Questions to answer in developing a recruitment plan
by Family Councils Ontario
In this week’s Family Council Recruitment series blog post, we’re going to dig deeper and explore the questions you need to consider as you develop your recruitment plan. While recruitment is an ongoing process, it is essential to have a plan in place. You can- and should- review and revise the plan on a regular basis as your needs and interests as a Council will change over time.
To start, consider these questions:
- Why do people volunteer?
- How can we share information about the Family Council?
- Who do we want to recruit and why? For leadership positions? Special events?
- How do we keep people interested in the Council?
- What ideas do we have for events and recruitment strategies? How are we going to attract new members?
The answers to these questions will help you to better understand the specific needs of your Council, identify high-level motivations for joining the Council, and brainstorm ways to engage people in your group’s work.
Then, reflect and think about this question: Why did you join the Council?
- For support?
- To take action on concerns?
- To learn about the home and/or LTC System?
This information will help your members to come up with specific techniques to engage with family members and encourage them to join the Council. Since your members joined the Council for a specific reason(s), they can use those reasons to encourage others to do the same.
Consider: what are barriers to joining the Council?
- Knowledge
- Interest
- Time (commitment)
- Logistics
Understanding the barriers to Council involvement will help your group to identify ways to remove those barriers. Consider doing a Family Interest Survey to obtain this information.
Finally, who do you want to recruit?
- People with special skills
- People to undertake or support projects
- Council leaders
- General members
In order to develop a recruitment plan, you need a firm understanding of who exactly you want to recruit.
Now, what are you trying to achieve? Be SMART in setting your recruitment goals:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
Ensuring that your recruitment goals are SMART will go a long way in supporting your recruitment success!
Join us next week for the next blog post on Council recruitment and related aspects!
Happy Wednesday!