Toolkit 2 Volunteer Recruitment

This toolkit is for organisations who have their volunteering strategy and policies in place (see Toolkit 1)

In this toolkit, we will cover:

Writing a Volunteer Role Profile
Creating a Volunteer Agreement
Establishing a Recruitment Process
Collecting Additional Information
Promoting your Roles

1. Writing a Volunteer Role Profile

It is important to create a role profile for each of the volunteer roles within your organisation because:

They provide a clear summary of the role and what is expected
They can help your staff understand how volunteers support your organisation
They show that you value your volunteers and have planned for their role carefully
They help you measure volunteer achievements.

Ensure that you think about any barriers to the volunteering role and how you could overcome them.

What to include in a Volunteer Role Profile:

Role Title: something concise and appealing
Organisation Summary: a short paragraph with links to your website and social media
Useful information: including location and time commitment including whether it is for a certain length of time or if it is ongoing.
Tasks: a bullet list of the tasks involved
Skills/ Qualities: a bullet list of desirable or essential skills and qualities
Other Requirements: e.g. a driving licence
Recruitment Process: usually an application form (online or paper), informal interview and a reference
Support and Training: mention your induction and any training you will provide
On-going Support: what support you provide for your volunteers once they start
Other information: for example, information about your expenses policy or DBS checks
Benefits of volunteering: mention the benefits of volunteering, such as meeting new people, learning new skills or gaining experience.
Contact Details: allocate one person to be the point of contact for your volunteer recruitment.

2. Creating a Volunteer Agreement

A Volunteer Agreement clarifies what the organisation and volunteer should expect from each other. It should include your Code of Conduct and information about what you will provide for the volunteer and what the volunteer will agree to.

What the organisation will provide for the volunteer:

An induction and introduction to the organisation
Any training needed for the role
On-going support
A named contact for queries
Insurance
Reimbursement of expenses.

What the volunteer will agree to:

Fulfil the organisation’s objectives
Perform the role to the best of their ability
Follow the organisation’s policies and procedures.
Maintain the confidential information of the organisation and its service users
Key policies: code of conduct; safeguarding; GDPR/Confidentiality
Feedback any concerns
Let the organisation know if you’re not available to volunteer so that alternative arrangements can be made.

You must ensure that your Volunteer Agreement avoids sounding like an employment contract. For more information, please see: Writing a volunteer agreement | NCVO

For a sample volunteer agreement Sample volunteer agreement | Disability charity Scope UK

3. Establishing a Recruitment Process

When you receive a volunteer enquiry, you should follow the same recruitment process for each volunteer. Remember that inclusivity should be forefront of your recruitment process. It is important to respond to enquiries about volunteering as soon as possible not only out of courtesy but otherwise you run the risk of losing them to other organisations.

Thank the volunteer for their interest and send them a copy of the role profile
Created a Volunteer Agreement including your Code of Conduct.
Ask the volunteer to complete the application form
Meet the volunteer for an informal interview: on the phone/video call/face-to-face
Contact their referee(s) and send them a copy of the role profile to help them. The most effective way is to create an online reference form
Organise a DBS check if necessary. For more information, please see: DBS check application process for volunteers – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Once the reference is approved, send the Volunteer Handbook, Policies and Volunteer Agreement to the volunteer
Once the signed Volunteer Agreement is received, organise an induction for the volunteer.

Please note that the most effective way for the application form, reference form and agreement form to be completed is via an online form. However, please be ready to send out paper applications to those who need them.

You also need to think about how you will store the information about each volunteer on either a spreadsheet or database, following GDPR protocol at all times.

4. Collecting Additional Information

You need to consider what other information you need to collect before welcoming your volunteers on board. This could include:-

Emergency Contact Details
Driving Licence and Car Insurance for driving roles
Image Consent

5. Promoting Your Roles

Once you have everything ready, it’s time to think about how to promote your volunteer roles!

How RVS can help you with volunteer recruitment

For more information, see Recruiting Volunteers in Rushmoor – Rushmoor Voluntary Services (rvs.org.uk) This includes information about the volunteer brokerage platform, Volunteer North Hampshire which RVS manages for Rushmoor: Volunteer North Hampshire – Volunteering opportunities in North Hampshire (volunteernorthhants.org)

Other ideas for promoting your roles include:

Social Media: Use your social media platforms to recruit volunteers. You can use photos of your current volunteers (with their permission of course!) or find some on software like Canva. Non-profits can use the premium features on Canva for free Canva for Nonprofits eligibility guidelines | Canva
Your website: Use the news item feature on your website to recruit for volunteers. If you have a lot of volunteering roles it would be worthwhile setting up a separate page on your website to promote all the roles at once.
Within your community: Create simple flyers and promote them in your local community. Use community boards in libraries, shopping centres and supermarkets.
Volunteer Recruitment Fairs: Look out for your local volunteer recruitment fairs to promote your volunteering roles and meet potential volunteers.
Word of Mouth: If your volunteers are having a great time volunteering for your organisation, they will spread the word amongst their friends and family!

Checklist

Before you move on to the next toolkit, check that your organisation:

Has written a clear role profile for each of your volunteering opportunities.
Has created a Volunteer Agreement Pack including a Code of Conduct
Has established a recruitment process
Has considered what additional information to collect
Put together a plan for promoting your volunteering roles including advertising on the Volunteer North Hampshire website.

You are now ready to move on to Toolkit 3: Onboarding Volunteers which includes writing a Volunteer Handbook.