Call Taking Policy

Guidance and policy and procedures templates for call-taking.

Table of contents

1. General Guidance
2. Guidance on Modes of Contact
3. Guidance on Call-Taking
4. Example Call Taking Policy
5. Example Procedures

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General Guidance

Call taking at your Nightline should be consistent. It is important that repeat callers know what to expect and feel like they are talking to the same organisation, irrespective of which volunteer they are speaking to. Call taking must be in line with Nightline’s five core principles: Confidentiality, Anonymity, Non-advisory, Non-directive, and Non-judgmental.

The example policy and procedures have been developed by the Nightline Association Research, Policy & Accreditation (RPA) Team to provide Nightlines with a template and guide for developing a policy and procedure.

How to Use this Policy Guide

We recommend using the Good Practice Guidelines section below as a checklist to make sure your current call policy is in good shape.

If you do not have a policy, start with the Example Call Taking Policy and Example Procedures below and adapt it to your Nightline’s needs. When adapting the policy, take inspiration from the Options and Variations section.

Resources and Research

The Policy Team has done in-depth research to make sure this policy guide is up to date with Nightline Quality Standards and UK Law. For more information on these topics, you can check these sources:

• Nightline Quality Standards
• Nightline Association Policy Guides, including those for confidentiality, safeguarding, equality and diversity, suicide, inappropriate callers and more
• Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000
• General Data Protection Act (GDPR)

Nightline Quality Standards (NQS)

The Nightline Quality Standards have many sections on this policy and procedure that you should read before creating your own policy. The latest Nightline Quality Standards are descriptive of call taking, and also have specific requirements for each mode of communication you choose to offer (phone, drop-in, texting, instant messaging and/or video chat). Use this as a checklist to make sure your policy is up to scratch!

In essence, the minimum requirements for an accredited Nightline’s policy on call taking is listed below. Many of these items may be addressed in other policies, and these are often covered in other Nightline Association policy guides. All other relevant policy guides are referred to in italics.

Nightlines must

• Have detailed policies in place relating to all types of contact made from callers: including phone calls, IMs, emails, in person contacts etc
• You must consider how to protect confidentiality/anonymity for callers, through a confidentiality and privacy policy
• Have procedures in place to prevent volunteers from being overwhelmed. Volunteers should not be taking more than one call at a time
• Have a minimum two volunteers on shift at all times
• Have a policy for dealing with complaints from both callers and volunteers
• Have an office procedure for how to open and close the office
• Have policies for dealing with complex calls such as those which may include suicidal ideation, inappropriate/abusive/sexually manipulative callers, repeat/regular callers, callers presenting harm to others, terrorism and child abuse
• Have a policy to monitor calls
• Be sensitive, remain non-directive, non-judgemental, and non-advisory. This involves using active listening skills and non-verbal responses
• Have a procedure for ending calls. Specifically, volunteers should ensure the caller knows they can call back, excepting inappropriate callers

Nightlines should

• Have a standard greeting to begin calls
• Have an auto-response when your Nightline is closed, ideally including information about where else they can seek support
• If using written communication in calls, you should have a policy on whether things like emoticons are appropriate and check spelling/grammar
• Support should be offered to volunteers during and after calls, and there should be a procedure for how to support volunteers during calls
• Volunteers may wish to take handwritten notes during calls. These should not be kept as a call log. Instead, relevant information for call logging purposes should be entered in the official call log after calls and then destroy handwritten notes
• Volunteers should have time to reflect on the call, and appropriate support should be offered to them

UK Law

Nightlines must keep logs of their calls, and some may record or otherwise monitor calls. Consider also how you keep and store any data with your privacy policy, which must be in line with new GDPR regulations (see our privacy policy guide).

Nightline must also comply with the Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000. This requires you to make every reasonable effort to inform the caller your intention to listen in or record their call if you wish to do so for monitoring purposes. At the very least, information must be included on promotional material and the Nightline will need to show that they have considered whether asking the caller for permission was appropriate at the start of the call. Oftel issued the following guidance:

“…you should make every reasonable effort to inform all parties to a call that it may be recorded, silently monitored or intruded into.”

You should use a pre-recorded message on the phone line which makes it clear that the call may be monitored/recorded for training purposes and for no other purpose. You must also include this on any promotional material.

Options and Variations

The Example Call Taking Policy below should provide a framework for building policy and procedure. It reflects the philosophy, values and fundamental aims of Nightline, in line with the NQS, research and common practice.

However, you need to adapt this policy to suit the circumstances of your Nightline, which may depend on things like the number of calls, number of volunteers, size of committee, funding, shift pattern, office layout, and other factors. For this reason, each region’s policy is different. With this in mind, this section gives a range of options to consider in your policy.

Guidance on Modes of Contact

Your Nightline might wish to have multiple modes of communication. The Nightline Association offers guidelines for phone calls, online instant messaging (IM), drop-in (visits/face-to-face), email, text messaging (SMS), and video chat.

What modes of communication can we offer?

Having multiple communication channels can be preferable for callers, especially if you can offer a mix of verbal and written communication. Statistically, written calls (e.g. SMS and IM) are preferred by different demographics (e.g. younger and female) callers and “heavier” call topics like suicide, self-harm, and abuse. If your Nightline can offer more modes of communication, you will likely get more calls and reach a wider range of callers.

However, having multiple modes of contact would likely require more volunteers on shift and sufficient training in each mode of communication, including the technological aspects of using the necessary equipment. Also, certain modes of communication (e.g. SMS) require secure and reliable (ideally anonymous) software and equipment, which may get expensive. Therefore, the forms of communication you can offer will depend on your volunteers, training, and resources.

If you would like to know more about the equipment you will need for a new mode of contact, get in touch with the Nightline Association IT department (it@nightline.ac.uk). They also offer free, anonymous and secure software for email and IM.

If we have multiple modes of contact, how do we prioritise them?

If you offer multiple modes of contact, you will need a procedure for prioritising calls when the office is busy. Generally, “first come, first serve” is the rule, but some modes of contact will be more urgent than others.

The GPGs require that “real-time” methods of contact should take priority over other types of contact. This means that email, which is probably the slowest form of communication that Nightlines offer, should take the lowest priority. For example, if a volunteer is working on an email and receives a call while the others are busy, you may want your policy to be that the volunteer takes the call and returns to the email later.

Phone

Phone calls are the staple of Nightline communication. At the moment, all active Nightlines are offering phone calls and will have to consider the questions below.

What resources do we need for phone calls?

For phone calls, consider how you will ensure a quiet, private place for volunteers to take calls. Volunteers should be free from distractions when taking calls and callers should not be able to hear volunteers in the background. If you have the resources, you might like to have a call-taking room(s) or cubicle(s). If this is not possible, it would be useful to have an office large enough so volunteers can find their own corner away from distractions while taking phone calls.

How many times should the phone ring?

Some Nightlines have a policy about how many times the phone can ring before picking up (e.g. allowing the phone to ring three times, or responding within a minimum of four rings). This might be useful for volunteers to mentally prepare to take the call, and ensure that callers are not waiting too long for the phone to be picked up.

A set number of rings can be useful for consistency, but might be impractical for volunteers. For this reason, the Example Call Taking Policy does not use a set number of rings.

Do we ever put callers on hold? How?

Some Nightlines have policies or procedures that require putting callers on hold. This is not very common, but some Nightlines have a “cool down” period for aggressive callers (see inappropriate calls policy guide), or might put callers on hold while finding information (others choose just to carry on with the conversation while looking up information). The latter can be useful, because it can be difficult for volunteers to multitask!

If you choose to do to put callers on hold, ensure your phone has a reliable hold function (and your volunteers know how to use it) and inform the callers that they will be on hold. If you do not have a hold function, but just put the phone down for a while, think about how you can ensure the caller cannot hear other calls or background noise in the office.

What if we receive reverse call charges?

In rare instances, you might receive phone calls with reverse call charges. This means your Nightline will pay the cost for the minutes on the call, which can be an unpredictable expense.

If your Nightline cannot afford this, you might want to put in your policy and on your website that you cannot accept reverse call charges. Alternatively, you might choose to accept them for a short duration for a volunteer to explain other potential ways the caller can get in touch.

Can we see the number they are calling from?

Likewise, your anonymity and confidentiality policies get more complicated if callers’ phone numbers are visible, so you will want to avoid this if possible. However, if your phone or billing system shows incoming phone numbers, consider how you will manage this information to protect anonymity and confidentiality. For example, you may be able to call your phone provider to request them to withhold this information. At the very least you should have handsets that do not show incoming phone numbers.

For all modes of contact, you must anonymise callers’ personal confidential information (phone numbers, names, email addresses, etc.), or register with the Information Commissioners (ICO) or ensure you are covered by your university/union registration.

Do we take and return phone messages? How?

Most Nightlines and other helplines do not take messages on their answer phones (you can generally switch this functionality off), because doing this while protecting confidentiality and anonymity is complicated! However, if you do take messages, decide how you will store this information in line with GDPR (see privacy policy guide).

If you return messages, you will also need to consider how to ensure you are reaching the caller that left the message (not their flatmate, for example), and what to do if someone else answers the phone when you call back. For example, your answer phone might ask callers to leave a name with their message and instruct volunteers to confirm the callers’ name before introducing themselves as calling back from Nightline.

Instant Messaging

Instant messaging (IM or online chat) is also common among Nightlines. At the moment, about 90% of active Nightlines offer IM. If you offer IM, consider the questions below.

What resources do we need for IM?

You will need the resources to acquire suitable equipment, including an appropriate chat platform (anonymous, reliable, and with adequate functionality to meet your policy requirements - for instance, the Nightline Portal) and at least one secure computer.

To avoid distractions, Nightlines that offer IM generally limit each volunteer to taking only one IM call at a time. If you have just one computer, this means you are only able to take one IM call at a time.

How quickly do we reply?

IM is a “real time” form of communication, so IM callers will expect immediate replies. However, written communication is still not quite as instantaneous as spoken conversation. It takes a bit of time to type!

Consider whether your policy will have rules about typing simultaneously. With most IM platforms, Nightline volunteers can see when the IM caller is typing and vice versa. If the volunteer and the caller are typing simultaneously, it might seem like the volunteer is “talking over” the caller. Therefore, some Nightlines require volunteers to wait to begin a response until after the caller has stopped typing. For this reason, the Example Call Taking Policy makes these limitations on volunteers typing.

Other Nightlines might think this unnecessarily slows down the responses, and think that it is appropriate to draft replies while the caller is still in the middle of writing (much like in a phone call we might think of what to say next while the caller is still talking).

As a compromise, volunteers might have a word document or notepad open in a different window, where they can draft responses while waiting for the caller to finish typing.

Consider also whether you allow input from multiple volunteers in IM calls. Inexperienced volunteers may be tempted to ask other available volunteers on shift for help on IM calls (e.g. “Is this phrased right? What should I ask next?”), which might improve call quality. However, if another volunteer has to read, edit, and approve each chat reply before it is sent, this can slow down response times considerably. Therefore, many Nightlines only allow one volunteer at the computer during IM calls, which is what is recommended in the Example Call Taking Policy.

Do our IMs show any identifying information?

You may want to recommend on your website that callers use anonymous usernames, much like for phone numbers. The GPGs require you to inform callers of any information that is available to volunteers that compromises the callers’ anonymity. You could do this with a message at the start of calls, however, it is strongly preferable to have specialised software that also hides IP addresses.

Email

Email is fairly common among Nightlines. At the moment, about half of active Nightlines take email calls. If you offer email, consider the questions below.

How quickly can we respond to emails and let callers know?

Consider how quickly you can respond to emails, and advertise accordingly to manage expectations. At minimum you should be replying within 48 hours during term-time, but you might be able to reply within 24 hours. Keep in mind that you might receive an email immediately after closing, so replying within 12 hours might not be possible.

You will also have to somehow ensure that callers are aware of this response time, and it is a good idea to put this on your website (and other places you publicise your email service).

Many Nightlines also find it useful to set an auto-reply that sends a response immediately upon receiving email from callers. This autoreply confirms that the email has been received and states the expected response time, for example:

“Thanks for emailing Nightline. We aim to reply to all emails within 24 hours during term time, so we will get back to you soon. For further support, you can also contact us via…”

How frequently do we check emails?

In order to meet your response time policy, you will have to check email regularly. Usually Nightlines have the volunteers on shift do this, at minimum three times per night (e.g. an hour after opening, at midnight, and an hour before closing). These times may vary slightly if volunteers are engaged on other calls (see prioritising calls).

Do our emails show any identifying information?

We highly recommend the Nightline Association’s anonymous email software, which will ensure you do not have trouble with identifying information.

Otherwise, you will probably be able to see email addresses and potentially IP addresses. If you can see this information, it will often refer to location and/or full names, and so anonymity and confidentiality policies get more complicated. In this case, you must also register with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). If you can see email addresses, it is also a good idea to mention this on your website somewhere, and encourage callers to email from anonymous addresses.

How do we sign emails at the end?

Your Nightline will have to choose a standard way to sign all response emails to callers with the same name. A common response is “Best wishes, Nightline” and you might wish to also add a standard closing sentence inviting them to write back anytime.

Does anyone check email replies before they are sent out?

Some Nightlines choose to have an “Email Officer” or other committee member(s) check email draft replies written by volunteers on shift before sending them to the caller. This would have to be a person that is able to check emails ideally every morning. The benefit of this is ensuring continuity and consistency in language and formatting. However, this might not be possible if you do not have the resources and it might slow down replies.

Drop-ins

Drop-ins (face-to-face calls or visits) are also a rare offering among Nightlines. Of those that offer drop-ins, about half of them will also offer free condoms, rape alarms, or other supplies. They also often offer things like hot and cold drinks, and maybe snacks like biscuits. If you offer drop-ins, consider the questions below.

What resources do we need for drop-ins?

If you want to have drop-ins, consider how you will accommodate a private environment for face-to-face calls where confidential information is not visible to callers, and relevant considerations for health and safety. You probably want to have at least one room in your office dedicated for visits.

How do we ensure volunteer safety?

Having a separate room for visits is great for privacy, but it also means a volunteer is likely to be alone with a caller and out of eyeshot from other volunteers. This requires extra care for volunteer safety.

A spy hole or chain lock on the door might be a good idea, especially if you have a regular drop-in caller that has been problematic previously.

Many Nightlines with drop-ins have a way of urgently alerting supporting volunteers in case of emergency (e.g. a caller becomes aggressive). Some Nightlines are able to use a panic button for this purpose.

For subtler support during calls, many Nightlines also have an available volunteer to check in regularly (e.g. every 15-20 minutes) during drop-ins. To check in, another volunteer might pop their head in the visit room (perhaps on the pretence of offering a drink) to check that the call-taking volunteer is safe and comfortable. For this, it might be useful to have a code-word or gesture for the call-taking volunteer to indicate they want security to be called but feel uncomfortable saying so within earshot of the caller. Call-taking volunteers can also have a ready excuse to leave the room politely (e.g. going to the loo, getting some water, etc.) if they need to consult other volunteers or call security to remove an aggressive caller.

For maximum safety, the Example Procedures uses all these safety measures.

Do we offer complimentary food/drink/supplies?

If you have the resources, you might wish to offer drink (e.g. tea, coffee, juice), food (e.g. biscuits), and/or supplies (e.g. condoms, pregnancy tests, rape alarms) to drop-in callers. You will have to decide on what you can offer and afford. If you do choose to offer something, consider how you will make sure these things are safe and fit for purpose.

For example, your Nightline might choose to offer condoms. If so, your policy could be to only buy and distribute condoms with the Kite or CE mark to indicate they meet the British safety standard. You will also have to consider how you will check the expiry date and store condoms safely (i.e. dry, away from sharp objects, out of direct sunlight, and at room temperature). It could be useful to designate a safe location for storage, and assign a committee member the job of checking condom expiry dates regularly. You might want volunteers to double-check expiry dates and that the condom hasn’t been damaged or tampered with (i.e. the package is still sealed, dry, and an air bubble can be felt) before giving the condom to callers.

If you offer food and drinks, it might be wise to avoid common allergens, such as nuts, in the office. Alternatively, you might mark foods with allergens clearly and store them safely.

You will also need procedures in place for who keeps the kitchen stocked (e.g. a committee member), makes the beverages (e.g. an available volunteer, and drinks are not offered if no other volunteer is available), and cleans the kitchen (e.g. volunteers at the end of every shift).

SMS

Texting (SMS) is a rare offering among Nightlines at the moment. If you offer SMS, consider the questions below.

How quickly do we reply?

Some Nightlines view SMS as a fairly “real-time” form of communication, much like IM, and aim to respond as soon as possible. Others view SMS as less immediate, more like a quicker version of email. Consider what is an appropriate and realistic response time for your Nightline. You need to check your text messages at least three times per night, but you might want to check them more frequently. You might also have the facility for the computer or phone to alert volunteers for each new message, much like IM.

What counts as a new SMS call?

Consider when an SMS conversation counts as a “new call”. Typically, each SMS is not treated as a new call. Rather, a series of texts from the same caller will be treated like a continuous conversation if they are received the same night. Texts from the same caller on a different night will typically be treated as a new call. For call statistics logging purposes, decide on a consistent way of logging SMS conversations. You might log each SMS conversation as one call at the end of your shift, counting the number of texts in the conversation as the “minutes” duration of the call.

How do we ensure continuity?

If replies in one SMS conversation are sent by multiple different volunteers without background information, they could miss what has been said before and ask a question twice. You might want to assign one volunteer on shift to be responsible for SMS conversations, take case notes for the night, or require volunteers to re-read that night’s SMS conversation with the caller before sending their reply.

In order to keep the conversation going, it is likely that you will want to have previous texts in SMS conversations available for volunteers to view. Therefore, it is useful if your SMS platform can organise texts into a thread of some sort, but ideally this should be anonymised.

Do our texts show phone numbers?

Some SMS platforms have the ability to anonymise texts using a random number for each SMS caller, but this might not be possible if you are using an old Nokia! As with phone calls, email, and IM, your anonymity and confidentiality policies get more complicated if callers’ phone numbers are visible.

So if this is the case, consider how you will manage this information to protect anonymity and confidentiality. At minimum, your volunteers must never trace numbers from texts, and you will have to register with the ICO or ensure you are covered by your university/union registration. You must also add that callers’ numbers are visible on publicity materials and/or your website. In any case, phone numbers cannot be used for tracing calls.

Video Calls

At present, video calls are not common among Nightlines, but this is an option if you have the facilities. Other than resources, your policy considerations would be similar to IM or phone.

What resources do we need for video calls?

You must ensure you have a secure setup, and a place where video chat can take place where confidential materials are not in view of the camera.

Your software must not require a caller to give personal details.

As with instant messaging, you will need a way of ensuring the computer does not sleep/hibernate unexpectedly, and ensure that call requests are clearly heard such that volunteers can respond immediately. You will also need to have a way of indicating that video chat is “unavailable” when you are closed or busy. How you do this will depend on what platform you use.

What if the video call is not working?

You will need a policy for this. A simple way of addressing it is to set video chat to “busy” or put a notice on the website. How you do this will depend on the software you are using.

Guidance on Call-Taking

Unavailability

You must consider what to do when you are closed, busy, otherwise unavailable, or the response time will be unusually long. Somehow, you need to manage callers’ expectations of what service you can provide, which will include explaining when you will be available again.

For each mode of contact, you will need a procedure to indicate to callers when you are unavailable. The only exception might be email, where the response time is usually long enough (24 or 48 hours) to wait until the next shift. Even so, you might want to set up a generic email auto-reply to let callers know their email has been received and when they can expect a reply.

What if they call when we’re closed?

Although you will have your opening times on your website and other publicity materials, callers might try to call when you are closed.

When you are closed, you need a concise answer phone message explaining that the caller has reached Nightline, the service is closed, and when it will next open. Ideally, your message should refer callers to other similar services (e.g. Samaritans on 116 123 and/or University Services) for immediate support while the office is busy or closed.

Because you will need to modify your message during the holidays, it can be useful to have a designated person in charge of updating the answer phone: who does this and how to phrase it your message is up to you.

Likewise, it might be appropriate to set a similar message or auto-reply during closing for your other modes of contact wherever possible (e.g. Email). However, depending on the platform, there may be other ways for IM and video chat to indicate that you are unavailable, such as your online/offline status.

What happens if we’re busy?

If all your volunteers on shift are occupied taking calls during opening hours, consider how you can signal to any additional callers that the service is unusually busy. How you do this will depend on things like the functionality of your equipment (e.g. phones and software) and how often you are at capacity.

You might have phones with useful functionality for this, like call waiting. However, you can otherwise do this by simply taking the remaining phones off the hook (such that you hear a dial tone), which will leave the callers hearing an engaged tone. Generally, Nightlines avoid letting the phone just ring unanswered.

For IM, you can have a procedure for setting your Nightline’s IM profile to “busy” when all volunteers or computer(s) are engaged. If your platform does not have this function, you might be able to set an automated message that sends if an IM request is left unanswered for more than a set time period (e.g. 2 minutes).

You may be able to do something similar for SMS, depending on your platform. If an automated SMS reply is not possible, you could add the caveat on your publicity materials that texts will be responded to within 24 hours during term time, such that SMS callers do not expect an immediate response.

Drop-ins can be complicated if you are suddenly busy. It is also possible that all volunteers/rooms are occupied on phone calls and suddenly you get a knock on the door from a drop-in caller! Consider what you would do to avoid this situation. If you reach maximum capacity, you could put a “busy” sign up on your door asking any additional drop-in callers to come back later (just remember to take the sign down again after). Alternatively, you might have sufficient resources for a waiting room or a similar system.

Consider also what you will do if you have multiple drop-in callers arriving at the same time. If they arrive together, you might offer to see them as a group, but this will require extra training.

Stock Phrases

Many Nightlines find stock phrases very useful (a.k.a. “standard lines” or “scripts”), and you will need one for your greeting at least. They also help to ensure a degree of consistency, take the pressure off volunteers when implementing difficult policies, and help ensure volunteers do not forget something important. However, too many stock phrases can sound stilted or awkward.

What should the wording be?

Choose the wording of your stock phrases carefully. Try to keep your stock phrases concise, and get feedback from many people to check your wording is clear before implementing them.

It is useful for your greeting to be fairly neutral, polite, and indicate to the caller that they have reached Nightline. A common stock phrase for this is “Hello, Nightline.” Your greeting will likely be the same or similar for all modes of contact.

You will likely also have other stock phrases for sensitive policy issues. For these, you might prefer to have the volunteer use “Nightline” instead of “I” to indicate that it is a Nightline policy rather than the volunteer’s choice.

What other stock phrases?

You might have many other stock phrases for different situations. For example, you might have a stock phrase for ending calls, such as:

“Thanks for calling Nightline. Feel free to call back any time. If you have a moment, filling out the anonymous feedback form on our website will help us improve our service.”

Stock phrases can also be useful for indicating other policy issues, such as inappropriate calls, suicide calls, safeguarding, and/or call duration limits (see Call Duration Limits below). You will probably also have auto-responders for when you are busy or closed, and you might use a standard format for recording them.

How many stock phrases?

Some Nightlines like having many stock phrases, others have as few as possible. The number of stock phrases you have will partly depend on how complicated your policies are and how confident your volunteers are. A Nightline with very confident volunteers and simple policies might not need many stock phrases.

As an alternative to most stock phrases, you could have a list of things a volunteer must mention at certain times. For example, instead of having a stock phrase for ending calls, you may prefer to train your volunteers to use their own words at the end of calls to thank the caller, inform them they are welcome to call back, and refer to the feedback form. While this can seem more personal and authentic, it requires extra training and good memory!

How do we remember the stock phrases?

It is useful to have stock phrases easily visible and accessible for your volunteers in the office.

You may want to make a big poster in the office with a list of your stock phrases, especially if you have many stock phrases or if they are somewhat long. The Example Procedures writes all the call-taking stock phrases out in full for volunteers.

For written communication on computers (e.g. IM, email, and/or SMS), you may want an easily accessible file with your Nightline’s stock phrases for volunteers to copy and paste.

Language

Your Nightline’s call taking policy should indicate what is considered “appropriate” language and tone for volunteers.

What words or terms are inappropriate?

Nightlines typically have rules for what language is inappropriate for volunteers taking calls. For example, Nightlines often have a policy against volunteers using slang and acronyms the caller might not understand. Dis mite b comN in txt spk but IDK if itz ok, m8.

Consider whether you allow certain acronyms, slang, text speak, curse words, explicit language, and/or discriminatory language (i.e. slurs). Do you have a specific list of words that are not okay? What circumstances might be exceptions to the rule?

A good rule of thumb that many Nightlines generally use is to match the language of the caller. Your Nightline might choose to allow slang, text speak, or acronyms only if the caller uses them first. If the caller curses (and the volunteer feels comfortable), you might also allow the volunteer to use these same curses when reflecting because the caller might feel less understood if the volunteer uses less explicit vocabulary that does not carry the same weight.

However, your Nightline might decide that extremely explicit vocabulary or slurs might not be appropriate under any circumstances. For example, matching racist language might be considered endorsing racist views.

Emoji can have very different implications depending on your culture and social circle, so they can be easily misinterpreted. Standard smileys are probably harmless (unless they are inappropriately cheery), but certain vegetables might be unintentionally explicit! To avoid this minefield, some Nightlines may forbid volunteers from using emoji in calls entirely. Others may place limits on which emoji may be used.

What tone is appropriate?

Again, a good rule of thumb might be to match the tone of the caller to show empathy. However, some style guidelines can be useful to ensure your Nightline is reasonably consistent, easily understood, and avoid unprofessionalism.

Tone matching is relatively intuitive in spoken communication, but it can get especially complicated in written communication. Tone is more likely to get misinterpreted in writing, so consider this carefully if you use IM, SMS and/or email! You must avoid humour and irony, which can be misconstrued.

Grammar formality can vary considerably in writing. To some extent, matching the formality is a way of showing empathy much like matching tone, but very informal grammar can result in unprofessionalism and misunderstandings. For example, sending many short phrases rather than one long message with full sentences can make it unclear to the caller when the volunteer is done replying. This is especially true if the caller cannot see the volunteer is still typing. Therefore, some Nightlines choose to always write in full sentences and/or send their replies all in one message. Others might think this feels stilted and prefer to match the style of the caller.

How prescriptive is our policy?

Language is very subtle and contextual. You can be somewhat prescriptive, but in many cases you will need to trust your volunteers’ judgement.

Call Duration Limits

Busy Nightlines might have a maximum call duration, which is often something like 60, 90 or 120 minutes.

Should we have a maximum time limit for calls?

Duration limits might be useful especially if your service is busy or has a limited number of lines/volunteers. They can also be useful if you often have long calls and your volunteers get tired. However, if you are rarely busy, you might have availability to take calls of unlimited duration (provided it does not continue long after closing time!).

If you decide to have a limit, you will need suitable resources for your volunteers to implement the limit. You may want at least two stock phrases to indicate to callers that:

• they are approaching the end of the maximum call duration
• the call has reached the maximum duration

Our Example Call Taking Policy has stock phrases for both.

If you choose to have a maximum call duration, you may also want to state this clearly on your website and/or promotional materials to manage callers’ expectations.

Are there any exceptions?

Nightlines with duration limits almost always have exceptions to the limit. One common example is for suicide calls, where it is beneficial to speak to callers for as long as possible (see our suicide policy guide). Your time limits might be even shorter for very frequent regular callers that may be over-reliant on the service (see our inappropriate callers guide).

If you have exceptions, be sure to state this clearly in your policy.

Monitoring Calls

Your Nightline may wish to monitor and evaluate volunteers’ call quality by using recordings, listening-in (one or both sides of the conversation), “mystery” calls, or roleplays (see also training policy guide). On written calls (email/SMS/IM), volunteers might collaborate or check on replies before sending them.

Do we record or listen-in on calls?

If you record or listen-in to both sides of phone/video calls for training and monitoring, you should state this at the beginning of calls.

Many Nightlines prefer not to do this, as they think a “monitoring and evaluation” warning at the beginning of the call would be off-putting to callers. Instead, they may have experienced volunteers monitor calls by listening in to the volunteer’s side of the conversation. If your observation or recording is one-sided, then you do not need to tell the callers in every call that you are “monitoring and evaluating” calls.

Do we have random “mystery” calls?

Alternatively, you might prefer to monitor call-taking quality by having “mystery callers,” whereby experienced volunteers call and pretend to be callers for evaluation purposes. The Example Call Taking Policy prefers the “mystery call” method to listening in. Alternatively, you may just monitor the quality by doing role-plays at ongoing “top-up” training.

How do we ensure volunteers are comfortable with monitoring?

If you monitor calls, consider how this will make the observed volunteers feel. They may feel uncomfortable and unable to focus on call-taking while being observed.

Therefore, we think that “mystery calls” or role-plays during reasonably predictable times could be the most pleasant option for monitoring the quality of volunteers’ call-taking skills.

Do we collaborate on written calls?

Your Nightline may wish (or not wish) to have volunteers help each other during written calls, such as IM, SMS, and emails.

For IM and SMS, volunteers might like to consult other available volunteers on shift before sending their replies. While this can improve the quality of responses, it can also slow down the response time. For this reason, some Nightlines have a policy against multiple volunteers participating in IM/SMS calls. The latter is recommended in the Example Call Taking Policy.

Email is a less immediate form of communication, so there is more time for volunteers to collaborate and check responses. You may also wish to appoint an “Email Officer” committee member, who is responsible for checking emails before they are sent out each morning after a shift.

Information Calls

As Nightline is a listening, support and information service, your Nightline needs to be equipped to offer information.

How do we ensure information is accurate?

Consider how you ensure your information is accurate and easy to navigate for volunteers. Encouraging volunteers to just Google is not the safest option.

Most Nightlines have a database or list of resources that are approved for volunteers to use as information sources, which covers common call topics. Your database may include websites of registered charities and other well-established organisations. You may choose to have an Information Officer, who is responsible for updating and maintaining this information.

Some may choose to supplement their database with Google, but our Example Call Taking Policy limits information search to the database only to ensure accuracy.

What if we don’t have the information available?

Volunteers will not be able to answer every information request, even with a great database and online search. It may be useful to have a stock phrase ready for volunteers if they do not have the information available. It is also a good idea to record what information was requested and whether it was available to help maintain the database.

What else must we consider with information calls?

Remember that callers may often call for information as an opening to a listening call. Consider how you allow space for information callers to talk about their feelings. Sometimes a stock phrase at the end of an information call can help, which is recommended in the Example Call Taking Policy below.

The GPGs remind us that information provided by Nightline is suggestions, not directions, and this should be made clear to callers. Therefore, you may wish to have a stock phrase to preface information, such as “Nightline’s information database suggests… information.“

Recognising Callers

You must have a procedure for the case that callers recognise volunteers or vice versa via phone, video chat, or drop-in. As we offer a peer service, a caller might turn out to have lectures or live in halls with a volunteer. Callers are generally seeking an anonymous service from Nightline, and therefore should ideally not have a call with a volunteer they recognise.

In general, it can be useful for volunteers to use pseudonyms on their calls in order to protect their anonymity.

If a volunteer is recognised nonetheless, the volunteer can offer to pass the phone to another volunteer or call back another time. You may choose to do the same if a volunteer recognises a caller. You could also offer information about other helplines (e.g. Samaritans) to the caller. Stock phrases can be useful for this, as it can be an awkward situation for volunteers.

If you use multiple modes of contact, consider whether your policy works with both phone, written, and face-to-face modes of contact. It may not be necessary to tell the caller you are passing it on for written communication. For drop-ins you might want to offer a scheduled time to return when the recognised volunteer is not on shift.

Silent Calls

It is not unusual for Nightlines to receive silent calls and you must have a procedure. This may be, for example, on the phone where you can hear someone breathing or crying but unable to speak. Alternatively, a caller might fall asleep while on the phone after talking for some time.

Should we have a maximum duration for silent calls?

When managing silent calls, it is a balance between (1) offering the caller the opportunity to speak without pressure and (2) allowing the lines to be available for other callers. How you balance this will depend on your resources and how busy your Nightline is.

Therefore, it might also be a good idea to have a maximum duration of silent calls, which would be shorter than any maximum duration you might have for non-silent calls. It is possible that the caller has fallen asleep or the line was dropped. It is also possible that another caller is trying to get through. In this case, it can be preferable for the volunteer to explain the time limit, suggest the caller calls back (just in case they can still hear), and end the call. This is what is recommended in the Example Call Taking Policy.

What do we say during silent calls?

As a volunteer, it can be tricky to know what to say, so it is useful to have some guidance or stock phrases for volunteers. Some Nightlines have a script to read after one minute, then two minutes, then five minutes, then ten minutes and ending a silent call. If you do not have scripts, you will need to spend more time in training on managing silent calls.

Would our policy on silent calls depend on the mode of communication?

If you use IM and/or SMS in addition to phone, you will also have to consider how your policy applies to these modes of communication. You may have callers that are typing but nothing that is sent, accidental chat requests, SMS conversations that stop abruptly.

Please note that your silent call policy may be different between phone (where a minute of silence can feel like a long time) and IM (where active callers could often take a minute to type their message) and SMS (where the conversation may be quite slow). SMS conversations may be quick and then fall silent for a day.

The Example Call Taking Policy addresses this by making the duration limit slightly longer for IM than for phone, and making no further responses to SMS conversations that fall silent.

Other Policy Issues

Your Nightline might wish to refer to your other policies, or integrate some simple and related policy decisions into your call taking policy.

Usually, Nightlines have separate policies for:

• suicide calls,
• inappropriate calls (including aggressive, sexually manipulative, and dependent callers),
• safeguarding (including calls from minors), and
• confidentiality and/or privacy policy (including how confidentiality is ensured, call logging, data protection, GDPR, and exceptions to confidentiality).

Rather than repeating yourself in your call taking policy, you can just refer to these policies. We have separate guides for these topics, and so we just refer to these other policies in our example.

Some Nightlines may also have separate policies for issues like:

• silent callers,
• information calls,
• recognising callers, and/or
• unconscious callers.

This could be because their policy is a bit complex, or historical reasons (e.g. the policy was created as a new policy rather than a modification, because it was addressed at another point in their Nightline’s history). Instead of having separate policy examples for these, we have integrated these last four into this call taking policy. Likewise, you may wish to integrate elements of these in your call taking policy if your policy is quite simple and does not really warrant a policy on its own.

In any case, you must check the Nightline Quality Standards and ensure that all these policy issues are covered somewhere in your policy documents, wherever you decide to include them.

Policy and Procedure Design

Whatever you include in your policies, try to keep it simple – the use of short bullet points under each heading will enable greater clarity. Many headings are also useful. If your policy is lengthy (like this one!), it may be useful to have a simplified procedure guide(s) (e.g. flow chart and/or posters in the office) for volunteers to refer to while they’re on shift.

The Example Call Taking Policy is designed for a busy Nightline with many modes of contact. Your policy may be shorter and simpler if your Nightline is smaller, but it was written this way to cover all modes of contact.

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Example Call Taking Policy

Scope

[X] Nightline’s (hereafter referred to as Nightline) mission is to ensure that every student at [X] University has access to our service to discuss their feelings and seek information in an open and understanding atmosphere. Nightline’s five core principles are to be Confidential, Anonymous, Non-advisory, Non-directive, and Non-judgmental.

In order to meet our mission and align with our core principles, calls must be taken in accordance with a number of policies. All call information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. All calls are taken in accordance with our Equality and Diversity Policy and monitored in accordance with our Monitoring, Evaluation, Feedback and Complaints Policy. Health and safety is ensured with our Risk Assessments. Also, our Training Policy and Support and Supervision Policy both ensure that our volunteers have the necessary resources for call taking. When applicable, volunteers must refer to additional policy documents for taking calls relating to our Suicide Policy, Inappropriate Callers Policy, and Safeguarding Policy.

As a complement to all our other policies, the scope of this Call Taking Policy is to cover all other aspects of general call taking. This policy addresses calls via all modes of contact that Nightline offers to callers: phone, drop-in, email, online instant messaging (IM), text messaging (SMS), and online video calls.

Aims of Policy

All Nightline’s policies are in accordance with the Nightline quality Standards, which constitutes accreditation criteria for the Nightline Association.

The use of this Call Taking Policy should ensure:

• High quality call taking, such that callers feel comfortable, heard and supported
• Consistent call taking, including reliable response times, such that callers know what they can expect from Nightline
• Call taking practices that are safe for both callers and volunteers

In future, this policy may be amended by committee. In this case, such amendments should only be made to better meet these aims.

Definitions

In this policy:

• “Calls” and “callers” may refer to all uses of Nightline’s student support and information service whether in spoken or written communication.
• “Drop-in” refers to visiting face-to-face service.
• “SMS” refers to Nightline’s text messaging service.
• “IM” refers to Nightline’s online instant messaging chat service.
• “Stock Phrases” refers to standardised spoken or written lines that are used uniformly on calls by call-taking volunteers.
• “Supporting Volunteer” refers to an available volunteer on shift appointed to support other volunteers on shift taking calls, in case of emergency. This volunteer may not take calls while in the supporting role.
• “Complimentary Supplies” refers to objects given to drop-in callers at the Nightline office, which currently consists of information booklets, condoms, pregnancy tests, and rape alarms.

Responsibilities

The Committee Members are collectively responsible for offering all on-call support during term-time, typically by taking regular weekly on-call shifts. When a committee member is on-call, they are individually responsible for:

• Calling at the beginning of the shift to offer support to check everything is in order (including that the volunteers have arrived on time, checked notices, opening procedure has been followed, and offer further support throughout the night as required),
• Ensuring implementation of the emergency closure procedure if necessary, including adding a notice to the website and social media,
• Making a monthly “mystery call” acting as a typical caller to monitor the quality of the service, and
• Keeping their mobile charged and ringer on, such that they can respond to any urgent support requests throughout the night.

The Coordinator is responsible for:

• Ensuring that all shifts are covered by at least two, ideally four, volunteers,
• Ensuring this policy and procedure are being effectively implemented, and
• Reviewing and monitoring the effectiveness of the policy and its implementation, as part of a cycle of policy review.

The Email Officer is responsible for:

• Checking the Nightline email account daily during term time,
• Proofreading and sending out volunteers’ email reply drafts daily during term time, ensuring appropriate language, grammar, consistency and continuity,
• Writing and sending support email replies outside of term time, and
• Ensuring that the 24-hour response time for emails is met.

The Information Officer is responsible for:

• Maintaining the information database for volunteers, and
• Stocking complementary supplies and checking the expiry, storage, and integrity termly.

The IT Officer is responsible for:

• Regularly checking and ensuring that the computers and associated software for call-taking are updated, secure, and functional, including liaising with the Nightline Association IT team about anonymous software for Email and IM.

The Training Officer is responsible for:

• Carrying out and maintaining training of all Nightline volunteers, which will adequately equip volunteers to implement and meet the standards of this policy.

Volunteers are responsible for:

• Taking at least one shift fortnightly, and
• Implementing this policy when on shift.

General Call Policies

All calls at Nightline are taken in a manner that is non-judgemental, non-advisory, non-directional, confidential, and anonymous.

This involves using active listening skills, which includes open questions, reflection, paraphrasing, and non-verbal responses. Volunteers may explore feelings and options for a way forward, using appropriate tone and pace. Volunteers must focus on the caller, not talking about themselves or offering personal information

Beginning and Ending Calls

All calls must begin with “Hello, Nightline” to ensure callers know they have reached the correct service. Whenever possible, calls end with a reminder that the caller can call back anytime.

All calls must end with thanking the caller, encouraging them to call back anytime, and to fill out the online feedback form.

All emails must start with “Hi,” and be signed with “Best Wishes, Nightline” to ensure consistency.

Tone and Language

Volunteers must endeavour to be non-directive by matching the tone and language of the caller appropriately for all modes of contact, but balancing this with the non-judgemental ethos and professionalism of Nightline. Therefore, volunteers may never introduce terminology in calls that are cursing, slang, or otherwise unprofessional. However, volunteers may reflect such language under the rare circumstance that:

1. it is required to capture the emotion of what the caller has just said,
2. the language is not a slur or otherwise discriminatory, and
3. the volunteer feels it would be inappropriate or unclear not to reflect the language.

In written correspondence (IM, SMS, and Email), emotion must be expressed through appropriate wording and not emoji. Grammar and spelling must be checked. To avoid confusion, text speak or acronyms may not be used, unless introduced by the caller. Likewise, humour or irony should be avoided. All written correspondence replies should be written in a single message, rather than multiple broken messages.

In IM, volunteers may not type in the chat application while the caller is typing, as this may be seen to be “talking over” the caller, as volunteers would not do so in spoken communication.

Duration Limits

The lines at Nightline can get busy, volunteers may need breaks, and it is important to let other callers have the opportunity to get through. Therefore, all calls are limited to 90 minutes, irrespective of the mode of contact.

If calls approach this limit, volunteers must give a stock phrase with a warning explaining this policy after 80-85 minutes, and round up the call compassionately. Volunteers may use a stock phrase to end the call at 90 minutes.

Prioritising Calls

In order to ensure speed and quality call taking, volunteers may not collaborate on written calls and may only take one call at a time.

Immediate forms of contact (Phone, Drop-In, IM and Video Chat) take priority over SMS, which takes priority over Email. This means volunteers will stop drafting a reply Email or SMS if a phone call comes in, for example.

Email callers will get an auto-reply thanking them for their message with a promise to respond within 24 hours. This response will then be sent by the Email Officer the following morning during term time, based on the draft sent by the volunteers on shift the previous evening.

Call Circumstances

Beyond listening calls, there are call circumstances which require additional policy points. When applicable, volunteers must refer to additional policy documents for taking calls relating to our Suicide Policy, Inappropriate Callers Policy, and Safeguarding Policy.

Information Calls

When providing information, Nightline makes suggestions, but does not give advice.

Nightline has an approved database of information and a list of reputable organisations relating to common information call topics. In order to ensure the integrity of information that Nightline offers, volunteers are not allowed to use online search engines to provide information that is not available in the database from websites that are not approved.

Information callers via Phone or Video Chat may be put on hold while the volunteer examines the database. Callers via IM will receive the same hold message whilst the volunteer is looking up information and is unable to reply. Drop-in callers will be asked to wait while the volunteer goes to the office to gather information.

If the approved database is insufficient for a call, the volunteer must make a note to the Information Officer that an information request was unable to be fulfilled, such that they can research and add reliable information to the database. The volunteer must explain this to the caller, using a stock phrase.

Information callers must always be offered the opportunity to talk further after the information is provided.

Drop-Ins

Callers are also welcome to visit Nightline to talk, where they will be offered tea, juice, biscuits, and health materials. Drop-in calls are taken in the drop-in room, which is separate from all confidential materials. Drop-in callers will be offered a beverage on arrival, but other supplies will only be offered if this becomes relevant to the call.

All complimentary supplies offered must be sealed and within date. Condoms must bear the Kite seal of quality and the pack checked that the air bubble is intact. Common allergens (e.g. nuts) are not allowed in the office. The Information Officer is responsible for stocking the office and checking this.

If a drop-in caller becomes seriously unwell, volunteers must ask for permission to call emergency services. Nightline volunteers are not trained in first aid and cannot offer medical assistance. If the caller refuses, this will be respected unless the caller falls unconscious, in which case emergency services will be called.

Volunteer safety must also be considered when meeting callers face-to-face. The front door has a chain; volunteers must use this at the beginning of each call. When the caller is invited in, the call-taking volunteer must sit closest to the door in case they require a swift exit. The supporting volunteer must check in at 15-20 minute intervals to offer a drink and ensure the call-taking volunteer appears comfortable. For emergencies, call-taking volunteers also have access to a panic button in the drop-in room.

Recognising Callers and Passing On Calls

Given Nightline is a peer-led service, it is possible that callers may recognise volunteers or vice versa. Nightline aims to offer an anonymous service, so it is not appropriate for volunteers to speak to callers they know.

In other rare circumstances, a volunteer might not be able to continue a call due to their own wellbeing for other reasons.

In the case of recognition or discomfort, volunteers will deliver a stock phrase to pass the call to a fellow volunteer or signpost to another helpline. If the call is via written communication, no stock phrase will be delivered. Instead the volunteer will pass a summary of the call to another volunteer, and they will take over.

Reverse Call Charges

Nightline is unable to accept any reverse charge calls due to budget constraints.

Silent Calls

Nightline may receive calls that are silent by phone, video chat, or IM, where the call is made but the caller is initially unable to type or speak. Sometimes the caller will begin speaking after a few minutes, and other times the caller remains unresponsive. To allow other calls through, silent calls are limited to 10 minutes by phone or video chat, and 15 minutes by IM.

When taking a silent call, volunteers will deliver stock phrases at regular intervals to assure the caller that they are still there and invite them to speak. Five minutes before the end of the duration, a stock phrase will explain the time limit. At the time limit, another stock phrase will explain that they will have to end the call, but the caller can call back anytime.

Calls may also fall silent on SMS, where the caller stops responding abruptly. In this case the volunteers take no action, unless it is an imminent suicide call (see suicide policy).

When Closed or Unavailable

Nightline is closed during the daytime, 8am to 8pm, and during the university holidays (i.e. outside of term time). Exact opening times will be clearly stated on the website and other relevant publicity materials.

Closed

If phone callers try to contact Nightline outside of opening hours, they will receive a standard message on the answer phone. This will include confirmation that the caller has reached Nightline, what Nightline offers, opening times, and referral to another helpline.

Drop-in callers will be informed that Nightline is closed via the website and with a sign on the door. For IM and Video Chat, Nightline’s offline status will also be clearly displayed. The website and publicity materials for email and SMS clearly indicate that replies are only sent within 24 hours during term time.

Unavailable

At times, the service may be unavailable because all volunteers (other than the supporting volunteer) are occupied on calls or on break.

In this case, the supporting volunteer must temporarily close the service.

The drop-in sign, IM status and video chat status will be set to “busy.” Any remaining phones will be taken off the hook so callers hear an engaged tone. and re-open the service again when another volunteer becomes available to take calls.

Given there is only one room for drop-in calls, the door sign must be set to “busy” after a caller arrives. If multiple callers arrive together, they may be seen as a group together if they wish.

Emergency Closure

In rare cases, Nightline might need to close unexpectedly due to exceptional circumstances. For example, this may be if there is lack of available volunteers, serious technical difficulties, a safety hazard in the office, or other unavoidable hindrances.

The on-call committee member must be alerted to such hindrances. They will then be responsible for determining whether the issue can be resolved or it is necessary to close due to exceptional circumstances.

If the on-call committee member decides to close, they will immediately issue a notice about the unexpected closure. This notice will be added to the website and social media accounts. Normal closing procedure above will then follow.

Messages Received While Closed

Nightline does not have the facility to take messages while closed. Therefore, the answerphone does not take messages. Callers are also unable to contact Nightline via IM or Video Chat while closed.

As stated on the website and publicity materials, emails and text messages will be replied to if sent within 24 hours during term time and will otherwise get an out-of-office response to email again when Nightline is open.

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Example Procedures

• You might put these as a series of posters on the wall as reminders for volunteers how to follow the procedures.
• These are not comprehensive of the policy, which should be detailed in full during training. Procedure posters are reminders and not replacements for good training.
• You may also want to add instructions on how to use the computer and/or software.
• Committee members should be able to refer directly to their roles in the policy.

List of On-Call Committee Members

In the event of problems or emergency, please call the corresponding committee member on nights commencing on:

They will also make a check-in call at XX:XX to ensure everything is ok.

Prioritising Calls

Drop-in, phone, video chat, and IM take priority over SMS and Email. If you are in the middle of drafting an Email or SMS when the phone/doorbell/computer rings, stop drafting and answer the call.

SMS takes priority over Email. Draft and send your SMS replies between calls, as soon as you can when a volunteer is available. If you are drafting an email and receive an SMS, draft and send your SMS reply before finishing your email draft.

Drop-In Callers

When taking a drop-in call, remember:

• Check through the chain door that it is not a problematic caller
• Change the sign to busy
• Offer a drink for the supporting volunteer to make
• Sit closest do the door, near the panic button
• Can offer complimentary supplies if relevant (check they’re in date and intact)
• The supporting volunteer should check again for drinks every 15-20 minutes.
• If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe you can:
  • Pop out “to the loo” to call the on-call committee member or briefly discuss the situation with the supporting volunteer. Say “Sorry, I just need to go to the loo.”
  • Pass on the call to another volunteer, saying “I’m really sorry, I’m feeling sick.”
  • Request “cranberry juice” for supporting volunteer to call security
  • Press the panic button
• If the caller is seriously unwell:
  • Offer to call 999
  • Call 999 if caller becomes unconscious

SMS

Log on to the SMS at 7:50pm during the start of shift. [add any instruction reminders here]

The SMS software will alert you of an incoming text message with a chime.

[add instruction reminders for SMS software here]

Remember, no emoji!

Send replies between calls as soon as you can.

Emails

Log on to email at XX:XX during the start of shift.

Remember to check emails at the start of shift, at midnight, and at the end of shift.

[add any instruction reminders for Email here]

**Draft emails between calls and SMS **or at the end of shift, exploring feelings and options.

Do NOT leave any emails unfinished at the end of your shift. In the rare case you were inundated with calls and unable to finish, please text this to the committee member on call.

Sign all emails with:

Best Wishes, Nightline

Do NOT reply directly to the caller. Instead, send all draft replies to the Email Officer at emailofficer@mynightline.com. This is to ensure consistency.

Passing On Calls

Nightline is an anonymous service, so it is not appropriate to speak to a caller you know. You may also need to pass on a call for other reasons.

If you cannot continue a call that is via IM, Email, or SMS, do not write anything but instead pass a summary of the call to a new volunteer and allow them to take over the call.

If you cannot continue a call that is via phone, drop-in or video chat say:

“Unfortunately, I can’t continue this call. Would you like to speak to another Nightline volunteer? Otherwise, we can suggest another helpline.”

If the caller wishes to speak to another helpline, signpost to Samaritans on 116 123.

Information Calls

Follow these steps whenever you receive a request for information:

1. Establish exactly what information they are looking for.
2. Hold the call while you look. If on the phone, press the hold button. “Sure, please wait while I check what information we have for you. I’ll be back soon. Is that ok?”
3. Always use the database. Only use the computer to seek detailed information on the list of approved websites index in the database.
4. Give information. “Nightline database suggests source, which says information…” or say “Unfortunately, Nightline doesn’t have that information. We will try to research it for future calls.”
5. Offer to listen. “Is there anything else you would like to talk about?”
6. Note in the log book what was requested and whether it was available at the end of every information call.

Silent Calls

Silent calls are limited to 10 minutes by phone and 15 minutes by IM.

1. Start the timer within a minute of silence.
2. Reassure callers you are there at regular intervals and invite them to talk, saying things like:
   • “Take your time.”
   • “Nightline is always here to listen.”
   • “I’m here.”
   • “I’m still here.”
   • “I’m here to listen.”
   • “You can talk when you’re ready.”
   • “Would you like to hear about other ways to contact us?”
   • “Would you like to speak to another volunteer?” [phone and video chat only]
3. 5 minutes before the limit, say: “Nightline only allows me to take silent calls for X more minutes. Please say something to indicate you’re still here.” If the caller makes a sound or types something, say “ok” and return to step 1.
4. At the limit, end the call by saying: “Nightline requires me to end the call now, but you can call back any time. We’re here every night give timings during term time.”

What If We’re All Busy?

Remember, there must always be one volunteer available to support. If all but one volunteer is busy, the last volunteer must temporarily close all available lines:

1. Take any remaining phones off the hook.
2. Change the IM and video chat status to busy.
3. Change the door sign to busy.
4. Continue supporting volunteers on calls. Check they’re ok, offer them drinks, etc.
5. Reopen all the lines when at least one other volunteer is available.

Ending Calls

All calls must be less than 90 minutes, except:

• silent calls (10-15 minutes)
• certain regular callers, and
• imminent suicide calls (unlimited)

If calls approach this limit, begin to round up after saying:

“Nightline only allows me to continue this call for a few more minutes. How are you feeling now?”

If calls reach the limit, say:

“Nightline requires me to end the call now, but you can call back any time. We’re here every night 8pm to 8am during term time.”

End all calls by saying:

“Thanks for calling. If you have time, please fill out our survey at mynightline.com/feedback to help improve Nightline’s service. Feel free to call back any night during term time.”

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