Using Policy to Market, Recruit and Select Quality Volunteers

Have you ever heard: “Like attracts Like”?  Well, it’s true for your support program too.  Know it or not, you will attract, recruit, select and train volunteers based on the values of your program.

Program policy should include a foundational list of core values that you provide and promote.  Instead, many coordinators put the “cart before the horse” and draft ethical standards of practice (such as, confidentiality).  Ethical standards are imperative for a strong and sustainable program; however, core values are the basis of an ethical practice.  In other words, core values are who you are – ethical standards are what you do.

With written and defined values, coordinators can actively “advertise” and “attract” volunteers that already match your values (and, thus, be more likely to maintain an ethical practice).  For example, you identify confidentiality as an ethical standard.  Protecting someone’s personal information (keeping confidence) is the “practice”, but being a trustworthy and respectful person is the core value they possess that, in turn, motivates them to maintain confidentiality.

Part of the work in drafting policy is identifying what you value and why you value it.
Drafting policy that includes core values makes recruiting, selecting, training and
maintaining quality team members that much easier.  

From an instructor’s perspective, we’ve had students in our class that did not reflect the values and qualities of a support volunteer.  These students were judgmental, critical, disruptive, temperamental, unfair and (on occasion) unkind to others in class.  It was no surprise to find that programs that permitted these students to attend training (and become “helpers”) did not have a policy with a strong set of core values in place.  Instead, they had an “open door” recruiting approach – anyone who will, let them come.

Using values to “market”, promote, attract and recruit is nothing new.  Whether it’s a rescue worker giving a duck a bath (Dawn dish soap) or branch of our military (watch example below), these organizations are telling you what they value.  This level of promoting essentially boils down to a basic conversation:  “We value this _________.  If you value this too, then join us and we’ll do this ______ together.”

So, now the question becomes: What do you value?  Or, more specifically: What type of values do you want demonstrated throughout your program?  Here’s a quick list to give you some ideas:

• Trustworthy
• Compassionate
• Mature
• Person of integrity
• Solutions-focused
• Servant-spirit
• Honest
• Committed
• Dependable
• Respectful
• Teachable / coachable
• Humble

Need help drafting policy?  Need help organizing and training?  It’s what we do!
Email me to receive a copy of my eBook, Creating Standards and Recruiting Quality.  

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Want more? Watch this commercial and see how the Marines use “like attract like”.  Although there are ZERO words spoken in this ad, can you identify the values they are promoting?  Can you hear the implied, “…if you share these values, then join us.”