{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Jack Caine, UK Commissioner for People ","standfirst":"Through 2023 and beyond, we\u2019re introducing changes to your volunteering experience at Scouts. These changes are about making volunteering with Scouts easier and more fun, so we can attract more volunteers and help our current volunteers feel like they want to stay.\n\nThis\u2019ll help us provide skills for life to more young people across the UK.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/18416/volunteers-with-ball.jpg","width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":"Three volunteers stand in a line, while the volunteer in the centre holds a football above their head.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003ETo do this, we need to change how we do things, and our culture. This way, we\u2019ll stay relevant and inclusive to volunteers and young people from all backgrounds, and remove any barriers to becoming (and remaining as) a volunteer at Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe want flexible volunteering to be a reality, and to make sure volunteering suits people\u2019s skills, interests, and free time.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019re moving to teams-based volunteering, which means there\u2019ll be clearer roles and responsibilities for everyone. \u003Cspan\u003ETo do this, instead of role descriptions, we\u2019ll use team descriptions to share tasks among teams of volunteers. This means teams can decide how to split up tasks to suit everyone\u2019s skills and availability. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe want our teams and titles to be easier to understand\u00A0and more appealing, especially to new volunteers. This means we\u0027re changing from a complex system of over 400 volunteer roles to a new, simpler system.\u00A0\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat this means for the future\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs we move to a teams-based approach for volunteering, there\u2019ll be changes to all roles. For everyone in local leadership roles:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EGroup Scout Leaders, District Commissioners and County/Area/Region Commissioners will be known as Lead Volunteers\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EYouth Commissioners will be known as Youth Leads.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhere this came from\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2020, we commissioned independent research experts. They worked with a number of volunteers and staff to co-design an improved volunteer experience.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis research showed us that we needed to make changes to volunteering.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EVolunteers or potential volunteers didn\u0027t understand what our roles were or what was expected of them.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EVolunteers want to help out in teams/groups, and have more flexibility as and when their lives change\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EWe need to make our volunteering roles more manageable and attractive. We should make it clear what volunteers need to do, so we can then make sure the right people are in the right teams/roles.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003EOur language can be a bit of a barrier. Potential volunteers find it hard to see us as relevant, or see a place for themselves in Scouts (especially in communities where Scouts isn\u0027t currently active).\u00A0\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve also worked with volunteers to make sure we get things right. We\u2019ve heard what a wide range of volunteers have to say on some of our proposed changes. \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe understand there\u2019s a lot of work for Group Scout Leaders and Commissioners. 45% of them described their volunteering workload as \u2018difficult\u2019 or \u2018really difficult\u2019 in the Scout Volunteer Experience survey.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor people leading local Scout Groups and Districts, we\u2019ll refocus them to inspire their teams and enable others to bring forward their skills to benefit their area.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EChanging what our Group Scout Leaders and Commissioners do is one part of how these roles can appeal to people in the future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow this ties in with the role titles\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom volunteer feedback, we learned many existing members have strong views about the term \u2018Commissioner.\u2019 Around half of our current volunteers would like to keep this title, as they believe there\u2019s no need to change. The other half believe now is the time to change, with comments around the term \u2018Commissioner\u2019 having historical links, not reflecting modern day volunteering and potentially not being understood by volunteers who are new to Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECensus shows us that 30% of all leadership roles are vacant (53% of District leadership roles and 27% of Group leadership roles) and they can be very hard to recruit for.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe also surveyed 2,000 people outside of Scouts who told us that roles with \u2018Commissioner\u2019 in the title are seen as less attractive, less appealing, and less manageable than some alternatives.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E43% said \u2018Lead Volunteer\u2019 sounded like a volunteer who provides leadership and inspiration to other volunteers in the district, compared to 7% who thought this about \u2018Commissioner\u2019.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E24% said \u2018Lead Volunteer\u2019 sounded like an appealing role, compared to 13% for \u2018Commissioner.\u2019\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E6% said they\u2019d be interested in volunteering for a role with \u2018Commissioner\u2019 in the role title, compared to 19% who\u2019d volunteer in the same role if it was presented as \u2018Lead Volunteer\u2019.\u00A0\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy changing our roles titles, we can make key leadership roles consistent and reflect the purpose and responsibilities of the role more accurately. We\u2019ll also:\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Ebe more inclusive\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Ebe clearer and more understandable to people inside and outside of Scouts\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003Ebe able to remove some of the barriers to becoming a volunteer.\u003C/li\u003E\n\u003C/ul\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor more details on our teams-based approach to volunteering and how we\u2019re simplifying all roles in Scouts, please talk to your local Transformation Lead and team. They\u2019re making plans for how these changes will roll out in your area.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ll share more information soon, with support on how to structure your own teams. Since you\u2019re a Group Scout Leader, District Commissioner or County/Area/Region Commissioner role, you\u2019ll be the Lead Volunteers for your area.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019ll be more changes to come for others with \u2018Commissioner\u2019 in their title, such as Assistants or Deputies. We\u2019ll provide more information soon on how your Deputies and Assistants can change to be \u2018Team Leaders\u2019 or leadership team members (if they\u2019d like), as you start to look at the structure of your local team.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThank you for your local leadership and for helping volunteers understanding the reasons behind the upcoming changes, as well as the rewards that\u2019ll come from this.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EJack Caine, UK Commissioner for People and Programme Sponsor for Volunteer Experience\u00A0\u003C/em\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/19345/cubs-volunteer-talking.jpg","width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":"A volunteer wearing a blue polo shirt and necker speaks while holding their hands in the air.","caption":"","link":null}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"02 May 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Continuing our journey to the future","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/april/continuing-our-journey-to-the-future/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"","title":"How can we improve your volunteer experience?","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/about-us/testing-hub/volunteer-experience/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"People programme of work","url":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/about-us/strategy/our-programmes-of-work/people/","newWindow":false}],"id":48751,"nodeName":"Your role in moving to teams based volunteering and simpler role titles","title":"Your role in moving to teams based volunteering and simpler role titles","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/20283/a-squirrel-leader-is-in-the-middle-of-a-circle-and-about-to-throw-a-ballmin.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dadf67f8380f60","caption":"Volunteer throwing ball to a Squirrel","type":"jpg","size":2069793,"width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":"A volunteer in the middle of a circle about to throw a ball to a Squirrel"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Your role in moving to teams based volunteering and simpler role titles","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"We\u0027re introducing changes to the volunteer experience at Scouts, including some changes to our culture","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODc1MSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/may/your-role-in-moving-to-teams-based-volunteering-and-simpler-role-titles/"}