This might be the most important thing you can do after you recruit new Scouts

Spreading the word, hosting a recruiting event, getting new families signed up for Scouting — all of these things are important.

But what happens in the days and weeks after this is just as critical in determining whether these families stay involved in Scouting for the long term.

This much we know: Families who don’t feel welcomed after they sign up for Scouting are likely to leave. And once they leave, they don’t come back.

“It’s super important for every unit to work on bringing in new families,” says Jason Melton, a member of the National Cub Scout Committee and Cubmaster of the pack in his community. “And how we welcome them after that is just as important. We want to start them out right, get them engaged and keep them engaged.”

Melton joined us on a recent episode of #CubChatLive to discuss the importance of making sure new families feel welcomed in their Scouting unit. Watch the discussion in its entirety below, and read on for a few highlights.

Why families give up on Scouting

The importance of making new families feel welcomed when they join Scouting is backed up by data.

“One of the things we found is that the least satisfied families and the ones most likely to leave are the Lions, Tigers and Wolves,” Melton says. “In other words, it’s the youngest Scouts who are the least likely to feel satisfied.”

Melton says the data shows that 55% of the families that leave Cub Scouting were only enrolled for one year or less. Why would they leave so quickly? Boring or nonexistent programming, disorganized leadership and lack of communication were the most common reasons.

This one small thing can make a huge difference

Melton is a big proponent of the value of an adult volunteer whose sole job is to make sure every family that joins Cub Scouting knows everything they need to know to get started on their Scouting journey.

“It’s not a year-round job like Cubmaster, den leader or committee chair,” Melton says. “It’s a smaller ask. Their job is to help build relationships with new families.”

Among the most important bits of information that new families need to know are when their dens meet and who they can reach out to if they have questions.

“Most new parents don’t know anything about Cub Scouts other than the flyer that came home from school or the yard sign they saw,” Melton says. “Their knowledge of the program is small. We have to hold their hands and walk them through what they need to know and when to show up and what we’re about.”

The importance of the pack calendar

One thing Cub Scout leaders can do to make their families feel welcomed is to present to them a calendar of activities the moment they join. That means, of course, you must have such a document in place before you begin welcoming new families.

In addition to a calendar of events, make sure new families know what kind of uniform to get and which handbooks their child will need.

“If I tell families that we’re going to do cool things, but I can’t tell you what those cool things are, are we really going to do cool things?” Melton says. “But if you can spell out exactly what you’re doing, they’re much more likely to get excited about joining your unit and doing those cool things with you.”

Photo from the Scouting America archives