Agenda

HOW DOES IT WORK? 

• Live Face to Face Conference centred around a full day of interactive workshops
• A dedicated Conference app, which will be your tool for checking in and making connections (we are paperless)
• There will be no traditional talks or panel sessions, the focus will be on activities and action planning
• You will be assigned a Conference ‘team’ of 6 delegates who you will work with through the day to assess learning outcomes and consider action points for your volunteer management operations
• Expect lots of moving around and dynamic networking activities throughout the day
• It doesn’t end there! The Conference will be followed up by ‘on demand’ talks and ongoing networking opportunities with your team

You will be welcomed to the Conference with our Covid-secure and paper-free contactless registration. Simply use our next generation app to check in and start networking.

Before the Conference gets underway, we will be kicking off the Conference with some quickfire icebreakers to allow you to meet leaders and practitioners from across the sector. Be prepared for our rapid relay networking allowing you 1 minute meet ups to kick start your networking for the day.

This will not be a conventional Conference of keynote speeches and presentations! Our in-person Conference is dedicated to live interaction and workshop activities. In this opening session you will be able to explore your bespoke action plan for the day and set out your core objectives.

Before you enter your sessions you will meet your team of 6 for the Conference. Your team will be your key working group throughout the day. You will all follow the same Conference action plan, develop your objectives together and review learning points at the end of the day.

In this first workshop series you will have the choice of attending 2 of 3 40 minute interactive workshops allowing you to explore what your volunteering strategy looks like following the Covid-19 pandemic and how your volunteer operations are delivered.

In these practical workshops you will be assigned with your team to work through your charity’s current challenges and how an action plan for change can be delivered in 2022 and beyond.

The pandemic has allowed many voluntary organisations to turbo-charge their digital advancement and maturity. Yet, what does a truly agile and holistic digital approach to volunteer management look like in the long term and how can technology be used to transform volunteering operations?

In this session voluntary sector digital specialists will examine what it takes to deliver a high impact digital volunteering programme and what digital-first volunteer management looks like.

This interactive workshop will explore:

• Designing and building a digital-led volunteer operation
• Moving from crisis mode to long term digital agility
• Meeting the needs of future volunteers through digital services and remote volunteering opportunities

Volunteering involvement and engagement with opportunities has transformed amid the pandemic. Informal volunteering, micro-volunteering, remote volunteering and flexible forms of involvement have all been on the rise.

At the same time, there has been a decline in formal volunteering and traditional forms of engagement.

In this session you will have the opportunity to assess what this transformation means for the sector, your organisation and your volunteer strategy. You will explore:

• How to respond to the rise of informal volunteering
• Engaging and meeting the needs of those wanting micro or remote opportunities
• What does engagement and outreach look like for formal volunteering organisations?
• What does the future of volunteering opportunities look like and how should volunteer managers prepare?

The landmark research programme Respond, Recovery and Reset: The Voluntary Sector and Covid-19, led by Nottingham Trent University, Sheffield Hallam University and the NCVO, has offered a detailed assessment of how the sector has been impacted by the pandemic and what it has meant for service delivery.

In this session you will examine with leading researchers what the Respond, Recovery and Reset project has revealed about volunteering across the sector and how it can inform the reset of your volunteering strategy.

The workshop will allow you to explore:

• What does volunteering look like post Covid-19?
• How has volunteer management evolved?
• How have the expectations of volunteers changed?
• How can voluntary organisations overhaul their volunteering strategy?

At the end of the first workshop series you will have the opportunity to review the outcomes with your team. What did you learn? How will you apply these action points to your organisation? How can you learn from your other team members?

Your opportunity to mix with participants and other teams from across the Conference.

In this workshop series you will have the choice of attending 2 of 3 40 minute interactive workshops allowing you to explore the needs, expectations and profile of the future volunteer.

In these practical workshops you will be assigned with your team to explore who the post-pandemic volunteer is and how volunteer managers can respond to deliver an outstanding volunteer experience.

The voluntary sector is facing persistent challenges around attracting and retaining a diverse volunteer base, with major challenges around delivering a truly inclusive approach to the volunteer experience.

So, what does it take to deliver change that can deliver genuine action on inclusion and diversity within your organisation? This session will examine your approach, ideas for implementation and action points for the sector.

This workshop will explore:

• How to develop an approach to universal design of the volunteer experience
• How to stress test your recruitment process and volunteer journey on inclusion
• Key action points on breaking down common barriers to diversity in an organisation

The past 18 months have seen a recalibration in who volunteers and how. For many older volunteers the Covid-19 pandemic has meant concerns over safety in returning to volunteer or challenges in engaging with new remote forms of engagement.

For voluntary organisations there is now a major challenge in reintegrating older volunteers, supporting their safety and ensuring they feel comfortable and confident in returning to face-to-face volunteering opportunities.

This session will explore

• How the expectations and confidence of older volunteers has changed
• How volunteer managers can prepare for volunteers with anxiety or safety concerns
• The next steps in redesigning opportunities to reflect the post-pandemic context
• Key action points in delivering your reengagement strategy

Understanding your volunteers, their needs and how their expectations are evolving is critical to delivering a high impact volunteer experience.

The pandemic has transformed how volunteers engage, the type of activities they are interested in, as well as opening up volunteering to many for the first time.

This session will draw upon the latest data from the UK Civil Society Almanac to build a profile of volunteering in the post-pandemic landscape and assess how your organisation can respond.

At the end of the this workshop series you will have the opportunity to review the outcomes with your team. What did you learn? How will you apply these action points to your organisation? How can you learn from your other team members?

Your opportunity to mix with participants and other teams from across the Conference.

In this workshop series you will have the choice of attending 2 of 3 40 minute interactive workshops allowing you to gain practical insights on enhancing your recruitment, retention and management practices.

In this practical session you will take a radical relook at the volunteer recruitment process from start to finish. How do volunteers hear about you? How do they apply? How is your screening process operated? This session will allow you to conduct a deep dive on what works and where there is room for improvement.

You will:

• Map the recruitment journey of your volunteers and examine barriers to entry
• Evaluate new approaches to recruitment and gain innovative ideas on improving access
• Assess how you are communicating with prospective volunteers and engaging with new audiences
• Develop an action plan for enhancing the volunteer journey on entry

In this interactive session you will take part in a ‘360’ assessment of the volunteer experience within your organisation.

This workshop will evaluate what motivates volunteers, how we support volunteer satisfaction and how an opportunity can deliver true value for a volunteer?

In this session you will work through a number of case study scenarios with your team to explore ideas and innovations that can support retention and ensure a volunteer feels recognised for their involvement.

Be prepared to share bold ideas, ask trying questions and look at the volunteer experience from a whole new perspective.

In this workshop session you will have the opportunity to assess what an impactful volunteer management programme looks like and the role of an effective volunteer manager in delivering strong outcomes.

This session will explore the skills and attributes that are core to successful volunteer management and examine:

• How to motivate and get the most out of your volunteers
• Outstanding communication and engagement with volunteers
• Setting targets and evaluating performance
• Assessing impact throughout the volunteer journey

In the final team link up of the day, you will explore with your team members what you have learnt throughout the Conference and assess whether you have met you core objectives.

This concluding session will allow you to connect with other teams and share your learning outcomes, as well as examining your key action points from the Conference.

In addition to the live-in person Conference, your delegate pass will also give you access to a range of exclusive ‘on demand’ talks from the Volunteer Management Conference available via our Conference app.

Exciting plans are underway for a long term volunteering strategy for England, called the Vision for Volunteering. The partnership is led by Sport England, NAVCA, Volunteering Matters, the Association of Volunteer Managers and NCVO. The Vision for Volunteering will be launched in March 2022. In this on demand talk we will share with you why this is our best moment to create a vision, what we’ve heard so far and how to bring your voice to the consultation.