In this section you will find information about where to find volunteers aswell as help and advice on the recruitment and selection process.
Where are the volunteers?
"General messages tend to try to apply to everyone and end up attracting no one. Make sure people know that you are asking them!"
The most common sources of reliable volunteers are:
- past and present club members
- family or friends of members, including parents of younger members
- holding a recruitment event
- organising a recruitment drive
For more advice on each of the following issues, please check out the five Club Tips publications in the 'See also' panel.
Recruiting from outside the organisation brings a number of benefits to the club, including:
- specialist skills, e.g. in fund-raising or publicity, that your club might need
- new vision and energy for the club
- new contacts that can introduce you to new networks
- new enthusiasm
- a wider community of membership.
When you recruit any new volunteer, he or she will want to know:
- What does the job entail?
- What am I responsible for, and to whom?
- What skills are required - do I have them?
- What support will I get?
- How much of my time is required?
- Is the job really necessary?
- Will I fit into the “team”?
- Will I get job satisfaction?
- Will my work be valued?
"Before attempting to recruit new volunteers, you must first identify the specific roles they will be carrying out."
A role description for each volunteer post is often very helpful in defining what needs to be done, how the job relates to other officers, and what is expected of the volunteer. A typical role description includes:
- role title
- responsible for/to
- main duties
- detailed duties
- contacts
- time commitment
- skills required.
Having a clearly defined role description ensures:
- common understanding
- clear responsibilities
- tasks identified
- contacts identified
- links between jobs are clear
- avoids duplication
- avoids omission.
See the Templates page for some downloadable examples.
Selection and screening volunteers
Having a selection and screening process will help you to match the needs of your organisation to the needs and skills of the volunteer. It would be counter-productive to both the volunteer and your club to place someone in a position that was not appropriate for them. On some occasions, it may not be possible to offer a volunteering placement to someone. If this does happen, try to suggest an alternative, for instance, could they contact their local Volunteer Centre, or look on the Volunteer Scotland website for details of other volunteering opportunities?
Another important reason to have a screening process for all volunteers is when considering your ‘duty of care’ to the people that use and work in the club. The Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 commenced on 10th January 2005. This legislation will require specific organisations who work with children to access Disclosure Checks. For more information on this, visit the CRBS website.
The following process will hopefully improve the recruitment process for all:
- See potential volunteers for an informal chat/interview.
- Ask all volunteers to complete an application form.
- Request two references prior to starting. These could be from previous work/volunteering or from someone who knows them well (although not family members!).
- Undertake Disclosure Checks if it is appropriate for the role (for more details on this, check with crbs). Ensure that all applicants are aware that you will be doing this beforehand.
- Consider having a Taster/Trial session at the club beforehand, giving the volunteer and the club a chance to find out if they are suited to the work before committing.
