Scouts and UWA Research Project

Summary of Volunteer Survey 2018

Introduction to the research project

In 2016, UWA began a research project with Scouts to develop successful evidence-based

practices and strategies to improve volunteer recruitment, engagement, and retention. For the

development of these practices and strategies we started the annual volunteer engagement survey.

This summary describes the results of the third Scouts volunteer engagement survey. The purpose of

this summary is to 1) describe the results we found in this volunteer survey, 2) connect the findings

from this survey to the findings from the previous two surveys, and 3) provide an update on the

practices and strategies that are being developed based on the survey results. The summary of the

previous survey can be found on the research project website:

http://uwascoutsresearch.com/documentation/

Survey Participation

The 2018 volunteer engagement survey was distributed in seven Scouts branches (Scouts ACT,

NSW, SA, TAS, VIC, WA, and QLD) and was available from October to December 2018. In total, 2951

(15.52%) of the invited volunteers completed the entire survey. The participation rate in this survey

was slightly higher than the 2017 survey (13%), but lower than the 2016 survey (20%). Altogether,

the participation rate is quite good for a 30-minute survey that is repeated on a yearly basis.

The survey participants occupied all types of volunteer roles encountered in Scouting: 61.8%

were Leaders of Youth, 18.1% were Adult Helpers, 22.5% were Leaders of Adults, and 10.6% were

Committee members. It is interesting to note that 31.5% of the participating volunteers occupied

more than one role at the same time (hence the total of the percentages is greater than 100).

Finally, 1489 (50.5%) volunteers who completed this engagement survey had also completed at least

one of the previous surveys. This group allows an investigation of change over time by matching

responses from both surveys. Respondents spent an average of 7.5 hours per week volunteering

with Scouts.

A Cautionary Note. Similar to 2016 and 2017, we compared the demographics of the survey

participants to those of the average Scouts Leader in the participating branches. We found that the

survey participants were very similar to the average Leader of Youth in terms of gender (49.5%

female) and age (majority 35-54 years). However, on average, the survey participants reported that

they had been with Scouts for nearly 12 years whereas the average Leader tenure at Scouts is

approximately 7 years. This suggests that those who have been with Scouts for longer were more

likely to complete the survey. Therefore, we wish to note that the sample may not be entirely

representative of the typical Scouts leader.

Findings of the Volunteer Engagement Survey 2018

The volunteer engagement survey uses a number of questions to measure feelings and

behaviours that are likely to affect volunteers’ intention to stay in Scouts. Compared to last year’s

survey, the core of the survey remained the same. However, questions about volunteering work

characteristics were removed and questions about the reasons to volunteer were added. Figure 1

gives a schematic presentation of the scales that were used in the survey. This figure also describes

how the scales are expected to relate to each other.

On the average, volunteers perceived a good fit between themselves and Scouts. This means

that volunteers generally felt that their needs were being met by Scouts and that they were able to

meet the demands from Scouts. Moreover, Leaders of Youth felt that they fit slightly better with

Scouts than volunteers in different roles.

Volunteers whose psychological needs are satisfied feel competent, autonomous and related to

others during volunteering activities. The feeling of competence refers to the sense of being capable

of performing the volunteering work effectively. The feeling of autonomy refers to the sense of

being able to make decisions and having choice in how to undertake volunteering work. Finally, the

feeling of relatedness refers to the sense of feeling connected and having meaningful relationships

with others while volunteering. In general, the volunteers at Scouts felt that their need for

competence and relatedness were well satisfied. However, the need for autonomy was only

moderately satisfied. Need satisfaction is important to sustain motivation in volunteering and

therefore it seems prudent to consider ways in which the volunteers’ needs for autonomy can be

satisfied even more. For example, by giving volunteers more room for taking responsibility or by fully

explaining why some things need to be done in certain ways. Compared to volunteers in other roles,

Volunteer-

Scouts Fit

Psychological

Need

Satisfaction

Reasons to

Volunteer

Identity and

Retention

Volunteer

Motivation

Volunteer

Thriving

Figure 1

Leaders of Youth felt that their need for relatedness was slightly more satisfied. Psychological need

satisfaction was also clearly related to fit, such that those volunteers who perceived a better fit

between themselves and Scouts felt that all three needs were more satisfied than those who

perceived a worse fit.

Volunteers can draw motivation from various sources. The survey results indicated that Scouts

volunteers are typically highly motivated by a sense of responsibility and enjoyment. The volunteers

also indicated that they are not motivated by the expectations of others or a sense of guilt if they

would not volunteer. Compared to other volunteers, Leaders of Youth were slightly more motivated

by a sense of responsibility, enjoyment, or guilt, but equally unmotivated by the expectations of

others. Moreover, all three psychological needs were equally important in predicting the volunteers’

motivation. This indicates that all psychological needs should be satisfied to optimally motivate

Scouts volunteers.

The survey results indicated that Scout volunteers generally have high intentions to stay with

Scouts, and most expected to still volunteer for Scouts for the next two years. Still, about 14% of the

participating volunteers indicated that they want to leave Scouts, however, the majority of this

group felt that they could not leave (see Figure 2). In addition to having high intentions to stay, Scout

volunteers experienced a moderate degree of thriving (i.e. they felt energised by volunteering and

they were learning/growing). Finally, most volunteers identified with Scouts moderately. This means

that most volunteers felt like a typical Scouts volunteer and related to the successes and failures of

Scouts as if they were their own. Leaders of Youth were slightly more positive than other volunteers

about their intentions to stay, thriving, and identification with Scouts.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Leaders of Youth Other volunteers

Which of the following statements best describes your feelings about volunteering at Scouts?

I WANT TO STAY in this organisation and I CAN STAY if I want to

I WANT TO STAY in this organisation but I may HAVE TO LEAVE

I WANT TO LEAVE this organisation but I feel like I HAVE TO STAY

I WANT TO LEAVE this organisation and I CAN LEAVE if I want toFigure 2

The motivation of the volunteers was clearly related to intentions to stay, thriving and

identification. The motivation to volunteer out of enjoyment and purpose were most positively

related to all three outcomes (i.e., wanting to stay with Scouts, feelings of thriving, and identifying

with Scouts). Volunteering that was motivated by the expectations of others or a sense of guilt

showed a much smaller relationship with the outcomes. A complete lack of motivation was

negatively related to these outcomes, meaning that unmotivated volunteers identified less with

Scouts, felt less energised, and were keen to leave.

Once again, the results of this year’s volunteer engagement survey painted approximately the

same picture as the last two years’ surveys. Volunteers at Scouts generally feel that they fit well and

that their needs are satisfied. These feelings lead to the volunteers feeling motivated and ultimately

to thriving, wanting to stay and identifying with Scouts.

In this year’s survey, reasons for volunteering were measured for the first time. The most

important reason people volunteered with Scouts was to be able to contribute to the community.

Most of the top-rated reasons fell under the categories of altruism, learning (e.g., developing new

skills), and the content of the volunteer work (e.g., Being able to work with young people). Reasons

to do with career (e.g., Improving career prospects) and the person’s children (e.g., Allowing my

children to attend Scouts) were found to be of lesser importance. Out of 17 total reasons, the fifth

highest rated was “to ensure there are responsible adults around the children” (see Figure 3). Most

reasons to volunteer related to higher intentions to stay with Scouts, except for the reasons “doing

so allows my children to attend Scouting” and “no one else was stepping up to do it”, these reasons

predicted lower intentions to stay.

Figure 3

Perceptions of training

Recently joined volunteers also answered some questions about their training perceptions, to

gauge how Scout volunteers feel about the training they have received. We asked the participants

how they rated the training in general and the e-learning specifically. We compared the perceptions

of current newcomers to the average perceptions of volunteers in 2016. We found that volunteers

showed greater satisfaction with both overall training and the e-learning component compared to

2016 (see Figure 4).

Perceptions of the New Youth Program

The 2018 survey also asked volunteers 13 questions about their feelings towards the new

program and the youth program revision (YPR). The first question showed that about 65% of the

volunteers knew about of the new program (note that this information was collected in Oct-Dec

2018). The remaining questions focused on how much influence they thought they had on its

content (e.g. “Scouts has taken into account my opinions and ideas regarding the YPR”) and how

much they accepted the new program (e.g. “The YPR was needed and necessary”). Using the

responses of the 65% of the volunteers who were aware of the new program, we found that they did

not feel that they had much say in or influence over the new program (2.80 on a scale of 1-5) and

showed only a moderate acceptance of the new program (3.62 on a scale of 1-5). Leaders of Youth,

compared to other volunteers, felt that they had slightly less input in the new program and were

slightly less accepting of the new program. Finally, 14% of the volunteers indicated that they had a

very good understanding of the YPR (about 20% of the 65% who had knowledge of the YPR). These

volunteers were much more positive about the new program than the other volunteers who knew

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

2016 2018

Satisfaction with training

Overall Elearning Rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree)Figure 4

about the new program. This indicates that more information about the new program is likely to

increase acceptance of the new program.

It needs to be noted that the Youth Program Revision included three years of member

consultation. A significant portion of the consulted members would have left at the time of this

report’s survey. Meaning that we could have underestimated how much influence the members

effectively had on the development of the new program. Additionally, it is incredibly difficult to give

people a feeling that they had say in large organisational changes. Keeping that in mind, the

perceptions of influence and acceptance could have easily been much worse. In our opinion, the

survey results indicate that, during the implementation of the new program, the branches need to

pay careful attention to the communication with their volunteers, to involve the volunteers and

clearly explain the benefits of the new program.

Transitioning from Adult Helper to a Leaders of Youth

At the end of the survey, we asked the participants what their role in Scouts is. Volunteers who

said their current role was an Adult Helper or Committee Member were asked if they had ever

considered becoming a Leader of Youth and the reasons why they had either not yet done so or

decided not to. The responses showed that the time commitment required to be a Leader of Youth

was by far the greatest barrier. Around 55% of volunteers reported that they were too time poor or

could not commit the necessary time to the role.

Of those who had thought about becoming Leaders of Youth, 10% felt that they lacked the

necessary skills or qualifications or that they did not have the right personality for the role. A further

10% said they had already been Leaders of Youth in the past and were now enjoying other roles.

Group politics and interpersonal conflicts with other group leaders were a barrier for 8% of those

who considered becoming Leaders of Youth. Finally, 7% mentioned training accessibility or training

requirements as a barrier.

Adult Helpers and Committee members who had not considered becoming Leaders of Youth

before mentioned various potential barriers: 14% simply found the nature of the role (e.g. camping,

hiking, working directly with youth) unappealing; 10% felt that they lacked the necessary skills or

qualifications or that they did not have the right personality for the role; and 10% cited age or poor

health as a barrier. Other reasons that volunteers cited for not becoming Leaders of Youth included

feeling that there were already enough people in the role, wanting their child to have independence

from them, having a partner or spouse who was already a Leader of Youth, being new to Scouts or

not knowing enough about the role, feeling like they could contribute more in a different role, and

religious differences (being unwilling to promote a religion to which they did not personally

subscribe).

Altogether, there is a multitude of reasons for not transitioning from an Adult

Helper/committee member role to a Leader of Youth role. The main reason, ‘a lack of time’, is hard

to address. However, other reasons can be addressed, such as self-doubt, training, or interpersonal

conflict. Any initiative that would aim to convert Adult Helpers to a Leader of Youth role would have

to address various aspects that are potential barriers.

Combining the Findings from 2016 to 2018

As mentioned in the introduction, 1489 volunteers who completed the 2018 engagement

survey had also completed at least one of the earlier engagement surveys. Of these, 590 volunteers

had completed all three surveys. The opinions expressed by these volunteers are especially valuable,

because they allowed us to investigate changes in engagement from 2016 to 2018.

Changes in volunteer engagement from 2016 to 2018

Figure 1 shows a schematic presentation of how the different aspects of volunteer engagement

relate to each other. In addition to testing this model of volunteer engagement with the survey data

from one year we were able to test it with differences from one year to the next year. From a

research perspective, this is a much better test of the quality of a model than to look at the data

from just one year.

In the previous report, we found that if volunteers experienced more fit in 2017 than in 2016,

this improved their psychological needs satisfaction, which was related to higher levels of good

motivation (motivating because of purpose and enjoyment). This was in turn related to greater

levels of thriving, identification with Scouts, and intentions to stay with Scouts. This year, we

evaluated the data from 2016, 2017, and 2018 together and found that the model remained

accurate over the three-year period. Those who perceived their psychological needs to be more

satisfied in 2016 had higher levels of good motivation in 2017, which was associated with greater

thriving, identification with Scouts, and intentions to stay in 2018. This provides further evidence

that supporting volunteer needs satisfaction has positive consequences for volunteer engagement

and retention.

Explaining volunteer turnover with the results from the 2016 and 2017 surveys

Capturing data over a three-year period enabled us to look at trends not only in turnover

intentions, but also in actual turnover. Of those volunteers who completed the 2016 survey, 21.8%

(725) were no longer volunteering with Scouts in 2018. An examination of the results from the 2016

survey revealed that intentions to stay with Scouts in 2016 were related to actually staying with

Scouts through to 2018. Additionally, those whose needs for relatedness and autonomy were more

satisfied in 2016 were more likely to still be volunteering with Scouts in 2018. Moreover, need

satisfaction in 2017 was predictive of actual turnover in 2018. In short, the measures included in the

volunteer survey seem to predict if volunteers will really leave Scouts. This conclusion is especially

important for this research project, because the ultimate goal is to improve volunteer engagement

and retention by influencing volunteers’ feelings of fit, need satisfaction and motivation. We are

aiming to improve these sentiments in three different ways: 1) Recruiting for fit, 2) Improving the

newcomer training experience, and 3) Enhancing knowledge sharing.

Three Interventions to Improve Volunteer Engagement and Retention

The main purpose of this summary is to describe the main findings from the volunteer

engagement surveys. This section builds on this summary by providing an update on the three

interventions that the research team is working on to improve volunteer engagement and retention;

the ultimate goal of this research project. The overall aim of these three interventions is to improve

either fit or need satisfaction of volunteers at Scouts which should ultimately lead to improvements

in the engagement and retention of volunteers.

Improving recruitment

In February 2017, Scouts Victoria, with the assistance of the UWA-Scouts research group,

launched a targeted recruitment campaign (called LeaderBuild) to accurately and attractively

promote the role of a Scouts Leader. This campaign aims to attract volunteers who will fit well

in Scouts and, as such, should improve future Leaders’ intentions to stay with Scouts. For this

recruitment campaign, Scouts Victoria and the research team revised the recruitment materials

that were available to Scouts Leaders and built a training to help Scouts Leaders with

recruiting people who should fit well in Scouts. Preliminary statistics show that LeaderBuild is

effective in attracting more volunteers. Given the preliminary positive results, other branches are

now also starting to implement LeaderBuild for recruitment purposes. Future tests will determine if

the campaign indeed attracts people with the desired profile. In the third quarter of 2019 we will

evaluate if the recruitment campaign indeed attracts desirable new volunteers.

Improving training

The national Scouts training team, assisted by the UWA-Scouts research group, is working on

improving the online training experience. Based on the results from the 2016 survey, the UWA-

Scouts research group compiled a set of recommendations to improve the online training for

Leaders of Youth. After meeting with representatives of the national training team it was decided

that the main focus would be on 1) developing a clear roadmap for the online training, 2) collect

information of user experience via an online training evaluation, and 3) potentially starting an online

forum on which the trainees can discuss their experiences and learning. Together with the national

training team the roadmap video and the training evaluation were developed in 2018. These

initiatives will be implemented on the online training platform in the first quarter of 2019. The online

forum was unfortunately not implemented.

Introducing knowledge sharing groups

Finally, the research team is investigating the benefits of Communities of Practice for Scouts.

Communities of Practice are groups of people who share a passion for something that they know

how to do, and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. The primary aim of a CoP is

to allow Leaders to develop best practices on a topic they find important together with a group of

likeminded Scout volunteers. As a side product, these groups could also improve volunteers’ need

satisfaction and motivation.

This part of the research focuses on understanding the conditions under which CoP-like

initiatives in Scouting are successful, to provide Scouts with advice on how to foster these initiatives

and their positive effects. In the 2017 engagement survey, we asked volunteers if they are part of a

group that resembles a CoP – outside of their regular Scouts Group – and if/why that group is

effective. In the 2018 survey, we asked volunteers if they were part of such a group in Scouting. Of

those who had indicated they were part of a Community of Practice in 2017, 88.6% responded that

they were still part of this group. Most of these groups (39%) met once per month. Overall,

volunteers felt that these groups were effective in sharing knowledge, that the group’s members

share the same goals and interests, that members were freely able to decide on topics, and that

people were free to join and leave the group. Those who had left their groups since 2017 cited

reasons such as changing roles or locations, a lack of time, interpersonal issues within the group, the

group disbanding, and their children no longer being in Scouts. Those who were still in their groups

were asked if they ever thought about leaving their groups and, if so, why? The main reason

someone would leave their Community of Practice group would be due to interpersonal issues,

closely followed by time commitments. Lack of support, health problems, and wanting the younger

generation to take over were also cited as reasons for thinking about leaving in future.