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Gemserv Employee Volunteers At Us In A Bus

6th Jul, 2018

Gemserv is committed to investing in people. This investment takes many forms. On one hand, it is about giving our staff access to exciting projects, development days and training. The staff have the possibilities to grow and develop their potential in different ways. On the other hand, it is a commitment to people that goes beyond our staff and includes working with charities.

Gemserv support two chosen charities, Us on a Bus and For Jimmy, that we work with on a regular basis. Our staff can volunteer one working day each year to support a good cause of their choosing or to the Gemserv chosen charities. These days are about our time and our skills to the benefit of the charity and to give back to our community. An ideal that flows into our philosophy of Profit with Purpose.

For his Volunteer day, our Head of Consultancy, Mandeep Thandi decided to volunteer with Us in a Bus and we wanted to share his story and his experience:

‘Us on a Bus is a charity that specialises in helping people with profound learning disabilities who find it difficult to communicate and connect emotionally with family and friends. Everyday interactions like sharing a joke or a smile can be hard. These are all things we take for granted. The charity’s philosophy is to help their clients to express and connect with the world and people around them to improve their emotional well-being and quality of life. These are simple things that make us who we are.

I spent my charity day this year as part of a panel to conduct interviews for a senior management position. The role was an important position to fill. The successful candidate will work closely with the charity’s Chief Executive, Victoria Goody. The candidate will continue to improve and innovate their services and the capability of the practitioner team, the guys who interact with the charity’s clients. The role also includes fund raising and building social media strategies.

What struck me the most from my preparation for and on the interview day is the insight I gained into the day of a practitioner team and the skills they have in interacting with their clients. This includes understanding the clients’ needs, assessing emotional wellness and adjusting their style to around how their clients are feeling and responding on the day. I learnt about a range of established social interaction techniques that take it right back to the basics of communications, which are about being expressive, spontaneous and creative. These are essential to our wellbeing. We express ourselves in this way at home and at work, and provide us with freedom, independence, social interaction and emotional connections.

During my day I met with passionate team members at the charity who are committed to the charity’s vision around making a positive difference to the lives of their clients. What truly came through was how important communications and relationships were to their work. This includes with clients and amongst the team to learn from each other. The team share their experiences of client interactions to improve their techniques. They have a deep desire to improve their work. At the heart of it all is understanding and anticipating the needs of their clients, adjusting their styles and always seeking to do better. We at Gemserv use these skills to strive to make a positive and better contribution to our clients. Us in a Bus use these same skills to improve the lives and well-being of their clients.

It was great to be able to complete the interviews and successfully appoint a candidate to the new role.

You can read more about Us in a Bus on their website (www.usinabus.org.uk) if you want to learn more about their work.

Authors

Mandeep Thandi

Director of Cyber & Privacy

Read Bio