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The need for more volunteers across all areas of sport event operations requires greater sophistication in the way that volunteers are recruited, managed and retained. Limiting volunteer turnover can spare event organisers and organisations the effort, time and financial resources required to continually recruit and train staff. Instead, these resources can be invested into the achievement of other organisational objectives. To increase volunteer participation and involvement, it is important to consider:

1. Volunteer motivations.
2. Volunteer satisfaction.

Focus on motivations

Recruitment and retention of volunteers is more effective when event organisers focus on multiple volunteer motivations. This approach is particularly useful when designing persuasive communications, assigning volunteer tasks and structuring experiences to specific volunteers.

For example, to recruit volunteers who are highly motivated by social opportunities and career advancement, event organisers could use volunteer promotional brochures that highlight the people one can meet while volunteering (especially those who could advance the volunteer’s career). To retain these volunteers, event organisers could design training sessions that are conducted in a group setting and team-oriented tasks.

Focus on volunteer satisfaction

Job satisfaction has been linked to decreased turnover and increased commitment to organisations. Therefore, volunteers are more likely to want to return to assist the organisation and volunteer again if the experience has been a satisfying one. With fewer people volunteering and the increased demand for volunteers, retaining motivated and skilled event volunteers is critical. Volunteer co-ordinators must determine how best to satisfy volunteers (i.e. fulfil volunteers’ needs) to retain their services. Furthermore, volunteer satisfaction is not only important for retention purposes, it is also important to recruit volunteers because satisfied volunteers are more likely to recruit other volunteers to assist the organisation (e.g. family and friends).

So, what specific features should be included in a volunteer programme to increase the satisfaction experienced by sport event volunteers?

Some volunteer programme features have the capacity to satisfy or disappoint volunteers such as whether there is good communication in the organisation, volunteer input is valued by the organisation and volunteers are provided with clear direction.

Higher levels of these features can lead to increased satisfaction while lower levels can lead to dissatisfaction. For example, the more volunteers feel like their input is valued by the organisation, the more satisfied they will be. On the other hand, if they do not feel that input is valued by the organisation they will be dissatisfied.

Because these elements are potential sources of dissatisfaction, event organisers must pre-plan ways to manage communication processes, recognition schemes and job processes. They should:

1. Design effective communication processes (e.g. user-friendly communication tools and methods).
2. Consider the best way to recognise volunteer input and contribution during- and post-event.
3. Examine innovative ways to provide volunteers with clear direction on their roles and job tasks.

Other volunteer programme features can only increase satisfaction (they can never lead to dissatisfaction). For example, the more volunteers feel a sense of belonging in the organisation, or feel they learn new skills, the more they will be satisfied. However, if they do not feel a sense of belonging in the organisation or do not feel they have learned new skills, they will feel dissatisfied.

Designing a sport event volunteer programme

A successful Sport Event Volunteer Programme requires a certain amount of tweaking of traditional human resource management approaches (including recruitment, selection, orientation, training, development, performance management, recognition and reward processes) to effectively meet:

1. the needs and interests of sport event volunteers and
2. the strategic and operational contexts of particular sport events.

The way that sport event volunteers are managed has a direct bearing on their level of satisfaction. Therefore, event organisers need to devote effort to those aspects of the volunteer experience that will directly impact on volunteer satisfaction and the likelihood of volunteers returning for subsequent events. In summary, the success of most sport events relies on three main areas or the ‘Three Strategies For Success’:

1. Focus on the individual.
2. Communication is key.
3. Encourage volunteers to engage with leaders of the event.

Three strategies for success

Strategy 1: Focus on the individual Attracting and recruiting volunteers and supporting and training them should focus on individual values, motivations and contributions so that volunteers are personally satisfied with their participation and experiences. How can this be done?

Strategy 2: Communication Communication is key. Ensure that your communication processes are well-designed.

Communication between event organisers and volunteers and between individual volunteers is both important and necessary to run a successful event. Effective communication ensures that everyone has access to important information and services when required. This helps to provide volunteers with clear directions about their role and an understanding of how they fit within the organisation. Communication can fall into three main areas:

• Pre-event.
• During event.
• Post event.

Pre-event communications This includes communication between the event organisers and the volunteers about the event, the organisation and the individual’s job role and tasks.

During-event communications Communication between event organisers and volunteers and between individual volunteers or groups of volunteers helps to facilitate control of the event. The more sophisticated the communication methods (e.g. phone, personal visits, internet, pagers, two-way radio), the easier the communication process is. During the event it is also important to invest time in debriefing volunteers on issues associated with their roles and the support provided to them.

Post-event communications Post-event functions present an opportunity to conduct debriefing sessions to gather feedback from volunteers regarding event operations and the support provided to them. It is also important to recognise and acknowledge individual volunteer contributions, especially to the achievement of milestones.

Interaction between volunteers and the leaders of the organisation is critical. Leaders are an important source of inspiration and motivation for volunteers and are the key to promoting a sense of camaraderie, teamwork and commitment to the event purpose.

(Source: https://www.aspetar.com/journal/viewarticle.aspx?id=30#.YN7BNOgzaM9)