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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Volume 1, Issue 2
Thank you for responding to our LTCO Volunteer Management questionnaire. We received valuable input from 102 respondents and we will develop new resources based on the volunteer management needs you requested. The respondents identified "volunteer recruitment" as their first priority followed closely by "volunteer training" and "volunteer management skills." We summarized the questionnaire results and created a chart highlighting available NORC resources based on the information and resources requested in the following areas: recruitment, screening and interviewing potential volunteers, training, retention and recognition. Some of the resources listed in the chart are featured below. Since volunteer recruitment was identified as the top priority this issue is devoted to recruitment strategies and resources.
Tips for Successful Volunteer Recruitment (webinar) Ombudsman Volunteer Recruitment: Focus on Rural Recruitment Strategies (call notes and PPT)
Examples of LTCO recruitment plans
Examples of LTCO recruitment materials
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Crafting a Recruitment Message
Crafting an effective recruitment message can be a challenge, especially when you have limited time and resources and your program is among many organizations seeking volunteer assistance. In May 2012, the Aging Network’s Volunteer Collaborative offered a webinar titled, “Using Brain Science to Make Your Volunteer Recruitment Appeals More Effective.” The webinar reviews how the brain works when making decisions and how you can develop a recruitment message to capture a potential volunteer’s attention and interest. The webinar provides specific recruitment advice (e.g. use less statistics in recruitment materials and use more stories and testimonials of actual volunteer impact), tips to motivate volunteers and a “Volunteer Recruitment Appeal Self-Assessment” worksheet to assist you in developing a recruitment message using the skills discussed during the webinar. Additional resources regarding recruitment are available on the Aging Network's Volunteer Collaborative website including a link to this blog entry sharing the following successful recruiting messages from the Southern Maine Agency on Aging (SMAA):
“Enjoy a flexible schedule.”
“Join a team.”
“Where your experience, wisdom and talents count.”
“Work together to solve problems.”
“Projects tailored to your skills and interests.”
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Online Recruitment Opportunities
Have you taken advantage of free and low-cost recruitment avenues online? If not, you may be missing a great opportunity to use a free or low-cost recruiting tool to reach a broad pool of potential volunteers.
Several volunteer matching websites are listed below. This is not a comprehensive list and in addition to these national websites you may want to conduct a search for state and local volunteer matching websites.
NORC Volunteer Opportunities webpage
www.volunteermatch.org
www.idealist.org
www.smartvolunteer.org
www.volunteersolutions.org
www.handsonnetwork.org
www.createthegood.org
www.serve.gov
www.craigslist.org (has a section to post volunteer positions)
The NORC website has a page dedicated to Program Promotion that includes tips and examples of how to promote your program using a variety of resources such as YouTube, Facebook, press releases, ads, blogs, brochures and posters. In addition to that webpage, the NORC Compendium has a chapter devoted to recruitment with several examples of recruitment materials from State and Local LTCOPs.
If you have any successful recruitment strategies, volunteer matching websites or resources not addressed in this issue, please share them with us by emailing Amity Overall-Laib.
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Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Volunteer Risk and Program Management Project
In 2009, SMP received funding from the Administration on Aging (AoA) for a Volunteer Risk and Program Management (VRPM) project aimed at reducing risks involved with volunteer engagement and create standard volunteer management policies and practices for the national program.
As part of this project, AoA created VRPM policies for the SMP program. Although the SMP and LTCOP are separate programs with different missions, requirements and roles, the SMP VRPM policy manual has comprehensive examples of policies related to: recruitment, screening, training, corrective action, risk management and assessment (e.g. safety of the volunteer during home visits and disaster planning) and relationships between paid staff and volunteers.
Visit the SMP Resource Center to access the VRPM policy manual, policy implementation guide, risk assessment policy companion guide, screening policy companion guide and volunteer performance management policy companion guide. The SMP Resource Center also has a resource library with information related to volunteer management. Some of the recruitment examples could be adapted for LTCOPs, such as these volunteer recruitment cards from Nebraska and these bookmarks from Missouri.
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Share Your Experience
We invite and encourage you to send us stories of your success, challenges and questions regarding volunteer management so we can learn from you and share your experiences with your peers. Another way to connect with your peers and exchange information is to join our LTCO Volunteer Management Network listserv, to join click here.
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