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Welcome and Recruit

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Value Proposition

Recruiting and onboarding volunteers ensures that the National Society (NS) attracts, prepares, and integrates individuals who are motivated, skilled, and representative of their communities. Through this process, volunteers are welcomed into the Movement with a clear understanding of its values, responsibilities, and humanitarian principles. Effective recruitment and onboarding strengthen the quality and sustainability of humanitarian action by ensuring volunteers are both capable and confident from their first engagement, enhancing trust between communities and the National Society.

Purpose & Strategic Importance

This sub-capability operationalizes the Fundamental Principle of voluntary service. It transforms community goodwill into organized humanitarian capacity, supporting IFRC’s strategic priorities around localization, preparedness, and resilience. By creating inclusive pathways into volunteering, National Societies ensure diversity, equal opportunity, and accountability. A structured onboarding process embeds organizational values, safety, and protection standards, laying the foundation for strong volunteer engagement, retention, and leadership development.

Scope

This capability encompasses all activities related to attracting, selecting, orienting, and registering volunteers within National Societies. This includes defining volunteer roles, designing recruitment strategies, managing applications, conducting screening, and delivering standardised induction and orientation sessions. It extends through the volunteer’s first assignment or deployment.

Interfaces and Boundaries:

  • It interfaces closely with Human Resources (for policy alignment), Communications (for outreach), and Protection, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI) for safe and equitable recruitment.
  • It does not include training beyond initial induction, ongoing development, or recognition, which fall under related sub-capabilities.

Process & Key Activities

The process involves a core set of activities designed to transform institutional planning into trained and ready volunteers.

  • Analysing Needs: Identifying organizational and community needs to define necessary volunteer roles and skills.
  • Developing Campaigns: Creating and deploying inclusive recruitment campaigns to attract a diverse candidate pool.
  • Screening and Selecting: Managing applications, conducting screening, interviews, and reference checks to confirm candidate suitability.
  • Matching and Orienting: Matching volunteers to appropriate roles and conducting standardised induction and orientation sessions covering Movement principles, Code of Conduct, and safety protocols.
  • Registering and Validating: Completing formal registration, ensuring safeguarding and data protection compliance, and validating the volunteer’s readiness for assignment.

Results

The process transforms institutional planning into measurable humanitarian capacity.

  • Outputs (Deliverables):
    • Registered and oriented volunteers.
    • Completed induction sessions.
    • Updated volunteer database.
  • Outcomes (Short- to Mid-term Effects):
    • Improved volunteer diversity and clarity of role expectations.
    • Greater volunteer satisfaction at entry, leading to higher retention.
    • Better alignment between volunteer skills and needs.
  • Impact (Long-term Strategic Change):
    • A stronger, safer, and more inclusive National Society workforce.
    • Sustained volunteer capacity supporting resilience and emergency readiness.
    • Stronger community confidence in the National Society’s local presence.

Enabling Resources

Successful recruitment and onboarding rely on several key resources and policies:

  • People & Roles: Recruitment Officers, Branch Volunteer Coordinators/Focal Points, HR Officers, and Communications Officers.
  • Governance & Policies: A clear volunteer policy aligned with IFRC standards and legal frameworks, standardised role profiles, and competency descriptions.
  • Data & Tools: Volunteer management systems (VDMS) or digital databases for applications and registration; accessible and inclusive communication materials.
  • Training & Curricula: Induction curricula covering the Fundamental Principles, Code of Conduct, and safety protocols; staff trained in volunteer engagement and safeguarding.
  • Partnerships: Relationships with schools, universities, youth networks, and community organisations to broaden reach.

Examples & Innovative Practices

National Societies demonstrate effective recruitment through targeted and adaptive methods:

  • IFRC Volunteer Management Cycle: Illustrates recruitment as the initial step in a continuous engagement process, ensuring readiness and inclusion.
  • Philippines Red Cross: Uses digital registration platforms and social media outreach, while offering online orientation for remote volunteers.
  • Argentine Red Cross: Developed community-based recruitment campaigns that prioritise diversity and equal participation.
  • European National Societies: Employ welcome packs and mentorship schemes to help new volunteers feel integrated from their first week.

Variations in Practice

Recruitment and onboarding processes must be flexible to suit the context:

  • Small vs. Large NSs: Smaller societies may rely on personal networks, while larger societies use ongoing online recruitment and structured induction programmes.
  • Emergency Response: Streamlined onboarding processes enable spontaneous volunteers to join rapidly but safely during crises.
  • Remote Areas: Community-led onboarding or peer orientation ensures continuity when staff access is limited.

Common Challenges

Maintaining consistency and quality in the recruitment funnel is challenging:

  • Limited outreach capacity or narrow recruitment channels, resulting in low diversity.
  • Inadequate screening or unclear role expectations, leading to a mismatch in skills and duties.
  • Inconsistent induction processes across various branches.
  • Volunteer drop-out soon after joining due to a lack of immediate engagement or support.

Mitigation Strategies: Standardising induction procedures, simplifying registration forms, using digital tools to track applicants, ensuring accessible and inclusive materials, and establishing mentorship support to maintain post-onboarding engagement.

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Recruit volunteers - People

Recruiting the right volunteers starts with the right people leading the process. This section outlines the key roles—such as Recruitment Officers, Volunteer Coordinators, and Community Mobilizers—who are central to designing and delivering inclusive, effective recruitment efforts. It also highlights the core competencies these roles require: from community outreach and digital communication to interview techniques, equity and inclusion, and cultural awareness. Clearly defined roles and well-developed skills help ensure that recruitment is not only efficient, but also welcoming, values-based, and aligned with the strategic goals of the National Society.

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Communications and Marketing officer

Description

Develops promotional materials, manages social media outreach, and collaborates on public awareness campaigns.


Key Competencies

Marketing & Outreach – Understanding of social media, digital campaigns, and traditional marketing techniques to effectively promote volunteering opportunities.

Community Engagement & Networking – Ability to build relationships with local organizations, institutions, and stakeholders to expand reach.

Communication & Storytelling – Skills in crafting compelling messages and narratives that inspire potential volunteers.

Data Analysis & Targeting – Ability to assess audience insights and refine attraction strategies based on engagement metrics and demographic trends.

Cultural Awareness & Inclusivity – Ensuring attraction efforts are inclusive and resonate with diverse communities.

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Volunteer Recruitment Officer

Description

Manages the recruitment process, from application screening to final registration of volunteers.

Key Competencies

Screening & Selection – Ability to assess applications against pre-defined criteria and organizational needs while ensuring inclusivity.

Interpersonal & Communication Skills – Capacity to engage with potential volunteers, explain the process clearly, and address inquiries.

Policy Compliance & Ethical Recruitment – Understanding of diversity, inclusion, and safeguarding policies to ensure fair selection.

Training & Orientation Delivery – Ability to provide engaging and informative sessions on Red Cross principles, emblem use, and volunteer roles.

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Branch Volunteer Coordinator / Focal Point

Description

The Branch Volunteer Coordinator, or focal point, is the face of the National Society for many volunteers. They handle day-to-day tasks like onboarding, check-ins, training arrangements, and recognition events. This role is critical for building trust: coordinators are often the first point of contact for new recruits and the steady support for experienced volunteers.

Key aspects

  • Conducts recruitment, induction, and orientation at the branch/community level.
  • Maintains volunteer records, attendance, and feedback.
  • Organises recognition events and acts as a liaison between volunteers and headquarters.

Branch coordinators set the tone of the volunteer experience. Their ability to listen, solve problems, and motivate makes the difference between a volunteer who stays engaged and one who quietly drops out. Investing in coordinators means investing in the heart of volunteer retention.

Competencies
Communication
Organizational Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Problem-Solving
Flexibility
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Recruit volunteers - Governance

Effective volunteer recruitment is grounded in strong governance. This section explores how strategic documents—such as the National Society’s statutes, volunteer policy, and organizational strategy—can provide clear direction and legitimacy for volunteer engagement efforts. Governance frameworks that prioritize inclusive recruitment, uphold volunteer rights, and define roles and responsibilities help create a trusted and consistent foundation for outreach. When recruitment practices are embedded in official policies and supported by leadership, they not only attract more volunteers but also build confidence and continuity across the organization.

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New ways of Volunteering. Challenges and Opportunities

This working paper is a collective effort of a diverse group of professionals and volunteers to pull together the most salient issues in care and support for spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers. The hope is that the knowledge, thought leadership, practical tools, case examples and recommendations collected here will contribute to supporting both crisis managers, policy makers and practitioners to provide good care and support for spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers.
The single most important point made in this working paper is that it is imperative that crisis management fulfils its duty of care towards spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers. What this looks like in practice will differ significantly from one organization to another, from country to country and from community to community. But the spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers are always there. The care and support they need must be there too

File
New_Ways_of_Volunteering_Care_and_support_for_unaffiliated_spontaneous_volunteers.pdf
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Policies

Volunteering and HR policies
Volunteer regulations
Diversity and inclusion policy
IT and data policy

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Recruit volunteers - Data

Quality data is essential for understanding, planning, and improving volunteer recruitment efforts. This section highlights how National Societies can use data to identify recruitment needs, track outreach effectiveness, and ensure diversity and inclusion in their volunteer base. Collecting and analyzing data on volunteer demographics, recruitment channels, application trends, and onboarding success rates enables evidence-based decision-making. When used responsibly, data not only helps refine recruitment strategies—it also supports transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement in how volunteers are welcomed into the organization.

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Recruit volunteers - Tools & Technology

Digital tools and technologies are powerful enablers of modern, efficient volunteer recruitment. This section showcases platforms and systems that support every stage of the process—from promoting opportunities and collecting applications to tracking engagement and communicating with candidates. Whether through volunteer management software, mobile apps, CRM systems, or social media tools, technology helps National Societies streamline operations, broaden their reach, and provide a smooth and responsive experience for prospective volunteers. Using the right tools not only saves time—it also demonstrates professionalism and builds trust with new recruits.

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Volunteer Data Management System

The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), along with the Spanish, French, and Kenya Red Cross Societies, is transforming how we manage volunteer data globally with our Volunteer Data Management System (VDMS). This system streamlines volunteer operations, helping us better serve communities in need. 

VDMS simplifies the management of volunteer onboarding, engagement, accreditation, and insurance processes. It saves time, improves the volunteer experience, and supports quick decision-making. With tools for event registration, mass communication via email, SMS, and WhatsApp, as well as advanced reporting features, VDMS enhances volunteer coordination and ensures we meet the needs of both volunteers and communities. 

Key features

Volunteer Registration and Data Management

  • Create and manage forms for new volunteer registrations.
  • Generate reports and segment volunteer data for targeted engagement.
  • Configure roles and data visibility for structured access. 

Volunteer Activity and Training Management

  • Register for activities and trainings to boost participation and development.
  • Track volunteer hours for recognition and accountability.
  • Manage leave requests accurately. 

Private Area for Volunteer Interaction

  • Update personal data, register for events, and track participation.
  • Download certificates and manage personal settings. 

 

Enhanced Communication Tools

  • Mass mailing, SMS, and WhatsApp integration for efficient communication. (Messages fees may apply).
  • Features like email templates, A/B testing, and scheduled mailings. 

Comprehensive Reporting and Analysis

  • Create detailed reports in various formats.
  • Export data for further analysis and automate report delivery. 

 

Resource Link
Volunteer Data Management System
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Recruit volunteers - Facilities & Equipment

The physical environment and materials available during the recruitment process play a vital role in shaping how potential volunteers experience the National Society. This section highlights the importance of having accessible, welcoming spaces for recruitment events, interviews, and orientation sessions. It also includes essential equipment such as signage, information booths, printed materials, and branded apparel that can help communicate professionalism and belonging. By investing in the right facilities and resources, National Societies create a positive, inclusive atmosphere that encourages new volunteers to get involved and stay engaged.

No Guidance enabling resources available.

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