RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS Navy League of Canada BC Mainland Division 2005 AGM Prince George, BC

Recruiting Workshop Outline Volunteering in Canada Steps to effective recruiting Recruiting program exercise Recruiting good & bad BCMD’s NL Cadet Recruiting Video

Volunteering in Canada HOW DID WE GET HERE? Organization asked – 30% Approached organization - 16% Member of organization – 15% Child or spouse involved – 12% Asked by friend or relative – 9% VOLUNTEERS WHO APPROACHED ORGANIZATIONS CONTRIBUTED 50% MORE HOURS THAN THOSE WHO WERE ASKED

Volunteering in Canada WHO ARE WE? Most are middle aged – 30% of Canadians between 35 and 54 Most have kids – 1 in 3 households with children under 18 volunteered CADET PARENTS ARE IN THE GROUP MOST LIKELY TO VOLUNTEER

Volunteering in Canada WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? 73% volunteer hours donated more than 7% of Canadians National volunteer rate 27% in 2001 down from 31% in 1997 (BC 26%) Average of 162 hrs in 2001 up from 149 hours in 1997 (BC 169 hrs) FEWER AND FEWER OF US ARE BEING LEFT WITH MORE WORK

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting 1) Design an effective program 2) Design volunteer positions 3) Develop volunteer position descriptions 4) Identify target groups 5) Communicate with your target group 6) Deal with volunteers who step in the door

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting PROGRAM DESIGN Organization must answer key questions NLOC may have addressed the questions but do we understand the answers? Branches, Divisions and Nationals do not have identical goals

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting PROGRAM DESIGN QUESTIONS 1) What are the goals & objectives of the program? 2) How will volunteers work with your staff (or corps officers)? 3) Who will be responsible for management of volunteers? 4) To whom will this person report?

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting PROGRAM DESIGN QUESTIONS 5) What liability and insurance do we need for this program? 6) What budget do we need/have for this program? 7) What policies do we need to develop? 8) What record will we need to keep?

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting DESIGN VOLUNTEER POSITIONS Know what your volunteers need to do. Do not design jobs to fit volunteers – what skills and roles are needed? Some jobs are mandatory – President, Treasurer, Cadet Chairs - others can be tailored to organization Design positions for different levels of responsibility, commitment & experience Be flexible – may have to recruit for more responsible positions in stages

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting VOLUNTEER JOB DESCRIPTIONS Can start with standard NLOC job descriptions Full job description includes: – Purposes & objectives of job – Specific duties – Personal & professional skills & characteristics – Time commitment – Training to be provided – Other benefits – Supervisor Be honest with your volunteers!

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting IDENTIFY TARGET GROUPS Know who volunteers (people like us!) Consider: – Special skills and experience – Similar interests – Availability – Location – remote volunteers? – Association – better to ask people to join – Volunteer associations, students looking for credits, etc.

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting COMMUNICATE WITH TARGET GROUP Your message should include: What the group offers to volunteers What volunteers will do Necessary skills and attributes Time commitment required How the group benefits the community

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting COMMUNICATE WITH TARGET GROUP Speak to potential volunteers face-to-face Network, network, network Appeal to volunteers’ motivation (they want to help kids!) Use advertising and publicity (especially if its free) Contact a volunteer centre

Six Steps to Effective Recruiting WALK-IN VOLUNTEERS Interview potential volunteer Orientation session Training

Recruiting Workshop 1 GREENS (Curious) Write a Statement of Goals & Objectives for a Navy League Branch

Recruiting Workshop 1 GOLDS (Responsible) Write a job description for the Sea Cadet Chair

Recruiting Workshop 1 ORANGE (Adventurous) Prepare a volunteer recruiting message which targets retired military members

Recruiting Workshop 1 BLUES (Harmonious) Prepare a list of questions for interviewing a walk-in volunteer

Recruiting Workshop 2 Write down two volunteer experiences you enjoyed. Write down two volunteer experiences you did not enjoy. What made them different?