Institute of Fundraising launches monitoring tool for telephone fundraisers

The Institute of Fundraising (IoF), has launched an online training tool to help standardise telephone fundraising monitoring practices.

The new ‘call levelling’ tool aims to improve consistency in call monitoring across the sector and to strengthen compliance with best practice. It is freely available to IoF members who are encouraged to use the new system to help train their monitoring staff and develop their approach.

Enabling organisations to review their monitoring practices, staff members can log in and listen in on calls based on genuine conversations, which have been pre-recorded, adapted to fit a fictitious charity and anonymised. Users are then asked to assess the call by answering a series of questions, learning how to apply consistent levels of objectivity to call listening.

Tamsin Mitchell, compliance manager at the Institute of Fundraising, said:

“This is a flexible tool which is aimed at supporting our members and providing confidence that monitoring of calls is taken seriously, requiring considerable knowledge and skill. Telephone fundraising really is a great way to reach out to supporters and our members are keen to maintain and improve on the already high standards achieved. The Institute of Fundraising is keen to support its members in this aim.”

Stephen Service, policy manager at the Fundraising Regulator, said: 

“Call monitoring is an important safeguard for charities and telephone agencies to ensure their staff comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice. We welcome the IoF’s new tool as a way for these organisations to apply appropriate monitoring levels within their fundraising.” 

The tool can be found on the IoF website.