Recruiting new volunteers to join your chapter’s board of directors is crucial to maintaining the chapter’s vitality and effectiveness. A diverse board that reflects a variety of ethnic and clinical backgrounds can bring a wealth of perspectives, enhance decision-making, and improve services to membership. What follows are the top strategies for recruiting new board volunteers effectively, as gathered from chapter leaders and colleagues across the state.
1. Understand the Needs of Your Chapter
of the roles and responsibilities your board needs. Conduct an assessment to determine which skills, experiences, and perspectives are lacking. One thing I took away from this year’s Chapter Leadership Conference in February is the importance of reevaluating existing positions to ensure that they reflect the current direction of your chapter. Maybe your chapter has grown quickly and it’s time to expand that single membership chair position into a committee. Dissecting your chapter needs beforehand will help you target your recruitment efforts effectively.
2. Embrace Diversity and Inclusion
A diverse board can offer a wide range of insights and experiences. Consider building relationships with volunteers from different geographical locations and age groups, with a variety of non-clinical talents, languages, clinical training, and specialties. This approach not only enriches board discussions, it also ensures that the board’s decisions reflect the diverse needs of your chapter’s membership. Chapters leaders who have made this shift note these benefits:
- Enhanced Creativity: Different perspectives can lead to innovative solutions.
- Better Representation: A diverse board better represents a diverse membership.
- Improved Decision-Making: Varied viewpoints can lead to more comprehensive and equitable decisions.
3. Develop a Clear Recruitment Message
Your recruitment message should clearly communicate the mission of your chapter, the importance of the board’s work, and the qualities you’re looking for in potential volunteers. Highlight the benefits of being on the board, such as professional development opportunities, networking, and the chance to make a meaningful impact on future clinicians who will serve your community.
4. Use Multiple Recruitment Channels
At the Chapter Leadership Conference, chapter leaders learned key lessons about reaching potential volunteers through various channels from keynote speaker Tim Hines, a global business coach. To expand your chapter’s reach, he suggests exploring the following channels:
- Social Media: Platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram can help you reach a broad audience, but the key is to be human and authentic.
- Chapter Events: Create fun workshops and activities to engage with potential volunteers through shared interests.
- Communication Campaigns: How do your members communicate?Is it by email, text, and/or direct message? Send targeted communications to chapter members, and don’t be afraid to change the strategy if something is not working.
- Professional Networks: Collaborate with other professional organizations and businesses that align with your chapter’s values and identity. This can be a great way to expand your presence within your community and attract potential leaders.
5. Personalize Your Approach
Personal invitations are often more effective than general calls for volunteers. Get to know your members by using a human-to-human(H2H) approach. Identify individuals who have shown interest in leadership roles or who have relevant skills and send them a personal invitation to join your board. Tim Hines suggests tailoring your message to what’s important to that individual and highlighting how that value can benefit your board. A personalized approach shows potential volunteers that their unique contributions are valued.
6. Offer a Clear Pathway to Involvement
Potential volunteers may hesitate to join the board because they’re uncertain about what is expected of them. If you lead a large chapter, consider providing clear information about roles, responsibilities, and monthly time commitments, as well as details for whom to contact if they want to get involved. Try to minimize the number of links and extra clicks required for a potential volunteer to express their interest. Offering a structured onboarding process such as an orientation or a new board member retreat can help new volunteers feel more comfortable and better prepared to hit the ground running in their new role.
7. Foster a Supportive Environment
Create a welcoming and supportive environment that encourages participation from all board members. One way for board members to do this is by taking on a customer service identity when engaging with chapter members and volunteers. People may forget bits of what you said, but they never forget how you made them feel. Once a new volunteer has joined, provide training and mentoring opportunities to help them succeed in their roles before the exiting board member steps away (whenever possible). A supportive environment fosters engagement and retention.
8. Highlight Success Stories
I really like this one! Share success stories of current and past board members to illustrate the positive impact they’ve made. Highlight how serving on the board has benefited them professionally and personally. Success stories can inspire potential volunteers to envision themselves in similar roles.
9. Recognize and Appreciate Contributions
Acknowledging board members’ efforts can go a long way toward attracting new volunteers. Implement a system to regularly recognize and appreciate the contributions of board members. This can involve awards, public acknowledgments, or other forms of appreciation.
10. Continuously Evaluate and Adapt
The recruitment process should be dynamic and adaptable Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your recruitment strategies and make adjustments when needed. It may help to gather feedback from current board members and potential volunteers to identify areas for improvement. There is also value in preserving your current strategies to allow them time to yield results, and in reevaluating strategies that failed in the past—perhaps now is the right moment to implement them given how your chapter has evolved.
In conclusion, recruiting new volunteers to join your CAMFT chapter’s board of directors requires a strategic and inclusive approach. By understanding the needs of your chapter, embracing diversity, and using multiple recruitment channels, you can build a strong and effective board that authentically reflects the diverse membership of your chapter. Personalizing your approach, providing clear pathways to involvement, and fostering a supportive environment are just a few key strategies for attracting and retaining talented volunteers. With these efforts, your CAMFT chapter can continue to thrive and serve its members effectively.