Robin’s blog: People Conference a hit!

09/02/2022 15:23

We’re delighted at the success of the online people conference, Charity Retail People, we held last week and I want to thank all who helped with it, especially Marie Moss and Susan Meredith who were responsible for most of the logistics and speaker communication.

Whilst trading and donations remain at a very impressive and successful level, this conference aimed to address the most significant issue on the horizon for charity retail at the moment – the shortage of people resources and volunteers. And we are convinced that this conference has moved delegates’ thinking on in these crucial areas.

What a great succession of sessions we had! Here’s a quick summary for anyone who missed it. In a week or two, recordings of each session will be made available in our webinar shop to purchase if you didn’t sign up to the conference.

Marketing volunteering opportunities to young people – Speakers for Schools
The role of Speakers for Schools and their resource for placing young volunteers – the vInspired website.

Charity shops and community payback – Ministry of Justice
The community payback scheme, detailing how charity shops can benefit from offenders undertaking unpaid work as a way of paying back to society.

Keeping our people safe – British Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation’s extensive safeguarding journey and the measures they have put in place.

Making the most of your volunteers – the legal questions – Worknest
Laura Chalkley, Head of Team & Solicitor at Worknest answered all of our members’ questions posed to her – of which there were many!

Staff recruitment – getting it right – Berwick Partners
A ‘back to basics’ look at sector recruitment practices with tons of great up to date advice to fill those shop manager vacancies.

Equality, diversity and inclusion – The Charity Retail Consultancy
We have received amazing feedback for this session, being described as ‘honest’, ‘necessary’, ‘important’ and ‘the best EDI session I’ve ever been on’.

Re-engaging your volunteers – TeamKinetic
Practical tips to keep your valued volunteers engaged and happy in their roles.

Should I stay or should I go? What are your employees saying about your charity – The Charity Retail Consultancy
Expert guidance on staff retention and enabling them to be at their best in their roles.

Staff recruitment – a new perspective – panel discussion
Insightful perspectives from bloggers and charity retailers on what they see as the way forward in attracting people to charity retail careers.

We think this was one of our most successful online offerings yet – and we hope you do too! Keep an eye out for other virtual conferences over the coming months.

Robin Osterley
February 2022