| Volunteers -
Recruiting and retaining volunteers
Volunteers are essential in
the sport and recreation industry. Volunteers currently carry
out almost 80% of all sport and recreation administration.
Without the efforts of volunteers many of the opportunities
we currently have to participate and be active in sport and
recreation would disappear. The following information contains
some useful tips and hints on how to recruit and retain your
volunteers:
Recruiting Volunteers
Your organisation’s greatest single impediment to servicing
increased participation in sport is attracting, training and
retaining volunteers. Volunteers enter organisations with
different needs and expectations and with a diverse range
of backgrounds, interests, skills and experiences. As a result,
their motives, level of commitment to and involvement in an
organisation, the benefits they seek from their volunteer
experience, and the amount of time they are prepared to devote
to an organisation, will vary enormously.
What volunteers can offer
- A fresh perspective and new ideas on how
your organisation can do things
- New skills and abilities
- Energy
- Enthusiasm
- A way of ensuring the future of volunteering
within your organisation by bringing a younger generation
of volunteers in to help and thus a way to help sustain
your organisation into the future
- The opportunity to involve your existing
staff or volunteers in training and mentoring new volunteers
Why volunteers get involved
- To gain skills - job skills, communication
skills, personal and professional development
- To gain experience - especially to be able
to add to their CV or to gain a written/verbal reference
- To have fun
- To meet new people
- To experience new challenges
- To gain satisfaction from doing something
to make a difference to the world we live in
- To contribute to the local community
- To support family members in a sport
Attracting volunteers to your organisation
- List 'what's in it for them’ - it may
be a reference, something to add to their CV, training,
meeting new people, personal satisfaction, helping a cause
they believe in or learning new skills
- Tell them if you have benefits particular
to your organisation that provide an added benefit eg. reimbursements
for travel expenses, monthly get-togethers for staff and
volunteers, lunchtime walks in the park etc
- Think creatively about your volunteer roles
- divide tasks into 'projects' and think about which tasks
could be done by which volunteers
- Be flexible about the timing of involvement
- Look for shorter commitment - more project-based
tasks
- Make it easy to get involved - minimise
the screening or induction. Invite the volunteer in so that
you can meet them and tell them more about the position.
If you are happy that they can perform the role and they
are still interested in helping you then set a time for
them to start
- Make your job description sound interesting
- Involve the volunteer in evaluating the program
to improve and develop it
Top
Retaining Volunteers
Volunteer Welcome Pack
A volunteer welcome pack is an important aspect of volunteer
management that gives the volunteer important information
pertaining to their exciting new role. Things it might include
would be:
- A copy of their job description
- A personal welcoming letter from your Club
President or CEO
- A list of staff in your organisation and
their roles and responsibilities
- Information on upcoming training course
dates and costs
- Reimbursement information for out-of-pocket
expenses
- Copies of relevant legislation/policies
ie:
An important aspect of volunteer recognition
is to listen to the concerns of your volunteers. Listed below
are some strategies that you can implement to help retain
your valuable volunteers:
- Show appreciation and recognise your volunteers
- value their contribution (See ‘Thanks’
campaign)
- Give feedback and get (and listen to!) feedback
- Give volunteers ownership/responsibility
of a particular project
- Provide on-the-job training
- Provide clear job descriptions
- Enable your volunteers to have input into
the planning phase
- Allow your volunteers to develop their roles
in areas that are of particular interest to them
- Include them as part of your team
- Introduce volunteers to each other
- Don't undercut your volunteer's confidence
- look at mistakes as learning exercises
- Be flexible - ensure your volunteers know
that you are prepared to adjust their volunteer work to
suit their schedules
- Assist your volunteers in accessing training
and development opportunities
What discourages volunteers
- Poor organisation of the task, orientation
within the organisation or supervision of the volunteer
- Unsatisfying jobs
- Unclear job tasks
- Being talked down to
- Lack of feedback
- Lack of recognition (See ‘Thanks’
campaign)
Young Volunteers
There is a misconception in volunteering circles that young
people are not interested or involved in volunteering. In
fact, young people (aged 16 to 24 years old) are a growing
volunteer base. According to the ABS statistics (2000) the
biggest growth area in volunteering was young people. There
was an increase in participating 18-24 year olds from 16.6%
to 26.8% between 1995 and 2000.
If you are interested in recruiting young people:
- Market your position with young people in
mind
- Think of the image that you are portraying
about your organisation - would this be the kind of organisation
that young people would be interested in helping?
- Remember, many young people are juggling
work and study or work in more than one job, so you may
need to adjust their volunteering hours as their study or
work commitments change
- Please don't forget to check that your Volunteer
Insurance Policy covers younger volunteers
- Encourage young people to participate in
youth
leadership programs offered by the Office for
Recreation and Sport
Top
|
