The Sankofa Youth to Youth Entertainment program relies heavily on volunteerism. Recruiting volunteers for a for-profit entity parallels recruiting for the best employees for your organization – it is an ongoing challenge for every manager, supervisor and Human Resources professional (http://humanresources. about. com/c/ec/1. htm). More specifically, the Sankofa Youth to Youth Entertainment Project will rely heavily on volunteers that will serve as mentors and respectively have some type of talent or skill to offer.
In this regard the general Y2Y volunteer will be either an artist, musician, have theatrical experience, experience with computers, be a prevention specialist or youth worker; or have experience in the entertainment industry. Consequently, Y2Y like many other organizations in its industry will have to design a comprehensive recruitment plan that is specifically tailored to the organization. The intent of this paper is to explore the general concept of a recruitment plan as it relates to small non-profit youth serving organizations.
Secondly, this paper will endeavor to discuss the challenges faced by HR professionals in the respective industry. Lastly, this paper will incorporate information regarding perceived issues, trends, and data personnel recruitment in the related industry. A Recruitment Plan What is a Recruitment Plan Based on research cited in this paper a recruitment plan should be clear about the specific needs of the company; seek to use its resources wisely and efficiently; incorporate a full spectrum of processes ranging from recruitment to pre-screening to the interview and post-interview processes (http://www.xecutivesearch. com/11_point_recruitment_plan. htm).
Moreover, a recruitment plan should be based upon a needs analysis however; it should be flexible enough to change and should also inculcate the mission, goals and objectives of an organization. The general intent of a recruitment plan is to find the best candidates for a specific position in the most efficient manner possible. Like many for-profit organizations the goal of Y2Y’s recruitment plan is the achievement of genuine equal volunteering opportunities for all qualified persons.
Selection under such plan should be based upon the ability of the applicant(s) to do the essential functions of the job (Becker, Huselid and Ulrich, 2001). Such plans should not require the selection of the unqualified nor should they require the selection of persons on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability status (Becker et al. , 2001). However, due to the strict policies concerning working with children and promoting their safety, Y2Y will emphasize thorough background checks of all potential volunteers and program participants.
Consequently, one of the major challenges faced with conducting thorough background checks is financing the background check itself. Moreover, screening and background checks can be time consuming. In order to mitigate this risk Y2Y will form an alliance with the Hillsborough County Schools and require all candidates to voluntarily submit to a background check at the school district’s processing site.
Responsibilities of the Advisory Board Members, Executive Director and other management or supervisory personnel will include specific responsibilities assigned and delegated to management personnel to ensure that the necessary authority and power is available to implement the provisions of the plan. For general purposes the Executive Director establishes recruitment and affirmative action policies and monitors the implementation of the recruitment plan.
Further, the Executive Director will conduct a regular review of the recruitment plan and modify it as necessary. Dynamics of HR operations within your chosen industry The central idea of developing a recruiting plan for a non-profit organization is the volunteer management theory. Respectively this theory includes inculcating the volunteer management cycle which includes planning, recruiting, orientation and training, supervision and evaluation, and recognition (http://www. volunteer. ca/volcan/eng/iwork/vol-managment.php? display=3,0,2).
Recruiting volunteers requires a unique approach that is unparalleled in the typical for-profit organization because volunteers are driven by different incentives beyond monetary compensation (Buhler, 2002). More specifically, the drivers for volunteering may be very different than those of a person seeking regular employment (Buhler, 2002). Recruiting volunteers to adequately meet the needs of Y2Y’s after school programming will require a significant amount of local and community support.
In essence, it is expected that most of the volunteers will have a vested interest in the program’s success and will likely come from a pool of local teachers and community members. Additional volunteers, such as business professionals in the entertainment industry may play an ancillary role and work more externally than directly with the students in the program. The program will need a well balanced number of supporters and participants to make the program function properly however it can ideally operate with a minimum of three dedicated staff members willing to be cross trained in the various aspects of the program.
The strategic management plan for Y2Y calls for a low overhead cost strategic plan approach where a minimum number of volunteers or staff can operate the program effectively if properly trained. The program is designed to be operated and managed by youth therefore one of the primary goals of the HR department (the Executive Director and management staff) is to recruit, screen, train and supervise youth and adult volunteers.
Inherently the implications of a small, non-official HR department where volunteerism is a prime incentive is to recruit, train, and supervise students and adult volunteers; maintain employee relations to maintain good morale; manage human capital and returns on human activity; provide incentives and rewards for program participants; and to monitor the overall costs of the program as it relates to the program’s participants, staff, and volunteers.
