Recruitment

Having a planned approach to recruitment will help your organisation find the right volunteers for the roles you need filled. Depending on the roles you are recruiting for you are likely to engage in different recruitment processes. Implementing a broad recruitment strategy will help your organisation to understand how to approach different audiences to get the right outcome for your volunteering programs and projects.

Alignment with the National Standards for Volunteer Involvement

National Standard 4: Recruitment is equitable and diversity is valued covers volunteer recruitment. This National Standard suggests that organisations should use equitable and innovative approaches to volunteer recruitment and ensure prospective volunteers are provided with relevant information about the organisation, role, and the recruitment process. Organisations should ensure that diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility principles are built into recruitment activities, reflecting and promoting awareness of, and respect for, diversity and inclusion and the inherent value this brings to the organisation. It is important to comply with anti-discrimination legislation during volunteer recruitment.

Where to Advertise

Volunteering Australia provides GoVolunteer, a free, online volunteer recruitment platform, which enables volunteer involving organisations to advertise for volunteers. This national database can be searched by location, key word, and other filters, making it a simple way for prospective volunteers to find their perfect role. Volunteers apply online and their application comes directly to your organisation for action.

In addition to GoVolunteer, Volunteering Australia’s counterpart Volunteering WA run VIKTOR Online nationally. This is a more comprehensive online volunteer recruitment tool available for a small fee. Any advertisements uploaded to VIKTOR Online also appear on GoVolunteer and SEEK Volunteer, doubling your audience for no extra effort. More information on VIKTOR online can be found here.

Outside dedicated volunteer recruitment platforms your organisation can advertise for volunteers in the following ways:

  • Through your website
  • Via your social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok
  • Word of mouth
  • Through local news media (digital and print)
  • By leveraging your existing networks
  • Through local schools, universities and other education providers
  • Through your local Volunteering Support Service or Volunteer Resource Centre

Recruitment Tips

  1. Ensure you have enough information available for prospective volunteers to understand the role and the commitment you’re looking for. This will reduce the frequency of people contacting you for more information. Additionally, some people will self-screen away from a role if the information available to them is unclear.
  2. Have a dedicated contact point for volunteer recruitment. This ensures prospective volunteers know who to contact for more information and ensures all applicants receive the same level of information about the role. It also makes the recruitment process more personable, setting relationships with new volunteers up for success.
  3. Be clear about the recruitment process, including next steps. Prospective volunteers want to know the timeline for recruitment, what is expected of them, and when they can start if they are selected.
  4. Respond to applications quickly. Volunteers are motivated to give their time to your organisation. Take advantage of this motivation by contacting them as soon as possible after they apply to confirm the next steps and to get an understanding if the role is a good fit for you both. If you don’t reply promptly you are likely to lose interested volunteers.
  5. Ensure your ads are accessible and easy to understand. Be clear about the requirements of the role and what can be compromised. Invite people experiencing barriers to contact you to discuss how the role might be able to be adapted for their circumstances.
  6. Get feedback on the process so you can improve your recruitment practices over time.

More Information

For more information on recruitment, including an overview of relevant legislation, see Part 5 of the National Volunteer Guide.