they are struggling to meet the government's big society agenda and would welcome an assurance that they are on the right track.
One kindred spirit is Brett Terry, HR director of the Alzheimer's Society who is keen to compare his charity's practice with others and to make sure he is attracting and retaining the best talent. Last year he took the decision to look at the charity's most important asset – its people:
"A benchmarking exercise was important for us as we wanted to look at our performance across all areas of our HR operation and to see where we fitted beside others. This included our workforce profile, which looked at demographic metrics such as age and gender, staff retention, sickness rates and learning and development. People data is the absolute foundation of our employment practice and we used it to inform our strategic priorities and to facilitate our operational activities.
"For example, we found that the charity had an ageing workforce – yet were we right to retire people at the age of 65? Through a comparison of externally benchmarked data and learning about the approaches of similar organisations, we removed the compulsory retirement age through an informed, evidence-based decision. We did this before the government agreed it was unsustainable too, and have had no regrets."
However, when it comes to attracting and retaining the best talent – both employees and volunteers, how does Terry feel? "Although with the economic downturn the need to attract and retain top talent has become even more important and this could lead to protectionism, I have been pleased to observe that charities remain happy to share best practice and learn from each other".
Ellie Vaughan, people data manager at the Alzheimer's Society, reiterates this message: "One of the great things about the not-for-profit sector is that organisations are not too precious about sharing information. When we receive a benchmarking study I will pick up the phone and speak to my counterparts in the other organisations that participated. They are almost always happy to discuss their own methods of working in the spirit of collaboration, as am I."
There must be many more volunteer-involving organisations from both the public and third sectors who would welcome an update and an opportunity to talk through the problems of, and solutions to, managing a volunteer workforce. There must be many more who would like to see how they compare and if they are doing the right thing, or lagging behind.
We have teamed up with the Association of Volunteer Managers for our 2011 study and we are looking for charities and volunteer-involving organisations to sign up for the Volunteer Management Benchmarking 2011 study.
We are holding a free information event on working with volunteers on Wednesday 21 September from 2pm to 5pm at NCVO, Regent's Wharf, All Saints Street, London N1 9RL.
Roger Parry is the director of Agenda Consulting
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. To join the voluntary sector network, click here.
