Service standards
Our service standards
The Men's Advice Line was set up to provide support, information and advice to men experiencing domestic violence from a partner or ex-partner.
Helpline workers will treat all callers with courtesy and respect and they will use their skills to offer support and the most appropriate information and advice, as needed.
Our commitment to quality
Investing in our staff
We aim to offer a helpline service of high quality and for that purpose we invest in the training and development of our staff. Helpline workers are offered monthly line management, clinical supervision, and regular helpline team meetings. They also have the opportunity to de-brief after difficult or unusual calls and their views are taken into consideration in developing policies and procedures.
Accreditation
The Men's Advice Line is a full member of The Helplines Association (THA), the lead organisation for non-profit helplines in the UK and Ireland. In 2011 the Men's Advice Line was awarded the Helplines Standard, the only quality system specifically designed for use by non-profit telephone helplines.
What our callers think about us
We are keen to hear about what our callers think about the service we provide to them and we are committed to listening to their views.
Client satisfaction survey 2009-2010
Our most recent client satisfaction survey had two samples: one with clients who called the Men's Advice Line and another with clients who emailed us. Some of the findings of the survey were:
- Almost all the callers and email clients to the Men's Advice Line were extremely or very satisfied with the listening, understanding and helpfulness of the response they received from the worker.
- Most of the callers and all of the email clients definitely or probably would recommend the helpline to another person in a similar situation
- A caller who took part in the survey was asked if he had any final comments and said: ‘The fact that I phoned up out of the blue and I was on the phone for 1 1/2 hours, didn't feel rushed at all and I thought it was excellent’
The survey was conducted by Thangam Debbonaire, you can download the full report in PDF format here
Client satisfaction survey 2008
'I just wanted to talk to someone who would understand'
In early 2008 we commissioned an evaluation of the Men's Advice Line aiming to assess the quality and delivery of the service against the written model of work. Some of the key findings were:
- Callers interviewed were satisfied with the service they had received. Most took some form of action as a result of the call and some said that they felt safer as a result.
- Callers felt listened to and reassured that domestic violence was not acceptable.
- Staff are using considerable specialist skills and knowledge to meet the needs of male victims of domestic violence.
- From the available data gathered in this evaluation it would appear that having a specialist service for male victims is worthwhile and that it is well placed in its current organisational setting.
The full report is available in PDF format through this link: