{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"David Morris, Transformation Lead at Clwyd Scouts","standfirst":"Moz, a District Lead Volunteer and Area Transformation Lead, shares how he recruited a Transformation Team at Clwyd Scouts, as well as the successes and challenges he\u0027s faced so far.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EFrom latecomers to Early Adopters\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn Clwyd, when it came to transformation, we started off very late to the party.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhile we had two District Commissioners at Basecamp, we didn\u2019t do very much after that until the end of 2022. We didn\u2019t have a Transformation Lead and hadn\u2019t really looked at what we\u2019d do as an Area.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ESpringing into action\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThen, we got ourselves a new Area Commissioner. Kevin joined us with no previous background in Scouts, but he did have a rucksack load of experience with uniformed youth organisations, and in management. He couldn\u2019t have come along at a better time, and we wouldn\u2019t be in the place we are now without him.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter a few initial meetings, I realised despite being a District Commissioner myself, I could probably have a decent go at being our Transformation Lead with Kevin\u2019s support, and if I was able to recruit a team to share out the tasks.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy January 2023, we had a Transformation Lead, a Transformation Team of six and the beginnings of a plan.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EDream team\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe found our Transformation team members through open invitations to anyone in the Area. It turned out that those who put themselves forward were perfect! Another great thing is they\u2019re such a diverse group of people - from varying roles, ages, and experiences.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe knew that to make transformation work, we\u2019d need to bring every volunteer in the Area on the journey with us. I knew each member of our team would be able to reach different kinds of people, including those I\u2019d never usually meet.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen we first met up, we realised we had some very different opinions. It became a very valuable discussion as we got to hear each other\u2019s viewpoints, which then also represented some of the different views that would be held across the Area.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy having these discussions as a team beforehand, we were more prepared for the kinds of challenges that volunteers on the ground might throw our way.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003ESo, what\u2019s worked?\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOur biggest surprise from speaking to people around the Area was how well it all went down. In most cases, people had been waiting for this change and they were keen to get started.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of the most successful things we\u2019ve done is to use \u2018task cards\u2019 - we took all the different tasks that future teams would do from the \u003Ca href=\u0022#\u0022 title=\u0022Team descriptions\u0022\u003ETeam Descriptions page online\u003C/a\u003E, and put them on separate cards.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe then wrote down headers for current roles in Scouts, and went through each task card and asked who currently did this task. Mostly, the cards ended up under the District Commissioner and Group Scout Leader headers. This showed the strain on these roles, and backs up the statistics which show how difficult it is currently to get people to do them.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENext, we created headers for each of the new teams - 14-24, Programme, Support, Volunteering Development, Leadership - and went through the task cards again, splitting them between the teams. People could see this was much more balanced and the tasks were shared out.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, we still had the issue of \u2018but who\u2019s going to be in these teams - we still need volunteers\u2019, but most people agreed it\u2019d be easier to gather people to join the new teams, than it would be to recruit new District Commissioners and Group Scout Leaders currently.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPeople have also welcomed our \u2018One Pagers\u2019 - headline information put in a simple and easy to read format on a single page of A4. This has helped get the message across to our busy volunteers.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EEarly Adopters\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe success we\u2019ve had in such a short time has obviously been noticed, as when UK Headquarters were looking for an additional Area in Wales to become Early Adopters, we were asked.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI was cautious at first, because while I thought as a Transformation Team, we could do it, I didn\u2019t want to spook volunteers across the Area who may\u2019ve already been worried about the upcoming change.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s also the risk of systems not being 100% ready when we transition, which would give a less than perfect first impression of something we\u2019ve been trying to encourage.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, when we asked around at different levels, the overwhelming feedback was - go for it!\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003EChallenges that were there anyway\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAny difficulties we\u2019ve had so far have been challenges from people who question where we\u2019re going to get \u2018all these new volunteers from\u2019. But, these are challenges we were facing anyway, and ones which should be made easier to meet with the simpler set up and better digital tools.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESeveral of our Districts also had very small District Teams struggling to meet the needs of their Groups and Units. I think our new Area Commissioner would\u2019ve undoubtedly made a difference here anyway, as he\u2019s very keen to get Districts working together, supported by Area teams who want to cut out duplicated tasks. But, the new structures will now make this much easier to do.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe\u2019ve already made huge progress, and we can\u2019t wait for the next steps.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EIf you\u2019ve any questions about delivering change in your local area as a Transformation Lead, get in touch with Scouts\u2019 Change Team at \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022mailto:transformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Transformation Leads email address\u0022\u003Etransformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDo you want to share your story? Get in touch with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022mailto:transformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Transformation Leads email address\u0022\u003Etransformation.leads@scouts.org.uk\u003C/a\u003E with the subject line, Transformation Lead Spotlight.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#ffb4e5","title":"If you\u2019re a Transformation Lead leading change in your local area","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":"13 September 2023","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"Volunteer Experience","title":"Volunteer Experience","url":"/volunteers/volunteer-experience/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[{"caption":"Looking to the Future: Belfast","title":"Looking to the Future: Belfast","url":"/news/2023/august/looking-to-the-future-in-belfast/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"Looking to the Future: Coventry","title":"Looking to the Future: Coventry","url":"/news/2023/june/looking-to-the-future-in-coventry/","newWindow":false}],"id":77066,"nodeName":"Looking to the Future: Clwyd","title":"Looking to the Future: Clwyd","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/zfocsza1/making-scouts-a-great-place-to-volunteer.png?cc=0.05589849108367633,0.055898491083676304,0.05589849108367633,0.055898491083676304\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9e6306dbc83b0","caption":"Making Scouts A Great Place To Volunteer (1)","type":"png","size":384156,"width":1920,"height":1080,"altText":"Bright coloured graphic with a fleur-de-lis in a purple circle and the words \u0027Making Scouts a great place to volunteer\u0027"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Looking to the Future: Clwyd","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Moz, a District Lead Volunteer and Area Transformation Lead, shares how he recruited a Transformation Team at Clwyd Scouts.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC83NzA2NiJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2023/september/looking-to-the-future-clwyd/"}