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30Jun 2021

What have you learnt about engaging volunteers, over the past 18 months? We recently spoke with Roy Bustin, Volunteer Co-ordinator for the East Midlands region of Diabetes UK. Roy has been successful in both recruiting new volunteers, and increasing volunteer engagement during the Covid-19 period. In this interview Roy shares some of his learning from the experience. A […]

29Jun 2020

Do managers really need coaching skills? Or are they just a “nice to have”? Before answering, I’d like to talk briefly about what coaching is. If you’re already very familiar with coaching, please bear with me. My experience in training courses is that not everyone means the same thing by the word coaching. So what […]

24Jun 2020

As a great manager, you need to create and maintain an environment where people feel motivated and inspired to do their best work. In other words, you need to become a leader. So leadership starts with you. The qualities and behaviours you demonstrate will have a big impact on the people that you work with. And the first question […]

14Oct 2016

Success in recruiting volunteers and growing your team is usually considered a positive development, and indeed it is. But it can throw up new challenges too. The increase in volunteer numbers isn’t always supported by additional hours in the volunteer manager’s day! A common frustration amongst volunteer managers is that it is difficult to provide […]

13Apr 2016

Workplace mentoring and coaching are two development techniques that can be delivered in-house. Both approaches can meet an individual’s unique needs, at a relatively low cost. The terms are often used interchangeably, and there are some common features. However there are also distinct differences. Understanding the differences will help you to choose the most appropriate […]

14Jul 2015

It’s the part of the job most managers dread – dealing with tricky or sensitive problems involving volunteers. Problems are inevitable from time to time, even when your volunteering programme is well managed and resourced. You may recognise some of the following types of situations: A conflict of interest between what a volunteer wants to do, and what the […]

04Mar 2015

An experience that most managers of volunteers share is that of being over-stretched time wise. Given that there are only so many hours in the day, one of the most valuable things that you can do is decide to take control of how you spend your time. It is vital to keep your priorities in […]

29Oct 2014

For most of us it’s important that our jobs offer opportunities for personal and professional development, and as we grow our knowledge, confidence and skills we hope to see career progression too. Volunteer managers need to employ a range of leadership skills such as motivating people, inspiring volunteers to buy in to organisational values, and […]