New Starters

Welcome to the team!

Congratulations on joining the volunteering team! We are pleased that you have joined us. The Voluntary Services staff and your fellow volunteers will ensure you feel welcomed on your first sessions. Here’s what you can expect:

• You will also be invited to a face-to-face induction session. This session (lasting approximately four hours) will prepare you for your role and provide you with all the information you need before you start volunteering. The sessions are run by our friendly and helpful Learning and Development staff, alongside staff from Voluntary Services. It’s a good opportunity to meet fellow new volunteers as well as staff. The session is mandatory, which means that you won’t be able to start until you have completed your induction
• When you confirm the date for your face-to-face induction session, you will be prompted to complete some initial learning online to be completed at home* before attending.  This part is called the ‘e-induction’ and will take approximately two hours to complete using a computer or tablet with access to the internet.  It does not need to be completed in one go – there is an option to pause, take a break, and then to pick up again where you left off.  However, you will need to complete the whole package to be compliant.  You will receive an email from DOT (Direct Online Training) with a username and password – you will be required to change/personalise the password.   This must be completed at least 24 hours before attending the face-to-face induction session. The link to the learning is DOT login
• Your start date and time will be confirmed at the induction
• For your first few sessions, you will be allocated a mentor – an experienced volunteer who will volunteer alongside you
• Mentoring will continue until you feel happy in your role and ready to be a fully-fledged member of the team
• Once you have completed ten hours of volunteering, we will conduct a review to make sure everything is okay. Once you reach 30 hours, you will be eligible for the award of our 30 hour pin badge and certificate.
• Take a look at the skills guides and explore the volunteer community pages on this website
• If you have any suggestions about how we can improve our service please tell us – we are always seeking to make our volunteering roles relevant for patients and enjoyable for volunteers
• Please accept, on behalf of our patients and staff, our thanks for giving up your valuable time to help make a difference.

 

Volunteer handbook

Our Volunteer Handbook contains all the information you need when volunteering in any of our roles. It’s here for you to refer to, whenever you need it.