The Volunteer Management Conference 2024: Recruiting, Retaining and Engaging Volunteers

A robust and well-engaged volunteer workforce is vital to the delivery of the community-based services. However, since the pandemic the number of volunteers has fallen by nearly half according to the National Council for Voluntary Organisation (NCVO) in 2023.

As time has progressed, there has been a growing opportunity to re-engage with lost volunteers and attract a new generation of people willing to get involved with valuable charitable causes. Through providing strengthened workplace policies and practices, voluntary organisations will be better equipped to recruit, retain and support the longevity of their workforce.

• According to the Charity Commission’s latest sector overview, there are currently 7,076,328 volunteers for registered charities in England Wales
• The NCVO’s Time Well Spent 2023 report found that the number of volunteers has dropped by 50% since 2018
• There are 50% less volunteers than there were in 2018, according to the NCVO’s ‘Time Well Spent’ 2023 report
• According to the Charities Aid Foundation in 2022,only 6% of people aged 16 to 44 have volunteered compared to over 10% of people aged 65 and over

Join us at Empowering Volunteers 2024: Strategies for Effective Management to hear the latest updates from national charities and voluntary organisations on developing high-quality policies to improve the recruitment, retention and wellbeing of the volunteer workforce.

You will hear best practice case studies exploring how charities have embraced flexible working, developed effective safeguarding policies  and strategies for embedding equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within their organisation. There will also be an opportunity to network with senior colleagues from across the voluntary sector, discussing key challenges and innovative solutions from across the sector.

 Why Attend:

✓National Update on Volunteer Management: Gain insights into the latest data and reports on the post-COVID volunteering landscape, including how to re-engage former volunteers and tackle recruitment and retention challenges.

✓Strategies for Developing Policies: Learn key recommendations on creating and developing volunteering policies, utilising a broad range of avenues to recruit potential volunteers and foster an inclusive and positive work environment.

✓Recruitment and Retention: Discover best practice examples of increasing the retention of volunteers within your organisation and flexible approaches to recruitment.

✓Safeguarding Policies: Hear from guidance on creating and implementing robust safeguarding policies for your organisation, ensuring the protection of volunteers and service users.

✓Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Learn best practices for embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion policies throughout a volunteering team and adapting your recruitment process to cater for a diverse workforce.

✓Flexible Volunteering: Explore flexible approaches to volunteering to enable a diverse volunteer workforce and increase accessibility for volunteers.

✓Local Networks: Discover how to build networks with other volunteering organisations, co-produce volunteering policies, and utilise digital resources to share knowledge and encourage remote projects.

✓Enhance your Professional Development: Gain 8 CPD points towards your yearly quota

To make a booking please click here or call 0330 058 4285 or email enquiries@governmentevents.co.uk 

• 9.00

  Online Registration

• 9.40

  Chair’s Opening Remarks

   

  Emily Sack, Volunteering and Skills Coordinator, University of Bristol Students’ Union

  

• 9.50

  Keynote: Protecting Vulnerable Volunteers and Service Users Through Embedding Effective Local Safeguarding

  • Guidance on creating and implementing robust organisational policies to safeguard volunteer wellbeing and meet their needs
  • Strengthening safeguarding frameworks within recruitment processes to better identify vulnerable  volunteers and
  • Ensuring volunteers are knowledgeable and trained in safeguarding practices when interacting with the public
  • Partnership-working alongside local authorities to deliver a holistic approach to safeguarding
  • Upskilling line managers to provide effective support for vulnerable volunteers against undue harm

  Davina Barber, Senior Safeguarding Advisor, Save the Children UK (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 10.10

  Case Study: Diversifying the Workforce: Broadening Reach to Engage and Attract  Younger Volunteers

  • Key tips on adapting external communications and diversifying avenues for outreach to advertise volunteering opportunities to young people
  • Sharing successful incentives targeted towards younger people to improve the attractiveness of volunteering
  • Methods for encouraging engagement between volunteers of different ages and backgrounds to strengthen support and connection between colleagues
  • Relationship-building techniques to better engage younger volunteers and increase retainment

  Emily Sack, Volunteering and Skills Coordinator, University of Bristol Students’ Union (CONFIRMED)

  

• 10.30

  Questions and Answers

   

• 10.50

  Comfort Break

   

• 11.05

   

   

• 11.35

  Case Study: Adopting a Whole-Community Approach to Offering a Diversity of Opportunities for Volunteers

  • Volunteer Passport Scheme: collaborating with partner organisations to standardise recruitment processes and offer flexible volunteering opportunities
  • Maximising uptake and engagement with volunteering through offering accessible approaches to recruitment
  • Providing robust training for new volunteers to retain new recruits
  • Engaging with volunteers to gain their insights on volunteer distribution and embed feedback into allocation decisions

  Pam Robinson, Project Manager – Volunteer Passport Scheme Newcastle, Volunteering Matters (CONFIRMED)

  Karen Watson, Project Manager, Volunteer Centre Newcastle (CONFIRMED)

  

  

• 12.05

  Questions and Answers

   

• 12.25

  Lunch Break

   

• 13.10

  Case Study: Beyond ‘Journeys’ towards satisfaction – understanding the volunteer’s needs

  • Understand that every volunteer does so for different reasons and how important it is to tailor experiences to ensure improved satisfaction across the network
  • Hear how to best link up volunteer experiences with the needs of volunteers in terms of flexibility, while still retaining the purpose of your volunteering roles
  • Discuss strategies to ensure that volunteering is simple, straightforward, and impactful, ensuring the volunteer pool is as wide and deep as possible.

  Sally Munday, Head of Volunteering, Home Start UK (CONFIRMED)

  

   

• 13.30

  Case Study: Embedding EDI Principles to Create an Inclusive and Supportive Environment for the Volunteer Workforce

  • Best practice in designing equity, diversity, and inclusion policies and setting clear benchmarks for progress
  • Strategies for embedding robust EDI practices from employee managers to volunteer managers
  • Meeting the needs of volunteers from marginalised communities through taking a listen-first approach to responding to feedback
  • Building trust amongst managers to get buy-in to ensure smooth change management

  Ester Jones Russell, Senior Manager Volunteering, England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB)

  

• 13.50

  Questions and Answers

   

• 14.10

  Breakout Networking: Developing Strategies to Better Recruit, Retain and Manage Volunteers

  This session will provide you with the opportunity to discuss the main challenges you face in recruiting and retaining volunteers for your organisation. Allowing you to share your experiences with other senior colleagues and encourage cross-sector  collaboration in  managing the volunteer workforce.

   

• 14.40

  Comfort Break

   

• 14.55

  Case Study: Making Volunteering Accessible: Providing a Hybrid Approach for Volunteers

  • Offering flexible approaches to volunteering within your organisation to enable a diverse volunteer workforce
  • Successful remote initiatives for engaging volunteers with busy schedules to ensure sustained contact with the volunteering network
  • Using online technology and training programmes to increase accessibility for volunteers: key tips
  • Co-producing hybrid and remote working systems with volunteers to retain workplace cohesion and generate flexibility

  Lucy Owens, Programme Manager; Volunteering & Equality, Catalyst Stockton (CONFIRMED)

  

• 15.15

  Skills Based Volunteering: A Win, Win, Win

  Understand what the value and impact is of skills based volunteering and how it provides positive outcomes for everyone involved

  • Win for charities: Gaining knowledge, skills, and experience as well as growing their networks
  • Win for the volunteer: Unlocking new skills and confidence while also contributing to a greater sense of fulfilment
  • Win for business: when delivered in partnership with a business, staff gain crucial & unique learnings to bring back to their respective organisation

  Helen Savage-Underwood, Skills Volunteering Lead, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales (CONFIRMED)

  

• 15.35

  Questions and Answers

   

• 15.55

  Chair’s Closing Remarks 

   

   

   

   

  *programme subject to change without notice

Who Should Attend?

Delegates who will have an interest in this event will be HR professionals and senior managers from across the voluntary sectors.

*This Conference is open to Public, Private and Third Sectors

For more information or to make a booking please call 0330 058 4285

Raise your Profile, Showcase Your Solutions, Generate New Business

If your products, services, and solutions can support our audiences in their roles, and you want to make connections and generate new business with key stakeholders, decision makers, and influencers, then please contact Chris today at sponsorship@governmentevents.co.uk or complete our enquiry form here and we will contact you.

Benefits of partnering with us include:

• Brand awareness: Be seen by a highly targeted and engaged audience before, during, and after the conference.
• Lead generation: Meet the decision-makers and influencers responsible for making purchasing decisions on cyber security and data protection.
• Thought leadership: Position your organisation and experts as thought leaders and the ‘go to’ experts.
• Networking: Make valuable connections with potential new customers and partners across government and the wider public sector
• Grow your business: Reach decision makers in a single event on just one day and in one location (with no travel/accommodation required), saving you time and money.
• Gain valuable insights: Hear the latest from key stakeholders in government, and across the public and voluntary sectors.

IMPORTANT: There are only a small number of sponsorship opportunities available to ensure maximum exposure and ROI – contact us today to secure your place.

All packages include:

• Extensive branding – before, during, after the conference
• 15-20 min morning speaking session with Q&A
• Virtual stand to showcase your organisation, products, services, and solutions
• Opportunities to network during the day
• Half to full page ad in the E-Guide
• Banner ad on the virtual events platform
• Announcement post on LinkedIn
• Announcement within delegate communication
• 1-3 delegate places (worth upto £1,947)
• Access to the delegate details after the event
• Ongoing exposure through OnDemand (coming soon)

For more information and discuss your specific objectives, please contact Chris and Ali at sponsorship@governmentevents.co.uk or complete our enquiry form here

Virtual vs F2F

Whilst F2F provide better options for networking, there are many distinct advantages of sponsoring our online conferences including:

• Wider geographical reach of delegates and a different audience who prefer online to f2f
• Lower sponsorship package costs
• No travel/accommodation
• Less time out of the office
• No stand materials required (lower costs)
• 1 of only 2 sponsors involved – less competition on the day
• Prime speaking slot in the morning of the conference including Q&A – less distractions and easier for delegates to hear/absorb information
• Receive all delegate data after the conference to follow-up directly with those who attend and don’t attend (small % but still key stakeholders)
• Ongoing exposure via OnDemand access (coming soon)

To find out more and discuss your specific objectives, please contact Chris at sponsorship@governmentevents.co.uk or complete our enquiry form here

• Private Sector Rate: £499.00+VAT
• Public Sector Rate: £360.00+VAT
• Voluntary Sector Rate: £330.00+VAT