The Big Society Thinking lean in response to funding squeeze
BT backs programme to put high-flying managers in volunteer roles
Reach helps match talented executives to charities
A new scheme has been launched which is putting some of the brightest management talent at telecoms giant BT to work for voluntary organisations. Under the scheme, members of BT’s management ‘future talent pool’ are being encouraged and supported by their employer to take on voluntary roles in the third sector. Reach is helping the executives – who are all on a fast track for promotion – to identify the organisations for which they would like to volunteer. And although the scheme is only just getting off the ground, it is already having a huge impact on the charities it is benefiting.
When BT executive Mark Collins first began talking to Reach about the sort of organisation he would like to volunteer for, he had some sort of children’s charity in mind. But after being presented with several potential opportunities to consider, he headed off in a very different direction: working with the board of Vision Housing, which provides housing and ongoing support to ex-offenders prior to and on their release from prison.
‘It was not the sort of organisation I had considered before, but there was something about Vision which I found interesting’, recalls Mark. ‘I had no idea that such an organisation even existed. It was well out of my comfort zone, but that was part of the attraction. I felt it could help expand my knowledge of life outside the corporate world and provide me with interesting new insights’.
Mark, who is Director of IT Support at BT’s Open Reach division, felt that working with Vision Housing would help broaden his horizons and contribute to his personal and professional development. And from the start, he was able to make a major contribution to the organisation. The board was grappling with some big IT issues, and Mark was able immediately to put his technical knowledge to work to help resolve them. Since then he says he’s begun to add value outside his specific area of expertise.
‘I’m being given the opportunity to bring my business skills to bear in a number of areas’, he explains. ‘My training and experience at BT of interviewing job candidates, for example, has enabled me to help the Vision board select a new member of staff. But more generally, I feel I am helping them to think of the organisation in more business-like terms.
‘I am encouraging them to consider what competition they face, to define what in business is known as their value proposition and to think about the balance between risk and opportunity’, says Mark. ‘Although Vision does not make money, it wants to provide services. And things like cash flow and growth plans are just as relevant to charities as they are to businesses.’
Mark’s contribution to Vision Housing is certainly highly valued and appreciated. Vision’s Chairman, Adrian Gains, describes him as ‘the perfect trustee’ and is full of praise for his technical skills and personal qualities.
‘We have a number of ex-offenders sitting on our board and meetings can sometimes get a bit chaotic,’ Adrian explains. ‘I think sometimes he regrets not working with children. Mark is a very good listener, a calming influence and a great board member. Although he has a busy professional career, Mark ensures that he attends all our meetings and events and makes a valuable contribution to the organisation.
‘We are undertaking a review of our governance and I have asked Mark if he would get more involved with our business and strategy development. We are expanding and we need more heavyweight, independent oversight. This is something Mark can give us that we previously lacked.’
Mark’s contributions to the work of Vision Housing have been made over several months. But the impact that BT volunteers have on voluntary organisations seems to make itself felt very quickly. The Parent Support Group (PSG) based in South-East London works with parents and carers of young people who are involved in criminal or other anti-social behaviour. It’s a small charity run single-handedly by Anne Williams, with the support of a team of volunteers. Recently, she’s begun working with Andy Cross, Director of Learning and Development for BT’s retail operations.
‘I have only met Andy once, for about three hours, and all I can say is that by the time he left I felt that a huge cloud had been lifted,’ explains Anne Williams. ‘My mind had felt jumbled and I was in chaos about the future direction of the organisation. It was so very, very useful to be able to talk things through with Andy.
‘He was able to help me structure things in a very workable way, and what’s more he did it all with ease. We talked through what direction PSG might take in the changing economic climate and how we could prepare for the future. It was a brilliant discussion. Andy had a really collaborative approach and was easy to work with.’
It is perhaps not surprising that Andy was able to work so effectively with Anne. A human resources expert, he is also a trained executive coach. And since his first meeting with Anne, Andy has been working with her to develop a business plan for her organisation.
‘It’s not a fancy document. Just something that articulates the basics about what PSG is and what it does,’ explains Andy. ‘We are trying to apply the same principles that businesses would use in mapping out their strategic direction. My next step will be to begin working with PSG’s executive board to ensure that they provide Anne with the support that she needs.
‘Up until now, Anne has been trying to do too much by herself. She’s been performing the roles of CEO, operations director, chief technical officer and everything else. It is time for the executive board to relieve her of some of this work.’
Andy has a special passion for volunteering. He is the lead on staff volunteering for his division at BT and has been a volunteer himself in the past.
‘Working for an organisation like PSG means a lot to me, both in terms of my own development and the opportunity to use my skills and experience to help others,’ says Andy. ‘The charity wanted to change direction, and that is the sort of work I have done for businesses in the past. I really felt I could help them.'
‘PSG works in a very poor area where local kids face big challenges,’ he adds. As the father of three children myself, I felt I could have an affinity with the organisation. Learning more about what they do has opened my eyes and has put other things, like the pressures of my job, into perspective for me. It’s turning into a highly rewarding experience.’