We see varying levels of system approaches and people centric approaches in volunteer management. One approach is relying on a volunteer management system (software) to solve the recruitment problem, the other is reluctance to use a system out of fear to lose the connection with volunteers. I believe the solution is a combination of a [...]
The operational focus naturally is on our next event but there is a need to also focus on event outcomes to create long-term benefits. Many of us fall into the trap of focusing on outputs rather than outcomes, not because we don’t know any better but because it’s so easy to. Hence there are literally [...]
I lost count of how many times recruiting volunteers has been pointed out to be a challenge for event organisers. Not having enough volunteers, not having the “right” volunteers and volunteers not showing up are commonly reported problems. This is supported by many articles stating that often there are not enough resources put into volunteer recruitment [...]
When event organisers first approach us, we often hear the following “Can you please provide us with 50 volunteers?” It always makes me cringe. Nobody can be providing people to anyone, let alone volunteers. I think it’s interesting that especially short-term staff and volunteers are often thought of as a commodity. To clarify, we don’t trade volunteers. We [...]
Constantly running against multiple deadlines? There are just so many hours in the day and just so much you can do? Yes this is the reality not just for event managers. This makes it all the harder to make any changes to how and why things are done in your organisation. But effective planning can save [...]
From small to large-scale events, something everyone deals with is allocating limited resources. Often this means that the time frames for event contractors, including volunteer coordinators are getting shorter. This means that the volunteer coordinator is required to plan and implement the volunteer program in less time in the interest of saving costs. But is it really [...]
Volunteer recruitment is the most obvious part of the volunteer management process. That is likely the reason why it is often interchangeably referred to as volunteer management. Volunteer management however is a lot more complex with planning, engagement, training, support and communication. Volunteer recruitment is a part of this system – a crucial part of [...]
Many events cannot run without volunteers. However, often managers don’t realise the full value the volunteer program can bring to their event and organisation. Think about volunteers not showing up or volunteers not knowing what to do. In those instances the time and money spent can even have a negative impact on the event. As [...]
So it’s six weeks into 2015 and we have already finished three amazing events. February, with the major summer events behind us, is usually the time we celebrate our New Year and start planning for the next one. Accordingly, we wish all of you a very Happy New Year! New Year is also traditionally a [...]
Christmas is such a two-headed beast for most of us – equal parts stress and joy, a frenetic loop of decorating, shopping, wrapping, and cooking to prep for the big day where hopefully it all comes together and we can finally enjoy each others’ company. There’s so much to do, and it’s madness to try [...]