Volunteer recruitment is a game changer for any business. In some cases, volunteers can boost productivity by approximately 50%. With charities and non-profits, volunteers are essential to the organization’s strength. What’s the easiest path to getting quality workers? And how can you utilize online volunteer recruitment to truly benefit your business?
If finding quality volunteers is your goal, here’s what you need to know.
Allow Online Signups
Attract quality candidates by combining traditional pen & paper methods with online signups. Have your marketing create a web page for registrations, run a few social media ads, and you’re off and running. Just remember to streamline the process. Few things can cost you a volunteer quicker than a lengthy signup process.
Highlight the Benefits of Volunteering
Your organization’s relationship with volunteers should be mutually beneficial. That means you’ll want to attract candidates whose goals align with yours. You can do this by putting the benefits of the job front and center. First, make your ideal candidate want to work with you. Here are a few things the average volunteer is looking for:
Impact: Studies show that over 60 million Americans volunteer annually for charitable organizations. It’s easy to see the connection between charity and volunteer work. But do yourself a favor and include your community impact and outreach in the volunteer description. You’ll find more people with their heads and hearts in the right place for the gig.
Merit: When we say merit, we’re talking about people looking for volunteer chances to further their careers and college goals or meet requirements for other work. Specify an estimate for how many hours the role will require to emphasize this nifty little benefit. And mention offering a letter of recommendation.
Company Culture: The best workers are the people that love their environment. Feel free to hype up your company culture to attract quality candidates. However, try to use lines other than “We’re a family here,” as they can appear insincere. Consider other words and phrases like safe space, calming, or positive work environment.
From Volunteer to Employee: This particular benefit is niche, but if you plan to hire new employees on a temp or permanent basis in the near future, then mention this in the volunteer requisition. It’s an excellent opportunity to get a snippet of someone’s work ethic while also allowing them to bolster their resume and get a sneak peek into employment with your organization.
Showcase Volunteer Testimonials
One of the best volunteer recruitment strategies is showcasing testimonials. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that word of mouth and reviews mean more to most people than any industry award. So find past or current volunteers that have had a great experience and ask them to write a few words about their time with your company. Testimonials go great at the bottom of any signup website, requisition, or even as social media ads!
Keep Your Website Updated
The three stalest things in the world; chips in the pantry, water left out overnight, and a slow, outdated website. That means ensuring your optimizations are current, and you’ll casually attract quality volunteers to keep in your back pocket. It also means ensuring your volunteer requirements and other pertinent organization info are up to date online.
Create a Sense of Community
Creating a sense of community as one of your volunteer recruitment strategies is essential. As a hiring manager, one of your main goals is to cast your organization in the best light for candidates. An easy way to achieve this is by mentioning the synergy between departments. Another option is ensuring you have a social media presence to tag event coordinators or put photos of volunteer work.
Utilize Technology
Utilizing technology to boost volunteer recruitment strategies involves more than online marketing. Do your due diligence on candidates by running background checks. It’s an easy and reliable way to make sure they are who they say they are. KarmaCheck uses AI and digitization to speed up this process, ensuring you never lose a quality candidate due to a long background check process.
Summary
The true answer to how to recruit volunteers will depend on your specific business and its benefits. But if you follow the volunteer recruitment strategies we’ve listed, you’ll have the framework and mindset you need to find the perfect candidate. This is your chance to strengthen your business and provide a productive environment. Use KarmaCheck to ensure you’re choosing the right candidate. Contact us today.
