Improving Staff and Volunteer Engagement at Age UK Cheshire East

The NHS North West HR Graduate Training Scheme gives its trainees the opportunity to spend two months working on flexi-placements in organisations that are external to the NHS. Such placements are a great opportunity for trainees to gain experience and share good practice. This develops their skills and confidence, whilst also benefiting the NHS through the knowledge they gain. This case study forms part of a series of three, all of which are based upon placements undertaken by graduate trainees in August and September 2013.This case study is specifically based upon the flexi-placement that was undertaken at Age UK Cheshire East. There were two focus areas, staff induction and retention. The staff induction involved evaluating the current group induction programme and making recommendations for improvement. The staff retention aspect involved analysing turnover, identifying areas of concern and making recommendations for improvement. The retention aspect also expanded into understanding why volunteers chose to volunteer with Age UK Cheshire East, what made them stay and what would make them leave.