Many people do not realize the impact volunteers in sports have on other people every year. Many life lessons can be taught in a sports setting.
Some people volunteer because their own children are involved with sports and the parents want to be good role models. Others volunteer to be role models for other children in the community. Still others may volunteer because they are big fans of the sports organization, so they want to play a small role in the positive impact the organization has on the community. No matter why people volunteer the volunteers in sports play a huge role in the communities experience when they attend the games.
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Your aim should be to have enough volunteers on an annual basis, and to keep them. This will not happen automatically, and there are times, that volunteers just stop with their work, as they feel under appreciated or they just don’t agree with the policy of your sports organization.
How to motivate them?
Knowing why people volunteer in your sports organization will help you know how to motivate them. But even when you do not know why they help you can still motivate them through showing respect for their time, appreciation by saying THANK YOU, and not underestimating the role they play in your organization. Often volunteers have skills that are not tapped by organizations due to the responsibility normally being on the shoulders of a paid staff member or a board member. But letting a volunteer use their skills in these types of tasks with or without the supervision of staff will motivate the volunteer and make him or her feel valued in a unique way.
Having a training each year for volunteers in sports will let them know they are valued as much as paid staff. This will also help the volunteer feel informed and knowledgeable about the organization which empowers them. There is nothing more motivating than feeling like you are empowered and you can make a difference just by being involved.
Another way of giving your volunteers special attention is to have your sport stars/athletes come to a volunteer only event. This can be a night at the cinemas, a barbeque or a special meeting prior to a large sport event. Again this will motivate the volunteers as they will get recognition from the most valuable persons within your organization, your athletes.
If you go to a fast-food restaurant, there is often a sign nearby the cashier, with a picture of the employee of the month. You could integrate this in your sport organization. When you have volunteer who are doing an outstanding job, or even have a long time working in your sports, you can mention them (of course with a nice picture) in your newsletter, the website or even in a press release.
Whatever you do, it is recommendable to organize a special volunteer event at least once a year. The work of your volunteers is the basis of your sports organization, and should be recognized as such.
Do you have any other ways how to motivate volunteers? Please leave them in the comments.
