Welcome Conversations
It’s an opportunity for new volunteers to introduce themselves and their interests, and for current volunteers to make sure they understand and commit to our values, and how we keep young people safe.
The Purpose of the Welcome Conversation
The Welcome Conversation is designed to:
- Create a positive first impression, ensuring new volunteers feel valued and supported.
- Understand their motivations, skills, and interests.
- Address any questions and clarify expectations.
- Emphasize the importance of safeguarding young people.
- Discuss their tasks and responsibilities and ensure alignment with our values.
When to Have the Welcome Conversation
- Ideally, within six weeks of the volunteer’s start date, after they have visited their team.
- In line with POR, the conversation must be completed within six months.
- Volunteers usually only require one Welcome Conversation unless they have a service break of more than 30 days or transition to a role requiring one.
Participants in the Welcome Conversation
The Welcome Conversation includes:
- The new volunteer.
- The person responsible for their appointment (Group/Unit Representative).
- An independent volunteer with Welcome Conversation Volunteer accreditation.
- An accompanying adult, if requested by the new volunteer for additional support.
To assist you in implementing this process, we’ve included a flowchart outlining the key steps (attached). Below is a detailed explanation:
- Group/Unit Representative
For each New Volunteer that requires a Welcome Conversation the Group/Unit needs to designate a representative to oversee the Welcome Conversation process. This representative must:- Be a member of the appropriate leadership team:
- For Groups: Group Lead Volunteer, Sub-Team Leader, or Section Team Leader.
- For Explorer Units: 14-24 Team Leader or Explorer Section Team Leader.
- Have completed their Welcome Conversation training.
- Have already met the new volunteer.
- Be a member of the appropriate leadership team:
- Requesting a Welcome Conversation
If a Welcome Conversation is needed then Group/Unit Representative submits a request via the form: Welcome Conversation Request Form. - Welcome Team Coordination
The Welcome Team identifies a suitable independent Welcome Conversation Volunteer based on the Section, location, and preferred meeting night. An email is initiated between the Group/Unit Representative, District Representative, and the new volunteer to arrange this meeting. - Scheduling the Welcome Conversation
The Group/Unit Representative, District Representative, and new volunteer agree on a date, time, and location. It is recommended that the conversation occurs during the section’s regular meeting night at the usual venue, providing the new volunteer an authentic introduction to their role. Alternative arrangements can be made if necessary, prioritizing convenience and comfort of the new volunteer. We request that all requests must be submitted at least 14 days in advance to allow adequate time for coordination. - Conducting the Welcome Conversation
The meeting serves as an opportunity to introduce the new volunteer to the section and ensure they feel supported and confident. This handy checklist is for Welcome Conversation Volunteers and Team Leaders to use during the Welcome Conversation. It’s a conversation guide, to make sure all the points have been covered. The checklist should also be shared with the new volunteer ahead of the conversation, so they know what to expect. Make sure you let the new volunteer see this throughout the conversation, and tick things off as you go through them together.- Create a warm and open environment
- Check name pronunciation or ask for any other names the new volunteer might go by
- Thank them for their time and interest in volunteering, while avoiding making any assumptions about them
- Find out what they would like to get out of their time at Scouts and any other interests they may have
- Discuss their team and joining journey
- Talk about their team and how their role fits into the structure of Scouts, you don’t have to go into too much detail just yet (Section, Group, District and County is enough for now)
- Make sure they understand their responsibilities and the potential tasks they’ll be doing
- Check they’ve received a link to confirm their details and can sign in to scouts.org.uk
- Explain the steps in the joining journey they’ve completed and any outstanding tasks they still need to do (the Lead Volunteer or Team Leader can quickly see this on their membership record)
- Our values, policies, Promise and the importance of safeguarding
- Go over the importance of the Yellow Card (Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults), check the new volunteer has received a copy and agrees to follow it. Check the volunteer also knows how to report any safeguarding concerns directly to the HQ Safeguarding Team and share the link to our safeguarding policy
- Confirm they’ve read and understand our Scouts values, policies, Promise and Our Volunteering Culture. They don’t need to remember everything, but they need to know where to find them and confirm they’re happy to accept them
- Further support
- Explain their role will be supported through more learning and development
- Confirm any access needs or how we can make their time at Scouts more inclusive
- Check they know where to go if they’ve got a question or just need some help
- Offer them a local buddy
- Check they’ve been given a welcome pack to help them in their role
- Let them know they can update their personal information online at any time
- Create a warm and open environment
- Recording the Welcome Conversation
If issues arise during the conversation, the Group/Unit Representative and Welcome Conversation Volunteer escalate them to the Volunteer Development Team Leader and District Lead Volunteer, who will review and advise on next steps.
If successful, the Group/Unit Representative updates the Membership System to reflect completion. This will include:
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- If a delegate attended the Welcome Conversation, rather than the new volunteer’s Team Leader, they’ll need to inform the Team Leader of the outcome of the conversation, so they can then record this onto the new volunteer’s record. It’s important that both the names of the Independent person and Team Leader (or delegate) are recorded on the system. This cannot be the same person.
- Everyone will have a chance to say whether they’re happy with how the conversation went.
- The new volunteer can then continue their volunteering journey.
Remember, the Welcome Conversation is only one step in the joining journey. Once all joining journey steps are complete the new volunteer’s appointment will move to ‘full’ status. Until that point, they can volunteer but must not have unsupervised access to young people.
Additional Support
For any questions or further assistance, please contact us at welcome@colevalleysouth.
