VOLUNTEERRECRUITMENT

Thestartingpointwhen recruiting volunteers is todecidewhyyouwantvolunteersandwhatappropriateworkforthem todois.If you alreadyhavepaidstaff youshouldconsult withthem toensurethat there is a goodunderstandingof volunteering throughoutyourorganisation.Makesureyouinvolvepeopleatboardandseniormanagementlevelin thesediscussionstoo;theirunderstandingofandstrategicsupportforvolunteeringisvital.

Recruitment

Recruitingvolunteerscanbeseenasasimilarprocesstoadvertising(youaretryingtosellthe benefitsofvolunteeringwithyourorganisation),andaswithanyadvertisingit is criticalthatyourmessage is clear.

Thenatureof thismessagewilldependonyourorganisationandtheworkyouwantvolunteerstodo. However,in generalitwillinclude:

  • whatthevoluntarywork is.
  • whattheorganisationasa wholedoes.
  • howanewvolunteercanmakeadifference.
  • howtofindoutmore.

Mostrecruitmentmethods elaborateonthesefourelementsofthebasicmessage.Theyareabout ensuringthatthose recruitedareinformed,motivatedandknowhowtogetinvolved!

Motivation

Itis usefultothinkaboutthepossiblemotivationthatpeoplemighthaveforbecomingvolunteers. Thiscanhelp youtodesignvolunteeringopportunitiesand influence yourrecruitmentmessage.

Different reasons people might be motivated to volunteer include:

  • acommitmenttotheorganisation/cause,so it isimportanttoemphasisehowtheir contributionwillmakeadifference.
  • meetingpeople-volunteeringcanbeaverysociableactivity!
  • gainingnew skills-whenrecruitingstresstheskillsandexperiencethatvolunteerscangain.
  • utilisingexistingskills- somepeoplewanttoputtheirskillstogooduse.
  • keepingactive- moreandmoreolderpeoplearevolunteering.

MakingItEasy

Puttingyourselfforwardas avolunteercanbequitedaunting.Peoplemightnotbe sure whattheyare gettingintoandmightbe worriedthat,forexample,theywon'tbeup tothe role orthatthecommitmentwill endupbeinggreaterthantheywant.

Itis important,therefore,tobeflexiblewhentakingonnewvolunteers.Itcanbeusefultooffer‘taster’ sessionsso thatthevolunteerandorganisationcangettoknowoneanotherbetter.Youwillalso needtospendsometimefindingoutwhatpeoplearelookingforandwhattheyhavetooffer.

TIPSONVOLUNTEERRECRUITMENT

WordofMouth

Mostvolunteersarerecruitedbyexistingstaff,clients,supportersor other volunteers.Makesureeveryone youknowknowsthatyouaretryingtorecruit,andwhattheopportunitiesare. Youmightwanttoruna brainstormingsessionidentifyingpeopleyourorganisationknows.Itcanalsobeusefultocarry out a mapping exercise ofpossiblesourcesofrecruitsinthelocalarea.

Of course,ifyourexistingstaffandvolunteersarehappyandmotivatedtheywillbemoreeffectivein recruitingtheirfriends!

Pros:

  • wordof mouthis stillthemosteffectivemethodofrecruitingvolunteers.
  • it isparticularlyeffectiveinsmallercommunities.

Cons:

  • youare likelytorecruitmoreof thesame,asexistingvolunteerswilltendtorecruitpeople similartothemselves,so ifyouonly relyon wordofmouthyour volunteersmightnotbevery diverse.

Print

Posterscanhelp spreadyourmessageto a wideraudience.Leafletsorpostcardsare alsoa handyand attractivewayof providinginformationtopotentialrecruits.

Whendesigningprintedinformationremembertheprinciplesofyourrecruitmentmessage.Keepit simple,andreflectthenatureof the volunteeringopportunitiesinyourdesign.Youshouldalso considerwho yourtargetaudienceis.

Youmightconsiderplacingprintedinformationin:

  • schoolsandcolleges.
  • libraries.
  • townhallsandotherpublicbuildings.
  • GPanddentalsurgeries.
  • sportsand leisurecentres.
  • religiouscentres.
  • shopwindows.
  • bars.
  • jobcentres.

Pros:

  • printedinformationcanbetargetedat particularaudiences.
  • eye-catchingdesignscancreateagoodimageforyourorganization.
  • printedmaterialsarebecomingincreasinglycheapandeasytoproduce.

Cons:

  • printedinformationtendstocirculatefora longtime,soenquiriesmaycomelongafterthe detailshavegoneoutof date.
  • postersandleafletsareunlikelytohavemuchimpactunlesspeoplealreadyknowabout yourorganisation.

VolunteerCentres

Therearearound500VolunteerCentresor BureauxthroughouttheUK,puttingpeopleintouchwith organisationswhoneedvolunteers.Organisationsregisterwiththeirlocalcentre,whichmight alsobeabletoprovideadviceandsupportonworkingwithvolunteers.

Pros:

  • VolunteerCentresprovideanexcellentmeansofrecruitingto individualposts.
  • peoplereferredtoyoubya VolunteerCentrewillhaveseenanoutlineof theworkyou wantthem toundertake.
  • manyVolunteerCentrescanprovidearangeof adviceaboutrecruitmentandaspectsof goodpractice.

Cons:

  • Like most forms of communication VolunteerCentresareunlikelytoprovideinstantresults.

Talks

Onceyouhaveidentifieda possiblesourceof newrecruitsit is importanttotakeyourmessagetothem. Settingupa talk orpresentationmighttakesometime,asyouwillneedtopersuadethehost(beita school,anemployerorwhatever)thatyourinformationwillbeof realinterest, butit canproducegood results.

Trytobeaswell-briefedaspossibleaboutthepeople youwillbetalkingtoandwhatis likelyto appealtothem aboutvolunteering.Remembertheprinciplesofyourrecruitmentmessage!

Visualimagessuchasphotographsoravideocanaida presentation,butreallive volunteersaremoreeffective.Makesureyoubringprintedinformationtosupportyourtalk, givingpeoplethechanceto goawayandthink about itbeforecommittingthemselves.Beclearabouthow peoplecangetinvolvedorfindoutmoreiftheyare interested.

Events

Aneventsuchas VolunteersWeek is agreatchancetorecruitnewvolunteers.Youmighthavean exhibitionstandin ashoppingcentreorstagea PRstunttoattractpublicity.

Therearemanyplacesandeventsatwhichstallscanbesetup, including:

  • thelocalhighstreet(youwillprobablyneedtoget localcouncilpermissiontodothis).
  • thelocallibrary.
  • fetesandcarnivals.
  • careerandrecruitmentfairs.
  • trainstations.

Pros:

  • getsyouseen.
  • providesanopportunityforface-to-facerecruitment.

Cons:

  • canbealotofwork withoutaguaranteedreturn.
  • canbeexpensiveandlabour-intensive.

Localpressandradio

EventssuchasVolunteersWeek alsoprovidean opportunityforcoverageinthelocalmedia. Coveragein the localmediamightrangefrom featurearticlestobriefnewsstories.Trytobuildagoodrelationshipwithlocalnewspapersandradiostations,stressingthehumaninterestof localpeople gettinginvolvedtohelpthecommunity.

Asteadystreamofcoverageaboutyourorganisation,itswork anditsvolunteerscanhelptoraise yourprofileandtherebyaidrecruitment.Presscoveragecanalsobeusedasaform of public recognitionforvolunteers'work.

Youcanalsoadvertiseforvolunteersinthelocalpress.Doyourresearchandfindoutwhatsortof peopleare likelytoseetheadvert.Tailoryourmessageaccordingly,forexample,stressingtheskills andexperiencethatcanbe gained.

Thereis alsoawiderangeof specialistmediawhereyoumightconsideradvertisingorseekcoverage.Theseinclude:

  • companynewsletters.
  • professionalandtradejournals(particularlyusefulifyouareseekingsomeonewith specialisedskills).

Ifyouareconsideringplacinganadvertyoushould:

  • ensureyouradvertreflectsthediversityofthe localcommunity.
  • consultwithotherorganisationswhohaveplacedadverts.
  • checkthenewspaperscirculationareasandnumbers.
  • askifthereis aspecialrateforvolunteervacancies.

LocalCompanies

Whenassessingyourlocalareaforpossiblesourcesof volunteers youmightwellcomeacrosslocal companieswhoseemployeesarekeento getinvolved.Youmightbe abletorecruitindividual employeesorgroupstoperformone-offchallenges.

Itwillhelpifyoucangetthesupportof someoneseniorinthecompany,forexample,toallowyouto addressastaffmeeting.Onceemployeesare volunteering,thecompanymightalsobewillingtooffer otherkindsofsupport.

Diversityin Recruitment

Organisationssometimesfinditdifficulttoattractadiverserangeof volunteers,especiallyiftheyrelyon wordof mouth.Diversitycanbe importantinallowingyoutoreflectthecompositionofyourlocal communityand/orclientgroup,inmeetingyourorganisation'smissionandimplementing yourequal opportunitiespolicy.Diversevolunteeringprogrammesareoftenalsothemostexcitinganddynamic.

Thefollowingsectionsserveasbriefintroductionstosomeof theissuesassociatedwithrecruiting from groups,whichareoftenunder-representedasvolunteers.Publicationsprovidingmoredetailsare availablefrom VolunteeringEngland.

DisabledPeople

People'sdisabilitiesneednotbetheirgreatestconcern.Anydifficultiestheyhavemaybeduetoa varietyof reasons,justasforanyoneelse.

Oneofthebestwaystodealwithpotentialdifficultiesis totakeaproactiveapproach.Publicisethe factthatyouarekeento welcomedisabledvolunteersandshowthatyouareaccessiblein the broadestsense;forexample,byofferingto produceinformationin largeprint.It isalsoimportantto chooseeffectiveplacestoadvertise, e.g.daycentresanddrop-incentres.Butremember, disabledpeoplevisitthesameplacesaseveryoneelse!

YoungPeople

Recentresearchhasproduceda wishlistforwhat youngpeoplewantfrom volunteering. Thiscan besummarisedbytheacronymFLEXIVOL:

  • Flexibility- themostimportantfactor,intermsoftimeandcommitment.
  • Legitimacy- theneedfor afavourableimageof volunteering.
  • Easeof access- manyyoungpeoplesimplydon'tknowhowto volunteeror whotocontact.
  • Xperience-youngpeoplewantrelevant,usefulexperienceand thechanceto learnnewskills.
  • Incentives- stressthetangibleoutcomesof volunteering;what’sin itforthem.
  • Variety-in termsof boththetypeof work andthelevelofcommitment.
  • Organisation- volunteeringneedstobeefficientbut informal.
  • Laughs-volunteeringmustbefun!

OlderPeople

Volunteeringbyolderpeoplehas increasedin recentyears.Arecentstudyofvolunteeringbyolderpeoplesuggeststhatorganisationsneedtothink laterallyso thatoldervolunteersaregivensufficientlychallengingworktodo,makingthemostof theirskillsand experience.

PeoplefromMinorityEthnicCommunities

Youmightalsowanttotarget yourrecruitmentat communityorganisationssuchasreligiousor culturalcentres,butyoushouldseekadvicefrom themaboutthebest waytodo this.

UnemployedPeople

Peoplewhoareunemployedoftenhavea hugeamounttoofferandcangaina greatdealfrom volunteering.Theyneednotputtheirbenefitsinjeopardy,althoughtheyshouldtelltheBenefits Agencyabouttheir volunteering.

Unemployedpeoplecangainskillsandexperiencefrom volunteering,anditcanhelpthem toremain intouchwiththeworldofwork.Theyare likelytowantvoluntaryworkthatprovidesthem witha chanceto gainskillsandexperiencethatwillbehelpfulin securingpaidwork.