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ladiesgaelic.ie // 33 VOLUNTEERS: RECRUIT, RETAIN & DEVELOP Volume 14 | Issue No 1 | PEIL Spring nyone can volunteer. It doesn't matter whether they are young, old, male, female, able bodied, disabled, employed, unemployed; there is something they can do. Volunteers are vital to the organisation and management of every club. Without volunteers many clubs would find it diºcult to function and may cease to exist. Volunteers are extremely valuable and deserve praise, thanks and recognition. Coming up to the start of the new season, what will your club do in the coming weeks to recognise the contribution of all your current volunteers and to attract new volunteers to your club? Here are some tips to help you out. Recognise, Resource and Respect Before you go looking for new volunteers, it's important to show those currently involved with your club, that they are valued, supported and respected. While there are many di"erent roles within the club, this can be done by recognising, resourcing and respecting your current volunteers. Recognising volunteers' contributions is a really easy but often overlooked way of keeping club volunteers happy. Some ideas on how to do this include making it a policy within your club that volunteers are thanked at the end of each year for their e"orts, your club could introduce a volunteer of the month/year award or all volunteers could be invited to an appreciation night at the end of each year. Even something as simple as a letter from the club chairperson thanking all volunteers for their e"orts is enough for some people. Resourcing club volunteers is as simple as ensuring that your volunteers are given the resources and support to let them do their job with minimal fuss. This includes making sure team mentors and oºcials are including in any clothing sponsorship, oºcer and mentor upskilling and training is promoted within the club and that training equipment is provided and kept in good order. Respecting your volunteers can mean easing the workload on team oºcials and administrators by dividing work into small lots for sub teams to complete, and ensuring all voluntary roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and documented. Some other steps you can consider are making sure that formal support and succession plans are in place so volunteers know what they are doing in the first instance, and do not feel stuck in their role within the club. Approaching New Volunteers Before scouring the country for new volunteers, you need to figure out why you need new volunteers in the first place, some reasons could include – • To give your club the power to do more work. • To reduce the burden on existing volunteers. • To give your group a larger, more diverse membership. Now you've figured out why, the next step is to decide how many volunteers your club needs, what you want them to do and how long they will be needed for. Here's a few tips on how to recruit volunteers to your club. Just Ask Statistics show that 41% of people are more prepared to volunteer if they are directly asked. Think of it as a form of flattery. If you are told that you will make a worthwhile impact in a position you are much more likely to consider it than if you saw a generic message. Be Specific It is important for you to narrow down the roles that need extra hands. Who do you need to carry out these jobs? How long will you need them for? What will be expected of them? By understanding these key things you will know who you need to attract and therefore who you need to target. When you set about getting the message out there define the training and support available with the role. Promote your club Recruiting new volunteers isn't just a case of putting the name of your organisation out there. It is about selling a lifestyle. You face sti" competition from a lot of other time consuming activities and hobbies, never mind the direct competition from other organisations Go Public It's great to have a PR savvy person to get word out to the local press, radio stations and online. A simple 'we need volunteers' won't be a strong enough angle for them to feature your story so if you have something newsworthy to talk about, mention at the end the fact that you are looking for new volunteers. Head back to School If you are hoping to add more professional skills to your club, then contact relevant courses at your local schools universities and techs. It is likely that students will want to add to their CVs with experience while they are still studying so it could be a win- win scenario for both parties. A