Recruitment

Steven Farmer and Donald Fedor have taken a look at factors which make volunteers decide to continue and increase their contribution of volunteer time and effort to a particular organization. This issue is a serious one to effective involvement of volunteers, since the motivation of volunteers may be negatively affected by asking for too little involvement (thus creating a sense in a volunteer that their talents and time aren't being well used) or too much (thus creating both a sense of being overworked and a sense that the contribution they are making isn't "enough").

The refrain is heard time and time again in the groups and organizations of modern society. Schools have been crying out for ages about the shortage of math and science teachers. Corporations have been wailing about the lack of skilled workers. Community issues go un-addressed for lack of passionate people. There is a leadership crisis; a volunteer crisis, a "can't find the person I need when I need them" crisis. Why such a shortage of people?

Yet people increasingly ask us, "Why aren't there more leaders?" Why are people reluctant to answer the cry for leadership? ... We believe this cautiousness results not from a lack of courage or competence but from outdated notions about leadership. (Kouzes, Posner. The Leadership Challenge)

It is difficult to isolate the topic of recruitment because its ultimate success is intertwined with the development of good volunteer assignments (the product you are selling in recruitment) and with having an organization prepared to utilize volunteers' time and talents effectively when they arrive. It is important, however, to examine how potential volunteers are invited to consider becoming a part of your organization, particularly if this function is not centralized. Even if most volunteers go through a central recruitment process, all staff and volunteers within an organization are a significant part of its informal volunteer recruitment team. Thus, the principles of recruitment should be useful for staff/volunteers whether they carry out this function themselves or are ambassadors for the program.

Often when staff or volunteers of an organization are involved in recruitment, they are so anxious to fill slots or add to the membership that little care is given to finding the right person(s). Everyone can relate to the impact on the volunteer and the organization when the wrong person is recruited (i.e., the volunteer feels incompetent and/or unfulfilled, leading to performance and retention problems; the organization does not get the job done well and builds resentment or resistance to further utilization of volunteers).

This training provides a printer-ready file with 6 recruitment training exercises that can be adapted for use with:

• the staff of an organization,

• leadership volunteers,

• membership/outreach committees, or

• a group of volunteer program administrators.

The purpose of each exercise is to change the mindset of participants as they reach out for new volunteers and/or to give them tools to aid in that effort.

Six Training Exercises to Enhance Recruitment of Volunteers

1. Remembering a time when you were recruited to be a volunteer/member.
2. Finishing the puzzle - "Don't put a piece in the wrong spot!"
3. What factors might be keeping people from becoming a volunteer/joining?
4. Writing a recruitment message that speaks to the right person.
5. Using a marketing strategy to locate the best candidates.
6. Demonstrating persuasive, effective oral presentations to recruit new volunteers/members.

An international Youth Forum was held just prior to the IAVE World Volunteer Conference in January 2001 in Amsterdam. By all accounts this was an extraordinary experience for the participants. Representatives of the Youth Forum were invited to report back to the full conference at one of the plenary sessions. They charged onto the stage with enthusiasm, sharing the theme of their meetings: "Volunteering IS sexy!" These young people urged everyone to change the old-fashioned images of volunteering.

Conferees were given a handout with eight graphics designed by the young people during a team exercise at their Forum. Each gives a different interpretation of "SEXY" as an acronym. e-Volunteerism is pleased to reproduce these with permission from the Amsterdam conference committee, representing the International Association for Volunteer Effort.

One of the top ongoing issues of most of the all-volunteer groups in the CompassPoint Nonprofit Services’ study featured in the Winter issue of e-Volunteerism was “reaching new members and keeping them involved.” In the world of volunteer management, that translates to “volunteer recruitment, integration and retention.” The goal is the same -- to identify potential individuals who can contribute to the work of the organization, invite them to participate by clearly identifying the benefits of joining, make them feel welcome and give them a way to contribute that is appropriate for them, and then offer ongoing opportunities for growth to keep them motivated and interested. Many volunteer organizations have experienced a decline in membership. In an effort to reverse this trend, several large national and international organizations have put a high priority on membership development. In this issue, we profile some of the membership development strategies of Kiwanis International, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs and Rotary International.

Abstract

An innovative approach to raising funds burst onto the nonprofit scene a few years back.  Entitled "new philanthropy," it has enthusiastically been adopted by fundraisers wishing to raise the level of their success.  This article proposes that those responsible for enlisting volunteers adapt a "new philanthropy" approach to recruitment. A definition of new philanthropy is presented. This is followed by a step-by-step process for employing the features of the new philanthropy to ensure a good match between volunteer and organization.

Volunteer voices, millions of them, all speaking up and speaking out with passion about what they're doing and what they believe in. Lots of people responding to what they're hearing and giving time to volunteering for whatever they're passionate about. Now that would be something. And that's what Speak Up! Speak Out! is on the way to achieving.

Speak Up! Speak Out! is a unique project that helps volunteers and volunteer managers become compelling ambassadors for volunteering by teaching communications skills. Simple really. It's about helping volunteers speak with strong feeling about what they're doing to audiences of all sorts - at conferences, seminars, in the media, team meetings, interviews, anywhere.

As the Internet continues its pervasive growth through global society, attempts to utilize it in volunteer involvement also continue. This article will review efforts to use the Internet to address one of the basic questions in volunteering-- how can volunteers and volunteer organizations connect with one another to facilitate recruitment?