Customer Story: Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Transforming volunteer management
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) has harnessed the power of Access Assemble to transform its volunteer programme. With over 300 active volunteers contributing across 40 diverse roles, SCFT relies on its volunteers to enhance patient care, support staff, and bring kindness and companionship to those they serve. By replacing manual processes with Access Assemble, the Trust has streamlined recruitment, improved efficiency, and strengthened communication, allowing their team to focus on providing excellent care at the heart of the community.
Access Assemble
Challenge
- Volunteer recruitment relied on manual processes, including spreadsheets, and tasks such as ID verification, references, and agreements had to be handled individually.
- The previous database was difficult to navigate and lacked direct links to advertise roles.
- Communicating with and tracking volunteers required time-consuming processes that were prone to errors.
- Following COVID-19, the Trust faced the additional challenge of rebuilding its volunteer workforce efficiently.
Approach
SCFT implemented Access Assemble to provide a centralised, user-friendly platform for managing its volunteer programme:
- Volunteers can now view detailed role profiles and apply directly through links shared on community websites.
- Automated workflows handle ID verification, agreements, references, and touchpoints, reducing manual effort.
- The team uses reporting tools to track progress and generate insights, while automated reminders ensure compliance with training and vetting requirements.
- Enhanced communication features enable the team to email groups of volunteers quickly and accurately.
Results
The adoption of Access Assemble has delivered measurable improvements for SCFT:
- Recruitment is faster, with a seamless application process and better role matching.
- Volunteer data is stored securely in one place, ensuring accuracy and accessibility for reporting and management.
- Communication with volunteers is streamlined, reducing errors and saving time.
- SCFT is on track to double its volunteer numbers, thanks to Assemble’s capabilities in supporting recruitment and engagement.
Access Assemble has made everything so much easier. Recruitment is quicker, reporting is seamless, and we can now focus on growing and supporting our amazing volunteer team.
Introduction
Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust provides essential community healthcare services across Sussex, placing volunteers in a variety of roles that enhance patient care, support staff, and contribute to overall well-being. With over 300 active volunteers aged 16 to 92, the Trust offers 40 unique roles, including ward and mealtime support, care package delivery, therapy dog assistance, and patient safety partners. Volunteers typically give two to three hours a week, providing kindness and companionship that make a significant difference to patients’ lives while enriching their own.
Lisa Turner, Voluntary and Community Development Manager at the Trust, shares their success story since adopting Access Assemble:
The vital role of volunteers at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
Volunteers are an integral part of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust’s vision to deliver excellent care at the heart of the community. Contributing just two to three hours of their time each week, these dedicated individuals enhance patient and staff satisfaction, foster innovation, and provide invaluable support to healthcare teams. Their kindness and companionship markedly improve patient experiences, promote well-being, and alleviate stress for staff by freeing up time for clinical care.
With 307 volunteer roles currently fulfilled across 40 diverse positions—ranging from ward and mealtime support to therapy dog assistance and pulmonary rehab exercise support - SCFT’s volunteers play a vital role in enriching the lives of those they assist. The Volunteer Team ensures enhanced management for complex roles like peer support and driving, enabling volunteers aged 16 to 92 from all walks of life to make a meaningful difference across Sussex. In return, volunteers gain a profound sense of belonging and purpose, becoming an essential part of the Trust’s community-driven mission
Challenges
Before Access Assemble, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust struggled with manual recruitment processes that were labour-intensive and time-consuming. Volunteer applications involved multiple steps, from sending individual agreements and references to tracking progress on spreadsheets. Advertising roles was challenging due to a lack of direct links, and the previous database was cumbersome, requiring separate logins for different demographic areas. Following COVID-19, rebuilding the volunteer workforce was an additional challenge without efficient tools for role-specific advertising and tracking.
Solution
Access Assemble has completely transformed volunteer recruitment and management for Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust. Volunteers can now view detailed role profiles and apply directly through links shared online. Automated workflows handle references, agreements, ID verification, and refresher training, ensuring a seamless and efficient process. The platform’s centralised database securely stores volunteer information, while reporting tools make it easy to track progress, monitor compliance, and manage resources.
Benefits
- Efficiency Gains: The recruitment process is faster and more streamlined, with automated reminders for training, ID badges, and DBS checks, reducing manual effort and errors.
- Centralised Management: A secure, user-friendly database stores all volunteer data and provides comprehensive reporting on roles, demographics, and key metrics.
- Enhanced Communication: Notifications and messages are easily sent to specific volunteer groups, improving engagement and saving time.
- Improved Resource Allocation: Features like role-specific links and automated touchpoints allow the team to focus on recruitment goals, helping SCFT move toward its target of doubling volunteer numbers by FY26.
Recruitment transformation
The Trusts use of Access Assemble has made volunteer recruitment more efficient and attractive. Lisa Turner, Voluntary and Community Development Co-ordinator, shared how role-specific links and automated workflows have shortened the application process and improved role matching. “Volunteers can now easily find the right roles, and the application process is much quicker, which has made a huge difference,” Lisa explained. This streamlined approach is helping the Trust achieve its goal of increasing volunteer numbers from 300 to 500 by FY26.
Improved efficiency
By automating tasks such as ID checks, training reminders, and reporting, Access Assemble has freed up valuable time for the SCFT team. “Reports are now at the touch of a button, and training, vetting, and ID badge expiry are easier to manage,” Lisa noted. The platform’s ability to centralise data and automate processes means the team can focus more on face-to-face recruitment and supporting services. focus more on face-to-face recruitment and supporting services. The SCFT team ran a Quality Improvement session and Assemble has helped streamline and quicken processes. All to the benefit of the staff as they get the volunteer quicker, and volunteers have a better experience.
Centralised management
Having all volunteer data in one secure location has been transformative. The ability to export data, generate reports, and display detailed role profiles has simplified volunteer management. Lisa described the impact:
“The centralised database is marvellous—it’s so much easier to manage volunteers and keep everything up to date.”
Enhanced communication
Access Assemble’s communication tools have significantly improved how the Trust engages with its volunteers. Notifications are sent quickly and accurately, and all communications are logged, ensuring accountability and clarity. Lisa shared, “We can now email groups of volunteers effortlessly, such as when notifying them about ward closures or new roles, and everything is saved for future reference.”
Outstanding support and training
Lisa praised the support provided by Access Assemble during implementation and beyond:
“Having so much of the process automated means we can focus on recruiting volunteers and supporting our services more effectively. The support from the team has been brilliant, and Assemble continues to evolve with new features to help us even more.”
Why other NHS Trusts should choose Access Assemble
Lisa Turner strongly recommends Access Assemble to other NHS Trusts and organisations. The platform has transformed volunteer management at the Trust, helping them increase efficiency, improve communication, and achieve its recruitment goals.
"Access Assemble has made everything so much easier. Recruitment is quicker, reporting is seamless, and we can now focus on growing and supporting our amazing volunteer team."
About Access Assemble
Access Assemble is the leading volunteer management software designed to empower charities and organisations. It simplifies the recruitment, management, and retention of volunteers by centralising processes and automating administrative tasks. With tools to enhance communication, track KPIs, and optimise resource allocation, Assemble allows organisations to focus on making a greater impact in their communities.