It is important that when support comes to an end, it is handled well. This includes volunteers feeling supported, appreciated and informed of the formal support timescale. This process is handled mainly by the FSM, but the CVM also has a role to play. When the time of formal support comes to an end:
- If a support ends abruptly for safeguarding or non-engagement reasons, the CVM should check in with the volunteer to reassure them, to make sure they are OK and that they fully understand the reasons for the support ending.
- It is an opportunity for the CVM to engage with the volunteer, show appreciation for their support and find out their thoughts on volunteering again – this phone call after the finishing of formal support can also encompass the closing survey questions in a natural way.
- If a volunteer has been supporting for a long time or has been involved in a particularly difficult situation a gesture of appreciation should be sent.
Here is a Top Tip for the Completion Survey question about supporting another family.
The question asks:
- How likely are you to support another family? (1 = never, 10 = definitely)
As part of the conversation the CVM captures a score based on the likelihood of the volunteer wanting to support again. The score is a helpful way to gauge how ready they are to ‘go again’ It can often be a way of the volunteer then letting the CVM know that they want a break until they start a new support. This conversation leads on from them letting us know whether or not they’re keeping in touch with the family.
- Let’s assume they score an ‘8’ which is a healthy score. An example of how this conversation can go could be,
‘That’s great. It sounds like you’ve also found supporting this family fulfilling. What a difference you’ve made too! We’ve got another family who could really benefit from the kind of support that you offer. As a team we were just chatting about how great you would be with this family. Would you like to hear more?’
- Even a score of ‘6’ can lead to a positive conversation if the language used is engaging and unapologetic.
‘I’d love to hear how you arrived at that number? Was this a match that could have been more positive for you? I know in the past your input into the lives of that 8 year old girl and her little brother was life changing for then and their Gran, we have a family in need in similar circumstances that we think you’d be great with’
This is an opportunity to dig deeper at the score and press into the reason it’s low. It may be an area we can manage in terms of the volunteers expectations and future matches. Digging deeper if done well shows the volunteer that you’re wanting to listen to them that you care and value them.