Recruitment
Why recruit?
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There are many reasons why you might decide to actively recruit more volunteers. Most units will be looking to recruit for a specific role, for example a parents’ rota.
You may want to decrease the number of girls waiting to join at the local or national level. You may want to be able to concentrate on your favourite role within guiding.
You may want others to share your ‘hobby’ and show how successful your unit is. You may know a nearby unit which has vacant roles to fill.
Top Tips
- Work as a team towards recruitment.
- Talk enthusiastically about guiding to anyone who will listen!
- Use fresh-looking displays and posters.
- Positive PR can be effective in recruiting. Have fun!
Waiting lists
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In an ideal world every girl who wants to join guiding should start in a unit straight away. Unfortunately, this is not always possible and many areas operate a waiting list.
How waiting lists are managed varies from unit to unit and District to District, depending on local needs. Parents should be informed of the local waiting list. It is important that local areas have a plan to keep waiting lists at a minimum. This could be by trying to recruit new leaders, improving the retention of existing leaders or encouraging parents to help if their daughter joins.
Many areas operate a District list and as places at units arise the person at the top of the list is offered the place. It is important to remember that if a District list is being operated it should be considered whether a girl needs to be placed in a particular unit because of family circumstances, where she lives or because she has an older sister in that unit. It is good practice to ensure that members from the previous section are placed in a unit as soon as possible as they are already members of Girlguiding UK, for example a Rainbow going to Brownies, or a Brownie going to Guides.
When a member moves from another area it is important that she is offered a place as quickly as possible so that she can continue her progress through the sections. In some cases this may mean that the unit exceeds the recommended adult-to-child ratio for a short period of time.
