Managing Event Volunteering – Top Tips, by Naomi Warner

Naomi Warner is the Volunteer Manager for Run4Wales – organisers of major sporting events including the Cardiff Half Marathon (second largest half marathon in the UK) and the IAAF/Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships 2016, which was supported by 1200 volunteers. In this blog Naomi provides some top tips on which will help ensure that both participants and the volunteers have a great experience.

Events don’t happen without volunteers. If you look after your volunteers you will have an experienced and enthusiastic team of support that will be willing to come back time and time again to make your event a huge success. Here are some hints and tips on how to engage and support volunteers at events no matter how big or small.

Attracting some support:

· Events (especially major ones) attract volunteers from all walks of life, many who just want to be part of the event and don’t necessarily have a specific interest (in running for example), so make sure you promote the opportunity throughout the local community not just at relevant groups.

· Utilise young people – many young people through schools and colleges have to do some volunteering so why not make it as part of your event.

· Local organised groups such as scouts, guides or army cadets have a large number of young people at hand that are looking to get involved in community events and come fully supervised.

· Be clear about the number of volunteers you need but make sure to overestimate as there will ALWAYS be a drop out on the day.

· Make sure you are clear on your minimum age for volunteering, ensure that young volunteers are appropriately supervised and that the roles you are assigning to these young volunteers are suitable.

Communication is the key:

· Make volunteers feel part of the build up to the event, with regular communication informing them what the event is about, how preparations are going, how long left until the big day and how you couldn’t do it without them.

· For large events, prepare role descriptions in advance so that volunteers can make informed decisions on the type of roles they would like to support with when they sign up.

· Prepare a detailed briefing sheet for volunteers a couple of weeks in advance of the event with all the information they will need such as where to go, at what time, who their supervisor is, what they need to bring and some specifics about their role.

On Event Day:

· Make sure you know who has turned up to support and sign everyone in.

· Hold emergency contact details for all volunteers on day should anything happen.

· Look after your volunteers they have given up their own time for nothing! If they are only supporting for a few hours make sure they have a break, cup of tea and a biscuit and If they are doing more than 4 hours make sure they also have a meal, for example a sandwich bag.

· Have plenty of water and snacks around to keep volunteers hydrated and motivated.

· If feasible create a volunteer hub – just a space (this could be a pop up tent, room or marquee) for volunteers to call their own, sign in, be briefed, leave belongings and grab a break.

· Provide somewhere free for volunteers to park.

· Get to know your volunteers. The more time you spend with your volunteers the better you will get to know their strengths, weaknesses and what roles suit them.

· Many volunteers are keen to try different roles, so if possible swap them around roles during the event or make sure to give them the opportunity to try a different role at future events.

Building legacy:

· For large events it is great to build a sense of community - You could give volunteers a name such as the ExtraMilers, the Games Makers or Velonteers to make them feel like a part of something bigger and an important part of the event.

· If possible give volunteers a uniform such as a t-shirt with ‘ExtraMilers’ on that is similar to the event staff. This reinforces the sense of community, makes them feel like a valued member of the event team, as well as making them easily identifiable.

· You could develop this community by building volunteer group social media accounts that will help volunteers interact with each other, share experiences and showcase their hard work and maybe recruit a few extra hands.

· Treating your volunteers well will help ensure they come back time and time again. Many event volunteers will be supporting at lots of local events, not just yours, and will have a great range of skills and experience.

· Always look for opportunities to upskill your volunteers and help them develop. This could be through giving them a position of responsibility or training them in a specific skills such as radio usage etc.

A thank you goes a long way!

· It is important that everyone involved in the event is aware of the scope and supportive of the importance of volunteers’ involvement - events don’t happen without volunteers!

· Utilise social media to showcase your volunteers hard work to everyone throughout the event.

· Say thank you to volunteers throughout the event at every opportunity and immediately after the event. Make sure volunteers know you appreciate their support and couldn’t do it without them.

· Make a gesture of thanks/recognition of their hard work – this could be ensuring they have a participant’s medal, a certificate, volunteer awards or even a thank you event for their hard work.