Name of Company

Microsoft UK Ltd

Why did you decide to go for Investing in Volunteers for Employers (IiVE)?

Having rebranded our volunteering scheme in early 2008 we saw a sharp increase in numbers of volunteers.We wanted to celebrate their achievements as well as benchmarking our practice to ensure our programme was best practice

What benefits have you found from working towards IiVE?

It was a great opportunity to review our programme and ensure we were considering all aspects of best practice for volunteering.The report also collated some fantastic feedback on the views of our volunteers

Tell us about your experience of the assessment process in your company.

The assessment was quite a logistical task with the sites and the numbers involved, however the assessors were very flexible and understanding and I feel the process went smoothly

5 Practical tips you would give another company working towards Investing in Volunteers for Employers

·Use the benchmarking criteria to assess your programme and fine tune

·Listen to the views of your volunteers

·Be clear about what you want to class as volunteering