Sport Volunteers 2003 Sport Volunteers 2003 How to Recruit Them How to Screen Them How to Keep Them Paul Jurbala SAO Director of Sport Development

About us: Sport Development Centre Coach development 3M NCCP Theory courses, Coaching in Ontario Schools, connectedcoach.com Volunteer development Red Cross Sport First Aid, Centre for Sport and Law, Ontario Screening Initiative Organization development Community Sport Councils, consulting and facilitation Ontario and Canada Games

About you: l Who is a volunteer? l How long have you volunteered? l What is your role as a volunteer? l Are you a “supervolunteer”?

Sport Volunteers in Canada 1.8 million sport volunteers in Canada (StatsCan 97) 660,000 sport volunteers in Ontario (MTCR, 1998) 407,000 volunteer coaches in Ontario (SAO, 2000)

Value of sport volunteers ($) Statistics Canada, million sport volunteers in Canada At 2 hours/week = 172 million hours Equals 83,000 full-time jobs At $ 6.85/hour minimum wage, equals $ 1.2 billion

Volunteers in a civic society “Good government in Italy is a by-product of singing groups and soccer clubs.” (Robert Putnam, Harvard University)

Conclusions The Value of Volunteers Sport volunteers are about 10% of the adult population and 35% of all volunteers in Canada They make a huge economic and social impact They are a key component of a civic society, which enriches all our lives and creates the environment for personal and business prosperity

BUT… Trends in participation, NSGVP 2000 Comparing the 1997 and 2000 surveys… Overall rate of volunteering declined from 31% to 27% Avg hours per volunteer increased from 149 to 162 Fewer volunteers are working harder; 25% of volunteers responsible for 73% of hours given More volunteers preferred to give money than time

MORE BUTS… Trends in participation, NSGVP 2000 Comparing the 1997 and 2000 surveys… High income, high education most likely to volunteer More volunteers preferring to give money than time 23% of all volunteers, and 55% of vols <24 yrs, believe volunteering increases job opportunity

SO… l Volunteers are an increasingly scarce and valuable commodity l We need to understand them and their motives for volunteering l We need a plan to recruit, develop and retain them l WE NEED A MARKETING-BASED APPROACH

A marketing-based approach to volunteers means… l Recognizing that your organization has to compete for volunteers l Knowing that to compete effectively, you need to know exactly who you’re looking for and where to find them l “Marketing” yourself to attract the volunteers you need l Modifying your jobs (or expectations) to be relevant and appealing to volunteers

Group or type of volunteer: Wants: Obstacles: Opportunities: (Use the ones listed or add your own) What do they want that differentiates them from other groups? Real or perceived obstacles that keep them from volunteering for your organization Suitable assignments that would be attractive opportunities for this group Depression + WW II babies year olds Baby Boomers (young boomers) (older boomers Bust Generation year olds Echo Generation ‘Youth’ Volunteers year olds Wants, Obstacles, Opportunities

Understanding volunteers The How, Why and Where

How people become volunteers # 1: Asked by someone in the organization 30% NSGVP 2000; 25% SAO 2000 #2: Used to participate or compete 55% SAO 2000 #3: Has/had a child involved 12% NSGVP 2000; 55% SAO 2000

Why people become volunteers NSGVP 2000 Believe in the mission or cause- 95% Want to put skills/experience to use- 81% Personally involved/affected by the org- 69% Volunteering is personal: volunteers must have a personal affinity for the mission, a personal stake in the organization, and a personal desire to share their skills.

Why people DON’T volunteer NSGVP 2000 and SAO 2000 Top reasons for not volunteering… Not enough time (68% NSGVP) Can’t make year-round commitment (45% NSGVP) Top reasons for not taking a coaching course… Not enough time (39% SAO) Don’t need the training (17% SAO)

Where are the volunteers? l Employed, well educated people…. –Will likely either become “supervolunteers” or else demand defined, time-limited tasks l Young people or new Canadians –Want to get skills that look good on a resume- defined, time limited (eg tournament organizer) l High School Students –Want to fulfill their 40 hours- need a supervised venue that suits their schedules (eg stuffing envelopes, helping at an event) l Seniors

C: cause based: motivated because they want to contribute – are connected to the cause personally or want to contribute to their community A: affiliation or authority activated: affiliated with a group which volunteers as a project (e.g. Girl Guides, Corporate Team, Church) and want to support the team/project OR- mandated to do community service by higher authority (e.g. Ontario Works, High School credit) and want to meet their requirements R: referral or relationship related: asked by someone they know and want to support the relationship by saying yes OR- want to develop social or networking relationships E: experience seeking want to gain skills for personal development or employment purposes, learn a new language, etc -or- want to participate, be productive, fill time DIFFERENTIATING VOLUNTEERS

Conclusions: How to recruit them Emphasize your mission! Promote the positive: “help us give kids quality sport” Make personal contact! Ask in person! Offer defined, time-limited, do-able tasks

Conclusions: How to recruit them Look outside the box- seniors, families, youth, new Canadians… They’re not all like you supervolunteers! Play up personal growth and job transfer (to young) Offer choice of money or time (to working)

Developing volunteers Screening and training

Screening volunteers Why screen? Your liability and standard of care Good volunteers = good programs Visible evidence of your care for your participants and your intent to offer quality programs Remember, you are hand-picking top volunteers to help deliver quality programs- you are not begging for warm bodies!

Screening volunteers How to screen- resources Speak Out, Act Now- OHF and CHA Safe Steps- Volunteer Canada Community Volunteer Recruitment Workshops- sportalliance

Screening volunteers It’s just like hiring a good employee 1. Risk audit 2. Position description 3. Inform that screening will be done 4. Application form 5. Interview 6. Reference check 7. Police Record Check where needed 8. Orientation and training 9. Supervise and evaluate 10. Quality check with program participants

Conclusions How to screen them Take the same steps you would take when hiring a paid position Higher quality volunteers = higher quality programs Sell the fact that you are actively protecting participants and working to improve program quality- this reinforces your mission

Keeping volunteers Listen and learn!

Keeping your volunteers It’s all about paying attention Top volunteer benefits (NSGVP 2000): 1.Increased interpersonal skills 2.Increased communication skills What coaches want more support in (SAO 2000): 1.Working with sport parents 2.Communication skills 3.Teaching respect for coaches, officials, players Offer them the training they want!

Keeping your volunteers What volunteers <24 want (UK, 1997) Flexibility Legitimacy Ease of access“FLEXIVOL” Xperience Incentives Variety Organisation Laughs

Keeping your volunteers Why don’t they stay? UK 1997 Things could be much better organized 71% You sometimes get bored or lose interest 34% It takes up too much time 31% You can’t cope with the things you’re asked to do 30% Your efforts aren’t always appreciated 29% You find yourself out of pocket 29% You don’t get asked to do the things you’d like to do 20% Too much is expected of you 20% The organisation isn’t really going anywhere 16% Your help is not really wanted 5%

For:(target volunteer)EXAMPLE: “Time-crunched Baby Boomer” (YOUR CHOICE) Who wants:(compelling reason to volunteer) Wants to impart values in children, spend more time with children, limit volunteer hours to make manageable Our opportunity is/are:(category from buyer’s viewpoint) Allows you to –include children and volunteer at the same time (multitask and respect need for time efficiency!) That:(key benefit provided)Provides an opportunity to involve children in volunteer activities, meets your desire to spend more time, impart values, and limit commitment Unlike:(our main competitor)Volunteer assignments that require heavy time commitment (every week) Our volunteer opportunity is: (key difference(s)) - involves children (or whole family) - once a month YOUR MARKETING POSITION…

Conclusions How to keep them- train them! You want quality volunteers Parents and participants want quality volunteers Volunteers want to learn and grow Conclusion: get the parents to pay for volunteer training via registration fees! (People will pay for quality)

Conclusions How to keep them- reward them! Volunteer dinner or BBQ Clothing or equipment Name in newsletter Just say “thank you”! Conclusion: you can spend a little or spend a lot, as long as you do it!

The BIG conclusion is… Invest the time and energy to recruit, screen, train and reward your volunteers. Your organization depends on it!

Resources Sport Alliance of Ontario – Sport Development Centre 1185 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario M3C 3C or Volunteer Canada – Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating

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