Q : Would we ever consider changing to monthly pay rather than 4 weekly? I've never worked anywhere where they have paid 4 weekly pay and just wondered why we did it this way and if we would ever consider changing it?

A: Thank you for your question, it is something that we are reviewing already but there are many reasons why we pay on a 4 week pay period, especially for Field.  Some of those reasons are operational, so we need to be cautious before making any changes.  We will need time to carefully consider this and will come back with a more definitive answer once we have been able to review this properly.

Q : As an ASFR I have noticed that new starts are coming into the field with pitch cards displaying dogs which are no longer available to sponsor, for example Tobias.

Can we ensure that DT Pitchcards are annotated to reflect this before sending them out, alternatively provide ‘new sponsor dog’ stickers as the norm for each new start.

A: There may be times when there is a cross over of pitching cards due to timing of new starters in the field. A new distribution of DT pitch material and supporting communications was sent recently which should detail all current sponsor dogs on the campaign.
Note that we have no control over the dogs on the campaign, or prior warning when one is added or removed, so cannot plan for any changes although we do share ‘coming soon’ stickers with all fundraisers to cover up any that have been removed.

Q : Hi just an idea for new fundraisers to do a mystery shopper of each other during the training week so they know what is expected of them when been mystery shopped

A: We are already reviewing possibilities around this but its is a very costly exercise so we need to ensure that maximum value comes of it. The new starters do see mystery shop forms in induction, as well as best practice, so should be fully aware of what shoppers are looking for.

Q : I was out in the rain today and my knock sheets got soaked which got me thinking.
Why don't you laminate plain knock sheets, no door numbers or streets on it just the template. And only send out the streets and doors on one sheet
Example
Fountain road l41qs
Houses 1 -89
Gwladys Street l45rw
Houses 1 - 103

It would be cost effective in the long run and better for the environment with the cut down on paper and waste , they would be easy to clean and more manageable in the rain, that way we can also organise out doors into the route we would like to walk for the week .

A: This is something that has been raised before and, upon further exploration, not all H2H FRs feel the same way as everyone has their preferred way of doing things. That said, laminated pages and pens will be (if haven’t been already) available to fundraisers working the doors so that they do now have this option.  As usual, send any request in to stockrequests@charitylink.net

Q : Say a person we know is not interested in the role but they have colleagues or friends who might be, it would be a good incentive to dangle a £50 voucher to them if they could refer us someone who would go on to be a successful hire.

A: Thank you for your suggestion. This is a very good idea and one that we’re currently exploring.

Q : My I suggest and express my thoughts on expenses are quite low in comparison on prices have now gone up in prices on menu's whilst staying away in hotels or even eating out off the beaten track as not eating in house but going out to eat. The prices have gone up considerably as I've noticed pizzas being sold for £16.00 same as a Gomet Bugers etc at similar prices, as I remember when I started 8-9 years ago that it would of been£12.00 max. I used to work in the hospitality industry myself and understood they have to put there prices up according to inflation and overheads so may I suggest would £15 be fare to say is a fare allowance to put towards a evening meal after all the £10 allowance towards a evening has not gone up in accordance of inflation in quite few years now.

A: Thank you for your suggestion and we are currently reviewing our expense policy with regard to recent inflationary changes.  Unfortunately we do have some constraints.  Our expense policy is designed to be as fair as possible within the fee that we are allowed to charge our charity clients.  To be able to pay higher rates we would have to ask our charity clients to increase their payments to us.  We have had minor increases in our client rates, but these have been below inflation and have been swallowed up by the increases in national living wage which has been considerably higher than inflation.  We hope to finish our review and launch a revised policy within the next few months.

Thanks for all of your input!