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Guidelines: Develop Procedures for Volunteer Recruitment and Selection

Volunteer Recruitment

Determine positions to be filled and identify required specialties.
Develop recruiting and marketing materials.
- Develop a recruiting message based on your knowledge of the volunteers you are trying to reach. The message should:
  - Catch the volunteers’ attention
  - State the need in the community
  - Explain how the MRC (or specific MRC volunteer positions) can meet the need
  - Identify who can be an MRC volunteer
  - Describe the benefits of being an MRC volunteer
  - List the MRC unit point of contact
- Determine message delivery strategies.
  - Choose a medium(s) (e.g., radio, television, print) that reaches your target audience
  - Determine when and where to deliver your message
  - Develop, print, and distribute brochures about your MRC unit
Develop and implement recruiting events and activities.
- Identify groups and organizations that may be a volunteer source,
  such as:
  - Professional associations, medical societies, and related organizations
  - Colleges and universities
  - Schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, etc.
  - Emergency Medical Technician, paramedic, and Mobile Intensive Care Technician training programs
  - Non-acute care hospitals and facilities
  - Outpatient surgery centers and medical clinics
  - State volunteer registries
  - Corporations and businesses, particularly those related to healthcare
  - Churches and faith-based organizations
  - Community groups and service organizations (e.g., Elks Club, Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, etc.)
Coordinate recruiting efforts with those of other area volunteer agencies, particularly those that utilize medical personnel (i.e., the American Red Cross).

Application Materials

Develop application materials that are brief and “user-friendly” (i.e., easy to complete), yet comprehensive enough to capture necessary information.
The application form should collect:
- Standard personal information:
  - Name
  - Address
  - Telephone numbers (home, work, cellular)
  - Emergency contact information
- Employment and experience
  - Present employer (organization, address, phone number, etc.)
  - Volunteer experience (organization, position, dates, etc.)
  - Education
  - Training
- Licenses and certifications
- Specialized skills, foreign language proficiency, etc.
- Personal references
- Position(s) of interest
- Preferences on availability (i.e., when and where would the volunteer like to serve)
- Hospital affiliation (physicians only)
- Background check consent and liability waiver
- Other volunteer affiliations
Consider creating online and hard-copy versions of the application form

Volunteer Screening and Selection

Develop a screening process that includes:
- Application review
- Interview
- Reference check
- Background check (if necessary)
- License verification (if necessary)
- Documentation of the screening process
Criteria for selection of applicants should include:
- Possession of specialized skills, experience, licenses and/or certifications, if required by a unit position
- Related volunteer experience
- Satisfactory check of an applicant’s background or character references
  - Determine positions that require background checks
  - Identify suitable sources for background checks, such as:
    - Local law enforcement
    - Web sites
    - Private investigation firms
    - Other (employers, other volunteer agencies)
  - Document background checks and/or character references
  - Determine frequency of background checks and/or character references
Consider appointing a committee to screen and/or select volunteers.
Ensure consistent policies and procedures are followed throughout the volunteer screening and selection process.

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Last Updated on 9/5/2006