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The volunteers and staff for your new Big Brothers Big Sisters program or Boys and Girls Club must be appropriately skilled, screened, trained and managed to ensure a solid program and safe, positive experiences for all program participants.
Your program will likely utilize volunteers in a variety of capacities such as program deliverers and board and committee members; and, for office support, fundraising, and special events.
Volunteer Issues
Volunteers in all these roles must be managed. Volunteer management has become increasingly sophisticated. Volunteer screening standards are now guiding the field36. The importance of these standards of practice cannot be overstated: voluntary organizations and their boards are being held legally and financially accountable when they do not meet their responsibility to ensure the safety of those involved in their programs, and comply with these standards. It is therefore essential that your program’s volunteers be managed in accordance with current standards. It is also critical that volunteers involved in working directly with children and youth have relevant education and experience. Volunteers directly involved with children and youth should be screened and assigned only once qualified, trained staff are in place to manage them.
Paid Staff Issues
Because of the complex, professional nature of the work involved in a Big Brothers Big Sisters program or a Boys and Girls Club, all programs will need to employ qualified, paid staff on at least a part time basis. Small programs might employ only one staff person to both manage the administrative aspects of the program and do direct work with children and youth. Larger programs employ numerous paid staff with specialized functions, such as executive director, office manager, program supervisor, program worker, fund raiser, and administrative support staff.
In starting your program, you will need to plan for the staff requirements. Some small programs might also use volunteers to fulfill roles that are typically done by staff in larger organizations. But, you must take into consideration which tasks the board or committees and volunteers are realistically skilled at, able and willing to do, versus those that require the expertise, time and continuity that a paid employee offers. Think about how much work can realistically be assigned to a staff position. Also consider your program’s priorities, the amount of funding available, and the availability of relevant expertise in your community as you design your staff positions.
Just as your program’s volunteer workers must be screened, so must paid staff. Police record checks, child welfare record checks, where available, reference checks, and thorough interviews are recommended screening requirements for both volunteers and paid staff.
Big Brothers Big Sisters programs and Boys and Girls Clubs must ensure that all of their staff come to the job, with the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience. This is especially true for staff who work directly with children and youth: they should have educational and experience in a relevant human services discipline, such as social work or psychology.
Remember, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Club staff are called upon to make very responsible decisions that impact the safety and development of children and youth. And, your organization will be held accountable for the actions of program staff. So be sure you have enough workers, be sure your program staff have the training and qualifications necessary to ensure the well being of those whom your program serves, and be sure to provide strong supervision and support to these staff.
Staff should be hired only once some basic personnel policies are in place, and sufficient funds have been raised to employ them. It is usual practice for the organization’s board of directors to hire and oversee the work of the senior staff person who manages the programs (usually called an Executive Director). The Executive Director, in turn, typically hires and oversees the work of all other staff.
 Your Big Brothers Big Sisters program or Boys and Girls Club must have in place policies to ensure that all its personnel, both paid and volunteer:
- Are recruited fairly and systematically
- Undergo suitable screening
- Are provided with job descriptions or written expectations
- Receive appropriate, ongoing training and orientation
- Have suitable supervision or support
- Receive meaningful, regular (at least annual) performance evaluations
- Have access to fair grievance procedures
- Are disciplined appropriately when necessary
- Are provided with written copies of the policies affecting and guiding them
- Reflect the diversity of your organization’s membership
- Are treated in compliance with provincial human rights, employment standards, freedom of information and protection of privacy, and any other relevant legislation.
Personnel policies that guide employee-employer relationship matters specific to paid employees will also be needed. These may include employee salaries and benefits, vacations, leaves of absence, professional development, working conditions and so on.
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