At CIH, we could not do the work that we do without our volunteer members – and there are mutual benefits to participating in one of our volunteer groups.
As volunteers, you get value from being part of one of our member groups, as do the organisations you work for.
This section is intended to explain:
Benefits for volunteers
Exchange knowledge and ideas with new communities of professionals and bring good practice back to your organisation to address current and future challenges.
Build, strengthen and expand relationships with housing professionals who operate across specific regions, nations or sector area.
Develop and demonstrate behaviours in line with the CIH professional standards and the Competence and Conduct Standard.
Embrace peer-to-peer learning opportunities to increase knowledge and develop skillsets across new areas.
Give back to the sector, become a respected representative for housing and a shining example from your organisation.
Expose yourself to diverse perspectives, problem solve as a group and increase your confidence across more and varied areas.
Benefits to your employer
Volunteering can support the professional development of employees in alignment with the Competence and Conduct requirements.
Being surrounded by other like-minded, passionate professionals in a voluntary group can inspire and motivate employees that engage in volunteering.
Volunteering to lead a voluntary group allows for leadership skills to be nurtured, which a volunteer can bring back to their own organisation.
Communication, problem solving, integrity, and so much more will be developed through volunteering with CIH.
Supporting employees in their personal development makes colleagues feel valued, which can increase loyalty, lower turnover and make others in the sector want to work there.
Presenting the case for volunteering to your employer
A lot of employers will understand the benefits of volunteering with the professional body and be willing to support your wish to do so. For some volunteers though, employers may be reluctant to allow you the time or resource to undertake volunteering responsibilities.
This simple guide should help you to prepare and present your business case in a structured and well thought out manner. It will also help you to think about the processes you need to go through and how you can demonstrate the benefits of volunteering outlined above.
1. Ask yourself why you decided to become a volunteer – what can you and the business gain from it? Consider some of the benefits listed above and whether they apply to your volunteering role. Think about and document what your development needs are and how some of these volunteering benefits might help you to do your professional role even better.
2. Be clear about the commitment of your volunteering role. If your group has Terms of Reference, consult these for the expected time commitment so you can build that expectation into your business case to ensure transparency.
3. If being part of your volunteer group requires travel and you’re also making the case for expenses from your employer, consult your group’s planned activities and meeting schedule to give a realistic estimation of cost.
4. If you don’t have one scheduled, arrange a meeting with your line manager to discuss the development needs you have identified and the ways in which volunteering can support this growth.
5. Find out if your organisation has a template to complete within a learning and development plan and what needs to go in it.
6. Complete your learning and development plan. Volunteering may not answer every development need, but your plan should show variation in the activities you intend to undertake to support your professional growth. Remember that volunteering can be easily linked to CPD.
7. Once you are happy with it, you could ask a colleague or another member of your volunteer group to review your development plan and challenge what you are saying – this can only make it better and allow you to strengthen certain areas.
8. Submit your business case with a request for expected timeframes for a decision, so you can plan your upcoming volunteer commitment.
We hope the outcome is positive for you, but if your employer can’t support your activities at this time, then our volunteer expenses policy should have you covered. Please go ahead and take a look at the section on Volunteer expenses to understand more.
