Charity Shop
Operations Manual
Found Charity ShopOperations Manual
2016
Version 007 September 2016 Charity Shop
Charity Shop
Operations Manual
Table of Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Overview of found 2
2.1 Mission and Vision for the CCR Foundation and found 2
2.2 Values 2
2.3 Other benefits of found 2
2.4 Background to CCR Foundation 3
2.5 Christ Church Roxeth – Overview 3
2.6 CCR Foundation Organisation Structure 4
2.7 Volunteer Policy Statement 4
3 Acquisition of donations 5
3.1 Donated goods 5
3.2 Equipment for sorting 5
3.3 Sorting donations of clothing 6
3.4 Sorting donations of bric-a-brac 6
3.5 Electrical goods 7
3.6 Goods which cannot be accepted or sold 7
3.7 Collection of goods 8
3.8 Disposal of ‘rag’ and other unsalable items 9
4 Stock display and pricing 10
4.1 Shop fitting and display 10
4.2 Pricing 10
4.3 Bric-a-brac 11
4.4 DVDs, CDs, Blue Ray Discs, computer games and records 12
4.5 Books 12
4.6 Clothing 13
4.7 Jewellery 13
4.8 Furniture 13
4.9 Electrical and electronic goods 13
4.10 Wooden cubes 15
4.11 Sale of New goods 16
4.12 Food and Drink 16
4.13 Signs 16
4.14 Selling at auction 16
4.15 Selling on other websites 18
4.16 Useful links 18
5 Branding & Signage 19
5.1 Legal requirements 19
5.2 Mission and Vision for the CCR Foundation and found 20
5.3 Values 20
5.4 Information and advertisement 23
5.5 Other posters and notices 23
6 Employees 24
6.1 Staffing found 24
6.2 The benefits of the Charity Shop Manager 24
6.3 Purpose of the Charity Shop Manager 24
7 Recruiting Volunteers 28
7.1 Volunteering in the UK 28
7.2 What do they do? 28
7.3 Volunteering and employment 29
7.4 Volunteer management 29
7.5 Why do people volunteer? 29
7.6 Why don’t people volunteer? 30
7.7 Why involve volunteers? 31
7.8 Preparing for volunteers 32
7.9 Dealing with volunteer enquiries 32
7.10 Recruitment techniques 33
7.11 Finding staff and volunteers 34
7.12 Diversity in volunteer recruitment 36
7.13 Young volunteers 37
8 Volunteer Selection & Induction 38
8.1 Overview 38
8.2 Step 1: Informal discussion 38
8.3 Step 2: Application form 39
8.4 Step 3: References 40
8.5 Step 4: Database entry 41
8.6 Step 5: Risk assessment 41
8.7 Step 6: Criminal record checks 41
8.8 Step 7: Immigration checks 43
8.9 Step 8: Health checks 44
8.10 Step 9: Reasonable adjustments 45
8.11 Step 10: Volunteer agreement 45
8.12 Step 11: Volunteer Handbook 45
8.13 Step 12: Induction to The CCR Foundation and the role 45
8.14 Step 13: Training and resources 48
8.15 Step 14: Record keeping 49
9 Policies and procedures 50
9.1 Volunteer specific policies and procedures 50
9.2 Policies and procedures relating to volunteers and staff 50
9.3 Insurance 50
10 Involving volunteers 51
10.1 Introduction 51
10.2 Support 51
10.3 Supervision 51
10.4 Volunteer commitment and work requirements 52
10.5 Reward and recognition 53
10.6 Volunteers who cause concern 53
10.7 Support to leaving volunteers 53
10.8 Volunteer exit questionnaires 54
11 Volunteering and benefits 55
11.1 Overview 55
11.2 Benefits and Tax Credits 55
11.3 Expenses and allowances 55
11.4 Useful links 55
12 Financial Management 57
12.1 The need for reports and controls 57
12.2 Taking money in the shop 57
12.3 Gift aid on donations of money and goods 57
12.4 End of day procedures 59
12.5 Financial reporting 59
12.6 Financial controls 59
12.7 Expenses 60
12.8 Payment of Bills 61
12.9 Useful links 61
13 Health and safety 62
13.1 Introduction 62
13.2 Health and Safety Law 63
13.3 Managing Health and Safety 66
13.4 Risk Assessment 72
13.5 Hazardous Substances 96
13.6 Manual Handling 99
13.7 Active Monitoring 104
13.8 Accident Reporting and Investigation 108
13.9 Notifying the manager of unsafe conditions or practices 114
13.10 Induction & Training in Health & Safety 114
13.11 Signs, Posters and Notices 116
13.12 Fire Safety 119
13.13 Temperature 125
13.14 Seating 125
13.15 Slips, Trips and Falls 126
13.16 Living in the Shadow of Violence 127
13.17 Useful links 127
14 Legal Issues 128
14.1 Disability discrimination 128
14.2 Trading Standards 132
14.3 Sale of Goods Act 1979 132
14.4 Item specific regulations 134
14.5 Data protection 142
14.6 Other legal issues 144
14.7 Useful links 144
15 Security 145
15.1 Security Commitment 145
15.2 Security Strategy 145
15.3 Loss prevention 146
15.4 Stolen credit cards 147
15.5 Cheque fraud 147
15.6 Cash office audits 147
15.7 Consent searches 147
15.8 Shop lifting 147
16 Housekeeping & Maintenance 148
16.1 Shop premises 148
16.2 Display checklist 148
16.3 Building Systems and Maintenance 149
17 Daily Operations 150
17.1 The start of the day 150
17.2 End of day procedures 150
17.3 Breaks 150
17.4 Staff areas 150
18 Customer Care 151
18.1 What is customer service? 151
18.2 Why do customers visit charity shops 151
18.3 Constraints of charity shop trading 151
18.4 How to ensure customers return to the CCR Foundation Charity Shop 151
18.5 Why customers might not return to found? 153
18.6 Measuring success 153
18.7 Customer Service Excellence 154
19 Public Relations 155
19.1 Things to do 155
19.2 Things not to do: 155
19.3 Useful links 155
20 Community Engagement 156
Version 007 September 2016 Charity Shop
Operations Manual
Chapter 20
1 Introduction
It is an essential part of the work of the Shop Manager to ensure that all policies and procedures are followed. This operations manual advises you of the simple procedures that should be followed to ensure the smooth operation of found.
This manual, together with the Health & Safety manual and Volunteer Handbook, should be kept together in the office area of the shop and where they are easily accessible.
You should also ensure that you read the Volunteer Handbook as this is the tool used to train new and existing volunteers.
All the manuals and handbooks will be updated on a regular basis and it is therefore a requirement that they are re-read by staff members every six months and the form signed at the front of the manual to say that his has been done.
Signing this form is one of the mandatory items in the found audit and if not signed will result in failure regardless of the final score.
All policies and procedures must be taken seriously and will result in disciplinary action if persistently ignored.
2 Overview of found
found is the trading name of the CCR Foundation.
2.1 Mission and Vision for the CCR Foundation and found
§ CCR Foundation has been formed with a heart to support individuals and build local community. Through sustainable projects we seek to enhance work placed skills and life long learning reaching out to those yet to be employed or those marginalised. We are also passionate about supporting families and individuals caught in the trap of poverty or financial hardship and, through the outworking of our projects, are able to do this through education and practical assistance. A sense of well being is essential to everyone and part of the operations of CCR Foundation is give time and space to discover and explore issues of life and faith.
2.2 Values
§ The foundation of our organisation and our values comes from the Christian faith and the need to show kindness, generosity, hospitality, compassion and to support and serve. We believe that Jesus came to give us life and life in all its fullness and hence are passionate about seeing individuals reach their full potential.
§ We are dedicated and actively promote inclusion to all sectors of the community and will seek to assist any person regardless of age, disability, race, religion or sexual orientation.
2.3 Other benefits of found
found helps the objectives of the CCR Foundation, the environment and the community, in a variety of ways:
§ Fundraising: found will raise money for the CCR Foundation
§ Brand awareness: the presence of the found at 9 Shaftesbury Parade, Shaftesbury Avenue, Harrow, HA2 0AJ provides a visible presence for the foundation and CCR in the heart of the parish and increases awareness of the foundation and its work
§ Environmental benefits: new resources are not used in the creation of goods and selling second-hand goods prevents them going to landfill. All clothing that cannot be sold is recycled
§ Budget shopping: found is a dependable source of good quality items at low prices
§ Ethical benefits: new bought-in goods are often Fairtrade products, while reusing goods means outsourced sweatshop labour is not involved in the creation of new stock.
§ Volunteering opportunities: volunteers at found can make new friends and learn new skills as they gain work experience.
2.4 Background to CCR Foundation
Members of the CCR community have been given a vision for a charity shop in the Christ Church Roxeth Parish since the 1990s. It is a 21st Century charity shop formed in parish whose heritage dates back to the 19th Century. At the time the Parish of Christ Church Roxeth was formed in the 19th Century, Salvation Army shops sold second-hand clothing to the urban poor. During the Second World War, other charities started to run shops as a way of raising money for the war effort and relieving hardship. It was after the conflict had ended that the first modern-style charity shops appeared, selling mainly donated goods to raise as much money as possible for the parent charity. The first such shop was set up by Oxfam in 1947-8 in Oxford, to raise funds to relieve famine in Nazi-occupied Greece. The charity’s name in fact originated as a contraction of ‘Oxford Committee for Famine Relief’.
found is proud to be one of more than 7,500 charity shops in the UK supporting more than 300 charities.
2.5 CCR Foundation Organisation Structure
2.6 Volunteer Policy Statement
§ Volunteers are central to the growth and development of the CCR Foundation
§ Volunteers are recognised for the skills, knowledge and experience that they bring to the organisation, and for their capacity to expand what we can do
§ CCR Foundation volunteers will receive the support, encouragement and training needed to support the foundation in delivering high quality services
§ Those responsible for volunteers will be supported and guided in all areas of the management of volunteers
3 Acquisition of donations
The CCR Foundation recognises the donated goods can come from:
§ direct donation to the shop: chatting to customers and targeted posters can encourage specific donations
§ collections from churches, schools and workplaces: encouraging people to bring in one good quality item each or to fill the sacks/boxes which staff have left them
§ house-to-house collections: encouraging members of the public to fill collection sacks left with them; a license is needed from a local authority in order to make collections, and certain information about the charity and the collection itself must go on the bag packaging (as required by the Charities Act 2006)
§ local businesses and larger corporations: they may have surplus or returned stock.
In all of these scenarios it may be appropriate to provide information, deliver a presentation or share with donors and potential donors how their donations could benefit people. At the same time it is important to maintain ongoing relationships with donors, potential donors and customers.
3.1 Donated goods
When donations are brought to the shop they should be put immediately in the incoming goods bay. We will ensure all donors are properly thanked and where appropriate donors should be asked to complete the simple gift aid form for donations (See section 12.3).
Staff or volunteers may not purchase these goods until they have been priced and put out for sale in the shop. All staff purchases are at the discretion of the Shop Manager.
3.2 Equipment for sorting
When goods arrive in the shop, they will need to be sorted and prepared before being put on display.
The backroom will have the following items to accommodate this:
§ sorting table for stock sorting: preferably with a worktop that is 3 feet high and measures 8 feet by 4 feet - height is important, as it can be painful and tiring to lean over a lower table
§ rag pen for textile storage: unsorted clothing and rags can be stored in this large compartmentalised wooden cage
§ sack frames for filling textile bags: having a supportive frame makes sacks easier to fill
§ built in wall rails to house out-of-season and back-up clothing and recently processed stock: these need to be easy to access
§ shelves to store bric-a-brac: these also need to be easy to access
§ a steamer to clean and freshen up textiles: this is a simple alternative to a more costly washing machine, although some shops do use them too
§ tagging gun to attach price tickets: this enables quick and efficient pricing of stock.
3.3 Sorting donations of clothing
It is imperative that the sorting areas is kept organised and tidy. Rails allocated for steaming and pricing and boxes for smaller items such as gloves and scarves should be clearly labelled.
Soiled items should be disposed of appropriately and areas cleaned after use.
3.3.1 Sorting table and checking pockets
When sorting donated goods al pockets and bags should be checked thoroughly to ensure that no valuables have been left in them in error. Items of jewellery or cash or anything that may be claimed later should be put in the safe for two months in a dated envelope. After this time, if remaining unclaimed, the goods may be put on display for sale.
The sorting table should be kept clear and ready for use at all times. As there is limited space in the sorting areas only one bag or box should be dealt with at a time. All unsorted stock should be placed in the allocated area leaving the sorting area clear to prevent accidents.
Wherever possible an assortment of sized hangers should be kept on a rail(s) and when hangers are returned from the shop, they should be put back on these rails in their appropriate place. It takes time and is harder to retrieve hangers from boxes.