For information call us on: 0845 300 1818

Recruitment: a fresh approach

Online Recruitment

Overview:

Promoting your opportunities on a volunteering website can be a good way of recruiting. As well as County, District and Group websites, there are a whole host of other organisations and services that you could use to spread your recruitment message even further.  You can sleep while the website tells people what it is you are looking for.  Some websites give you the opportunity to promote your Section, as well as telling people how they can help.

Top tips:

• Complete this quick experiment: Type the name of your home town and “volunteer” into a search engine and see what comes up. Is there any reference to Scouting? Do your contact details appear? If not, then you are missing out on a very powerful and cost effective form of advertising and potentially lots of volunteers.
• Start off with your local Council websites as these often have “community” pages. You should also ensure that you are listed with your local Council for Voluntary Services (CVS).
• Another good source is the local newspaper which will often have a community site that you can create a space for yourself on.
• There are a number of free webites on which you can place an advert, www.do-it.org.uk probably being the most well known. The ad can be very simple and can focus on the fact that there are volunteering opportunities with Scouting in your area. It is important to list a few examples such as treasurer or adult helper, but try to avoid terms that people may not understand (such as GSL or DC). Remember to include a contact telephone number and an email address and place the ad in either the ‘Volunteering’ or ‘Community’ sections of these sites.
• Ask someone in the Group, District or County, or maybe even one of the parents, if they might be interested in keeping the websites up to date with information about how people can get involved. This might suit someone who can’t get to regular meetings but would still like to help local Scouting.
• Have a plan for following up any expressions of interest. There is nothing worse than being contacted by someone who is interested and not knowing quite what to do with them!

Case studies:

Be the first to tell us about your experience of using the web to recruit. Contact the Adult Support Team at adult.support@scout.org.uk or on 0845 300 1818.

Support material:

Further Information (Links):

Do-It: The national database of volunteering opportunities in the UK www.do-it.org.uk

Do-it! article in Scouting magazine www.scouts.org.uk/magazine/supplements/Focus.pdf

0845 article in Scouting magazine www.scouts.org.uk/magazine/OctNov06/focus/p12.html

Find a volunteer centre near you:

Volunteering England www.volunteering.org.uk
Volunteer Development, Scotland www.volunteerscotland.org.uk
Volunteer Development Agency, Northern Ireland www.volunteering-ni.org
Volunteering Wales www.volunteering-wales.net