Keep going and adapt

Recruitment needs to be continuous; the hardest time to recruit new volunteers is when you don't have enough.

Revisit the cycle and your recruitment plan regularly and ask questions to help you develop this for the future.

What went well?
What didn't go well?
What new tools could we use?
What can we try again?
What do any new adults think would have made their joining process easier?

It's important now to keep going with your recruitment effort. Make it part of your day-to-day by doing things that happen all the time, like:

Make recruitment a separate agenda item at leaders' meetings;
Have vacancy boards up;
Run regular family evenings, like an adults vs kids Olympics, or have the adults come in to taste some food the young people have cooked;
Run family camps and family fun days;
Keep your social media pages up to date;
Shout out what you are doing! Use local papers and social media for example;
Be seen in your community; get involved with fetes and shows, have a stall at your local university or college open day;
Think about getting in touch with former volunteers and Explorers. Why not reach out and invite them to an event? They might be ready to return or even lend a hand with something small.

Once you've done this, you're ready to keep going and continue the cycle by thinking about what tasks, skills and qualities you need.

If you need further support then there is help out there! Try approaching your local District or County first as there are often growth leads with the skills and know-how to help you.

There is also support available from the Growth and Communities Team. Sign up to our online volunteer recruitment workshops or request a face-to-face workshop to learn more about what tools and techniques are available. You can also fill in a support request form for further help and we'll get in touch to discuss your needs further.