Volunteer Induction

About the event

Geoff opened the event with a great introduction, speaking about the value of volunteering across the UK. Eyebrows were raised when he told us that volunteers contribute £23 billion to the economy. As to the value of volunteers to our organisation: priceless. The energy was positive from the volunteers, and they were very willing to take part in the icebreaker exercise that Paul led. We played noughts and crosses, which involved asking and answering questions about each other. This included one of the best answers we’ve ever heard to ‘if you could have any super power, what would you have?’ – ‘The power to make everyone happy’.

After that, Priya went over what Healthwatch stands for, and what it means to volunteer for us. This is always a favourite part of staff as the emphasis shifts from powers and work streams to ideas and values. It’s important that our volunteers know we are an inclusive, accepting, and supportive organisation. Not just because those are the values we expect from them, but also to reassure them that they will get that same kind of respect and understanding from the organisation. They have a commitment to us and our work, but we have a very strong commitment to them as well.