How to recruit new volunteers this term

Whenever you think of recruitment in terms of The Scouts, it’s almost always referring to young people joining. However, you can’t hold meetings for young members without having enough adult volunteers!

Sections, Units, and Groups can always do with some extra help with leading meetings, assisting with activities and camps, and offering guidance to young members.

Take a look at some tools which you can use to your advantage to recruit new helpers:

Use social media

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are often a massive help when it comes to communicating with members, leaders and local people in your community.

There are a number of ways in which you can use social media when it comes to searching for your new volunteers, such as;

• Post in local community groups on Facebook to spread the word that you need a few extra hands. You can also use your local community hashtag on Twitter such as #SeftonHour to reach a wider audience.
• Create an advert on Facebook. This will be a small extra cost but can reach thousands of people for just a few pounds. You can choose your audience and area to target potential volunteers near you.
• Share the information with your local universities or colleges as there may be some students and former members that have moved to your area. The university may share on their own society or student-led online pages to boost your chances of recruitment. Some students might even volunteer as a requirement for their course.

Try recruiting parents or local members of the community who have particular skills and will enjoy helping out with activities that they’re experienced and familiar with.

Encourage parents to get involved

More often than not, parents aren’t even aware that their child’s Group is in need of any extra help. Make them aware that even just two hours of their time per week is more than enough. Emphasise that you can never have too much help.

You could offer open evenings or taster sessions for meetings and camps to allow them to find out more about what takes place. Getting parents involved in the fun might even encourage them to want to stay.

Organising a rota with willing parents for them to take turns once a month or where needed, especially if they have specific skills needed for a particular activity, can also be hugely beneficial.

Use your website

If your website is a hub of activity and information when it comes to your Unit, Section, Group, District or County, you already have a massively useful tool!

Advertise your need for volunteers across the website, wherever you can. Call To Action (CTA) links such as “find out more about volunteering here” or “get in touch with us” are really effective. Our websites already come with some set CTAs to help you know where to use them to your advantage.

We recommend having a dedicated page to adult volunteers or recruitment. Offer a space where users can find out more about what helpers and leaders do exactly. This can help with false assumptions, and show potential helpers that it’s actually a lot of fun to volunteer and be a part of Scouting!