Volunteer Management

Needs Make sure the needs on the Web site reflect the number of people you really need and the times you really need them! Recruitment Let Michelle know about volunteer groups as soon as possible so we can place them. And we love getting volunteers who are familiar with the sport at which they are helping! Confirmation/pre-event Communications It makes a huge difference for volunteers to hear from the volunteer manager at the venue rather than just SONC; it adds accountability and that way they are in direct communication with you!

No-Show’s Be prepared for a few! We have tried to capture cell phone numbers so you can check in and make sure they are not lost, etc. We are not opposed to your doing wake-up calls either! T-shirts Set aside shirts in the appropriate sizes for those volunteers who pre-registered for both days. Then you will know what you really have available for walk-up volunteers. If you run out of shirts, take the volunteer’s name and shirt size and send them on to their assignment. We can either find them later or even send them a T-shirt later. Training The volunteer manager should give a general overview to all volunteers (competition times, lunch plans, restrooms, overview of the day, etc.) It is extremely important that the volunteer manager know where to send volunteers afterward for them to get training in their assignment (i.e. designate a report and train area for competition volunteers, etc. If you have some good help, use a few volunteers to help escort other volunteers to the training area. It can get very confusing trying to get to the right spot for training!

Reporting It is important that the GMT member to whom volunteers are reporting be responsible for training, placing and monitoring the volunteers (i.e. competition volunteers belong to the competition manager). Lunch is done and so am I! Do your darnedest to reiterate to the volunteers multiple times in the morning how much longer you need them for the day. Confirm their commitment in the morning. We still tend to lose a few volunteers around lunchtime; we will work on recruiting a few volunteers for just an afternoon shift Teardown Hang on to your volunteers so you are not the only one tearing the venue down! Start checking in with them before the day ends giving them specific teardown assignments. Don’t let them stand around doing nothing – you will lose them. Don’t feel like you are being mean asking volunteers to help clean up – they are there to help! Have a small reward waiting for them when teardown is complete.