GoVolHerts Spotlight Series Featuring Hertfordshire Health Walks

So, you need volunteers? Of course you do! Here are some of our top tips for volunteer recruitment by ensuring your roles are clear and attractive to potential volunteers. Make a plan before you start: What exactly are you looking for in a volunteer? Have some clarity on the ideal commitment, responsibilities, required skills etc. for each specific role. You can be flexible, but a potential volunteer wants to know up-front if a role would suit them – or not. Who are you? Give some detail on your organisation. What is it that you do and why should someone consider volunteering for you specifically? How can they make a difference? Keep it simple: Too much text can be overwhelming. Consider bullet points, or short sentences with key information. If there’s enough information to give a clear idea if they are interested in the role, they can then contact you for more details. What’s in it for them? You need to be clear on what you are looking for from a volunteer, but you also need to be clear on what they will get out of it! It could be social, skills, improved mental health…. Different people will be looking for different things from their volunteering, so think about who you are trying to appeal to. Think flexibly: Plenty of people would like to volunteer, but struggle to find time or don’t want to make a big commitment. Can you get people to join your cause with flexible or micro-volunteering opportunities? If they find they are getting a lot from volunteering, this may well turn into a longer-term commitment! Follow up! If you’ve got your setting correct on GoVolHerts, you’ll get an email when you receive an expression of interest (assuming you are the organiser of the opportunity). Make sure that you contact the applicant in a timely manner and give the impression that you are interested in them! Follow up and onboarding should be as quick and efficient as possible. It may be that they are not quite right for the role you have. Do you have other roles that might work better, or do they have skills you could use in a way you hadn’t considered? Review, review, review! Remember to review your volunteering roles on GoVolHerts regularly. If you aren’t getting applicants, or the right applicants, do you need to tweak things? Consider talking about your organisation at one of our Virtual Volunteer Fairs or taking part in the Volunteer Spotlight series to give you some extra publicity. Optimise your use of GoVolHerts! The GoVolHerts Team run regular training sessions on-line to help you get the most from the platform – keep an eye on the Events page to see what’s coming up!

The Spotlight Series on our YouTube channel is a must watch for anyone interested in making a difference through volunteering. This series showcases the incredible organisations we work with, giving you an inside look at the amazing work they do and the volunteer opportunities they offer. You’ll discover a wide range of ways to get involved, whether you’re passionate about helping people, protecting the environment, or supporting local causes. It’s the perfect way to learn how you can contribute, hear inspiring stories, and find the right volunteer role for you. In this episode, we're talking to St Albans Lions Club. They operate through local clubs and their aim is to give back to the community via raising money for local charities and individuals or doing service projects. If you want to have fun, give something back to your community or make new friends you can apply for their roles here .

Do Volunteers Have Rights? Volunteers don't have a contract and usually carry out their activities in the context of a volunteer agreement, meaning no employment rights, but other protections still apply.