Communication from UK HQ
Everyone has been working hard locally to prepare for transforming the way we volunteer at Scouts, underpinned by new digital tools to help us do this. We’re pleased to now announce the dates that we’ll go-live with the new digital tools and adopt our new ways of volunteering.
Go-Live dates
- Early Adopter Counties/Areas/Regions will transition to the new ways of volunteering and start using the new digital tools from 21 November.
- All other Counties/Area/Regions will transition to the new ways of volunteering and start using the new digital tools from 28 November.
From each ‘Go-Live’ date there will be a phased approach to roll out the access to the new digital tools over the following seven days. Not all roles will get access straight away.
Early Adopter Counties are: Berkshire, Coventry, Dorset, Greater London Middlesex West, Guernsey, Clwyd, Humberside, South East Scotland and West Yorkshire.
Compass going offline
- To migrate your data across from Compass to the new digital system we’ll need to take Compass offline.
- Compass will go offline for everyone and be unavailable from 7 November.
- While Compass is offline, some processes will have interim arrangements to help you carry on with some essential tasks until you have access to the new digital tools. Read the guidance to understand how to do things while Compass is offline.
Final actions to take
- It’s really important that you have a unique and personal email address recorded on Compass, without this you won’t have a username for the new digital system. Read our guidance pages for more detail on how to record email addresses on Compass.
- Make sure you and your team are ready for our new ways of volunteering. Read our Ready for Change webpages to find out more about key actions like what team/role you’ll have, what learning you’ll need to do and how to make sure your data will be accurate in the new system.
Training and support
- From the end of October, we’ll be running online training sessions for all members to familiarise themselves with the new digital tools. Sign up for some introductory training on the tools. There will also be additional training sessions for Lead Volunteers and Team Leaders.
- During the training, we’ll also share online user guides to help you.
- There are also Go-Live Support Teams in each County/Area/Region who are doing additional training. They’ll be on hand to help you get to grips with our new ways of volunteering and the new digital tools.
New ways of volunteering
- We will share the Autumn 2024 edition of POR in the November all member email to allow time for familiarisation.
- This edition of POR will take effect from the Go-Live date for your County/Area/Region stated in this email. The current edition of POR remains live until that date.
- Over the next eight weeks, the content on scouts.org.uk will start to be updated to reflect the new processes and ways of volunteering to be adopted from Go-Live.
New digital tools
Our new digital tools will replace the features in Compass and introduce many more. From managing learning, and attracting volunteers, there are many new features coming with the tools. Watch the video below to get to know the new digital system.
It’s exciting that we’re in the final stages of getting ready for Go-Live. Thank you for everything you are doing locally to get ready to transform volunteering in your area and transition to the new digital tools.