Advising on Adult Appointments - Questions for Training Advisers

The four stages of the appointment process are Application, Approval, Appointment and Induction. The first three stages follow on from one another. Induction starts at the Application stage and continues throughout and (if necessary) after the other stages of the appointment process

The appointment process can be made welcoming and non-threatening by:

• Ensuring that the line manager has discussed the role and the appointment
  process with the adult so they know what they are volunteering for and what to
  expect.
• Explaining the purpose of the approval meeting and other elements of the
  appointment process so that the adult is put at ease.
• Where possible, accompanying the adult at the approval meeting and
  introducing them to the committee members.
• Ensuring that an effective induction takes place.
• Ensuring that only three members of the Appointments Advisory Committee
  attend approval meetings.
• Only asking questions which are relevant to the purpose of the approval
  meeting.

The Appointments Advisory Committee is made up of an Appointments Chairman, an Appointments Secretary and a pool of committee members to undertake approval meetings.

The main responsibilities of the Appointments Advisory Committee are:

• Approval meetings: meeting with new adults to assess whether they are aware of and willing to uphold the values and policies of The Scout Association and whether they understand the requirements of the role and are able to carry them out.
• Reviews: supporting the review process, considering (with the line manager) the outcome of a review.
• Change of appointment: considering applications for change of appointment and assessing if the applicant is able and prepared to carry out the role.
• Cancellations: cancelling appointments when agreed with the line manager or relevant Commissioner and recording the reason for the cancellation.
• Suspensions: following the suspension of an adult, recommending continuation of suspension, re-instatement, modification or cancellation of an appointment.
• Disagreements: supporting the commissioner in the resolution of
  disagreements between adults.

There are some practical things that should be considered before an approval
meeting. These include:

•  ensuring you have received relevant information from the adult’s AA Form and the agreed role description;
•  ensuring you have all the information about the date, time and location of the meeting;
•  making sure that the venue is welcoming (i.e. signage, size of room,
  temperature);
• ensuring that you have a clear agenda for the meeting; and
• ensuring that you have agreed the questions you will ask and who will be covering which areas

The purpose of the approval meeting is to consider:
1. whether the applicant is aware of (and by personal example prepared to uphold and promote) the values and policies of The Scout Association – including making the Scout Promise, if appropriate; and

2. whether the applicant understands the requirements of the role and is able to carry them out.

Three members of the Appointments Advisory Committee should be present at the approval meeting. In some circumstances, the  Appointments Chairman may allow one additional person to be present at the approval meeting, for example, if Module 37 (the training module for members of Appointments Advisory Committees) is being validated or if the applicant needs an interpreter/signer to attend the meeting.

Open questions should be used as they allow more information to be gained from the adult. Open questions start with words such as ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘who’, ‘what’ and ‘if’. They are questions to which a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ reply is not appropriate. They tend to help find out someone’s views, opinions and motivation in offering to help.