Volunteer Recruitment

People volunteer for many different reasons.  To recruit volunteers you need to think about working with your organisation from the volunteers point of view:  You need to understand what someone would gain from working with you, why they might choose your group over another, what is special about your work, and how will the experience benefit the volunteer.

You will then need to communicate these ideas as simply as possible to your potential volunteers.

You can do this by putting up posters at your own meeting place; advertising in local newspapers/radio and, of course, by registering with your local Volunteer Bureau.

However, the most successful method of recruiting volunteers is by 'spreading the word' amongst people you/your group know.  The reason for this is simple - the more personal the request for help is, the more likely someone is to want to help by saying "yes".  The difficulty with only asking people you know is that you risk ending up with a group of volunteers very similar in background.  As variety will add depth and quality to your service, the key is to use a mix of methods.

You will then need to decide what are the roles for which you will recruit volunteers  and how you will select your volunteers.

You will need to decide:

• Who will be responsible for interviewing them
• What sort of information you will hope to get from them
• What you will ask their referees
• Whether you will need to carry out police checks.

You need to think about whether you will hope to use in some way everyone that comes to you, or whether you will encourage less suitable volunteers to use their talents elsewhere. It is usually easier for both the volunteer and yourself if you do not reject them but suggest a more appropriate alternative. Your local Volunteer Bureau will normally be able to help.

Recommended Reading:

• National Centre for Volunteering www.volunteering.org.uk
• Volunteers from overseas: Home Office Immigration & Nationality Directorate www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
• Mark Restall, Volunteers and the Law
• Voluntary Action Luton: The toolkit – Your guide to recruiting, motivating and retaining volunteers
• Gill Taylor, Managing Recruitment & Selection, Directory of Social Change
• Duncan Forbes et al, Voluntary But Not Amateur, London Voluntary Service Council (see Chapter 3; Employees & Volunteers Rights, Discrimination & Equal opportunities: Chapter 5; General Health & Safety Duties: Chapter 7; Compulsory & Discretionary Insurance)
• Sandy Adirondack, Just About Managing, London Voluntary Services Council (see Chapter 14 pp 102 Motivation; Chapter 15 Managing the Recruitment Process; Chapter 16; Managing Workers Performance pp 126 Volunteers & Secondees: Chapter 17; Managing Training)
• Sandy Adirondack, The Voluntary Sector Legal Handbook, Directory of Social Change.

For Further Information

Contact the Volunteer Bureau at Voluntary Action Luton on 01582 733418 or, if you are outside Luton, get the number for your nearest bureau by contacting the National Association of Volunteer Bureaux on 0121 633 4555.