{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Alice Mintoff, Assistant UK Commissioner for People (Volunteer Journey)","standfirst":"Find out the best practice for responding to new volunteers enquiries, so that we can help grow Scouts and give more young people skills for life.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3 class=\u0022paragraph\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022normaltextrun\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EScouts happens when a lot of us give a little.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022paragraph\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022normaltextrun\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe more volunteers, the more we can share the load. We need volunteers to help give as many young people as possible the opportunity to join the movement and gain skills for life. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp class=\u0022paragraph\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThat\u2019s why it\u2019s important to warmly welcome new volunteers, and to know what to do to respond to a new volunteer enquiry.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/3564/190721-img_0866-rd.jpg","width":2250,"height":1500,"altText":"A volunteer in a UK necker sits at a table holding a wood burning pen.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E8 tips on how best to respond to a volunteer enquiry\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Col\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHave a clear process in place for responding to enquiries. You could assign one to two people this role.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAim to respond within 48 hours. This\u0027ll avoid them losing interest or going elsewhere!\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBe friendly and positive. Talk about the great choice they\u2019ve made and the journey they\u2019re about to go on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESay thank you \u2013 just by enquiring they\u2019re making a difference.\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ETry not to overwhelm them to begin with. Start slowly. Be honest and mention the DBS checks and learning opportunities, but don\u2019t go through everything in your first communications with them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EUse an adult \u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https://prod-cms.scouts.org.uk/media/15149/adult-volunteer-welcome-pack.docx\u0026amp;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK\u0022\u003Ewelcome pack\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/span\u003E \u003Cspan\u003Eto give them all the relevant information they\u2019ll need.\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EDirect them to the \u003Cu\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteer/welcome-to-scouts/\u0022\u003Ewelcome pages\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/u\u003E on the website, so they can find out more.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EOnce you\u2019ve welcomed them to the team, be sure to check out our pages on \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-things-locally/tools-to-support-leadership-teams/celebrating-success/thanking-our-volunteers/\u0022 title=\u0022Thanking our volunteers\u0022\u003Ekeeping amazing volunteers.\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ol\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor your emails, you could put on an automatic reply to say you\u0027ll be in touch, as well as the time frame in which people might hear back.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"","link":null,"colour":"#490499","title":"Make sure your email address is up-to-date so volunteer enquiries don\u2019t get lost!","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"30 January 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Are you ready to recruit?","url":"#","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"Find out more about growing Scouts","url":"/volunteers/growing-scouts/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"How can you manage joining enquiries from young people?","url":"/volunteers/growing-scouts/get-more-young-people-involved/managing-joining-enquiries/","newWindow":false}],"id":50904,"nodeName":"8 tips on how best to respond to a volunteer enquiry","title":"8 tips on how best to respond to a volunteer enquiry","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/16143/two-volunteers-chatting.jpg?cc=0,0.1469326562688913,0.0000000000000001263187085796,0.007787147866038084\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dae8b5e93d8a60","caption":"Two volunteers chatting outside","type":"jpg","size":316390,"width":1381,"height":919,"altText":"Two volunteers stand outside looking at each other and having a conversation."},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"8 tips on how best to respond to a volunteer enquiry","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Find out the best practice for responding to new volunteers enquiries.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC81MDkwNCJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/february/8-tips-on-how-best-to-respond-to-a-volunteer-enquiry/"}