Adults in Scouting (AiS) is one of the key dimensions of best practices that deal with how your National Scouting Organization (NSO) manages its human resources, both professional and voluntary, as it relates to selection, recruitment, hiring and appointment, performance management, reward, security, relationships, and decisions for the future.

Your National Scout Organization (NSO) needs to have adequate adult leadership and adult support to develop, grow, and function effectively. You need the right people in the right job at the right time and in the right place. Your NSO needs to have a clear view of its needs and a clear recruitment and appointment process for its adults.

Job/role descriptions are often the only documents that totally define what a role is, what skills are required to perform it, and where the role fits in your NSO. Properly written descriptions make it easier to identify individuals that are a good fit for the job/role and to hold individuals accountable if they are not performing essential duties that are required.

Adults appreciate a personalized evaluation that provides recognition of their achievements and contribution to the organization, and brings clarity to the requirements and expectations of their role. Adults in Scouting (AiS) need an opportunity to reflect on their commitment and what they do in Scouting. The Appraisal Interview is a two-way process in which both interviewer and interviewee identify what is going well, what needs to be done, and what could be improved, and to understand and address major differences in perspectives between them. It also serves as an informal opportunity to look at personal development which may not necessarily be associated with the Scouting job or role but would assist the interviewee both personally and professionally. An Appraisal Interview may also be appropriate for specific work units or taskforce-member-type responsibilities.

Proving that you have a certain competence can be difficult if there is a not a tangible, physical outcome that can be assessed. When you want to analyse past performance or assess how successful an event or training session has been, you need a tool that will evaluate what are not obviously measurable qualities. You might need to talk fluently to others about something you’ve done or a project your National Scout Organization (NSO) has completed but you have trouble getting the story straight in your head.