How do you make your volunteers to formally commit with the Organization?

This stage is the most formal and administrative of the AFS Volunteer Journey. Once a potential volunteer makes the decision to volunteer with AFS, it is time to formalize the commitment.

From the AFS side, we need the new volunteer to register in Global Link, in addition to any local/national volunteering paperwork and requirements.

From the volunteer side, AFS offers a token of ‘membership’ to the volunteer. This is something tangible (a pin, permanent luggage tag, or shirt, among other items). It should be something meaningful to the new volunteer.

The following are some questions to think about as you manage this stage:

Formalize the Commitment

What could be the best way to register a volunteer on AFS Global? Or, how can we make sure all new volunteers get registered on AFS Global
What (if any) additional requirements exist for volunteers in your country? Background checks, references, etc.
How long does each part of the registration process take? What is the quickest someone can make it through the full process? This should be your local goal.

Tokens of 'Membership'

What could be a significant token of membership?
What are possible options for tokens of membership with AFS? What marketing items do you currently have/produce? What else would people enjoy receiving? Remember that this should be something people want to keep over the years. Example:
AFS Intercultura ITA gives a personalized lanyard (the cord around the neck in name tags) that volunteers can bring to the AFS events. As a volunteer you will bring your lanyard (sign of membership) and the event organizers will provide the name tag.

Voices from the Network

We asked our partners: Can you map the registration process your volunteers go through? Is this process effective to engage volunteers?

AFS Turkey

“A small pin makes a miracle plus, it is a promotion. There’s no need to invest too much money into commercials if you have people around walking with your branded shirts, bags, etc.. ”

AFS New Zealand

“During this stage, we invite the person to complete our basic online training. In this training, we have incorporated compliance aspects (police forms as well as a volunteer code of conduct) and learn more about AFS. When they finish the training they get a certificate and are put in touch with the chapter.”

AFS Dominican Republic

“Regarding the token, we usually give it to the volunteers that attend a National Activity or Training, as a sign of their commitment.”

Induction

Commitment

We want people to make a formal commitment to volunteer with the Organization