Challenges of running a club - volunteer management and engagement

When managing a sports club, you can’t only care about the sport aspect of it. You need to be able to engage with your target audience (and potential members) and, especially in the early stages, rely on people volunteering to do certain tasks because they think your club is worth it.

How to get to a point where you can attract more people and entice them to give you a hand is the topic of today’s blog post.

Recruitment and retention

In order for your club to grow, you will slowly need to do a lot more tasks at once. Since you can’t do this alone you will have to recruit dedicated volunteers who will help you out. This is a constant battle since it can be tough to find people who are passionate about your sport, club, and are willing to commit some of their time.

Once you have them and they are making an impact, it’s very important to keep them engaged and committed. This can be as hard as getting them in the first place. One of the biggest struggles for clubs is high turnover. If you can’t make your me feel like they are part of a team, they will leave. This in turn then disrupts your club’s operations and impacts overall effectiveness.

Scheduling and availability

Most, if not all, of your members are there for the love of sport and don’t make a living out of it. Their lives are as diverse as it can get and coordinating everything to run smooth can be a logistical headache. Coordinating practices, events, and games, while making sure to accommodate various availability constraints can be a challenge.

That’s why it’s important to communicate effectively and to use tools to help you know who is doing what. If a problem comes up raise it as soon as possible so that everyone is on the same page and can jump in on short notice.

Motivation and engagement

Now that you have a smooth operation, it’s important to keep everyone motivated and engaged. If someone isn’t motivated they can either go through the motions and not get done anything or feel like they are close to burning out.

It’s important to recognize individual efforts and highlight them whenever possible. Create a post about some of your volunteers and the great work they do. Surprise them with a “volunteers only” event from time to time and show them how much you appreciate them.

Give them feedback and opportunities to develop their skills and in return you will have a motivated person that is ready to go the extra mile for you and your club.

Remember, successful volunteer management is about building relationships, fostering a sense of community, and, most important of all, appreciating the invaluable contributions your volunteers make for your club.