Volunteer Coordinator

Given that volunteers are essential to the effective running of volleyball clubs, it is recommended that clubs consider appointing a club volunteer coordinator. The volunteer coordinator is a designated person within your club, looking after volunteer management and supporting the recruitment of volunteers which can bring enormous benefits to your club. 

The role of the club volunteer coordinator could focus on:

• Recruiting new volunteers
• Getting to know the club membership
• Spreading the workload across a variety of people
• Identifying the volunteer needs of the club
• Rewarding and developing current volunteers
• Providing feedback to help people be effective in their roles
• Creating a stronger, more sustainable club/association

Communication

As communication is the key to success in recruiting and engaging new volunteers, Sport England Club Matters have resources available to guide clubs on how to effectively communicate with volunteers.

Easy induction

Welcoming your new volunteers is vital to making a good first impression. A well-planned welcome process, or induction, can help a new volunteer feel supported, informed, valued, and can enable them to make a contribution straight away.

• Induction guide - induction of a new volunteer should be a planned process and is an important part of making volunteers feel welcomed and valued. 
• Induction checklist - the priority when introducing a new volunteer to the volleyball family and their role is to give them a full induction. Keep it as light-touch as possible, only include the information essential to their role, make sure they understand and are happy with what is being asked of them
• Shadow or handover process in place
• Ongoing support by committee and/or volunteer coordinator.

Volunteers are more likely to stay within the sport if they have a fun, enjoyable and rewarding experience. There are some small things you can do to retain volunteers in your club:

Make sure you communicate regularly

Setting aside some time to communicate with, and more importantly, listen to your volunteers is vital. Regular communication provides you with the opportunity to:

• Keep them updated on news & development
• Provide the opportunity to raise any concerns and for volunteers to ask questions
• Connect with them regularly through their preferred method of contact i.e. face to face, email, text, social media or phone

Personal Development

Provide volunteers with opportunities to attend courses & workshops.

Recognise their contribution

This doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, sometimes its about the small things. It can go along way to make volunteers feel appreciated. Examples of this are:

• Volunteer award evening – end of season events via clubs or other organisations such as Volleyball England Annual Awards, Active Partnership awards etc.
• Personal thank you messages - either from someone who has benefited from volunteering, or perhaps from someone in a leadership position within the club
• Regular ‘shout-outs’ or claps at activity sessions- this is often has the most impact coming from the participants who have benefited from the volunteers’ efforts
• A ‘thank you’ from any members of your club including players/parents go along way!