Welcome Buddies and supporting new volunteers
A Welcome Buddy is someone who will support a new volunteer during their induction into Scouts. They are their first port of call and offer guidance, answer questions and help the new volunteer understand what it’s like to volunteer at Scouts. They can share their experiences and support each other.
By having their own buddy, a new volunteer has someone they can turn to for advice and general help when getting to grips with their tasks.
Volunteers are at the centre of their own journey, but we want them to know we can also be with them every step of the way. Providing them with a buddy is an excellent way to show the Scout values and Our Volunteering Culture in action. Their buddy can help with as much, or as little, as they need, and we’ll also be on hand to answer any questions they may have.
Support from the Volunteering Development Team
Volunteering Development Teams are responsible for making sure there’s support in place for new volunteers. It’s not their specific task, but they’ll be able to help Team Leaders with finding and matching new volunteers to buddies.
Becoming a buddy
Every adult in Scouts can choose to be a buddy, as it’s not an official role or accreditation.
The qualities that come with being a buddy are in line with our Scouts values and Promise. Being helpful and supportive is something we all do naturally in our day to day volunteering with Scouts, so we strongly encourage our members to become buddies too.
Being a buddy would be suited to you if:
You’re able to answer questions, or point people in the right direction to finding the answers
You’re a great listener
You’re knowledgeable about our programme, how Scouts is run in your local area, or even if you want to brush up on these areas and test your knowledge
You enjoy supporting others
You’ve got great ideas and are happy to share how you do things
If you'd like to become a buddy, make yourself known to your District Volunteering Development Team. They’ll have all the connections and will be able to point you in the direction of anyone new who may be looking for support.
| The dos & don’ts of being a buddy? | |
| Do: | Don't: |
| Reach out and arrange contact methods that work for both of you. You might only talk online or arrange to meet every so often. Make it work for the new volunteer to suit their needs. | Be like a manager for the new volunteer. Remember, this is a non-official, unrecorded and casual role. |
| Be prepared to point them in the right direction. You may need to suggest other volunteers, who can buddy up with them at different points, for example if they want to gain a certain permit you don’t have. | Feel like this is something permanent. Being a buddy might not last forever and it may naturally fizz away after a while. But that's OK as long as you and the new volunteer feels comfortable with the arrangements you’ve made. |
What information do buddies need to know?
You don’t need to have been in Scouts forever, and you don’t need to know everything. You just need to be able to support them in finding out the information they need. And don’t panic, because if you don't know, you can go on that fact-finding journey together!
Having an understanding of Scouts in your local area, who’s who, and what groups exist would be great, but all that information should be in the welcome pack too.
It’d be best if you match up to someone who has a similar role to you, so you can give them advice and tips from your own experiences, and make sure you can give accurate information about their learning, development and so on.
Are buddies essential for every new volunteer?
No, it’s not essential for all new volunteers to have a buddy when first joining. We want to be flexible to everyone’s needs, and they may decide it’s not right for them.
But we do want to offer this as an option to everyone who joins Scouts, to make sure everyone has equal opportunities. We’d like as many current volunteers as possible to buddy up with new volunteers, so we can enhance the experience for all new members and make them feel like a part of Scouts.
A new volunteer can decide at any point whether they might like a buddy. It could be when they begin other learning or get more involved with their section. They can speak to their Team Leader, who’ll be able to arrange a buddy to support them at any stage in their journey.
A Welcome buddy for your new volunteer
We all know what it is like to run a busy section night meeting and how this consequently limits the amount of time we have available to spend supporting new adults that are joining our team and welcoming and inducting them properly into the way we do things.
That’s why it’s a great idea to give new members of your team a welcome buddy to help ensure that they receive the support and guidance they need whilst they find their feet.
Who can do this role?
A welcome buddy can be any member of your group (that are 18 years old and over), that are able to use their experience of scouting to welcome and support new volunteers. We suggest that buddies should have been a member for at least six months and hold a full appointment themselves.
What is the purpose of this role?
To help provide new volunteers in your group or unit (your team), a warm welcome to scouting and to be a friendly face and point of contact to provide ongoing, informal support and guidance, as required, and to answer any questions a new volunteer might have.
How are buddies matched with new volunteers?
A buddy should be matched by the lead volunteer for the group - currently the Group Scout Leader or the district 14 to 18 team, team leader - currently the District Explorer Scout Commissioner, as appropriate, who should aim to match two people who are in the same or similar role.
Try and choose buddies based upon what support may be most useful to the new volunteer, so buddies could be from the same or a different section (or group/unit – whatever is appropriate to the circumstance). If a new volunteer would like to choose their own buddy, they can do so by requesting a specific person.
What does the role involve?
- arrange an informal meeting with the new volunteer, (we suggest this should be during their first two weeks), to give them a warm welcome to your team
- support the new volunteer to learn about scouting as an organisation as well as the local structure. This can start by simply talking them through what is going on during a section meeting, introducing them to new people and showing them around your meeting place (and showing them where the facilities are!)
- walk them through our adult joining process and provide them with a welcome leaflet which will direct to them to our online Adult Information Form and welcome pages
- be approachable and offer regular opportunities to chat things over, answer any questions, share helpful information, local knowledge and resources, and signpost them to places where they can find more information (This can be through a variety of channels, e.g. face to face, phone, email, Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp etc. – we recommend that you meet face to face at least once per month during the welcome process)
- support them during the section meetings, talk them through what is going on and give them opportunities to take part in great scouting
- offer them the opportunity to shadow or take the lead where appropriate
- demonstrate our scouting values (integrity, respect, care, belief, cooperation)
- motivate, support and encourage the new volunteer to try different activities and roles within scouting, for example: encouraging them to complete their getting started learning
- buddy the new volunteer until they complete the joining process, and their appointment has been made full
Welcome buddy checklist
Get the basics right
- Smile and use positive language
- Make sure your volunteer feels comfortable by being open and welcoming
- Ask about their interests, skills and motivations for volunteering, so you have an idea of what they might enjoy doing from the get-go
- Give them things to do right away so they feel useful
Give them all the information they need
- Be honest about what to expect – including the tasks volunteers can expect to do when, the time probably required and the support and learning opportunities available
- Give them a copy of the yellow card
- Direct them to our online welcome pack, so they can access all the information they need in one go
- Add them to any group chats or social media communication channels you use
- If your group uses OSM, make sure they have access and know how to use it (but only after their cleared DBS disclosure has been received)
Make them feel valued and included
- Introduce them to other volunteers in your team and key people in your group, who can explain group policies like expenses and health and safety
- Introduce them to the young people, highlighting any specific needs they should
be aware of - Share contact details so they know who to go to if they have any issues
- If you use names like Akela or Skip, make sure they get one too
Most importantly, make sure they feel needed and valued and understand the difference they are making to the lives of young people in your local community – whether they're a tea maker, minibus driver, activity planner or trustee member.
Check in regularly
Happy volunteers stick around. And the key to understanding where they’re at is to simply talk to them.
Have a regular chat over a cuppa to find out if they’re enjoying the tasks assigned to them (or if they fancy a change) means you can notice potential problems early on and make sure everyone’s getting what they need from being a volunteer.
Every adult at scouts should:
- Enjoy what they are doing
- Feel part of the team
- Know what’s going on
- Know what’s expected of them
- Know where they can go next
- Feel valued and that they are making a difference