Case study
We partnered with the British Red Cross to craft a seamless journey for volunteers signing up to be part of their mass COVID-19 vaccination effort.
This initiative was part of &us’ “Making for Good” program.
The Challenge
The British Red Cross is contractually bound to deploy 1000 volunteers to assist with the Covid-19 vaccination roll out. Converting volunteers is a challenge as it requires a shift in mindset and behaviour, and the onboarding process is lengthy. Application frequency needed to remain high to allow BRC to move quickly, however there are mandatory requirements for the roles, and unsuitable application or drop-outs costs BRC time, money, and resources.

The Solution
&us developed a pre-application screener which clearly lays out commitments and checks that users meet requirements using an inspiring and empowering tone of voice. Mechanics such as social proof and emotive language are front and centre to ensure that application frequency stays high. The screener sets expectations, aiming to reduce the number of unsuitable applicants and keep drop out rates low.
The Process
We zoomed out to build a broader context focusing on the factors that will trigger behaviour change in the current climate. Target personas helped define a tone of voice to engage volunteers. We defined the role of the screener step, our design challenges, and began to test and iterate the design of the volunteer microsite.


The outcome
- We introduced the British Red Cross team to collaborative tools and helped them implement user-centric design thinking to drive momentum and effectiveness
- We delivered a set of clear design principles to take forward and apply to future volunteer experiences
- We created a powerful set of design assets for the microsite which aim to inspire, educate, empower, and guide users through the application process.
“We partnered with &us at a critical moment for the Red Cross that necessitated a different approach. Through their work, they helped us break down the silos, working across several teams, and create an end-to-end volunteer recruitment experience that could rise to the Covid vaccination challenge.
The nature of the work, and the team at &us, meant that we moved faster, joined the dots between the digital experience and the back office operations, and arguably had a lot more fun than our usual projects.”
Ben Brown – Head of Ambulance Support at the British Red Cross