Why do we undertake an Annual Volunteer Survey?

What our volunteers think and feel about the time that they give in the many varied roles is incredibly important to us. So, every year we ask to them to take part in a survey about their volunteering experiences at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. The results provide valuable insights about our volunteer programme, from what’s working well to what could be improved. 

We will delve into some of the data here, and you can also view more of the results in the booklet at the bottom of the page.

Key Findings from the survey

• Overall satisfaction and experience of our volunteers is high.
• Volunteers’ said communication could be improved.
• 98% of our volunteers feel like they are effective ambassadors for YWT, nature and wildlife in their communities from their volunteer experiences.
• There is demand for more opportunities to volunteer flexibility – could we offer more weekend and evening options or develop opportunities that cover more areas of Yorkshire.
• Comparing some of our survey results with the wider voluntary sector, we’re experiencing some of the same highs and lows as many other organisations. If you’re interested in finding  out more about that you can look at Time well spent survey NCVO 2023

Recognition of our volunteers

80% of our volunteers feel their volunteering is recognised and celebrated across all parts of the Trust.

We asked why they gave the score they did, one volunteer said:

“YWT gives great support to volunteers through knowledgeable and considerate managers to the support team who provide great information and organise great training events. I've been to the members day and I know there's strong recognition for volunteers from the leadership team.”

What can we do to make volunteering even more enjoyable and accessible?

We asked how we can make volunteering more accessible and make volunteering with us easier.

59% said there wasn’t anything required and from the remaining answers these were the common themes from the survey:

• More weekend and evening opportunities to volunteer.
• Can we be flexible with task days and to try different days of the week to attract more volunteers. 
• More opportunities to volunteer in East Yorkshire.
• More weekend training and events in the Volunteer Training Programme.
• Expenses for cycling to stop incentivising driving.
• Promote car sharing.

We’ll be exploring these areas and looking at how we could address some of this feedback in the coming months. Look out for updates in the Volunteer News.

Communication with our volunteers

92% of survey respondents said they feel like they receive adequate communication about the Trust and their volunteering from their volunteer managers and the Volunteer Support Team.

However, there were areas highlighted by volunteers in the survey about how we can be more effective our in our communication.  We will be looking at how we can ensure all our volunteers feel like they receive adequate information about their day-to-day volunteering and about the wider Trust.

One of the areas of miscommunication is connected to who a volunteer manager is. A volunteer manager is a YWT member of staff and your main point of contact about your volunteering. They are the person is responsible for ensuring you have the information and training to undertake your role.

We will continue to share important updates and news about the Trust in our monthly Volunteer News, as well the information you receive from your volunteer managers.

Finally,

We’d like to thank our volunteers who responded to the survey this year – your honest feedback is appreciated, which has provided us with insightful, uplifting comments and ideas.

Plus, thanks to all our volunteers as you give your time and skills to create a Yorkshire that is abundant in wildlife and help people towards meaningful connections with nature. We wouldn’t want to do this without you!

The last word, naturally must be that of a volunteer and here’s a lovely quote from the survey:

“There’s been lots of lovely memorable moments, from three of us working in December rain and clearing an unbelievable amount of willow from the lakeside to reduce predation, to walking together to our work spot in early spring sunshine and hearing curlews calling, to the carpet of yellow that was the cowslips in the wildflower meadow. My favourite moment was enjoying our Christmas picnic in a breezy field, eating and drinking with a lovely bunch of likeminded people, all new friendships made through YWT conservation days”.