The 2023 SECC Volunteer Survey

SECC 2023 ANNUAL VOLUNTEER SURVEY www.secc.sydney

A SNAPSHOT OF RESPONDENTS Completed by 33/55 volunteers (60%) Survey took place in Aug 22 and Feb 23 (16 | 17)

PART 1. WHAT DO VOLUNTEERS THINK ABOUT SECC'S WORKING CULTURE?

A SNAPSHOT OF RESPONSES 97% 97% Say the SECC Agree SECC is organisational an equal culture is opportunity welcoming and organisation which does not supportive discriminate 97% Say they enjoy working with their colleagues

PART 2. WHAT ARE VOLUNTEERS' THOUGHTS ABOUT WORKING RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN SECC?

97% 94% Say the Report their supervisor of co-workers their program communicate is available to respectfully. answer 96% questions and Agree they feel respond part of the readily to SECC team concerns 91% Say they feel comfortable offering their opinion

PART 3. HOW DO VOLUNTEERS FEEL ABOUT SECC MANAGEMENT?

97% 88% Agree they fully Report that understand their job volunteering responsibilities and helps build their their role at SECC skillset. 100% Say SECC cares about its volunteers

90% 100% Feel like a valued Say they care about member of the SECC as a community team organisation 100% Feel their volunteer work is meaningful and satisfying

PART 5. WHAT DO RESPONDENTS LIKE ABOUT VOLUNTEERING WITH SECC?

QUOTABLE QUOTES Testimonials \"I love the company when I volunteer. Volunteering gives me something to do and I enjoy it. I was doing it for 10 years before COVID-19, helping Raelene with appointments. Now I've returned to help with The People's Pantry. It's full-on, but it makes me feel good.\" \"I value the sense of fulfilment and impact that my skills have on younger people and colleagues. I like to share my expertise and culture, and I feel SECC values that.\" \"SECC has a high regard for its volunteers.\" \"SECC has a significant local impact, and is very focused making a difference in the community.\" \"I respect the SECC organisational culture and vision.\" \"Everyone is very supportive, and I like to feel I'm doing something useful and helpful for society. It improves my feelings of self-worth.\"

OTHER COMMENTS \"Volunteering \"The team at the gives me the Cottage is just great. chance to put into Helping people with practice the skills I am learning at cognitive university.\" impairment is really rewarding.\" \"I know everybody. We share a lot of the same interests. Many of us are carers of children with a disability from the Greek community. We are a team.\"

\"The staff at SECC are respectful and willing to listen to ideas and suggestions. I love it there.\" \"I like feeling part of a community.\" \"The program is \"I like well-organised working with and people at dementia SECC are clients at The caring.\" Cottage.\"

\"I like the interaction with different people.\" \"The program is well-organised and people at SECC are caring.\" \"SECC helps those who are less fortunate in our community.\"

\"I like engaging with participants and people from different backgrounds. Participants stay connected within the community throughout social and bus outings. It's a respectful work environment that values teamwork.\" \"I am learning \"I love watching and building the children confidence. I love improve and the clients.\" thrive with their learning.\" \"I love playing with the babies and talking with mums from all sorts of backgrounds.\"

\"There is a bond between the community and our team of staff and volunteers.\" \"I like feeling \"The people part of a are so community.\" interesting and have life \"SECC has a experiences great brand and that I do not communicates have.\" very well with their volunteers.\"

\"I love being a part of an organisation I am so proud of. SECC impacts lives profoundly and positively on a daily basis.\" \"SECC enables \"Being able me to volunteer to connect with older with ease.\" people in \"It’s a great organisation the to work for. The community volunteers are well is really looked after.\" satisfying.\"

PART 6. HOW CAN SECC IMPROVE?

FINAL COMMENTS \"I would like to be part of more social gatherings, events and conferences for volunteers.\" \"SECC has an excellent volunteer program. I think we could increase the communication to volunteers with a monthly or quarterly email update talking about events in the pipeline, further opportunities for volunteers to help out, and roles currently on offer.\" \"I would appreciate being given an overview of the program I am supporting.\" \"I think SECC is doing great. I would love to have fewer time constraints and be able to volunteer more.

FINAL COMMENTS \"Every person should give time in the SECC volunteer program. It benefits the community as well as individuals as well. I would recommend communicating more about it (I certainly tell everyone I know about it!).\" \"I think some of the programs are ready to escalate and increase their impact massively on a larger number of users.\" \"I would suggest more careful triage before volunteer involvement is sought.\"

FINAL COMMENTS \"I have not been called for volunteering work for SECC in the last few months. They should be flexible and use volunteers more effectively.\" \"Just carry on as you are doing. Things like the luncheon and picnic are all extras which make us feel very treasured! You're doing a great job!\"

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Overall, the 2023 SECC Volunteer Report indicated a very high le vel of satisfaction among our volunteers. A total of 33 people out of our team of 55 (60% of volunteers) completed the survey, which took place in late 2022 and early 2023. As shown in the above report, the vast majority of respondents said they: feel welcome, cared for and supported at SECC enjoy working with their colleagues feel respected and a part of the SECC team feel their work is meaningful and satisfying (100%!) Our recommendations for follow-up action steps, based on a thorough review of the survey, are as follows:

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Recommenda tion 1 To issue a monthly newsletter update to volunteers (similar to the one issued before COVID-19). This one-page newsletter will be distributed via text and email, and designed in Canva. It will include: updates on volunteer vacancies, news about SECC as a whole, links to articles about volunteering, and info about free volunteer conferences and webinars. The aim of the newsletter is to help volunteers to feel connected to the wider organisation, and to their vital and valuable role as a volunteer. It is a way of celebrating them, supporting them, and keeping them in the loop. The newsletter will begin on 1 April 2023, and will then be distributed on the first of each month.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Recommenda tion 2 To reassess our onboarding process to ensure line managers are providing substantial training and support to new volunteers before they start in their allocated program. We are looking at combining Sue's induction process with onboarding by managers, so ensure greater efficiency. We believe stronger onboarding at the program level will improve volunteer retention. Again, it's about connecting the volunteer with the wider team, and reminding them of the huge difference they make to their community.

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendat ion 3 To provide the opportunity for new volunteers to meet with key staff members for information sessions about what SECC does, every quarter. This could be based at the Hub, with a tour provided which identifies our key areas of community impact.

South Eastern Community Connect E [email protected] W www.secc.sydney SECC Community Hub SECC Head Office 1007 Botany Road 21 Vernon Ave Eastlakes 2018 Mascot (cnr Coward St) T (02) 7903 0607 (Mascot) T (02) 8338 8506 (Eastlakes)