Enhancing Volunteer Management in Sport: A Month of Collaborative Workshops with sportscotland

Over the last month, we’ve had the opportunity to design and deliver a series of dynamic and engaging volunteer management workshops for sportscotland. These interactive online sessions brought together a diverse group of attendees, including Active Schools Coordinators, Active Campus Coordinators, and representatives from Scottish Governing Bodies of Sport.

Our goal was to explore key areas of volunteer management within the sport sector, focusing on strategies for recruiting, supporting, and retaining volunteers. Here’s a summary of the key topics we covered in the workshops:

Recruiting Volunteers in Sport

Recruitment is the first step in building a strong and sustainable volunteer network. In our workshop, participants learned to:

• Identify motivations for and barriers to volunteering: Understanding why people volunteer and what may prevent them from doing so helps organisations tailor their recruitment efforts.

• Identify their organisation’s volunteer gaps: Knowing where the gaps are allows organisations to take targeted actions to address them.

• Review and update volunteer advertisements: We discussed how to make volunteer advertisements more inclusive and effective, ensuring they reach a broader audience.

• Diversify recruitment methods: By diversifying their advertisement methods and platforms, participants learned how to attract a more diverse group of volunteers.

• Develop connections: We also facilitated networking opportunities, allowing participants to connect with others working toward making their volunteer opportunities more inclusive.

Supporting Volunteers in Sport

Once volunteers are recruited, supporting their growth and development is crucial to their success and satisfaction. In this session, we focused on:

• Identifying skill gaps: We helped participants assess their organisation’s volunteer skills gaps and explore ways to address them.

• Conducting focused conversations with volunteers: Facilitating constructive conversations about volunteer skills and development needs is essential for providing tailored support.

• Developing inclusive support and development programs: We discussed how to create support systems that are inclusive and meet the needs of all volunteers, ensuring their continued engagement and contribution.

• Making connections: Participants were encouraged to connect with others who are also striving to enhance their volunteer support systems, fostering a collaborative learning environment.

Retaining Volunteers in Sport

Retaining volunteers is just as important as recruiting them. In our final session, we tackled the topic of volunteer retention, with a focus on the following:

• Recognising volunteer burnout: We highlighted the signs of volunteer burnout and shared tools for preventing it, ensuring that volunteers remain engaged and passionate about their roles.

• Focusing on volunteer motivations: Understanding what drives volunteers is key to retaining them. We discussed how to focus on these motivations to keep volunteers committed to your organisation.

• Creating an inclusive culture: We explored strategies for cultivating a culture that celebrates volunteers and the invaluable contributions they make, highlighting the benefits of volunteerism within the community.

• Implementing succession planning: Participants learned how to create an inclusive succession planning process that helps ensure the long-term sustainability of volunteer programs.

• Maximising volunteer networks: We concluded by identifying key partners and stakeholders who can help strengthen and expand volunteer networks, ensuring that organisations can continue to attract and retain valuable volunteers.

Participant Feedback

The feedback from participants has been very positive, with many expressing appreciation for the content and the engaging, informal delivery style. Here’s a snapshot of what some had to say:

“I enjoyed the relaxed and informal format of the sessions. Excellent trainers once again – thanks Adrienne and Victoria.”

It’s been incredibly rewarding to collaborate with such passionate individuals and organisations who are dedicated to improving volunteer management in sport. We’re grateful for the opportunity to support sportscotland’s mission and to help develop more inclusive, effective, and sustainable volunteer programmes across Scotland.

If you’re interested in learning more about our workshops or would like to explore ways to enhance volunteer management in your organisation, feel free to reach out. We’re always happy to help!