An effective and sustainable volunteer program should utilise resources in the most effiective way possible to support the achievement of organisational strategic objectives. Simultaneously it is imperative that volunteers are highly engaged and supported appropriately in meaningful roles in which they are able to flourish.

Applying a process improvement framework can be a useful method to developing a sustainable volunteer program and one to consider is Lean Six Sigma.

Lean Six Sigma is a combination of two robust process improvement methods: Lean and Six Sigma. Lean was developed by Toyota in the 1940’s and focuses on maximising value, reducing waste and simplifying and improving processes. Six Sigma was developed in 1986 by Motorola and is a method used to efficiently solve problems. At its core, Lean Six Sigma applies a process to define a problem, measure current performance and analyse the root cause of the problem to deliver improvements by implementing and sustaining effective solutions.

So, how can we apply the principles of Lean Six Sigma to improve a typical volunteer recruitment process?

A good starting point is to think of those applying to join your volunteer program as customers. What are their expectations of the volunteer program and is your current recruitment process delivering on these expectations? Consider the volunteer applicant and what is important to them when going through a volunteer recruitment process. Typically this would include being provided with accurate and detailed information about the role and its requirements, receiving an induction and training to prepare them appropriately and for the recruitment process to be engaging and not laborious. To gain insight into the specific requirements of your volunteer applicants and to gather feedback on your current process you may wish to speak with your existing volunteers through a survey or focus group.

To take a Lean Six Sigma view of potential improvements, a good basis is to conduct a thorough end to end review of all of the steps under your current volunteer recruitment process. It is important to include everyone who is involved in the process when mapping it out. This ensures steps aren’t overlooked and increases the buy in of those involved in implementing change to the current process. By documenting all the steps from initial enquiry to becoming a registered volunteer including paperwork, information sessions, checks, induction, training etc. you may highlight unnecessary processes, rework or bottlenecks which are slowing down the time it takes for an applicant to flow through the recruitment process. With this detailed understanding of your process, you can implement some of the typical Lean Six Sigma approaches to improving your volunteer recruitment process.

Some actions to consider to increase the flow of your volunteer recruitment process include:

• Developing Standard Tools – Make common procedures and processes easy to perform by developing effective and repeatable tools e.g. interview templates, induction checklists and email templates for responding to enquiries.
• Identify and address any delays in the process – Ask yourself what has caused the delay and what needs to happen to eliminate it. For example, are applicants waiting for training dates and if so why? Could pre-setting the dates of training at the commencement of the recruitment assist with reducing the delay as applicants will be aware and able to commit to the training dates early in the recruitment process?
• Recruit based on organisational need – Recruiting more volunteers than required is a waste of your time and the volunteers. Complete a needs analysis and only recruit the number of volunteers you require for each role.
• Eliminate unnecessary processes – By reviewing your recruitment process you may discover some processes which aren’t actually required. For example, for a role which isn’t working with vulnerable people or sensitive information are three references really required?
• Identify and address rework – Are some portions of your volunteer recruitment process being repeated unnecessarily? Perhaps your use manual application forms which are completed by the applicant and then entered into the system by staff or an administration volunteer. Consider using a volunteer management system where applicants enter their details directly online, saving time and effort.
• Introduce parallel processing – Are there any bottlenecks in your recruitment process that could be eliminated? For example, perhaps you have applicants waiting for their Police Checks to be returned. While they are waiting for their Police Check could they also attend an interview rather than waiting for the Police Check first?
• Eliminating unnecessary handover or approval – Have a think about all of the people currently involved in the recruitment process and ask yourself who really needs to be involved.

Remember first impressions count. If your volunteers find the recruitment process hard, lengthy and painful; what mindset are they in when coming to volunteer at your organisation?

Please share your thoughts and any actions you have taken to increase the flow of your volunteer recruitment process.