Attributes and Attitudes that Employers look for

An attribute can be defined as the quality of a feature or charateristic of someone.

Rainbow look for employees who are able to help clients who have problems with their sight and need help in using ICT. Employees who can help to create ‘talking books’ which are saved on CD then loaned to clients. Employees who can visit the clients and show them how to load and listen to the CDs. Employees who can work alongside the manager of Rainbow Light. Which includes managing a team of volunteers, recruiting new volunteers, keeping staff up to date with IT and ensuring that staff are able to communicate with clients using IT, maintaining a database of clients and a schedule of volunteers.

Specific Attribute – ICT Skills

Potential volunteers will need to have good ICT skills for the job. Volunteers need to communicate with clients that have sight problems by using ICT.

Volunteers will create talking books by recording themselves reading a book through a microphone on a computer and then burn it to a CD. They will then need to visit the clients and show them how to setup and use the talking books.

Volunteers are also required to work alongside the manager. The manager needs to keep staff up to date with ICT and also ensure the staff know how to communicate with the clients using ICT. Volunteers could research different types of ICT hardware and software needed to communicate with the clients. They could then create a presentation demonstrating these types of communication tools to the staff. Volunteers could also email staff with updates and information about different types of software and hardware used to communicate with clients.

Volunteers will need to be able to run and manage a database of the different clients. This will include entering contact information such as name, address, telephone numbers and emergency telephone numbers. Volunteers will need to manage a schedule for staff working times which will also so be in database form, this would include details such as name, staff id number and the starting and finishing times of each working rota.

Volunteers will be required to create a blog to keep all charity members up to date with the important areas in Communicating and Employability in the area of IT. Volunteers should have good knowledge of how to create blogs such as changing the layout, colour, adding images and changing fonts on a blog.

General Attribute – Communication

Potential volunteers will need to have good communication skills for the job. This includes above the average skills in verbal, written and non-verbal communication. Volunteers need to communicate with a variety of people to do their job successfully.

Volunteers need to communicate with clients when they teach them how to use the “talking books” created by volunteers. This could include carrying out a demonstration, sending them a written tutorial by email or simply talking the client through the process in steps.

Volunteers are also required to work alongside the manager. They are expected to help manage a team of volunteers and also recruit new volunteers, this involves communicating with other volunteers in a team and helping out by teaching them how to communicate effectively with the clients. When recruiting new volunteers, they may be required to ask the potential volunteer questions during the interview process. 

Volunteers are also expected to keep staff up to date with IT and teach them how to effectively communicate with clients by using IT. To keep staff up to date, volunteers would give staff a presentation on new forms of IT or send them an email containing new forms of IT available for communicating with clients.

Attitudes

Confidence

Potential volunteers will need to have a good level confidence for the job. Volunteers need confidence to communicate with a variety of people to do their job successfully.

Volunteers need confidence to communicate with clients when they teach them how to use the “talking books” created by volunteers. This could include carrying out a demonstration which would require them to have good confidence in order to carry out the demonstration. They could also talk the client through the process in steps which would require good confidence.

Volunteers also need confidence to work alongside the manager. They will need confidence to help them manage a team of volunteers and also recruit new volunteers, this involves communicating with other volunteers in a team and helping out by teaching them how to communicate effectively with the clients. Volunteers will also need confidence when recruiting new volunteers, they may be required to ask the potential volunteer questions during the interview process. 

Volunteers are also expected to keep staff up to date with IT and teach them how to effectively communicate with clients by using IT. To keep staff up to date, volunteers would give staff a presentation on new forms of IT which would also involve confidence.

Team-Working

Team work is work done by several members who each do their part and work together to get a task completed.

Potential volunteers will need to be able to work well in a team envioroment for the job.

It is important for the employee to be able to work in a team because they are required to work with volunteers in a team and help clients.

Volunteers need good team working skills to work alongside the clients when they teach them how to use the “talking books” created by volunteers. This could include talking to the client through the process in steps.

Volunteers also need good team working skills to work alongside the manager. Volunteers need good team working skills to help them manage a team of volunteers which would include helping out other volunteers by teaching them how to communicate effectively with the clients. This could involve talking to the volunteers or presenting a presentation to the volunteers.

Volunteers are also expected to keep staff up to date with IT and teach them how to effectively communicate with clients by using IT. This would require good team working skills. To keep staff up to date, volunteers would give staff a presentation on new forms of IT which would also involve them talking to each member of staff and working in a team.