Student Interviews

Rhonda Moore: Finding the right know-how

From six volunteers to 65 in two years; a 99 percent annual volunteer retention rate; messages of praise and thanks every working day: what's the secret behind the success of the RPAH volunteer programs?

Undoubtedly it's Rhonda Moore's energy and enthusiasm. But it's also her resourcefulness. By studying with The School of Volunteer Management and consulting The Centre for Volunteering, Rhonda, Volunteer Coordinator, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital's found the right volunteer management know-how to turn around the volunteer services at RPAH.

Now volunteers fulfil many important roles from providing Intensive Care waiting room support, to encouraging depressed patients to eat a good square meal.

"I was absolutely stoked when I received the letter saying we were successful with the funding submission", Sallyanne said. "It has so many benefits for everyone within our centre at Wynnum and within Blue Care. This grant will enable us to improve our volunteer training program and ultimately train volunteers more effectively. This has been my main goal in 2006 and, with this funding, it can now proceed".

Challenges

No job descriptions. No police or reference checks. Unimaginative volunteer roles. A low regard for volunteers among staff. Rhonda is the first to admit that, at first, she was naïve about the scale of problems that she was confronting at RPAH. For example, inappropriate appointment procedures for volunteers meant people seeking work experience were tying up Rhonda's resources – and then leaving their volunteer role after a short time and leaving Rhonda in the lurch. Also, when volunteers did stick around, there were no procedures in place to make sure they received the recognition and thanks for their volunteer work.

Solutions

Thanks to her work in the past, Rhonda knew that one organisation was dedicated to helping its members find solutions to volunteer management issues: The Centre for Volunteering and within that The School for Volunteer Management and Volunteering NSW.

After commencing studying for a Diploma in Volunteer Management with The School of Volunteer Management, Rhonda set about fixing the volunteering issues that can easily land an entire organisation in hot water: insurance, OH&S and police checks.

Also at this time, Rhonda found great comfort attending The Centre's Breakfast Forums - it was reassuring to know she wasn't alone facing all these volunteer management challenges. Breakfast Forums also gave Rhonda the opportunity to talk with other Volunteer Managers and SVM staff, focussing on how to put their studies into practice.

Rhonda's professional development with The School of Volunteer Management and The Centre for Volunteering lead to a complete overhaul of the volunteer services at RPAH. Here are just a few of the changes that she's made:

• Accrediting volunteers to fulfill different volunteer roles;
• Developing a recruitment package with RPAH's HR department;
• Seeking volunteers from diverse cultural backgrounds;
• Developing volunteering information brochures in several languages;
• Providing public recognition to volunteers for their donated time and service;
• Reassuring existing volunteers about their value and worth within the organisation;
• Extending volunteer services to include on weekends and out of hours;
• Seeking ideas from volunteers for volunteer programs;
• Initially trialing new volunteer programs to gauge their effectiveness;
• Making volunteers more visible by providing a uniform; and
• Seeking feedback on volunteer services from hospital staff with surveys.

Results

Rhonda recently surveyed staff about the hospital's volunteers programs: volunteers are held in the highest regard and are seen as a crucial part of the hospital's services and professional culture. With a 99 percent annual retention rate, and a vast increase in both the number of volunteers and the number of prospective volunteers, the effectiveness of Rhonda's volunteer management speaks for itself.

"I couldn't have done it without The School of Volunteer Management and The Centre for Volunteering," Rhonda explained. "I had the vision for volunteering at RPAH – I just wasn't sure how to put into practice. My studies with The School of Volunteer Management and The Centre for Volunteering have changed that."