How to hire a group worker

How to hire a group worker, step by step

Here's a step-by-step group worker hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a group worker job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new group worker
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a group worker, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a group worker to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a group worker that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of group worker salaries for various roles:

   Type of Group Worker	Description	Hourly rate
   Group Worker	Recreation workers design and lead recreational and leisure activities for groups in volunteer agencies or recreation facilities, such as playgrounds, parks, camps, aquatic centers, and senior centers. They may lead activities such as arts and crafts, dance, sports, adventure programs, music, and camping.	$13-32
   Activities Director	An activities director is responsible for planning engaging events for the participants, considering individual interests and the safety of procedures and resources. Activities directors guide the activity staff on assisting the participants, ensuring that they are comfortable with joining the activities... Show more	$12-35
   Activities Leader	An activity leader's main duty is to offer sports programs and exercises that are riveting in a positive manner. The activities typically assigned to leaders are the ones they understand for the smooth promotion and planning of events... Show more	$9-21

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Transport Residents
   • Mental Health
   • Juvenile Offenders
   • Program Culture
   • Crisis Intervention
   • Behavior Management
   • CPR
   • DCF
   • Substance Abuse
   • Social Work
   • Security Checks
   • Rehabilitation
   • DYS
   • Independent Living

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead a successful group of kids by ensuring safety and behavioral expectations are met and providing structure and organize educational activities.
   • Provide tutoring services to low income LAUSD youth (K5).
   • Maintain current knowledge of policies and procedures, CPR and first aid certification.
   • Lead a successful group of kids by ensuring safety and behavioral expectations are met and providing structure and organize educational activities.
   • Provide supervision to paraprofessionals to ensure Medicaid compliance, timely completion of paperwork, quality assurance and attendance.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your group worker job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A group worker can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, group workers' average salary in ohio is 53% less than in mississippi.
   • Seniority. Entry-level group workers 59% less than senior-level group workers.
   • Certifications. A group worker with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a group worker's salary.

   Average group worker salary

   $44,251yearly

   $21.27 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level group worker salary

   $28,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a group worker job description

   A job description for a group worker role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a group worker job description:

   Group worker job description example

   $3000 Sign-On Bonus &

   1.5 x hourly rate for weekend hours!

   Eliot's Teamworks program in Plymouth is currently seeing a Direct Care Professional to assist in the daily coordination of youth in executing the plan of the day. The ideal candidate will be compassionate, dedicated, and committed. Entry-level - WILL TRAIN!

   Eliot's juvenile justice programming includes a residential network for youth ages 13 to 21 who are court-involved and in need of assessment and treatment services. These highly structured, self-contained programs offer a comprehensive intervention for juvenile offenders.

   Responsibilities:

   • Daily coordination of youth in executing the plan of the day
   • Attend staff and shift change meetings and trainings as required
   • Manage the program security equipment including radios, keys, and all other assigned equipment according to policy
   • Maintain professional boundaries at all times

   Qualifications:

   • Over 21 years of age
   • High School Diploma completed
   • Valid Driver's License

   Schedules Available:

   Friday - Tuesday 3pm-11pm

   Wednesday - Sunday 3pm-11pm

   Saturday - Wednesday 3pm-11pm

   Thursday - Monday 3pm-11pm

   Company DescriptionEliot provides an integrated and comprehensive network of community-based services to more than 50,000 individuals and families throughout Massachusetts.
   
   Eliot has been delivering state of the art, evidence-based programming for more than fifty years. Using a person-centered, family-driven approach, we believe strongly in partnering with the communities we serve. Our programs collaborate with one another, utilizing the expertise within the agency to provide the highest standard of quality services to our clients, their families, to the community, and to our funding sources. This commitment to collaboration fuels our strategy to employ a consumer centered approach to service delivery to meet the individual needs of our clients. Our approach fuses community resources, funding resources and our vast array of services to ensure that the high quality programs bring hope to those we serve.
   
   Our continuum of services includes twenty-four hour psychiatric emergency services and crisis stabilization, individual, group, and family outpatient counseling, addiction services, in-home therapy, therapeutic mentoring, and early intervention services for children, and community outreach and case management to individuals with mental illness. We oversee residential programs for young children and adolescents in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, residential treatment programs for youth mandated by the Department of Youth Services, and residential, day, social and vocational programs for adults with mental illness, brain injury and developmental disabilities. Eliot also provides outreach, community support and case management to homeless individuals throughout the Commonwealth.
   
   Eliot is funded and serves individuals referred by Managed Medicaid Organizations, Commercial Insurers, the Massachusetts Departments of Children and Families, Developmental Disabilities, Public Health, Mental Health, Youth Services, and the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission.

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5. Post your job

   To find group workers for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any group workers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level group workers with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your group worker job on Zippia to find and recruit group worker candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with group worker candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new group worker

   Once you have selected a candidate for the group worker position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new group worker. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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