Management of Volunteers in Scouting

Human resources are like natural resources; they’re often buried deep. You have to go looking for them, they’re not just lying around on the surface.

You have to create the circumstances where they show themselves.

Ken Robinson

Scouting as a volunteer based and led movement relies on the notation that ‘volunteers are our most valuable assets’. This is not completely true.

Our most valuable assets are volunteers WITH the skills, talent and level of capability to fulfil the mission of Scouting and the organisational objectives as well as a high level of adherence to Scouting’s principles and values.

It is evident that the success of Scouting in its over 100 years of history rely heavily in the volunteer engagement and the quality of adult resources the movement attracted. However, there is still a “grey area” in understanding how the acquisition, development and management of volunteers fit the organisational culture and policies and even more how the implementation of adult resources policies, processes and standards can contribute to raising the motivation level of our volunteers and help in retaining them in the future.

“Adults in Scouting” is a model promoted in Scouting for many years and its value was proven in countless occasions. To promote its consistent approach and an integrated overview is not just the responsibility of the national structures, it should start at the local level. In fact those who work at the local level have a most valuable contribution in helping national structures to better understand the new trends in volunteering and how their day-by-day work is affected by these changes.

The resource we are proposing – MoViS – addresses ALL volunteers in Scouting, at any level and, though it will probably not provide the solutions to ALL the questions related to the management of adult volunteers it will, most certainly, help Scout leaders better understand the potential of the human capital in their teams and networks and support them in this work at all levels.
MoViS is structured under the three phases of the Adults in Scouting model. For each of the areas there is a short explanation and specific articles will be released periodically and linked to the MoVis resources page. The first article will be released on the 5th of November and will focus on recruitment.

Being online and open, MoViS aims to involve directly all those who want to contribute with their expertise and know-how to the different articles and resources or want to propose new topics. Therefore you can send all the comments and suggestions using the form below or directly to jfigueira@scout.org

Submit your questions, requests or comments:

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