2010 Hosting Successes & Challenges Survey Results
From AFSWiki
In October 2010, a survey was sent by the Hosting Department in order to gather feedback from volunteers about successes and challenges faced this past hosting season.
The survey focuses on the following topics:
1) Host family lead generation and management
2) Compliance
3) Schools
4) Student applications
Thank you to everyone that took the time to complete the survey! Almost 300 active hosting volunteers responded. To download the results summary, click here.
Recipient overview:
1054 active hosting vols received survey invite
Responded (partial/complete): 301 (17/284)
Response rate: 29%
65% thought 2010 was more difficult than previous years.
Most families supported or were neutral towards the new compliance regulations.
Staff could provide more assistance to vols by generating leads.
Why families didn't host (internal reasons):
Most frequent reasons are financial limitations, lack of time or lack of space.
Reasons never given the most included wanting to be paid, privacy issues and couldn't choose stu from available pool.
Why families couldn't host (external reasons):
Most frequent reason was school had met quota.
Reasons never given the most included stu rejected placement, family lived outside supportable area and family was rejected by AFS.
Lead generation:
Economy was biggest roadblock to generating leads, followed by not enough vols looking for families and not enough resources at local level.
Personal networking was the most effective lead generation strategy. Many of the other strategies listed were not used.
51% were sometimes able to call a lead within 24 hours of receiving interest form.
22% never used GL to manage leads; 21% weren't aware GL had this capacity; 54% would be interested in GL lead training.
Schools:
The most frequently heard reason why schools wouldn't accept stu was they had already reached exchange stu limit.
6 other reasons listed were never heard for more than 50% of respondents.
Increasing communication with schools to promote the benefits of hosting is the most important action for AFS to ensure school placement approvals.
52% have vol(s) to maintain an overview of school information.
Stu applications:
Allergies or restrictions was top factor in a family's decision NOT to host a particular stu, followed by gender.
59% didn't notice a change in the number of "weaker" stu applications.
56% didn't notice more country diversity in stu applications.
