Volunteer Recruitment

Transcription

1 Volunteer Recruitment What is recruitment? Recruitment is the process of enlisting volunteers into the work of the organisation It should be seen as a process of showing people they can do something they already want to do When recruiting you want to find people who are attracted o By the challenge of the role itself o By the outcomes/results of the role It is hugely important to remember that the recruitment process begins and hinges upon the creation of a good volunteer position A good volunteer position is a worthwhile position o How do you make it worthwhile? You make it worthwhile by identifying the needs and aspirations of your staff and creating a role to fit those needs and aspirations Planning of Recruitment Campaign First things, first: The recruitment message Most importantly before implementing these methods is to have a recruitment message. This is the message you are telling potential volunteers in order to get them into your organisation:

2 It is made up of 1) The Statement of Need: What is the need within the community for the role you are advertising? (e.g. young people are at risk of ruining their lives through drug abuse) 2) The Position: How does the role you are advertising address this need? (e.g. help educate and inform young people in order to help them turn their lives around) 3) Addressing Fears: What fears about the role might a potential volunteer have? Make sure you explain how you will address these fears (e.g. we will give you the training and support you need in order to to do this role) 4) Promote Benefits: What advantages are there to doing this role to the individual? Skills, experiences etc. (you will gain an opportunity to learn new skills and transform the lives of young people) When you have a recruitment message in this format, you are leading the volunteer down a path of thinking: 1) The Statement of Need: (e.g. young people are at risk of ruining their lives through drug abuse) that s terrible, someone should do something about that 2) The Position: How does the role you are advertising address this need? (e.g. help educate and inform young people in order to help them turn their lives around) I could be the person that does something about that 3) Addressing Fears: What fears about the role might a potential volunteer have? Make sure you explain how you will address these fears (e.g. we will give you the training and support you need in order to to do this role) But I couldn t do that right now I wouldn t know how to! Oh, they will give me training to do it 4) Promote Benefits: What advantages are there to doing this role to the individual? Skills, experiences etc. (you will gain an opportunity to learn new skills and transform the lives of young people) So I can help my community and learn some new skills at the same time? It s a win-win! How do I get involved? Once you have this recruitment message you can adapt it to your recruitment method. There are five types of recruitment campaign

3 1. Warm Body 2. Targeted 3. Concentric Circles Warm Body Recruitment This process of recruitment is effective when you are trying to recruit for a volunteer position that most people can do It consists of spreading the message about the potential volunteer role to as broad an audience as possible Primary methods of Warm Body Recruitment are as follows 1. Distribution of poster/flyers advertising the need for volunteers 2. Using low-cost or free adverstising On websites, local newspapers, radio etc 3. Contacting community groups that can provide person power Also good at spreading the word 4. Use of an organisation s own website to publicise volunteer opportunities 5. Broadcast s 6. Social media Facebook, twitter, ivo, gumtree etc Targeted recruitment This approach to recruitment asks you to o Determine the kind of person who would really like to fill the position o Track that person down A targeted recruitment campaign involves answering a series of questions: o What is the job that needs to be done? o Who would want to do the job that needs to be done? E.g. is there a certain type of person that is being sought? Are they a particular age, do they have particular professional

4 skills, a particular sex? the advantage of sending a slightly different message to each group is that you have a better chance of speaking directly to the group s motivational needs o Where will you find them? The answer to this question will inform what type of recruitment method you will use get your message across e.g if you are trying to recruit teeangers with time on their hands, you might distribute leaflets outside schools. o How should you communicate with them? Most effective methods of recruiting volunteers are those in which two-way communication is possible. The best form is direct communication with a current volunteer. o What are the motivational needs of these people? Your recruitment message needs to talk directly to the motivational needs of the potential volunteers Concentric Circles Recruitment This method works based on the theory that those people who are already connected to you and your organization are the best targets for a recruitment campaign. Your first step in recruiting is a volunteer to fill your position is to start with the population groups which are already connected to you and then work outwards. Most volunteers are recruited by people they already know. The success of concentric circles recruitment lies in the personal testimony of the asking volunteer.

5 It is highly credible and persuasive because the message is this is a great place to work, I know this because I volunteer there Ideal groups around which to structure your concentric recruitment cirlces recruitment include o Current volunteers o Friends and relatives of volunteers o Clients o Friends and relatives of clients o Staff o Donors You can make concentric circles recruitment very effective by systematically encouraging it o That is everyone, staff and volunteers, understand that they are also responsible for recruiting volunteers.