New and burgeoning social enterprises require a compendium of skills to turn a conceptual idea into a sound and robust business model. Existing social enterprises need additional skills as the business grows and develops into new market segments. And all social enterprises – as does business – require a consistent range of advice and services to add to the existing knowledge bank within the organisation.
Finding the appropriately skilled organisations and individuals can be a challenging task. For some enterprises the cost of engaging [buying] the skills may also be a barrier to adopting the new business model or examining a growth opportunity into new markets.
- Probonoaustralia.com.au
- Greatconnections.com.au/Leadershipvictoria.org
- Goodcompany.com.au
- Pilch.org.au/volunteer
In a very brief summary, here are some of the key issues to be addressed BEFORE engaging volunteer or probono assistance.
- Be very clear about what work you want the volunteer to undertake. Write a position description including the number of hours required to undertake the task, outline who will be working with and supporting the volunteer, and what is expected at the completion of the task such as a report, recommendations, or a strategy.
- Ensure you understand the legal status of a volunteer. Your organisation is required to have in place a volunteering policy document or hold a copy of the guiding principles of volunteering. Consider key areas such as;
- The legal status of a volunteer
- Negligence and duty of care
- Equal opportunity laws
- Legal checks
- Intellectual property rights
- Insurance
- Confidentiality agreements.
And the National Volunteer Skills Centre also has further details on engaging with volunteers.
Social Traders has developed an online resource to aid social enterprises and the not-for-proft sector in general with engaging the right people for the right job. There are guidelines and sample documents (position descriptions and confidentially agreements) to help provide the framework for the engagement of your volunteering and probono offerings.
We are also seeking feedback from social enterprise practitioners about their experiences in engaging specialist individuals and organisations. It would be great to get some comments about what went right and what didn't. Include some learnings about your experience too. Either leave a comment below or contact me here.