IiV Indicator 1

There is an expressed commitment to the involvement of volunteers, and recoginition throughout the organisation that volunteering is a two-way process, which benefits volunteers and the organisation.

2. Governance

Meeting your responsibilities

Your trustees (who are volunteers) need to understand why your organisation involves volunteers. This usually begins with an induction process.

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

You should have an equal opportunities policy that relates to volunteers. This might be part of a wider Volunteer policy and linked to other policies e.g. health and safety. Your organisational volunteer recruitment process and policy also falls under this PQASSO quality area and IiV indicator.

6. Training and Development

Supporting people to get it right

Here we are looking for Induction checklists for volunteers, and internal circulars such as newsletters, information sheets, reports.

IiV Indicator 2

The organisation commits appropriate resources to working with volunteers, such as money, management, staff time and materials.

1. Planning for quality

Knowing what you are doing and how to do it

Objectives for your volunteering programme should be included in your Annual Plan.

2. Governance

Meeting your responsibilities

Trustees need to make sure that there are adequate financial resources to cover the running of the volunteer programme.

3. Management

Getting the foundation right

Your annual plan should include objectives for your volunteering programme, and how you plan to get the funding to achieve these objectives. Along with funding applications, it would be good idea to think about developing a funding strategy.

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

Job descriptions for paid staff who have responsibilities for volunteers.

8. Managing Resources

Making the most of what you have

Evidence that ensures that volunteers have the necessary resources and materials to do their work and deliver the current level of your service.

9. Managing Activities

Doing the right things better

Staff and volunteers should regularly review your core volunteer activities and services. How does this happen in your organisation?

12. Results

Making a difference

Have your objectives for the volunteer programme been met? How do you know?

IiV Indicator 3

The organisation is open to involving volunteers who reflect the diversity of the local community, in accordance with the organisation’s stated aims, and operates procedures.

1. Planning for quality

Knowing what you are doing and how to do it

The aims and objectives of your organisation should reflect the diversity of the local community. Through regular community consultations, you should have information about under-represented groups.

3. Management

Getting the foundation right

Keeping up to date with laws on equal opportunities and diversity, race relations, disability discrimination, and health and safety, forms part of the evidence required for this IiV indicator.

4. User-centred service

Putting users at the heart of the organisation

Your organisation should be open to involving volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. Information about how volunteers can get involved in your organisation should be made as widely available as possible. Here, we’re looking for your Volunteer Policy, posters, information packs, equal opportunities monitoring forms.

10. Networking and partnership

Getting connected to achieve results

You should have a list of where you have recruited volunteers. What other agencies have you used?

IiV Indicator 4

The organisation develops appropriate roles for volunteers in line with its aims and objectives, and which are of value to the volunteers and create an environment where they can develop.

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

You need to have a ‘role or task’ description for each different volunteer role within your organisation.

6. Training and Development

Supporting people to do it right

Are volunteers given enough information to be effective in their volunteering role. Does your organisation set out the necessary skills, attitude, experience and availability needed to do the work? What training is on offer? Does your organisation have personal development programmes for volunteers?

IiV Indicator 5

The organisation is committed to ensuring that, as far as possible, volunteers are protected from physical, financial and emotional harm arising from volunteering.

2. Governance

Meeting your responsibilities

Trustees understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting volunteers from physical, financial and emotional harm, that may arise from volunteering. They are usually made aware of their responsibilities at induction or through training.

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

Volunteers need appropriate insurance and know that they are covered. Risk assessments for volunteers should be completed to match their ‘role or task’ descriptions. Evidence for this might be in your Volunteer Handbook.

7. Managing Money

Getting it, investing it, spending it

You should have clear policies and procedures on the reimbursement of legally allowable expenses. It's important your organisation takes into account its financial situation. It is good practice to include volunteer expenses in your financial planning and funding bids. This is usually covered in the Volunteering Handbook or Volunteer Policy.

8. Managing Resources

Making the most of what you have

Are personal details are stored in line with the Data Protection Act? Is appropriate insurance is in place for volunteers?

IiV Indicator 6

The organisation is committed to using fair, efficient and consistent recruitment procedures for all potential volunteers.

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

This IiV indicator looks specifically at the recruitment procedures for potential volunteers. PQASSO quality area 5 matches this indicator pretty well.

One of the quality indicators in PQASSO Quality Area 5 reads; ‘The recruitment process is clear and meets all equal opportunities requirements’. To achieve the IiV indicator in full, you’ll need a range of detailed evidence. For example, how is feedback given to volunteers whose applications are turned down?

Check out the full IiV indicator 6 to get a better picture of what’s required.

IiV Indicator 7

The organisation takes a considered approach to taking up references and official checks which is consistent and equitable for all volunteers, bearing in mind the nature of the work.

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

One of the quality indicators in PQASSO QualityAarea 5 reads; ‘The recruitment process is clear and meets all equal opportunities requirements’. To achieve this IiV indicator in full, you need to look at how you take up references for volunteers, CRB or Police checks, and the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Is your process consistent?

IiV Indicator 8

Clear procedures are put into action for introducing new volunteers to the organisation, its work, policies, practices and relevant personnel.

2. Governance

Meeting your responsibilities

Trustees have an induction into the organisation. Is there a process in place for induction? Is there an induction handbook? Do new trustees meet staff and volunteers?

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

There are a number of indicators in PQASSO Quality Area 5 that match this IiV indicator. In brief, they are:

• Support and supervision
• Induction procedures
• Working with other volunteers and paid staff
• Health and safety procedures
• Insurance
• Boundaries of volunteer roles
• Equal opportunities laws, complaints procedure, disciplinary and grievance procedure

6. Training and Development

Supporting people to do it right

New volunteers need to have enough information to be effective in their role. This PQASSO Quality Area is linked directly to 8.1 of this IiV indicator. Volunteers should also have access to training that helps them to develop in their volunteer role.

7. Managing Money

Getting it, investing it, spending it

There should be clear policies and procedures on the reimbursement of legally allowable expenses. This is usually in the Volunteering Handbook or Volunteer Policy.

9. Managing Activities

Doing the right things better

Staff and volunteers are introduced to one another and plan how they will work together. What's the process?

IiV Indicator 9

Everybody in the organisation is aware of the need to give volunteers recognition.

1. Planning for quality

Knowing what you are doing and how to do it

How do volunteers make their views known? Is their a process to feed volunteer's views into your organisation’s annual plan?

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

Recognition of volunteers is given through Support and Supervision for volunteers. Attendance at staff and team meetings where volunteer issues are on the agenda. What procedures are in place for volunteers to input into how your organisation plans its activities.

6. Training and Development

Supporting people to do it right

What opportunities does your organisation provide volunteers to enable them to continue developing their skills and talents within the volunteering roles on offer? How do volunteers know about these opportunities?

IiV Indicator 10

The organisation takes account of the varying support needs of volunteers.

3. Management

Getting the foundation right

Volunteers should know what form of support is there for them, and who to contact. You also need to highlight what happens when a volunteer’s work is emotionally demanding and they want to ‘unload’. What’s the process?

5. Staff and Volunteers

Getting the right people to work together

What support and supervision is available for volunteers? Is it one to one, in groups, 'open door', peer support?

6. Training and Development

Supporting people to do it right

Are volunteers informed of all relevant changes in the organisation which affect their work. This could happen through newsletters, memos, minutes of meetings.

Staff who supervise volunteers must be appropriately trained in some aspects of volunteer management. How does this happen in your organisation?

Investing in Volunteers

Suitable for any organisation that involves volunteers. Organisations should be involved in: recruiting, selecting, matching, supporting and retaining volunteers.

PQASSO

PQASSO - Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations - is suitable for voluntary sector organisations or projects with up to 40 employees.

Investing in Volunteers

The standard covers the whole organisation. It can be achieved by parts of an organisation so long as they can be seen to be discreet and self managed parts of the whole.

PQASSO

PQASSO covers the whole organisation or projects within larger outfits.

Investing in Volunteers

The standard is run by the national Volunteering Development Agencies in England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland. Volunteering England manages the standard in England. The UK Volunteering Forum is the standards Awarding Body.

PQASSO

The Charities Evaluation Services (CES) own PQASSO. There is a network of Licensed PQASSO Mentors (trained and licensed by CES) who work within the VCS as part of Councils for Voluntary Services (CVS) and other infrastructure agencies. CES offer training on the standard themselves, and have a list of PQASSO Mentors who might operate in your community or region.

Investing in Volunteers

Contact Volunteering England
Tel: 0207 520 8982

www.investinginvolunteers.org.uk

On the home page you'll also find links for contacts in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

PQASSO

Contact Charities Evaluation Services:
Tel: 020 7713 5722
Email: enquiries@ces-vol.org.uk

www.ces-vol.org.uk

Investing in Volunteers

All information is supplied on-line with a password protected section for fully registered organisations. Forms and documents are downloadable word documents. A best practice library with downloadable resources is also available.

PQASSO

By purchasing a hard copy of the work pack and a CD ROM version of the work pack. The CD ROM cannot be purchased separately from the work pack.

Investing in Volunteers

The cost will depend on the size and complexity of your organisation. To obtain a quote from the IiV Team, please "Register Interest" on the website and complete the questionnaire.
Prices start at £1,500 - £2,000 for small grassroots organisations. The IiV Package fee includes:

• An Introductory Workshop with your assigned Assessor
• Feedback on Self Assessment from your Assessor
• A Final Assessment visit - interviews with volunteers, staff and senior manager
• A full written Final Report suggesting areas for further development and highlighting areas of excellent practice
• The UK recognised Investing in Volunteers standard - use of the IiV logo on stationery, a wall plaque and certificates
• Subscription to the Investing in Volunteers e-newsletter
• Access to the password protected pages containing the easy 10-steps guide for organisations and all supporting documentation.
• The standard is valid for 3 years

PQASSO

The work pack costs £74. A fully registered copy of the CD-ROM is £46.

Investing in Volunteers

The full standard and practices can be downloaded from the home page without payment being made. The best practice library and documents to support an organisation through to achieving the standard are all within password protected pages.

PQASSO

Very little of the standard can be accessed without purchasing the work pack. You can access a range of information at the CES website.

A free demonstration CD ROM is available which gives examples of the standard and the different quality areas.

Investing in Volunteers

1. A Self-Assessment is done by the organisation at an early stage. This is sent to an allocated assessor so that organisations are certain they are hitting the standards prior to their  final assessment. Only a small number of written documents are requested and submitted by organisations.

2. Final assessment is undertaken through site visits, the length of which will depend on the size of the organisation and range of volunteering roles. Assessors will usually spend at least a day on site using the 10 IiV Indicators as the assessment guide.

PQASSO

The work pack is a self-assessment tool. It is divided into 12 quality areas. Each area has three ‘levels of achievement’ – 1, 2, 3.

Each area has ‘suggested evidence’ to help organisations identify how to demonstrate their achievements. This leads them on to a ‘self-assessment’ section, which helps them decide what action needs to be taken, by specific people and within specific timeframes to meet the ‘levels of achievement’.

A pilot scheme is underway developing external recognition.

Investing in Volunteers

The registration fee covers: advice and guidance from a local Volunteer Centre Partner; a workshop with an allocated assessor and all assessment (visits and report); and access to the password protected area of the Investing in Volunteers website. These web-pages include things like a tool-kit and tips from other volunteer managers who have achieved the standard. Additional consultancy support and training can also be bought from Volunteering England.

PQASSO

Apart from the work pack and CD ROM there is no other form of support from CES, although they do run training courses on PQASSO.

Note: it’s worth checking out your local CVS or other local infrastructure agencies, as they may have access to funding for Quality Assurance related support.

Investing in Volunteers

This will vary from organisation to organisation, but normally the process will be completed within 12 months. Organisations that achieve the standard receive a plaque and certificate on completion and membership of the Achievers Club network.

PQASSO

There is no time limit, but usually organisations achieve Level 1 within 12 months.

Investing in Volunteers

Organisations can Achieve, Not Achieve or Achieve with Conditions. All organisations receive detailed feedback from their assessor. Organisations that achieve the standard with conditions are set a time within which to complete specific actions agreed with their assessor and are not entered into the quality assurance process until there are complete.

PQASSO

Organisations decide whether they have achieved the level. The self assessment process requires organisations to decide whether they have: Fully, Partly Met, Just Started, or Not Met the indicators within the quality areas.

CES are piloting a Peer Review system where an external recognition process is being tested.

Investing in Volunteers

Organisations must re-accredit every 3 years. Re-accreditation fees are the same as original registration as the assessment process requires the same amount of an assessor's time.

PQASSO

There is no accreditation in place at the moment. PQASSO emphasises that quality assurance is all about continuous improvement, and organisations are encouraged to regularly reassess their practice.