Reviewing a volunteer who has lots of experience and has been doing the role for some time without concern.
| Appointment Reviews | |||
| A/R form | Informal review | Formal review | New leader |
| Minor concerns | Greater concerns | New GSL | Large teams |
| Experienced leader | Leaving a role | Useful tips |
Informal reviews are a great opportunity to regularly sit down with your most experienced leaders and find out how they are feeling about their role, whether they are looking to change roles or if they feel the Group could offer them more support or more opportunities in other areas. Circumstances can change quickly and informal reviews allow you to find out what may be happening in the lives of your volunteers and plan accordingly.
When a formal appointment review is due at the end of a volunteer’s agreed appointment period, you can build upon what you already know from previous informal reviews and ensure the volunteer feels valued and thanked.
Potential topics to cover:
- Do they have any concerns regarding their role? This is hopefully something that will have been flagged in previous conversations and actions are underway. However, if it is news to the volunteer manager, it is reasonable to ask for time to consider solutions and support.
- Are they happy to continue in their role, retire, or are they seeking a change or fresh challenge? If the volunteer would like to retire, use this opportunity to see if the role can be flexed to enable them to stay, eg: assigning tasks to other volunteers, etc.
- Would they be prepared to share their experience and knowledge within the District or County to support other volunteers? There are both formal (new roles) and informal ways of enabling this.
- How can the Group support them better in their role?
- Is there any training or experience they feel would be beneficial for their development?
- Succession planning: Do they have any thoughts for the future development of their team?
- Thank them for their commitment and support to date and congratulate them on what they have achieved.
- Keep in mind their length of service and potential adult awards. – Note: to receive an adult award their mandatory training must be up to date.
Once the appointment review has been completed and the decision taken to reappoint, reassign, or retire, the Appointment Review Form should be completed and a copy sent to the District Appointments Secretary.