In 2007, I co-founded an organization called Endeavour Volunteer Consulting for Non-Profits that engages skilled-based volunteers to provide pro bono management consulting support to help charities increase their organization capacity and community impact. Every year, we review nearly 400 volunteer applications to select 60-80 volunteers to support our client engagements and executive team functions. Below are four things that I have learned over the last decade when recruiting skilled-based volunteers.
Diversity matters At Endeavour, we bring together individuals with different backgrounds, approaches and ways of thinking, allowing problems and challenges to be viewed from a wide-variety of lenses. Many of our volunteers told us that the diversity of their teams was a key benefit of their Endeavour experience and a key success factor to their project engagement. Our recruitment process targets individuals from a wide variety of background by posting on different channels, developing volunteer descriptions that are as broad as possible when describing the experiences and competencies required for the role, and creating targeted postings for underrepresented groups.
Develop inclusive screening practices We recommend having at least two reviewers of different backgrounds screen applications and conduct interviews. A standardized evaluation system is used for all applicants to reduce personal bias. Examples are provided to each reviewer to illustrate a wide range of acceptable responses. Reviewers are also typically past Endeavour volunteers who understand first-hand the benefits of forming diverse teams.
Use a case based interviewing approach Applicants are asked to present their approach to a case study during their in-person interview. Cases are sent prior to the interview so that candidates have the opportunity to research and prepare ahead of time. Initially, cases were given in real-time to see how candidates would approach it on the spot. However, we found that individuals have different working styles and allowing them to prepare prior to the interview, whether or not they do, created a more equitable hiring process. It minimizes the unknowns that can cause stress during an interview and demonstrates the resourcefulness of the candidates in finding solutions.
Encourage high performing volunteers to return Recruiting is a time intensive process that is very costly to an organization. Endeavour volunteers commit to a 6-month consulting engagement, with many returning for additional engagements over the next few years. Returning volunteers bring substantial institutional knowledge and experience to their new project teams, and is one of the success factors in having an impactful client engagement. To encourage high performing volunteers to return, a merit-based promotion system is in place to allow the volunteer to take on more challenging roles in subsequent engagements. Volunteers are connected to clients and projects that they have a personal attachment to by assessing their backgrounds for alignment and asking for their preferences. Recruiting and retaining high performing skilled-based volunteers is critical to our mission in enabling non-profit organizations to improve and sustain their community impact.
We have refined our processes over the last decade and would welcome additional thoughts and insights as we continue this journey.
Ada Tsang is Co-Founder and Vice-President of Talent and Strategy at Endeavour Volunteer Consulting for Nonprofit and a 2016/17 Fellow in the AFP Inclusion and Philanthropy Fellowship program. She has over 10 years of experience working in the fields of non-profit, healthcare, and management consulting. Ada is currently working to improve care for frail seniors in Ontario at the Regional Geriatric Program of Toronto, and serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Four Villages Community Health Centre in Toronto. You can follow Ada on Twitter at https://twitter.com/adatsangTO.
