As the term of the AGO Volunteer Strategic Plan (VSP) 2012-15 winds up, the VSP Committee is pleased to report its successful implementation. The VSP was developed by a joint volunteer/ management team as a way for both groups to share responsibility for achieving the goals of the concurrent AGO Strategic Plan. The VSP identified 5 strategic goals, which have served as roadmap for important volunteer initiatives listed below:
- Speak for volunteers, so that their contributions are recognized
- Produced a Volunteer Metrics report, creating guidelines for further gathering of volunteer metrics
- Launched the Volunteer Blog, an ongoing stream of news posts and profiles about the volunteer community
- Create mutual, effective staff and volunteer engagement
- Updated key policies and procedures
- Had Staff Coordinators facilitate volunteer training schedules
- Conducted the AGO’s first Volunteer Engagement Survey in 2013, revealing good general satisfaction but identifying the need for better feedback to volunteers, an area now being addressed
- Identify resources for better support by the AGO of volunteer commitments and objectives
- Introduced regular Staff Coordinator meetings, where volunteer workload/environment issues are discussed and may be addressed
- Created a digital library of key Volunteer documents, maintained by SVR
- Be the best volunteer program, to make the AGO a volunteer organization of choice
- Hosted and facilitated Volunteers Connect, a semi-annual gathering for volunteers and relevant staff of GTA cultural organizations to discuss issues of common interest and to inspire each other
- Created a 2015 edition of the Volunteer Handbook, originally published in 2005-2006.
- Identify and develop future volunteer leaders
- Implemented Shift Captains for both Gallery Guides and Information Guides, to enhance communications and training
- Developed, through VE/staff coordination, a systematic process for electing volunteer chairs for each group
The VSP Committee will not develop a separate VSP for its 2015- 2018 planning period; it will instead work with the Volunteer Executive and the volunteer community to identify “Volunteer Strategic Initiatives” (VSI) in direct support of the new AGO Strategic Plan. This decision reflects the increasingly close alignment between AGO volunteers and staff.
Many thanks to VSP Committee members, past and present:
Volunteers: Michelle Abrams (2011-13), Phyllis Couzin (2011-continuing), Justin Harrington (2011-13), Debbie Kennedy (2014-continuing), Pat Munson (2013continuing), Juan Pablo Suarez (2011-14), Cyndie Tamaki (2014-continuing), Ann Wilcox (2014-15).
Staff: Deborah O’Leary (2011-continuing), Holly Procktor (2014-continuing), Diana Goliss (2011-13)
For more details see: http://volunteers.ago.ca/strategic-plans/