The Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan consultation summary is now available.

Community consultation took place from March to April 2022.

In October we met with key internal and external stakeholders involving Friends of Bayside convenors or group representatives.

As part of this process, members of the community were invited to submit their ideas on what Council can do to build and strengthen volunteering for all ages and abilities in Bayside. We also asked community members to provide feedback on the following four focus areas that have been identified over the last 12 months:

1. Increase and support volunteerism in Bayside to grow numbers and awareness of local volunteer opportunities.
2. Create a coordinated “One Bayside” approach across Council run volunteer programs.
3. Drive opportunities that increase youth volunteering.
4. Strengthen the connection between Council and Volunteer Involving Organisations.

In summary, the community has asked us to prioritise the following priority areas in the Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Plan:

• Increasing promotion of volunteering opportunities
• Developing a recognition program
• Provide networking and training opportunities for volunteers such as involving volunteer organisations.

The biggest barriers for volunteering in Bayside included:

• Lack of time
• Unsure of volunteering opportunities
• Program flexibility.

Community feedback highlighted the importance of promoting volunteering and the variety of opportunities available was crucial for recruitment. A dedicated webpage that offered up-to-date information for the community will be a great way to draw awareness to current roles and also demonstrate the broad range of opportunities available.

Find out more about what we heard by reading through the community engagement summary report.

The Volunteer Recruitment, Retention and Recognition Plan will now be considered for adoption by Council in its July 5, 2022 meeting.