* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Last night VSO was the winner of an esteemed Employee Engagement Award at the Chiswell Street Brewery in London. The Employee Engagement Awards celebrate forward-thinking organisations striving to do things differently.
VSO operates in more than 20 countries in Africa and Asia, with more than 800 staff, a quarter of whom are based in Kingston on Thames just outside London. The charity won the Employee Engagement Award forProject of the Year in the Not for profit/Charity category* - for the use of technology to boost employee engagement.
VSO’s innovative use of technology includes a social media platform, ‘Chatter’, which has become a key point for sharing, collaborating and socialising across the organisation. VSO also launched ten new online courses on a Moodle Learning Hub, including an ‘Introduction to International Development’. Another outstanding feature of the submission was ‘Global Jams’ - discussion forums using an online interactive whiteboard that have been praised by staff for helping to capture a wide range of opinions and ideas easily.
Jacky King, VSO’s Head of Learning and Development says:
“Engagement is important for all organisations, but for VSO, it’s why we exist. Our staff and volunteers are dispersed around the world. We must build strong, trusting relationships with colleagues we may never meet and we do this through the creative use of technology.”
“Our mission is to bring people together to fight poverty, so for us, engagement means connecting colleagues globally, and seeing how our work on an individual level supports VSO’s overall mission.”
ENDS
Contact Ruby Wright from the VSO press office on 020 8780 7640 or 07500 918 478
email press@vso.org.uk.
Editor's notes
*Sponsored by People Insight
VSO – Voluntary Service Overseas – brings people together to fight poverty through the lasting power of volunteering. We work alongside communities worldwide to create positive change. Our programmes are in some of the world’s poorest countries, reaching millions of people through improved access to services in education, health, HIV/AIDS, disability, and governance. VSO’s vision is of a world without poverty, but we can only achieve this by working together. www.vso.org.uk
