Follow-up and support are the heart of our work, allowing both the volunteer and host organisation succeed and benefit from the experience. We have more than 60 years of experience to offer to organisations.
VISA’s support for organisations
Working alongside the host organisation, VISA-AD remains involved at different stages throughout the whole process, from creating a volunteer role, to their assessment, through their selection and integrating the volunteer into the organisation. VISA-AD provides technical support during your accreditation process and as you design a philanthropic mission to be entrusted to each volunteer.
A personal contact person at VISA is assigned to each organisation. This person is available to the organisation for the entire year. In addition, they will hold regular check-ins throughout the duration of the mission, and will always be available as a listening ear for any technical or practical questions.
ADMINISTRATION
Administration can be something of an iceberg that demands a considerable volume of work. In this, VISA-AD’s collaborative system continues to be a powerful tool for its members. When done separately, the administrative obligations of the various volunteering programmes would be too heavy a burden for a single organisation. The operational procedures change from year to year; we are constantly reinventing, adapting our tools, studying handbooks, going back over the specific conditions, all while respecting the procedures and deadlines required for each scheme. What does this mean in practical terms? This means drafting the mission in accordance with specified criteria, producing annual reports as well as the various contracts and conventions to be put in place, allowing for some back and forth with the National Civil Service Authority, and the training requirements that need to be followed. Not to mention the many questions the various parties might have concerning their rights and responsibilities.
VISITS FROM VISA-AD
To consolidate our support, the VISA-AD team will organise a visit halfway through the mission. The VISA-AD contact person will visit the organisation and meet the volunteers and their supervisors. This is a chance to put names to faces, answer the questions and requests of the different parties and help to put the missions in context. These visits take place in all mission locations, throughout France and even internationally.
SUPERVISOR TRAINING
Meeting of supervisors
The supervisor is the volunteer’s main contact point for the duration of the assignment. It is a vital role in every volunteering scheme. The supervisor welcomes, advises and helps direct the volunteer. This ensures the mission unfolds smoothly.
In response to high demand from supervisors and in order to improve conditions for successful volunteering missions, VISA-AD has developed regional inter-supervisor training sessions
These are an opportunity to take stock of the rules and regulations around volunteering, go over the role of a supervisor and the tools available for them and, most importantly, going over situations that can arise during the process. Our approach is to encourage each person to share and participate in the spirit of informal learning that we offer to our volunteers. Widely appreciated, these inter-supervisor meetings are being rolled out across France.
