Late last year, Rosterfy Co Founder and Director, Shannan Gove caught up with Josh Van Kampen on his podcast ‘Leadership in Sport’ to talk about the evolution of Rosterfy, working at one of the world’s largest events; The Super Bowl and the importance of placing value on your volunteers.
1. Don’t underestimate the power of volunteers.
Events in their nature attract large numbers of volunteers, who are crucial to an event's success. Not only do they make an event viable from a financial point of view, but more importantly, they contribute to the atmosphere of an event. As Shannan discussed, The Super Bowl in Houston provided the city of Houston with an opportunity to let it shine and this was achieved through the thousands of happy and smiling volunteers.
2. Be adaptable to change.
As a leader, it’s important to understand that change is inevitable and you need to train yourself to become reactive and open to a change. The nature of large events means that despite all the planning, there is always going to be areas that require flexibility and strength of a great product and/or leader is one who can take a problem and turn it into a solution.
3. Personalization is key.
“Volunteers do not volunteer to be thanked but they notice when they’re not.”
Volunteers will each sign up for their own motivation, which unfortunately often gets overlooked. If you can understand your volunteers and their motivation, you can provide a customized experience (with the aid of a workforce management platform) that will help to ensure a sustainable workforce for many events to come.
Personalized volunteer recognition post-event is equally important to a positive volunteer experience. Rather than moving from one event to the next, make sure you take the time to thank them, get feedback and keep the lines of communication open. Always remember that volunteers won’t come back if they’re not appreciated as unlike your paid workforce, they don’t have to.
To find out more about Rosterfy, visit our website.