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BYRON BAYCYCLE CLUB
May 2016Case study
I N T R O D U C T I O N
Th Community Sports Volunteer Awards
recognise the outstanding achievements
and contributions made by volunteers
across NSW who carry out a variety of
roles, which give life to community sport.
Sport NSW is the voice for sport and through
the NSW Community Sports Volunteer
Awards provide acknowledgement to the
hard working volunteers that are the fabric of
the sporting community.
The Minister’s Sport Volunteer Awards for best volunteer management in the category
of Club/Region/District, was awarded to Byron Bay Cycle Club in 2015.
Byron Bay Cycle Club operates under the highest standard of compliance, developing
strategic plans for each facet of operation.
The Club has sought out traffic management certification and coaching, as well as
commissaries training through Cycling Australia, in order to provide sufficient training
across all volunteer roles. Their commitment to providing a high standard of volunteers
is shown through their recruitment strategies, resulting in the tripling of membership.
The Club also employs ample amounts of social events to recognise their volunteers.
Byron Bay Cycle Club's success in ensuring volunteer satisfaction and strong
organisational capacity, has been achieved through the implementation of specific
strategies and maintenance of good business practices. Their processes encompass
three (3) key aspects in volunteer management:
• Recruitment
• Retention and;
• Reward.
V O L U N T E E R M A N A G E M E N T
Volunteer Recruitment
Volunteer recruitment is the initial stage of the volunteer management process which enables a club or organisation to gain workers to assist in an event ordaytoday operations. Volunteer services are the most important and costeffective resource that can be implemented in the functioning of an event andgeneral administrative tasks.
Recruitment is conventionally the first stage of the entire volunteer managementprocess, though the process can be typified as cyclical. Below is a simplifiedVolunteer Management Model that can assist in understanding the process inholistic terms.
P L A N N I N G S T A G E
Needs Assessment and Program. In order to successfully carry out therecruitment of volunteers, an understanding of your organisation’s/club’s needsmust be analysed.
This may take the form of polls, online surveys, phone calls and/or openforums. When an analysis of the demands, needs and wants of your volunteershave been made, it is best to create a document that aligns with the strengths,weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of your organisation in order tosee where you can further develop your volunteer operation.
For example, Byron Bay Cycle Club took the initiative to develop a strategicplan in order to meet the highest standard of compliance. The Club undertookgaining valuable information from their members as a means of understandingtheir needs. Engaging through an open dialogue with members and volunteersis extremely vital for your organisation’s success in achieving objectives.Twoway symmetrical dialogue ensures that organisations and their membersare able to communicate clearly on important issues, sharing perspectives andcreating collaborative strategies that can accelerate the organisation’s ability toenhance business operation and gain a greater Return On Investment (ROI).
The following step in this stage would be to transform the raw data gained intomeaningful, readable and accessible management information that can bereferred to at any stage of the process.
Position Development and Design. Once you have established the areas ofneed or growth for your organisation/club a number of job descriptions can bedeveloped. These will identify the role title, hours required, duties andresponsibilities involved, experience requirements, training specifications, skillsand quality requirements as well as other logistical information
The Byron Bay Cycle Club incorporated the qualitative data that they had gainedthrough research and feedback from their existing membership in order todetermine roles and descriptions. These included roles such as race and mediacoordinators, ride captains, coaches and commissaries.
Below are some resources that can be utilised when creating job descriptions inthe recruitment process.
1. Pedestrian TV
2. Seek Volunteer
Volunteering Australia Tips for Involving Volunteers paper is a useful resourceduring the planning stage.
3. Our Community
Resources:
The Fair Work Ombudsman provides a series of templates to assist indeveloping employmentrelated documents. Click the hyperlink to download JobDescription Template (Word Doc 48.3KB).
Pedestrian TV and Seek Volunteer are two great sites that provide a free servicefor organisations to recruit volunteers. Our Community provides this service for$30 as of 26/05/16 and can be an effective platform for recruitment. Please seelinks below:
R E C R U I T M E N T
Recruitment. The recruitment process is one of the most crucial stages in the volunteermanagement model. This is the stage in which it is important to establish a soundrecruitment strategy in order to effectively gain a greater depth of talent for volunteerroles. Some places you might want to advertise could include:
• Your newsletter• Local newspaper volunteer listings• Human interest stories on your program in local print or broadcast media• School newsletters• Professional association and club newsletters• Senior citizens club• During competitions• Local billboard advertising• Employee newsletters• Flyers/Posters on community bulletin boards, at library, shops, community centres,sports clubs• University campuses• "Bring a Friend" coffee morning for current volunteers• “Open day” Free sporting event to attract current and new members of the community• Social media campaign• Stall at community events/festivals• Special announcements at your organisation's other events• Through your current members, staff, board and volunteers• Your own web page
The Byron Bay Cycle Club utilised their existing membership pool in order to garnervolunteers. The Club first sought out those known to them that possessed thepersonality and/or skill set to carry out the roles. The Club then provided the potentialvolunteers with information from their strategic plan that identified detailed roledescriptions and time requirements.
The regional cycling club with a population base of 6,000 locals, ensured that they hadenough volunteers in order to minimise volunteer burnout. This was a focal point for theclub and they managed this through increasing their membership base, as this wouldultimately lead to an increased pool of volunteers. A focused membership drive alongwith a strategic alliance with the National Cycling Recreational Network, allowed the clubto triple their membership. The Byron Bay Cycle Club’s volunteers are now mainly fromthe increased membership pool.
Increasing the membership base allowed the Club to have
access to new volunteers and minimize burnout.
Interviewing/Delegating Positions.
Volunteering Australia, 2005
When interviewing potential volunteers it is important to consider the following:
Screening volunteers is an important step in the recruitment
process. It enables organisations to establish the suitability of
potential volunteers for the roles and tasks they are expected to
carry out. As well as assessing the general suitability of an applicant
for a volunteer position, screening assists in risk management.
Effective risk management helps protect organisations against
financial loss, the risk of criminal or civil legal action and/or damage
to their reputations.
The initial assessment of prospective volunteers entails judging whether or not theyfit the needs of your organisation. It is important to refer to their résumé andresponses during a facetoface or phone interview to see whether they'recompetent, get along with people, have the skills you're looking for and fit theposition description. You need to assess their trustworthiness as part of theprocess.It is important to have good policies and recruitment systems in place in order toeffectively screen prospective volunteers. This will also ensure that if a personapproaches you wanting to volunteer that you believe is unsuitable that you haveproper criterion to justify the rejection of their offer.When interviewing, it is also important to create questions that allow you to seehow the potential volunteer would react in a certain situation, for example during anemergency. It is also best practice to ensure all volunteers go through a Police and WorkingWith Children Check in order to ensure the safety of your members, staff,competitors, general public, volunteers and organisation.Try to anticipate questions that the prospective volunteers would ask regarding thedifferent positions. This will enable you to be prepared and provide confidence toyour volunteers beginning a role.Identify the skills and interest of the volunteers and determine which position wouldbe most suited to them.
M A N A G E M E N T
Orientation and Training. Volunteers must receive an orientation to the organisationincluding the explanation of policies and procedures as well as receiving appropriate trainingfor their role.
As a checklist, volunteers should:• Be issued with an organisational procedures manual, or shown where to access a copy• Be told about the organisation's complaints and dispute resolution procedures• Be told about emergency procedures and resources• Be trained for any job that requires specialist knowledge
Source: Our Community
As a checklist, organisations/clubs should:• Plan a training day• Simplify the process, develop guides and tip sheets that can assist your volunteers• Be responsive to questions and concerns• Provide frequent updates about the event details, requirements, tips• Make sure that the role is suitable for the volunteer in terms of their interest, ability and skill• Understand what the general preferred communication method is in order to reach themeffectively• Make training obligatory if the position demands training• Make training days fun and relevant and reward volunteers for their time through suppliedlunch
Upon role identification, the Byron Bay Cycle Club set about skills training for roles thatrequired expertise and had the volunteers trained externally where appropriate. The Clubassisted volunteers in their roles by providing training, for example traffic managementcertification and coaching, along with commissary training through Cycling Australia. Inregards to noncycling roles, the Club assisted their business and administrative volunteersin their duties by mentoring and providing guidance when needed. For example, the Clubassisted the Media Coordinator through appropriate training in updating the club’s websiteand social media pages.
Supervision and Motivation. Managingvolunteers demands a wide range of skillswith a high level of complexity. It isappropriate to appoint a person from yourstaff who would be responsible for volunteers.This person must have the necessary skills,experience and support to do the job well.
The Byron Bay Cycle Club volunteers areorientated by team leaders appointed to aparticular area. They work in cells and allinformation regarding their role is available inthe Club's operational proceduresincorporated in the strategic plan. The teamleaders have access to this information andthe Club frequently creates a checklist toensure that the leaders are aware of whatneeds to be done and by whom.
The practice of sharing and shifting of roles iscrucial and ensures volunteers do not feeloverworked. This can be achieved byproviding volunteers different activities toincrease variety and maintain their motivation.By having many roles it can attract a widerarray of people.
The Byron Bay Cycle Club ensures thatreserves are scheduled should the rosteredvolunteer be unable to fulfill their duties.
The Cycle Club communicates with theirvolunteers via SMS alerts and email. Thisinformation in only available to the teamleader. In the circumstance of team leadersbecoming unavailable, the emails are thenredirected to the Club through IT support. Theclub ensures that at least two people in theorganisation are familiar with the positions asa means of contingency.
R E T E N T I O N
Recognition and Reward. Volunteer retention focuses on training, support andcommunication for volunteers. Volunteer retention strategies ensure that everyindividual is attended to in order to build a strong sense of community as well asmaintain volunteer satisfaction to encourage return for the following event orseason.
The Byron Bay Cycle Club has employed the following recognition and rewardstrategies to retain their volunteers:
It is important to highlight the work of volunteers as it provides acknowledgementand a sense of value for their effort. As a result, volunteers are more likely to beretained which in turn reduces turnover costs for your organisation/club.
Social events: an active partnership is established through frequent socialevents between the Club and their volunteers. The social events build a senseof community and team spirit as well as provides an opportunity for thevolunteers to socialise and develop friendships.The Club also hosts triweekly coffee rides which further creates a sense ofsocial integration that has proven to increase the retention of volunteers.Award ceremonies: the Club hosts two formal recognition events for both theirvolunteers and members.In addition, the Club continually provides recognition to their volunteers in theirbimonthly newsletters as well as through their social media channels. Socialmedia and website recognition is a cost effective and simple strategy that hasgood potential reach within the community.
Evaluation. The performance of volunteers, management and strategiesshould be evaluated regularly. This will enable you to modify and improveyour procedures. An evaluation of volunteer involvement includes:
• Reviewing goals and objectives• Identifying results achieved• Obtaining feedback from current volunteers and members• Collecting and reviewing both quantitative and qualitative data aboutvolunteer involvement• Satisfaction surveys• Assessing the performance of volunteers, and• Conducting exit interviews for departing volunteers Source: Our Community
Phone: (02) 8736 1239
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sportnsw.com.au
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