Thousands of volunteers and hundreds of staff are needed to provide back-up to the RNLI’s lifesavers – so how does the charity find the right people for the job?

‘The Institution is very anxious to form or develop Branches in the following places,’ reads the February 1931 edition of the Lifeboat, listing areas of London and the Midlands in need of fundraising volunteers. It was a stark reminder that, even if RNLI volunteers live a long way from the sea and never set foot on a lifeboat, their time and talents are essential to the charity. As a result of that appeal, branches were developed that still raise lifesaving funds today.

Almost 80 years on, the need to find new volunteers is stronger than ever. The RNLI is enlisting the help of the internet to recruit people who can give a few hours here and there, to play their part in saving lives at sea. Those who sign up online will be able to say how much time they can give, where they can give it, and the kind of volunteering they are interested in – from helping out at fundraising events to giving talks (more information on this new scheme will follow in future issues).

The internet also plays a key part in recruiting new RNLI staff, in a way that saves time and money. Historically employers have had to strike a tricky balance between placing cheaper, small job advertisements with minimal information (potentially resulting in too few responses or creating a torrent of queries) or large, colourful advertisements that are very costly to place. The RNLI has overcome this problem by advertising very basic job details – such as title, renumeration and location – along with a website address directing them to the RNLI's online recruitment zone.

Interested candidates can read the full advert, view further vacancy details and, if they wish, apply for the position online. This reduces the cost of advertising space and the postage and paperwork needed to send application forms through the mail. A rebrand of the RNLI’s job advertisements (shown left) has also made them more eye-catching and emotive – despite the two-colour design, which again saves money. So they are getting a better response than ever, even though they are smaller and cheaper.

Just the job!