Volunteers Week: meet some of the RNLI’s volunteer managers
Volunteers are at the heart of the RNLI – without them, we couldn’t save lives at sea. Our incredible volunteers are supported across RNLI communities by a group of volunteer managers, many of whom are volunteers themselves. As part of UK Volunteers Week, we wanted to shine the spotlight on some of our wonderful volunteer managers and what they do – you may even see some familiar faces!
Who are our volunteer managers?
Our volunteer managers at the RNLI are both volunteers and staff, and every volunteer should know who their volunteer manager is. Volunteer managers are involved in recruitment, selection, induction, support, training and recognition of our volunteers. Overall, volunteer managers are responsible for their teams and ensuring everyone is supported to fulfil their role and contribute to saving lives at sea.
Meet some of our volunteer managers...
Andrew Shiner, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Shoreham Lifeboat Station
How did you become an RNLI volunteer?
‘I grew up within half a mile of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat Station in Norfolk, which sparked an early interest in lifeboats. I’ve had a lifelong interest in watersports and used to be an engineer on a survey vessel, so have always had an affinity with the water.
‘After many years of ad-hoc donating to and supporting the RNLI, around 15 years ago, I became an RNLI Governor. I never considered volunteering, but when we moved to the coast the opportunity came up to apply for the LOM role.’
What does your role involve?
‘It’s one of the most interesting station roles with a team of just under 40 volunteers across a range of roles, both operational and non-operational. I’m heavily involved in supporting and managing the life-cycle of our volunteers, particularly recruitment and ultimately keeping our people safe.’
What are your favourite things about being a volunteer manager?
‘It’s deeply satisfying seeing people progress within the station. Not all aspects of the role are easy, such as having challenging conversations, but coming to a positive resolution and bringing about change is very rewarding. It’s an all-encompassing role, of which I couldn’t do without the team around me.’
What skills or experience did you bring to the role?
‘I’ve managed people and teams across cultures and continents. I didn’t always get it right but learnt a lot I could bring to the RNLI. I also have a background of being on the water, which gives me a good understanding to help with decision making.’
What skills or experience have you gained in the role?
‘I’ve learnt practical and technical skills to make informed decisions. I’ve also gained increased awareness of managing risks. My skills as a manager have broadened through managing a team from all walks of life. I can’t manage volunteers like employees, so I’ve learnt how to adapt my management style and gained skills I can utilise in the workplace.’What resources or training have you undertaken?
‘I’ve spent a lot of time with my line manager, the Area Lifesaving Manager, giving me the key support and guidance to fulfil my role. I’ve also attended a course for Lifeboat Operations Manager, where learning with peers from different stations was hugely beneficial. Media training from the Media Team has also been really useful in my role.’
Juliet Blackie, Shop Manager at Mallaig
How did you become an RNLI volunteer?
‘I moved to Mallaig during the pandemic. I wanted to volunteer once I was retired and get involved in the local community. I became aware of the importance of the RNLI in Mallaig with its fishing and leisure boat harbour. My new neighbour was the shop manager and I volunteered to help out.
Unfortunately, when the shop manager retired from the role, the shop was shut for six months. With an all-weather lifeboat in the harbour and a strong tradition of the RNLI in the village, we needed to have the shop open, so I applied for the role of shop manager.’
What does your role involve?
‘Although it is quite a bit of work, I really enjoy it and get a great deal of satisfaction. Several of the previous volunteers retired around same time as the previous shop manager, leaving only three volunteers. I also around various community groups and we now have 12 volunteers. The majority of these are new to the RNLI and give around 2 hours each a week. We have a shop WhatsApp group to communicate with one another, and we are a socially connected group.
‘Also, I’ve created some short notes to help volunteers, for example about opening and closing the shop, operating the till and some information about the RNLI to support the volunteers in chatting to customers and raising the RNLI’s profile.
‘I also work with the local fundraising committee and go to some of their meetings. The shop has stalls at local events (like coffee mornings and gala days). There’s a good relationship with the fundraising committee.’
What are your favourite things about being a volunteer manager?
‘The sense of satisfaction, sense of camaraderie with other volunteers and sense of contributing to the local community.’
What resources or training have you undertaken?
‘There is a lot of material available from the RNLI that we can tap into and use. Also I’ve had great support and advice from the retail lead in Scotland and the local volunteer experience manager.
‘To try to promote the shop, I felt that some locally produced material would be helpful. So I have made posters to advertise the shop and put them up around in the village. Also, I have made some flyers and asked local hotels and self catering owners to put them in their guest packs, to try to promote the shop to visitors.
‘I have registered the shop on google so it’s easier to find, which I felt was important as the shop is not in the central part of the village. Also, I post regularly on local Facebook pages with information about the shop’
What advice would you give to another RNLI volunteer manager or someone thinking about becoming a volunteer manager in the RNLI?
‘To reach out to existing managers to get tips and support, which gave me confidence when starting the role. To be organised and make a plan of what needs doing and how to try to achieve it. To work closely with volunteers and in a friendly manner. It is important to understand a bit about your local community and be conscious of working with the community.’
Everything you need in your role
If you’re a volunteer manager, the RNLI have some useful resources and guides to help support you and the volunteers you manage during all aspects of volunteering, from recruitment and induction, ongoing volunteer management (including problem solving and recognition) through to when they leave the RNLI. A key document is the Volunteer Managers Handbook, which is a useful step by step guide to all things volunteer management. You can search for the resources you need on RNLI.org/VolunteerManagerResources.
RNLI Volunteer Manager Survey
As part of our priority to strengthen management capability across the organisation, and to build on research already done with some managers of staff, the Volunteering Team are looking to gather feedback from volunteers and staff who manage volunteers on the current support, training and resources that we provide to volunteer managers.
The feedback will help us to prioritise the training and resources that can best help volunteer managers to be effective and feel well supported in their role, ultimately aiming to improve the support we provide to our volunteers.
A short survey will be sent to volunteer and staff managers of volunteers on Monday 10 June and it will close on Sunday 30 June. They will be sent a unique link directly to their email address. Thank you for taking the time to share your views.
Get in touch
If you do have any feedback or questions, please do get in touch our team here. You can find resources and sessions available to help you in your role on Volunteer Zone.