NISA Volunteer Manual - Paper Example

The North American Islamic Shelter for the Abused (NISA) is a non-profit organization established in 2002 to provide resolutions to challenges related to domestic violence and violence in particular within the community of Muslims. The concepts of maroof and munkar that is encouraging what is right and condemning the wrong in the process of investigating disputes among families acts as the pillar of the entire process. Other concerns such as community outreach, spiritual counseling, premarital and elderly abuse form part of the duties performed by the organization. Based on the intensity of the activities, the input of the volunteers is critical in achieving its success.

The Importance of the Volunteer

In our organization, a volunteer is any individual with necessary competence who is willing to incorporate his or her effort in ensuring the organizations objectives are achieved effectively. We are a group that cherishes volunteers as they are passionate and the organization does not spend much on them. In the past, major achievements of the organization are due to the efforts impacted by these individuals. For example, it was the input of the volunteers who made the 15th annual fundraising successful. They did this by enhancing and strengthening the online connection with friends and Muslim religious members all over the world. Furthermore, the posts and events present in the Facebook platforms are as a result of the competence and growing need to sharpen the competence of the group in achieving its mission and vision. Notably, the volunteers are fresh, passionate and enthusiastic in their duties and this explains why in the past their input is viewed to be encouraging (Laverie, and Robert, 2007, p. 279). Additionally, the fact that they uphold organizational ethics in all areas of their duties makes them welcomed at any time of the working period.

Paid Staff and Volunteer Relationship

Based on the past acknowledged and rewarded inputs of the volunteers, paid workers have learned the fact that, they are a cornerstone of the organization and their competence may not be neglected. For this reason, there is a powerful connection between the paid staff and volunteers hence operating as a team. The outcome of their cooperation boosts the professional experience to the volunteers who ultimately impacts the organization positively.

The paid staff are responsible for duties involving counseling. Because of experience, they engage the pre-marital, elderly and also solve other issues involving responsibilities of the organization. In this case, the volunteers, are to note the cases, record clients details and also provide necessary advisory input in the presence of the seniors. Note, in the absence of the senior members, the volunteers may as well offer complete advisory services.

Volunteer supervision is mainly done by senior employees who are members of the human resource team (Netting, 2004, p. 76). The motive is performance evaluation and sharpening their competence regularly. From the assessment, identification may be made and rewards made depending on the performance of individuals and inputs in achieving the NISAs objectives (International Labour Office, 2012, p. 48)

Personnel Policies

NISA just like other organizations has goals and objectives to be achieved within a certain time frame. For this reason, we require competent and qualified employees who can not only achieve the goals but utilize resources efficiently since the organization is dependent on donor funding. To achieve results, NISA employs the following procedure;

Screening

Volunteering application form

It is a cover letter that provides an overview of the applicants career objective, passion, and academic qualification. Its main role is applicants identification and request for an opportunity.

Resume

It is a critical requirement as it assists the organization in making the right choice regarding volunteer competence and the best in performing specific duties required by the organization (Houle, Brad, and Martin, 2005, p. 350). Also, it highlights the input that the applicant has had to the community which makes him or her competent for the position compared to another. In summary, it is a source of individuals competitive advantage hence critical in making the right choice.

Interview(s)

The importance of conducting interviews to know the applicant better. The oral interview is important as the members of the interviewing panel notes the communication competence and the convincing power that an individual has. In this organization, we focus much on communication as it is the root of acquiring information from the community members. The ability to possess active listening skills and communication ability determines whether one is to be accepted or not.

Importantly, the prior knowledge about the organization, its duties to the community and individuals who have acquired any training relating to the duties performed by the organization.

Religion

It is a Muslim religious community, and therefore priorities are given to the Muslim before consideration of other religions. Furthermore, the area of residence is to be considered as well, since the duties require individuals who live within the Muslim States or areas inhabited by Muslim though not a compulsory aspect.

Oaths of confidentiality

Our organization deals with counseling, the elderly, young, sexually abused and those who have engaged in domestic violence. In performing these duties, confidentiality is critical as any information released to the public may interfere with integrity of the organization resulting to loss of self-esteem.

Besides the highlighted, other aspects of consideration includes;

Leadership ability

Training competence

Reference checks

Police record check

Volunteers Code of Conduct

The following codes govern the operations of the volunteers and must be adhered to

Honour the oath of confidentiality

Efforts and responsibilities must be aimed towards achievement of our goals and objectives

Treat community members equally

Commitment is key to achieving our expectations

Conflicts are to be avoided, in case of a problem, report to the supervisor

Portray organizations ethics at all time, on or off duty.

Be friendly, appreciative and cooperative to the community

Listen actively to clients and offer accurate feedbacks

Uphold the existing teamwork culture

Be loyal to superiors and follow their instructions appropriately

Be punctual at all time

Utilize the organizations resources sparingly

Client satisfaction is supreme

Quality services are to maintained throughout service

Conclusion

In conclusion, our mission is to ensure that the human dignity is preserved by providing a safe environment to those who are oppressed within the community. We relieve pain, hopelessness, and fear among the clients and ingrain peace and harmony within them for the good of the entire community. We focus on the restoration of an ideal Islamic family and society that respects the rights and freedom of children, wives, and husbands. In achieving this, just as highlighted, spiritual dimension and accurate advise are essential hence the central tool of our operation. To achieve this, we require competent staff and volunteers who understand the needs of the community and appreciate the Islamic culture. Furthermore, we need members who are passionate and are aware of the social evils that need to be eliminated for purposes of attaining peace and harmony.

Work cited

Houle, Barbara J., Brad J. Sagarin, and Martin F. Kaplan. "A functional approach to volunteerism: Do volunteer motives predict task preference?." Basic and applied social psychology 27.4 (2005): 337-344.

International Labour Office. Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work. International Labour Office, 2012.

Laverie, Debra A., and Robert E. McDonald. "Volunteer dedication: Understanding the role of identity importance on participation frequency." Journal of Macromarketing 27.3 (2007): 274-288.

Netting, F. Ellen, et al. "Volunteer and paid staff relationships: Implications for social work administration." Administration in Social Work 28.3-4 (2004): 69-89.