Referencing basics

Created by Alex Griffiths, Modified on Tue, 5 Mar at 4:08 PM by Alex Griffiths

When a volunteer registers to help at your event they will be asked to provide the details of one, or more, person to provide a reference for them. This person is known as a referee. You will need to set how many references you will ask your volunteers to provide. Whilst it can be tempting to ask for lots, as this will mean you get more information back about your volunteer, it can sometimes be difficult to get all of these completed or the volunteer may provide the details of people who do not know them very well.

You will also need to set how long your organisation will consider an accepted reference to be valid for. It is recommended that references are re-requested every couple of years. This allows the information to remain current without the volunteer having to provide a reference every time they offer to help.

Why is it important to ask for references?

Referencing is an important part of determining the suitability of your volunteers. It provides some basic information on the volunteer from people who know them well. A DBS check can also play an important part of determining suitability but cannot be relied on as not all volunteers will be eligible for a check (they may be too young or not doing a role which entitles a check to be carried out on them).

What will the referee be asked?

Each referee will be asked the same questions, which are set by SignMeUp and non-editable. Before completing the questions, the referee will be prompted to only complete the reference if they feel the volunteer well enough to do so. If they do not feel they are able to complete the reference for any reason they are directed to contact your organisation.

The referee will be asked:

In what capacity do you know the volunteer?
How long have you known the volunteer?
In your view, is the volunteer responsible, reliable and able to work as part of a team?
To the best of your knowledge, has the volunteer ever caused harm to a child or young person?
In your view, is the volunteer suitably qualified to volunteer in this role?