{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"By Carl Hankinson, Volunteer Programme Sponsor - The Adult Volunteer Journey","standfirst":"Last November, 40 people put their heads together to share their experiences and ideas for making the volunteering experience at Scouts the best it can be.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"mediaBlock","areas":[{"items":[{"value":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/AWmeHuCaWWI?feature=oembed","gridType":"embed","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass"},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA vibrant mix of volunteers, staff and former volunteers took part in a creative session, called a Design lab. The aims included:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Eexploring some of the areas our volunteers feel are the most challenging\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Ewhat the opportunities are to overcome those challenges\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Eand creative ideas for how we could overcome the identified challenges.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe workshop was led by external experts, service design agency Snook, and was part of the research that\u2019ll inform how we improve the volunteer experience.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBefore the event, Snook consulted more than 100 people across the UK and in British Scouting Overseas about what it\u2019s like to volunteer at Scouts, including what they love and where they saw room for improvement. Based on all of the feedback they gathered and some additional research by the Scouts team looking at the volunteer experience, eight key areas for improvement were explored throughout the day. These were:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Ewelcoming new volunteers\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Erewards and recognition\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Eattracting new volunteers\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Emaking sure local and national approaches are joined up\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Eembedding our values consistently\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Etraining\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Etransparency and leaving well.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith the motto \u2018failing is fun\u2019 in mind and encouragement to think wild, attendees at the workshop had a go at coming up with possible solutions for the challenges. They were led through an idea generation process, which involved quickly coming up with as many ideas as possible, writing their favourite ideas on concept cards and then choosing the top idea to test with another team. After getting feedback from another team, they were then tasked with \u2018prototyping\u2019 and further developing the ideas ready to share back later that day. The ideas ranged from digital solutions to events, surveys and more.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe key aim of the day was to explore the challenges further and learn from everyone\u2019s ideas, rather than design the future solutions. So although they may not be turned into a reality, their creative thoughts have inspired even more ways we can improve the volunteering experience.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the ideas included creating \u003Cstrong\u003Ea volunteer profile\u003C/strong\u003E and support system (nicknamed Skinder) which aimed to help connect volunteers to provide peer networking, skill sharing and support as well as chances for connecting and getting together with other volunteers locally.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/5228/1.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAnother idea was a \u2018\u003Cstrong\u003EWOW Awards Site\u003C/strong\u003E\u0027, to enable us all to say thank you to each other easily and often. The team thought that we could all benefit from an online tool that lets anyone involved in Scouts nominate an adult volunteer to thank.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/5229/2.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen exploring how we can explain Scouts to potential volunteers and give them a chance to try out the fun, the team tested out the idea to \u003Cstrong\u003EUn-box Scouts\u003C/strong\u003E. They suggested we could use a \u2018soft sell\u2019 at a key community event, where Scouts deliver an activity that the community loves. This could be a way to get exposure to new people and show the variety of skills that Scouts can offer.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/5230/3.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EThe team looking at learning focused on \u003Cstrong\u003Eneed to know, want to know\u003C/strong\u003E as a programme of personalised learning based on getting people up and running with the key skills they need quickly, and then letting them explore other areas over time. This group even suggested we could start a \u2018University of Scouts,\u2019 with supplementary courses to build on core skills.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/5231/4.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EKindling\u003C/strong\u003E, the idea of a volunteer role match-maker, was a suggested app-based solution targeted at potential new volunteers that could match them with roles in Scouts, based on how much time they can spare and what they\u2019re interested in. This explored the idea of how we can be really transparent about what it\u2019s like to volunteer with Scouts and give people a chance to learn about different ways to help.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/5232/5.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s not just about joining of course, and one delved into how we could encourage volunteers to check in regularly and take a break if needed. They discussed the idea of a \u003Cstrong\u003EScout-life balance survey\u003C/strong\u003E, as it was suggested that after the initial conversation a survey could be done to find out more about people\u2019s time or availability. The survey could identify if there was anything they wanted to keep doing, like programme planning, or if they\u2019d still like to be invited to socials and camps.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJon, a former leader at Scouts, said, \u2018\u003Cem\u003EI would\u2019ve liked to have been given this option, there\u2019s aspects I probably would have stayed involved with\u003C/em\u003E.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/5233/6.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"altText":"","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EAll of these ideas were debated by attendees at the Design Lab; and all of the brilliant insight and learning will be fed into plans to make volunteering with Scouts as fun and easy as possible. Thank you to everyone who has taken part in this event and all of the research so far, as your insight is hugely valuable and will help us to shape the future of volunteering at Scouts. Snook and the volunteering team are currently designing a brand-new volunteer journey based on all of the research undertaken \u2013 so watch this space!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you\u2019d like to get involved with testing the ideas being developed, \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/0e8f9341c9994361a7a64539292e002d?dm_i=31ME,TN56,3DASX1,328BB,1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?dm_i=31ME,TN56,3DASX1,328BB,1\u0022\u003Ejoin the adult volunteer journey community of interest\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"21 January 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":50882,"nodeName":"Ideas to improve the volunteer experience at Scouts","title":"Ideas to improve the volunteer experience at Scouts","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/5230/3.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd06488790","caption":"3","type":"jpg","size":780984,"width":1200,"height":800,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Ideas to improve the volunteer experience at Scouts","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Ideas from an expert-led workshop that\u0027ll inform how we improve the volunteer experience at Scouts. 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