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Developing guidance to help clubs recruit new volunteers from outside the club

Developing guidance to help clubs recruit new volunteers from outside the club. Peter Taylor, Richard Moore & Simon Goldsmith, Sport Industry Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University. Geoff Nichols, Management School, University of Sheffield.

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Developing guidance to help clubs recruit new volunteers from outside the club

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  1. Developing guidance to help clubs recruit new volunteers from outside the club Peter Taylor, Richard Moore & Simon Goldsmith, Sport Industry Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University. Geoff Nichols, Management School, University of Sheffield

  2. Volunteers in sports clubs – what’s the problem? • 53% of clubs say recruiting / retaining volunteers is a problem (SARA club survey 2011) • A few volunteers do a lot of the work • Volunteer roles grow around key people – who are hard to replace.

  3. Volunteers in sports clubs – what’s the problem? • Volunteers’ work becomes more demanding and therefore off-putting • Coaching qualifications • Accreditations – Clubmark • Legislation – CRB checks • Club have to offer an experience that attracts and retains members – more ‘professional’

  4. Clubs don’t look outside for volunteers • Unusual for volunteers to come outside of • Players and parents: easier to recruit from but they restrict recruitment • If a new person just comes along and wants to help – do clubs know what to do with them?

  5. The ‘market’ for volunteers – less volunteering and more episodic • 25% of people volunteered formally at least once a month in 2010-11, which is lower than at any point between 2001 and 2007-08. • A trend towards ‘episodic’ volunteering – people are willing to volunteer for a limited time.

  6. The EYV project • Funded from Office for Civil Society • Brokered by Sport's Strategic Partnership for Volunteering • Phase 1: guidance from best practice cases of recruiting volunteers from outside the club • Phase 2: test guidance with clubs which do not recruit from outside the club • Phase 3: finalise guidance and disseminate

  7. Phase 1: best practice • Six focus groups with clubs • facilitators and constraints to the recruitment, utilisation and development of volunteers from outside the club • previous guidance - NB runningsports; NGB guidance

  8. Phase 2: testing the guidance • 12 interviews: • 1 Phase 1 club • 6 Clubs with volunteer shortages and internal recruitment of volunteers • 3 CSPs • 2 NGBs • Clubs have 'just not thought to recruit volunteers from outside' • Very positive response to guidance • Presentation as important as content

  9. The guidance: key messages • People from outside the club are not aliens • they have relevant skills • in the current economic environment they want opportunities • Many tasks in the clubs are not sport-specific, e.g.: • chair, treasurer, secretary, fixture secretary, child protection, health and safety, PR, sponsorship and fundraising, website

  10. The guidance: key messages • Preparation for recruitment, e.g.: • task descriptions • task splitting • specific skill requirements • training needs • duration and frequency of tasks • Consider appointing a volunteer coordinator • But the bottom line is: what does the volunteer want?

  11. The guidance: key messages • Consider all possible external sources, including: • Friends of players and members • Local volunteer centres • Universities and colleges • Probation Service • Local sports centres, fitness clubs, etc.

  12. The guidance: key messages • Use a variety of means of promoting opportunities • club website • open day • NGBs • websites, NB Do-it, vinspired, Sport Makers, Time Bank, Gumtree

  13. The guidance: key messages • Either specific role, or general helping out • Nurturing new volunteers: • Speed of response • Volunteer coordinator • Mentors • Training opportunities • Rewards • Formalities vs. informalities - get the balance right: • task descriptions, CRB checks, club rules and procedures vs. • making the volunteer feel comfortable and maintaining their motivation

  14. Phase 3 events and further dissemination • Leeds (27/10); Birmingham (28/10); London (1/11) • Key agencies: NGBs and CSPs

  15. Challenges • Alerting clubs to opportunities outside their clubs • Achieving clubs' searching for volunteers outside clubs • Capacity of local volunteer centres to respond • Capacity of universities and colleges to respond • Connecting with Sport Makers

  16. Thank you. Questions? peter.taylor@shu.ac.uk

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