Re-engaging existing volunteers

Where possible make a personal approach when contacting volunteers, ideally by their preferred method of communication. Avoid sending out blanket emails; personalising them does make a difference. Why not have a chat to catchup and see how they are coping prior to talking about their role in Scouting and what you need.

Talking to your team with energy and positivity is vital, it's not all doom and gloom. We have an opportunity to drive change in a good way. So here are some tips to help you with those conversations.  

Be sensitive – It is vital to remember that everyone is dealing with their own personal situations during these difficult times, people are all different and will react in different ways. So be sensitive and show empathy regardless of their response.  

Be supportive - If they don’t feel like they can return now that’s ok, but make sure to remind them that the door is always open for when they do feel more comfortable to come back.  

Be adaptable - There is no right or wrong way to approach this, so making sure you adapt your style to the person you’re talking to is really important.  

Be flexible – We have always had to evolve as an organisation, but now we are having to adapt more than ever, to be able to deliver scouting in a variety of different ways, be it face-to-face, virtual sessions or at home assignments, and by using other channels like social media. This allows for even more flexibility in what your team can do to support your group and local community.  

Don’t put square pegs in round holes – Rather than allocating a role, assign a task ensuring that it suits the individual's preferences and situation making sure to keep it as simple as possible. Everyone is different and has different skills and interests you can utilise.  

Option to stay in role - If your team are happy to restart, that’s great! You can put together a plan for their next steps and assign them tasks to get the ball rolling!  

Stay with different responsibilities – Some members of your team may be willing to come back, but perhaps not in the same capacity as before. Having an idea of tasks which need doing available during the chat would be a benefit, remembering to make note of the tasks now vacant.  Perhaps you may want to use the 4-week challenge (see guidance below) or use the Task Survey to give them an opportunity to try something new.  

Take a Break – It’s ok at this point if some of your team want to take a break from volunteering. Focus on what's right for them. Make sure you keep in contact, whether that’s a quick phone call, group chats or through social media. Try to establish a possible future date for them to return. Only do this when they are ready do so. 

Moving on - If they are unable or would rather not resume their role/task, try to understand the reasons why. Is there anything we can do to help? Can adjustments be made? Can they take on a different role/tasks? Reassure them that we understand not everyone will feel comfortable or be able to resume their roles/tasks as they previously did. If they still decide to go this is ok as long as we know, and it’s always worth an ask whether they are happy for us to get in touch again at a later date. 

It is vital that once you have your volunteers back, you offer and provide support, in whatever form that may be. Make sure they know they can contact you to talk about any issues or concerns they have. 

The door is always open – This on its own is enough but making sure your team can come to you with questions is important.  

Keep in contact– Once they are back do not assume that they are ok. Check in regularly and make sure they are alright, and if there are any issues, it's easier to tackle them quickly.  

Provide training- Show your team ways to navigate and how to use online delivery methods such as Zoom. Remember not everyone has this tech know how, so it's important you allow them the time to practice with the systems and learn what each button does in a safe environment check out our guidance here. They may also need help and support in writing a risk assessment. 

Offer shadowing - You could set up and allow your team to shadow you or another group/section delivering an online or safe face to face session.  

Adaptability – Right now, more than ever we need to be flexible with our programme. Knowing where to look is a star. If you are planning your teams programme ensure they are comfortable and confident to deliver it. 

Team meetings – Bring your team back together and have the time to talk through who is doing what, highlight any gaps and or concerns that may be there. Plan to arrange regular team meetings thereafter to touch base with your volunteers and to plan and prepare your activities.  

Remember even if it goes wrong, you learn from it and the young people probably won't even notice.   

This is a short version of our successful 4-week challenge, to help you re-introduce and re-engage your team following an initial conversation around returning to volunteering. 

Week 1 – Invite your volunteers to come along and be in the background to see how you deliver a safe face to face or virtual meeting. This week is all about observing, there is no pressure on them to do anything at all just see how the sessions work!  

Week 2 – Get them a little more involved, maybe get them to run an ice breaker either online or face to face. You can work with them to come up with a simple activity, it’s a great way of getting them feeling back involved and more confident. 

Week 3 – Help plan and run part of the session. This is the week where they can get stuck in, discuss with them the tasks they used to carry out in the team and the skills they can bring to a face to face or online session! 

Week 4 – Ask them to run an online or face to face session with support. Ensure they know they won't be alone; you will be there in the background and can even help run a part of their planned session with you.  

Hopefully by week 5 you they will know if this is something, they are happy to do moving forward.