Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
On Thursday, March 20, Tourism Saskatchewan hosted a webinar, Strategies for Recruiting and Retaining Great Volunteers, featuring Saskatchewan’s Lieutenant Governor, Bernadette McIntyre, a seasoned expert in volunteering. McIntyre shared her insights into how she has brought volunteers together to run the many large events she has coordinated over the years. Growing up in a small community, her parents were always involved in the community, helping out at the curling rink, the skating rink, the ball diamonds, or the church, and so volunteering has always been a way of life for her. Although she spoke primarily about volunteers for events, many of the same principles can benefit community organizations looking to build their volunteer ranks.
Some of the topics covered included attracting the right volunteers, training and empowering volunteers for success, keeping them motivated and engaged, and building strong communication to foster a sense of community and collaboration. Volunteering has a lasting impact on the recipients. Many of the events volunteers are recruited for are those things that create memories. Realizing that, McIntyre said, changed how she approached not only the organization of events, but also how she managed volunteers. So, whether the event is an annual one like Cudworth’s bunnock tournament, or the CanAm football championship held in Wakaw a couple of years ago, it all comes down to the memories, for the participants, the fans, the sponsors, and for the volunteers.
Finding dedicated volunteers who are truly committed can be very difficult, but creating an environment where the volunteers feel part of the team can ratchet up the commitment level. If the only thing you want volunteers for is to pick up the garbage during an event, it is not very attractive to volunteers. If it is packaged with several other things and one of the things on the list is cleaning up after the event, then it makes it not so much of a chore. Giving volunteers the worst jobs will not get the best out of any of them. Communication is also key. Keeping volunteers informed and ‘in the loop’ will go a long way to making them feel part of a team. Probably, the most important aspect of all, is ensuring that volunteers have fun.
People volunteer out of a sense of altruism… they volunteer to contribute to the community, but also to fulfill something they want to accomplish. McIntyre feels that many younger people volunteer to gain something from the experience. They may want to gain skills or get experiences that they can not obtain from where they are in their career right now. Coordinators need to have an idea of what the volunteer hopes to gain from the experience and matching that with the roles available can aid in volunteer retention. A good volunteering experience provides a means to achieve something, and by supporting them in doing that, coordinators enable them to champion their cause.
Social media has become a popular way to recruit volunteers, but McIntyre warned that only using social media is limiting. The tendency is to think ‘everybody’ is on social media, and many younger people can be found there, but there is also a great resource of people who are a little bit older, or newly retired, that may be tapped into through traditional media. It doesn’t have to be paid advertising; word of mouth is wonderful. Contacting other organisations can provide connections with volunteers with extra time looking for opportunities to be involved.
To keep volunteers interested and engaged, they need to be part of the process; they need to be interested in the mission and goal of the engagement. Listen to the volunteers. Ask them where to get other volunteers; ask them to be part of how to improve the event. They are the frontline for the most part, and they hear the comments, positive and negative, from the public. To keep volunteers, they need to feel part of the team, that they can make a positive contribution to the team, and that those contributions are valued. Another way to do this is by showing appreciation. It does not have to be expensive; there are lots of small things, a thank you note, a thank you coupon, discounts on something; it is as simple, sometimes, as feeding them. It does not have to be a buffet – if there is a sandwich, snacks, cookies, chocolates even, something to demonstrate an appreciation for them. If they get something from the event, a special pin or a T-shirt, that too helps make them feel they are part of the team, like they belong. For organizations that need people back every season or for ongoing involvement, thinking of a way to reward volunteers who keep showing up again and again is another way to demonstrate that appreciation. One group that does a very good job of this is the Rider Squad with the Saskatchewan Riders, volunteers get rewards based on how much they volunteer.
Getting back to the topic of communication, volunteers need to have a true picture of what to expect. There is always, what she calls, organized chaos for the first while until everyone settles in and the event gets rolling. It happens with annual events as well as pop-ups. If a volunteer is not prepared for that, they may never volunteer again. They need the technical information, what time the doors open, what time they close, where people can find things, but, most of all, the volunteers need to have a very good picture of how the events will work. They need to be given the information they need to deal with the public, especially during the organized chaos of that opening period, where they can find answers to questions, who they reach out to in a difficult situation, and who is their lifeline. That knowledge needs to be given, it can not be left up to an assumption that the volunteer will know what to do. Volunteers should never feel like they are alone; there should always be somebody else, an organizer or even another volunteer, so that, between the two of them, they can figure out whatever needs to be done.
Those organizations that employ the methods of effective teams will find that attracting, engaging, and retaining volunteers becomes easier. “If you want to go fast, you go alone; if you want to achieve the dream, you go as a team. It takes a team to accomplish the dream.”
