Volunteer Management in an Emergency
This week the Emergencies Partnership organised its first capability session for 2022 on the theme of Volunteer Management in an Emergency. Over the course of the pandemic, as well as during other emergencies within the last year such as the evacuation from Afghanistan and Storm Arwen, we have seen the importance of those who give their time to help others.
The session opened with a talk from keynote speaker, Melvin Hartley, Safety and Resilience Manager at Eastleigh Borough Council, who spoke about his experience as part of the Churchill Fellowship and his travels across the USA, as well as to Germany and the Netherlands to explore volunteer management and response. He showcased research, with practical examples, from across the globe and applied them to a UK context to share how such learning has been implemented in response to the pandemic. The talk covered volunteering in its widest sense, both spontaneous and trained volunteers.
Key Lessons:
Most volunteers (60-70%) will go to a Volunteer Reception Centre (VRC)
Some will do their own thing; some groups will be created – either develop or disappear after the event
Use of trained volunteers to lead spontaneous volunteer groups
Just in time training is helpful including health and safety and task based
Media and good communication is crucial to success
Two types of spontaneous volunteer– local and “outsiders” which should be expected
Importance of saying ‘No, but thank you’.
Conversion into affiliated or trained volunteers after the incident
Key Recommendations:
Each LRF must develop a strategy for working with volunteers
Each LRF should integrate the voluntary sector at all levels and have a permanent VCS group
Each LRF should plan for a VRC and prepare for managing volunteers
Explore the concept of Long-Term Recovery Groups
In short, develop a participatory approach to emergency management and see the public as an asset not a nuisance
Click here to download the full presentation and to watch a recording of the main talk, click here.
Following on, there were three breakout discussions featuring speakers from the sector.
ROOM 1:
Summary: Melvin spoke about the practical implementation of the examples and ideas covered in the keynote presentation and reflected on some of the key issues identified as barriers to utilising volunteers in an emergency response.
Key Points Discussed:
Leadership challenges - largely self-organised, and leadership emerged and a ‘team’ formed very quickly.
Trust is vital - When we talk about volunteering, organisation get nervous about DBS checks and safety – need to establish the right balance of trust. There is a need to take a level of risk to get the support that’s needed. The level of trust in existing volunteers is greater – and combining that with the type of role is the secret.
Challenge of finding/uncovering pre-existing concerns and ensuring there are effective pathways to getting those met. The debriefing of volunteers is critical to identifying complex needs.
Exploring how LRFs manage the engagement of spontaneous volunteers – LRF wide, or sections within it. The plan is important, but how it’s implemented will vary. Challenges due to volume of the volunteers in an emergency. Working more closely with community development teams to start to engage more with the less formal responder.
Critical to consider the difference of the pandemic from a localised incident – we need frameworks and guidance and best practice that may be able to be adopted depending on the size.
Click here to download Melvin’s presentation from the breakout session.
ROOM 2:
Summary: Jon White from RE:ACT, took some of the theory discussed around volunteering and explained the organisation’s approach to volunteer management which has been used successfully in previous emergencies, with a particular focus on coordinating spontaneous volunteers in a rapid on-set situation and both the challenges and benefits of this type of volunteer. Jon also described why ‘hands-on’ leadership is crucial and why the approach to spontaneous volunteer management must be flexible and adaptable. He also discussed RE:ACT’s systems and processes set out and utilised in previous operations.
Key Points Discussed:
RE:ACT believes that the processing and deployment of spontaneous volunteers is vital in order to harness the enthusiasm of spontaneity, engage with local communities and build local resilience. It can provide a huge force multiplier during a crisis response - allowing us to help more people using less resource.
It can also prevent the negative aspects that, unchecked, can accompany spontaneous volunteers - for example safeguarding issues, misguided efforts, frustration, interruption to emergency services, and health and safety concerns. Building trust is most important.
Spontaneous volunteers differ from responses to response in terms of number, experience, and organisation – therefore any management process must maintain flexibility and adaptability to be successful. Common sense should always prevail.
To view Jon’s presentation, click here.
ROOM 3:
Summary: James Carlin, Director of 3SG, shared experiences of establishing volunteer structures in response to an emergency such as the pandemic. This was followed by an open discussion, hosted by James, around the challenges and successes associated with volunteer management as well as sharing tips for good practice.
Key Points Discussed:
To be mindful of the fact that the relationship between statutory partners and VCS organisations vary.
The 3SG local phone number received 10,000 calls during the pandemic.
3SG delivered 80,000 support leaflets, mobilised 500 local volunteers using a local football pitch as space management during the pandemic.
Volunteers from 3SG helped a local centenarian celebrate their birthday post pandemic.
Funding is a challenge and will remain so. Some VCS disseminated cash to local mutual aid groups quickly and established link for further ongoing support.
There was a challenge around using Zoom when first started however it quickly became the main tools for comms with volunteers including for processes such as vetting and interviewing (HR Platform) before asking someone to take on a task. Adapting to change and making use of technology was key to successful retention and volunteer recruitment.
Communicating with volunteers daily during the pandemic was time consuming and labour intensive but was critical to success. As the pandemic progressed this moved on to a weekly and then monthly interaction.
Life after Volunteering: 3GS signposted volunteers who were out of work to local primary care trusts, and some ended up getting jobs after been furloughed.
Volunteers applied to the 3SG because the national scheme wasn't involving them after they had initially registered. We were able to mobilise every one of them that the NHS/RVS scheme didn't.
For James’ presentation, click here.
It was great to see so many people from various Local Resilience Forums, representatives from councils and charities sharing experiences and insight that they had gained through their own work.