Professional Boundaries

We recognise that as a member of the British Red Cross you may know a person, professionally or personally, who reaches out to the support line. The points below are to help you establish boundaries and to recognise when you need to pass a call onto another operator. We use professional boundaries in order to protect everyone and ensure that our service users receive respect and are treated with dignity at all times.

  • Introduce yourself at the beginning of the call, to give the caller the opportunity to decide whether they want to continue the call, in case they know you.
  • If you do know the person and it is emotional support let them know you will need to pass their call to another operator to ensure professional boundaries.
  • Keep the conversation within specific purpose and timeframe. Casual chats checking in fine, but keep the conversation focused on the caller
  • Use professional language and a positive tone
  • Engage with active listening, acknowledging and enabling, to ensure clear understanding of needs of volunteer
  • Avoid personal stories or anecdotes, and do not share personal details
  • Set clear expectations, without promises, and meet them
  • Maintain professional ethics and confidentiality
  • If you cannot answer the question, collect the caller’s details and escalate to your supervisor, making sure we’ve got consent to call back
  • Never call a volunteer back yourself
  • If the caller is contacting the support line on someone else’s behalf make sure they have consent
  • Avoid making negative comments about the Red Cross; do not relate back to own experiences.
  • Check and review all emails before they are sent
  • Take breaks between calls or regular time periods

A few other pointers

Please remember to log any complaints on the Form and pass on to your supervisor ensuring you follow procedures. If you know the volunteer or member of staff please ensure confidentiality.

The calls may take a little time if people need to talk. Please ensure your own wellbeing and take appropriate breaks. Please do not contact the person on your personal phone and make them aware that it will not be yourself who they will speak to next.