Screening Volunteer Applicants
Q. Why screen for volunteers?
A. Productivity, Image, Program Success, Employee and Volunteer Retention.
We need the best possible people to enhance our organizations. If the people we "Hire" are not those who can best support our organization, why would we hire them?
Not only do the people representing our organization's interests affect the success of the project but they also affect the way these organizations are perceived, the amounts we need to pay for insurance, the number and types of people who will be interested in our goals and working with us.
This being the case, here are a few suggestions as to how we can better make the right decision of who will represent our organizations.
Because it demonstrates an applicant's commitment to the organization. If they are willing to give you personal information they are already attracted to your organization and your cause.
Application forms should be based on principles of equality and comply with provincial and federal legislation including the Employment Equity Act and Human Rights Act.
Applicants should not be discriminated against on the basis of any of the following factors :
On this basis the application form should not include questions on these issues. Please see the Sample Application Form from the Tools Page.
Suggested Web sites:
http://www.scn.org/scna/volunteers/volform.html
Often this is done by taking the number of positions you are staffing and adding an extra amount to allow for unsuccessful interviews and applicants that have to drop out of the process on the basis of other employment or personal reasons.
In many cases the formula is ( the number of positions + 25%, rounded to the next whole number). Therefore if we were staffing for 10 positions the formula would be 10+ (10x50%)= 10+5=15 which would give 15 interviews.
It is important to note that we should set a minimum requirement for experience and qualifications. An acceptable baseline would be half or three quarters of the required skills for the position. Anyone scoring less than this baseline would not be considered for the position.
As we have already determined the desired qualifications for this position, we can now screen applicants on this basis. Perhaps the simplest way to do this is to score each applicant on the number of qualifications we have identified.
Conduct the initial scoring based on the elements of the position description. Any skills or experiences that would be valuable but not necessary should not be taken into consideration until after the initial screening has been completed.
Therefore, if we have identified ten desired skills/ qualities, we assign a score out of ten. If the applicant has demonstrated seven out of these ten qualities in their application, we would assign them a score of seven. We would then narrow the applicants on the basis of best score.
We would then sort the applications by scoring results. Those that received a score of ten would go into the first pile. Those that received a score of nine would go into the next pile. And so on, etc.
If there are less Applicants in the first group than positions available, these applicants would move on to the interview phase and we would look at the next highest scoring group of applicants.
If there are more applicants in the first group than positions available, we would go through the applications of the highest scoring group and rank them in order of suitability on the basis of skills and experiences that are not necessary but are valuable. We would have to make judgements on which of these skills is more important to the program. At this stage it is very important that we document these decisions.
We would now move on to the Interview phase.
The interview is a versatile tool allowing the exchange of information about the recruiting organization (promotion), the position available, and the relevant skills and abilities of the applicant (selection).
This is a chance to see how the applicant reacts during stressful situations, determine their self opinion and determine whether or not the personality and abilities will compliment the existing organization.
The interviewer must structure the interview in such a way as to allow decisions based on principles of fairness, equality and a non discriminatory process. Applicants should be interviewed separately except in cases where teamwork is to be assessed. Another way to ensure fairness is to use prepared questions and to paraphrase answers to clarify understanding of responses given. The applicant should be scored on the depth of their knowledge on a relevant subject based on the knowledge demonstrated through his/ her answer. For this reason it is suggested that interviewers use open ended and multi faceted response interview questions. A simple "yes" or "no" while easy to score does make it difficult to assess one's depth of knowledge on any particular subject.
One of the common trends in interviewing today is the use of behavioural or situational questions to determine how an applicant has in the past and will in the future react to certain situations relevant to the position. Questions such as "If in the past a situation occurred how you did handle it?" are quite useful in determining self confidence and the ability to problem solve. Please see a list of sample questions on the following page.
As with the application forms, there is information you do not wish to ask. Questions around heritage, sexual orientation, family status, age, and disabilities are not to be asked. To minimize the risk of discriminatory hiring practices it is often helpful to have more than one person conduct the interview. This allows a decision based on more than one person's opinions. Many large organizations keep interview notes and scoring sheets in a file with the applications for a period of two years or more.
Suggested web sites:
http://charitychannel.com/article_4514.shtml
http://interview.monster.ca/
http://www.workopolis.com/content/resource/usablenews/interview.html
Any organization staffing for a position where the applicant will be working in close proximity with children may obtain request forms from either Faye Townsend at (902) 424-3201 or Leonard Doiron at (902) 424-3867 or through Mr. Doiron's e-mail at DOIRONLC@gov.ns.ca.
The applicant will take the form to an officer of oaths in whose presence s/he will complete and sign the form. The top portion of these forms is to be completed by the organization requesting the search and send it to the following address:
Child Abuse Register
Family and Children's Services Division
Department of Community Services
P.O. Box 696
Halifax , NS B3J 2T7
The organization requesting the search will receive the response in writing within four to six weeks.
Criminal record searches are one way of narrowing the field of applicants. A policy of accepting only those applicants that will pass a criminal record search may significantly reduce the number of unsuitable candidates and in some cases prevent liability issues.
Criminal record searches for volunteer positions are available through the RCMP or Halifax Regional Policing Service depending upon which organization polices the area in which the applicant lives.
If the applicant lives within an area policed by the RCMP there is no charge for a criminal record search and it usually takes from one to five business days to obtain a response.
The applicants must request the search by presenting themselves to the local RCMP detachment and filling in a form for this purpose. It is necessary to have 2 pieces of government issued identification one of which must be a picture ID (passport or driver's license). After completion of this search the document is to be picked up by the applicant.
If the applicant lives within an area policed by the Halifax Regional Policing Service there is a charge of $25* plus tax. The search will take between two and five business days to complete.
The applicant must write a letter requesting the search be completed and show 2 pieces of Identification one of which must be a government issued picture ID (passport or driver's license). The applicant is to pick up the response at the local detachment of the Halifax regional Policing Service.
*Please note that this charge can be reduced to $10 plus tax if the organization has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Halifax Regional Policing Service.
This MOU is obtained by sending a letter outlining the fact that the organization is a non profit entity and that the search is completed on volunteers as part of the screening process to:
Staff Sergeant Greg Mosher
Halifax Regional Police Service
1975 Gottingen street
Halifax , NS B3J 2H1
Each applicant should be asked to supply the addresses and telephone numbers of at least two references (employment references where possible) preferably on a release form allowing the organization to perform the background check.
These references should be asked to supply information as to the applicant's work history (dates attendance punctuality, strengths, weaknesses, and how they interacted with other employees). The references should also be asked whether they would hire the individual again.
The references should be recorded on sheets created with the questions printed and spaces for the responses. These sheets should also include the name of the Reference as well as the date the Reference was contacted, the organization they are with and the interviewer's name. these sheets should be included in the Volunteer's file.
A probation period will allow the organization to get a better feel for the individual's skills and work ethic.
A framework for disciplinary action/ termination process will be necessary, if at the end of the probationary period the applicant:
Absolutely nothing is more valuable than supervision when it comes to making the correct employment/ volunteer decisions. This consists of constructive feedback, proper credit for work completed as well as corrective action where necessary. This is the most effective method of ensuring that the tasks are being completed satisfactorily and in a timely manner.
Methods of supervision include routine meetings, observation, self-performance appraisals, and surveys of volunteer's direct clients. This information will be discussed in greater detail in Section 5: Supervision.
It is very important to document the results of your research into volunteer performance as shall be addressed in later sections dedicated to performance appraisals, disciplinary actions, and termination.
Suggested web sites:
http://charitychannel.com/article_187.shtml
http://www.volunteer.ca/volcan/eng/content/screening/screening.php?display=2,6,1
http://charitychannel.com/article_180.shtml
We would appreciate it if you would use the Appraisal Sheet to send us your comments on the materials in this section. Please Download it from the Tools Page.