15 May Case study: ALONE

Title: Onboarding ALONE volunteers

Project: ALONE online induction modules

Client: ALONE

About ALONE

ALONE, founded in 1977, is a charity that supports and empowers older people to age at home. They offer innovative and supportive services for older people, their families and the local community. ALONE’s 2,000+ volunteers play an essential role in these services and are involved in every level of the organisation. The various roles include supporting and befriending, telephone support and fundraising, among others.

Business Challenge

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis meant that ALONE needed to quickly recruit and onboard new volunteers to meet the rapidly changing needs of older people in the community in Ireland. One of the main volunteering services ALONE is recruiting for is the COVID-19 Practical Support Volunteer. The ALONE practical support volunteer provides assistance with collection and delivery of items to an older person including groceries, medical prescriptions and fuel. Due to a number of factors, including time, resources and the requirement to maintain physical distancing, the existing ALONE face-to-face volunteer training was not feasible.

Our Solution

The Learning Rooms partnered with ALONE to develop 30 minutes of training within a short time frame and with content that needed to be updated to meet current government and HSE guidance on Covid-19. The training was divided into two modules: About ALONE and Practical Support Volunteer Training.

“ALONE are delighted with the work provided by The Learning Rooms. The staff were very accommodating and helpful throughout the process and very easy to work with.” Volunteer Manager

The modern, sleek courses enable volunteers to undertake the training from any device, although it has been designed to be mobile-first to best accommodate their typical volunteer profile. In the first module, volunteers are introduced to the course with a video message from the CEO, Sean Moynihan. This module then coversthe mission, values and quality marks of ALONE. The course highlights the impact of Ireland’s ageing demographic and the four key services ALONE has established in response. The second module, Practical Support Volunteer Training, aims to prepare volunteers specifically for their role in supporting older people during the current Covid-19 crisis. Volunteers are equipped with the understanding to safely carry out practical tasks for an older person. This module covers ALONE protocol around health and safety, security, safeguarding and delivering the supports. A video demonstration is included of the best practice for delivering items to an older person’s home. At the conclusion of both modules, volunteers must complete a short assessment to demonstrate their understanding of their role as a Practical Support Volunteer.

The interactive scenarios, practical questions and engaging video content of this course will equip and empower volunteers to carry out practical tasks for an older person while ensuring their safety and the safety of the older person.

Key project features/outputs/results:

• Articulate Rise 360
• Video learning
• Interactive and engaging content
• Rapid turnaround eLearning
• Scenario-based learning