KLS volunteering survey

We asked 108 volunteers for their thoughts to help shape the volunteering experience at KLS. Many had their say which has given us great insight into what’s working and what we can improve.

Quick snapshot

• 100% feels appreciated as a volunteer
• 90% feels satisfied when volunteering at the Katherine Low Settlement
• 83% was adequately trained
• 93% feels my volunteer work is impactful
• 86% was onboarded quickly after contacting the organisation
• 74% found my interview useful
• 97% would recommend volunteering at KLS to a friend
• 10% are keen to introduce KLS to their employer

Although 40% of volunteers said we need not improve anything, 32% suggested a forum for peer support and shared best practice would be useful, whether that be in person or online.

Our actions

• • We are looking into how we can set up a peer support plan which could include in-person events as well as an online forum for shared knowledge and resources.
  • Given that our volunteers have requested more communication, we will be launching a volunteer newsletter which will be sent monthly. This will include that month’s volunteering needs, organisation news to keep volunteers in the loop, and success stories to show the great impact volunteers have. In time, this will also detail the peer support programme.
  • Both our training and onboarding processes have been reviewed and updated in November 2022. All volunteers, across all projects, should now experience the same induction journey with additional role training being completed by the project teams where required.
  • Along with training, all first-contact interviews, across projects, are now conducted by our Head of Volunteering to ensure potential volunteers are fully informed of all possible opportunities across the organisation and a ‘best fit’ role is identified for each individual.
  • Lastly, a small number of volunteers requested name badges while volunteering at our centre in Battersea which is currently under consideration.

What KLS means to volunteers

We asked volunteers to describe the organisation in one word and here are the 10 most frequently used words.

A large number of people surveyed had no suggestions for improvement and said the projects are doing an amazing job already. Hopefully, the improvements above will enhance their volunteering experience with us