Meeting with a prospective volunteer for a Volunteer Assessment is our primary means of getting to know and understand who the volunteer is, what their motivations are, and what their aptitudes and skills are. We also use the Volunteer Assessment to help determine whether or not a volunteer will be appropriate for supporting families who are facing challenges in their lives. It is also a good opportunity for us to assess how we can make best use of their skills and gifts and how we can help a volunteer reach their potential. This assessment of applicants’ suitability to volunteer with Safe Families is a dynamic process; it requires professional curiosity and an ability to build rapport. From the outset, we need to represent the Safe Families values by demonstrating welcome and belonging.
During the Volunteer Assessment the CVM will need to:
- Gather important and relevant information about the individual who would like to volunteer
- Identify the skills, experience, and personality of the individual as well as any possible difficulties they may have with carrying out the role of volunteer.
- Analyse the individual’s suitability for volunteering.
- Assess if there are any challenges or trauma in their history that they might want to avoid when volunteering.
CVMs are seeking to get to know the potential volunteer in a short space of time. The CVM therefore needs to be prepared; taking account of any prior knowledge such as that from application forms, references and previous conversations and have noted any areas that need to be explored further. This is to either facilitate an initial discussion on an area they have shown interest in or discuss any concerns that have already been raised.
Key to the success of the meeting is the ability to encourage the volunteer to give full answers. Where volunteers are reticent, it is important to remain encouraging and persistent. It is important to show an interest and desire to hear their story rather than ploughing through the questions. CVMs need to enquire further if needed through utilising open and curious questions. For the most reticent, it may be helpful for CVMs to share their own story and how they came to Safe Families. Giving of oneself can encourage openness, as can using examples of other volunteers the CVM has taken through the process (anonymised of course).
Developing a comprehensive volunteer assessment has five main purposes:
- Safeguarding: From the outset we need to ensure that the volunteer is a safe and appropriate person to be involved with children. Getting to know the volunteer is our frontline for safeguarding.
- Relationship: It is the foremost way in which the CVM builds relationship with the volunteer. It provides an opportunity for in depth discussion, sharing the values and vision of Safe Families and hearing from the volunteer about their life and their perspective.
- Gathering Information: It is an opportunity to build a picture of the applicant’s overall background, personality, and family circumstances. It helps to understand their interests and what they will bring to any support. It provides a ‘snapshot’ of the volunteer to aid matching with families and explores the areas in which they may usefully be matched to families in the light of their own expertise and experience.
- Identifying Support and Training needs: The assessment should highlight any areas where the CVM feels the volunteer would benefit from additional support or training over and above the core training. The assessment allows for the volunteer to share if there has been a previous challenge or trauma that they have experienced and that they would prefer to avoid in supporting others. and this should be managed empathetically and sensitively.
- Determining Suitability: The information gathered from conversations with the volunteer should be recorded and analysed enabling the CVM to make a recommendation regarding the individual’s overall suitability for volunteering.