How to recruit Tech Tutors
Volunteer Tech Tutors are the fuel behind sustainable technology assistance programs. Candidates need a high level of confidence using computers, tablets, and digital devices in general and must have the conversational skills and patience to support older adults over the phone.
Tech Savvy Tutors
A strong Tech Tutor candidate can attend Zoom video calls without trouble and they consider themselves to be self-reliant when it comes to their own gadgets. They can do research on Google and YouTube to learn something new about using a device, they’re familiar with signing up for and using email, installing applications, and can navigate a settings menu with ease.
Phase 1
Establish a Volunteer Candidate Pool
If your organization has an existing group of registered/eligible volunteers, that is the first place to start looking for Tech Tutor candidates. Use the recruitment promotion materials provided at the link below to inform your volunteer pool about the new Tech Tutor positions and the skills that qualify suitable candidates. It’s assumed that you can correspond with these individuals via email. The goal should be to use email as the primary communication method between your organization and the volunteer team.
Next, expand your potential volunteer pool. Reach out to your members/clients who attend virtual programs currently. Let them know about the new Tech Tutor positions available, once again using the recruitment promotion materials provided.
To extend your volunteer outreach further, we recommend posting the Tech Tutor opportunity outside of your organization. One of the many local non-profit volunteer connection networks in your area can help promote the position to potential candidates, which will likely be a multi-generational group.
Throughout this and the following phases, stay organized! Use the Call Planner file at the link below to keep track of your volunteer candidates, their status throughout the onboarding process, and the older adults they support joining Zoom video calls.
NOTE: If more than one person on your team will edit the Call Planner file, consider using a cloud-based storage solution, such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive, as the primary access point for the document. This will ensure everyone has the most up-to-date information all of the time.Phase 2
Tech Tutor Prequalification
Volunteer Tech Tutors should qualify with a certain level of digital literacy before anything else. Candidates need to be comfortable navigating technology to use Zoom. They must also feel confident communicating with strangers over the phone to help them use an unfamiliar device.
Start by providing each new applicant with a job description that outlines the tasks to complete, responsibilities, and expectations of each Tech Tutor volunteer. An example is provided at the bottom of this section.
Time management is essential. We recommend establishing particular days and specific hours of operation each week for the Tech Tutors to volunteer. You should provide those details at this stage to confirm that they will be available.
Also, establish each candidate’s level of digital literacy by asking a series of questions about their technology experiences. Gain perspective on the devices they use regularly, their comfort troubleshooting and researching solutions online, and their ability to communicate technology-oriented ideas to others effectively. A template for a qualification script email that includes baseline questions is included below.
It’s important to outline your organization’s new volunteer onboarding process, in preparation for Phase 3. Let them know about any additional training they are required to complete before being eligible to volunteer, such as mandatory police checks.
NOTE: This phase should be done in one email per Tech Tutor candidate. Everything completed and collected, including the initial Tech Tutor discovery email and each candidate’s responses, should be documented in the Call Planner file.Phase 3
Organizational Onboarding
When a candidate prequalifies as a Tech Tutor, the next step is to begin your organization’s unique onboarding process for new volunteers. This includes things like internal administration, orientation, or security screening a person must complete before volunteering with your organization.
Due to the time required to collect things like police records checks and character references, it’s recommended that this process is started as soon as possible.
During the onboarding process, ensure you become familiar with every Tech Tutor candidate. These individuals will be responsible for supporting older adults over the phone. You should have at least one call with each Tech Tutor so you can experience the way they communicate over the phone. If you don’t believe someone will be an effective Tech Tutor based on the conversation you have, let them know. Perhaps you can align them with a different volunteer opportunity with your organization.
NOTE: For some organizations, the new volunteer onboarding process involves several hours of mandatory training that occurs over multiple weeks. To help Tech Tutors start as soon as possible, we recommend coordinating Phase 3 and Phase 4 at the same time. Phase 4
Initiate Tech Tutor Online Training
While completing Phase 3 with each new volunteer, you can also start the online Tech Tutor training provided on this website. For most candidates, the module-based training will take less than 2 hours to complete.
The training objective is to help Tech Tutors learn how to communicate effectively in order to support new users learning technology skills over the phone. Because candidates are tech-savvy individuals already, the content does not focus on device use or operating Zoom video calls.
To initiate the Tech Tutor online training, provide each new volunteer with a link to the material via email, https://www.techtutorhandbook.ca/tech-tutors. Let them know it will take less than 90-minutes to complete and provide specific instructions about when they should be finished. We recommend allotting 5 business days to consume the content. Ask candidates to report back via email once they are finished reviewing the training materials and any onboarding required in Phase 3.
NOTE: Don’t forget to track the status of each Tech Tutor candidate in the Call Planner file as you move through the different phases with them. Use it as a checklist to ensure your program coordination stays simple and streamlined.Phase 5
Confirm Onboarding and Training Success
To be identified as an active volunteer Tech Tutor, candidates must confirm that they have completed the organizational onboarding process and have consumed all of the online training. Based on information collected in the Call Planner file, you should have a good idea about when each individual will be ready to volunteer.
At this point, each candidate has been instructed to email you with an update to confirm when they’ve completed Phase 3 and Phase 4. In response to a volunteer that has finished both, use the Ready to Tech Tutor! email script included below to welcome them to the team and to provide details about the next steps.
If you do not receive completion confirmation from someone as expected and believe a follow-up is in order, send them an email to investigate their status using the What’s Your Status? script provided at the bottom of this section.
NOTE: Any volunteer who receives the Ready to Tech Tutor email is eligible to actively start helping older adults.