Search

Planning: Risk Assessment

Planning: Risk Assessment



Logistics – policies, procedures, forms, and more!

Not everyone’s favourite part of the job. To successfully manage volunteers and have a clear picture of what to do and when to do it is key - for the volunteer and your organization.

Once you understand your organization’s volunteer needs, it’s time to put some policies and procedures in place. If you already have some, now might be a good time to review and update them if needed.

“If you have everything ready to go, the volunteers understand their role and your organization’s expectations of them, it really will help prevent challenges later. Put in the time at the beginning and make sure everything is clear!” – CALP Practitioner

To help you decide which policies and procedures are good to have, it’s important to consider:

  • What could go wrong? (Risk Assessment)
  • What do you do to prevent things from going wrong and how to act if it does? (Policies and Procedures)
  • How you can make it as clear as possible! (Other Stuff that Helps) 

What could go wrong? (Risk Assessment):

Risk is the possibility of loss or harm. It’s sometimes a daunting topic to think about, but it really boils down to protecting everyone - organization, staff, volunteer, and learner (and others if needed). As you create volunteer roles:

Create a list for yourself of the potential risks involved in each one. Think about:

  • Level of supervision – how closely will the volunteer be monitored?
  • Degree of physical isolation – is the volunteer in your office, off-site, public location?
  • Degree of physical contact with a vulnerable person – is the volunteer meeting in person, alone, with other people?
  • Degree of trust or discretion required – what is the expectation for confidentiality?
  • Degree of skill or knowledge required – what is needed for the volunteer to do the role they’ve been assigned? Do they have or can they get those skills?
  • Potential hazards of a role (e.g. driver) - is there potential for accidents? 

Resources: Frank Cowan Company. Risk Management Considerations for Volunteers. Retrieved from https://www.frankcowan.com/centre-of-excellence/view/risk-management-considerations-for-volunteers.