Many people are so happy when a successful event is over, that they forget to maintain or build on their volunteer database. This means that before the next event they have to start almost immediately with getting volunteers, which costs a lot of time and money.
Recruiting new volunteers is cumbersome and expensive, especially if you have to start all over again. The solution is to build a more long-term and loyal database of volunteers.
Do not maintain your database
In sports, you are very volunteer-focused, but you can easily add more to a clear database, e.g. former members, grandparents etc. Think broadly. It is also important to have a good tool for obtaining consent, so you can freely care for people and maintain the database outside the events. The database should also have an overview of what the different people can contribute, what they may have competence in, what they have done of volunteer work before, etc.
It is smart to keep the volunteers as best and as long as possible, and keep them engaged along the way. Why not have a system where you send out birthday greetings, premiere extra engaged volunteers, give tips on cool events or something else, which makes you stand out a little and the volunteers feel taken care of? You can also invite to a memorial event to keep in touch with the volunteers after a larger event. There is a lot of competition for volunteers, so it is important to take good care of those you already have.
Broad competence provides security
It is much easier to make good events if you know more about your people and what they have done of volunteer work before. Then it is easier to put the right person in the right place, so that the volunteers like the job and stay on.
When the competence transfer can be done between the volunteers, it gives less work to the organizer. You may also want to leave some circulation and make a more long-term plan for the volunteers, because most volunteers want to try new tasks. It helps the organizer to gain broader competence among the volunteers, as it makes it much easier to get guards covered if someone becomes ill. In this way, the risk is considerably reduced.
Volunteers as a source of income
For many clubs and teams, the volunteer base can be a source of income in connection with other events. You can "rent out" your own volunteers for other events. A football club can easily "hire out" volunteers for a marathon, to provide charity money for the club. Then the volunteers also get some variation in the jobs that are done on a voluntary basis.
If you just put people on guards they do not want, they often drop out. Therefore, one should offer different types of jobs from time to time, to give people choices. The feeling of choice usually gives better loyalty and longer duration to the volunteers. In addition, broader competence is being rebuilt, which provides greater opportunities for the organizer.
Statistics, please!
If you keep statistics on the volunteers, you know more about who you are actually dealing with, and where to look for more volunteers. By knowing the gender distribution, average age, levels of education, who is most loyal, etc., you can make it easier to target the right target groups if you want to make changes in your volunteer staff. If you only have single, academic men of 45 years in the volunteer number, then it may be silly to spend time trying to recruit more in the same demographic area, if you want a greater degree of diversity.
Aggregated data can make you much wiser about what pays off for their particular event. It can provide better conditions for keeping the volunteers and using them wisely. If you use the data correctly, you can gain an advantage over others who are also looking for volunteers. And the more professional you are, the more volunteers want to work for your particular event. Real and motivated volunteers who contribute to the best event will also attract participants and the audience in the tough competition between events.
Share the goodies
In a good system it is easy to invite the volunteers to the next event, while in a spreadsheet it is difficult to keep track. Exceptionally, a lot of time is saved on keeping the volunteers from implementation to implementation. It costs time and money to constantly have to recruit new resources, so taking care of those you have is essential.
Several and different organizers in a region or city can with advantage build a database together, it can pay off. Then you do not have to start at zero every time, which saves both time and money. With a good, regional database, one can use the resources in several contexts. Often the volunteers have several interests, and you can use them on e.g. both football cups and music festivals.
Easy to stay ahead
It is much easier to stay ahead of dropouts with a proper database. You can see statistics and predict age dropouts, shift work, etc., which means that you can gradually and planned renew your volunteer base.
Good database building provides continuity, competence mapping, competence development, loyalty and knowledge of who you have. People are getting less and less time, and therefore it is becoming more and more important to take care of those you already have. Good volunteer culture is important and makes planning much easier!
Privacy must be safeguarded
GDPR is very important to take care of, and if you get the volunteers to maintain information about themselves, you are always up to date. It gives the organizer security and certainty that privacy is taken care of at all times in accordance with current regulations.
If you do not have a proper database, it is very demanding to have full control over this. In the worst case, this means that you have a "fake" database that you cannot use, as you are not allowed to contact the resources. Because the resources themselves can maintain their own data, it is also to a greater extent avoided that emails are returned or that SMSs do not arrive.
Use the database actively
Think broadly when you recruit, and think of collaboration across events if you collaborate with several actors. Ensure some new recruitment every year, so that you compensate for natural and statistical dropouts. Make sure that the database is not too old or unbalanced when it comes to internal experience, age, gender balance, diversity etc.
Let everyone maintain their own info, it gives better odds that you will reach them when you should, while at the same time actually building loyalty. Keep the volunteers engaged throughout the year and let the system work so that they do as much as possible themselves.
