Barnardos Australia sought two volunteers to join a first round panel for an annual Awards program they had created. They wanted volunteers who could dedicate time to impartially assessment. Over 800 applications were received, and due to these sheer numbers, the organisation didn’t have the resources to complete this alone.

“We sought experienced communications professionals who would be able to assess what the nominees wanted to communicate and create clear overviews of each nomination in order to fairly evaluate against selection criteria.”

The volunteers selected were Amber Burgess and Laura Jenkins, both communications professionals with over five years of experience. Together, they worked on three separate three-hour sessions. The volunteers were responsible for reading entries and getting a feel for the nominees, then assessing the entry against a specified list of criteria. The stories were, according to Mary, “heart-warming and touching, a testament to the strength and endurance of the human spirit in its capacity to love and care for the world’s children.”

Mary offers the following advice to community groups managing skilled volunteers;

“A detailed job description and well-prepared intensive training session is key to getting the most out of skilled volunteers: they know how to do their job, so you need to get them up to speed with your organization and project as concisely as possible. Planning is also key; you don’t want to waste anyone’s time and everyone benefits from a volunteer who is engaged and feels they have been given an opportunity to make a real change in society.”

Mary describes stakeholder education as one of the greatest challenges facing Barnados; ensuring all parties understand what Barnados are doing, how they are doing it and why they need support.

“Added to this, cutting through the noise of so many other non-profits means it’s easy to get lost. Working in Corporate partnerships, my role involves educating corporate entities in ways they can support Barnardos to create mutually beneficial social partnerships.”

Finally, Mary says she would absolutely recommend goodcompany for skilled volunteers;

“It’s a great service to both ourselves - in Australia, if all un-paid volunteers were given a salary, it would cost the tax payer $15 billion - and also professionals in the community who want to do their bit to help. It’s a sustainable way of helping them contribute to the society they live in, with tangible, project-based benefits.”

To find out more about Barnados, see their website http://www.barnardos.org.au/barnardos/html/