Welcome
Volunteer Management Convestival 2012
“The values of volunteering stand out like a bright light
in a naughty world”
Your biggest achievements when working with volunteers in the National Trust
“The values of volunteering stand out like a bright light
in a naughty world”
The IRONBRIDGE GORGE MUSEUM TRUST
Lucy Andrews-ManionVolunteer Co-ordinator
Volunteering at IronbridgeIronbridge Gorge Museum Trust
• One of the worlds largest Independent Museums• An educational Charity
• 10 Museum Sites, 36 Historic Sites in total over 7 square miles
• 200 members of paid staff• Based in a World Heritage Site, The Ironbridge Gorge
• Around 500,000 visitors per year
Volunteering at Ironbridge
400+ regular volunteersCorporate Volunteering-1000+ peopleGreat range of ages-16 up to 90Opportunities for young and unemployed peopleMonthly projects/Regular placements
A better Museum thanks to their efforts
Volunteering at Ironbridge
Why Volunteer?This is the key to getting and keeping the right people
-Social interaction-Gain skills and experience
Volunteering at IronbridgeDemonstrate
GuideResearchMaintainSupport
Help us to add to and deliver an excellent level of service
Volunteering at Ironbridge
Where do we find them?Newspaper ArticlesWord of Mouth
StaffVolunteers
Visitor interestVolunteer Centre
Volunteering at Ironbridge
To become a volunteer at Ironbridge:ApplicationReferences
InterviewPlacementInduction
Monitoring
It doesn’t need to be too formal, this is a volunteer role, not a job.
BUT it does need to be structured.
Volunteering at IronbridgeGetting the Right people
Role Descriptions- know what you want before you recruit, think about things which could help your organisation, but seem a long way off-
could a volunteer get you there?
Interview-get to know your volunteer, recruit carefully, and specifically for the role-only place someone if they are the RIGHT person
Monitoring-keep talking to your volunteers keep them informed, give them goals let them know outcomes they can expect to get from their
role.
Volunteering at IronbridgeBuilding Roles
A volunteer role should benefit all partiesAlways think of the ‘BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME’Think wider than day to day,
WHAT SORT OF PERSON DO YOU REALLY NEED?
Different types of Volunteers
Justyna Gasinska 20 year-old Polish student Currently working weekends in a
factory Studying Business Administration at
college, evenings only Would like to have an office job but
needs experience Rob Davies 59 years old Lives locally Recently retired Misses work and the contact with
others Feels he has skills to give
Volunteering at Ironbridge
Volunteering at IronbridgeRETAINING YOUR VOLUNTEERSBenefits: Free entry
Quarterly NewsletterMonthly coffee mornings and eventsFree ticket to eventsFree parkingDiscount in Museum ShopsLunch
Access to trainingA friendly, welcoming atmosphere!
Volunteering at IronbridgeDEALING WITH ISSUES Be prepared
Recruit the right people into the right roleBe open to change
Have a procedure in place Follow it!
Be open and honest& Most importantly, be nice!
Volunteering at IronbridgeMost Importantly…
Get to know your volunteers – the better you know them the more they will want to help.
Remember that they want to help, give them the opportunity.
Show appreciation - Say thankyou!