Open Air Business January 2018

EVENTS
Event
Volunteers
How to recruit, train and motivate volunteer staff
GETTY IMAGES
THE EVENT MANAGEMENT
industry is changing dramatically
and becoming standardised rapidly,
particularly in the last decade.
The overwhelming majority of
academics and industry experts in
this area agree. While most of this
standardisation has taken place as
a direct result of injuries or fatalities
at large scale events, more and
more are attending events at all
scales from village fêtes to country
fairs and community get togethers.
According to the Business Visits and
Events Partnership (BVEP) ‘Events
are GREAT Britain’ report in 2014,
the value of Britain’s event industry
is £39.1 billion
This practical industry supports
an estimated 530,000 full-time
equivalent jobs (BVEP, 2014)
but the majority of events are
also supported by volunteers.
Volunteers are a complex addition
to any event but with the increase
in the number of events in the
UK, the use of volunteers will
unarguably increase.
The National Council for
Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
defines volunteering as ‘any
“IT IS
IMPORTANT
FOR LEADERS
TO BE
GOOD ROLE
MODELS AND
BE ABLE TO
INFLUENCE
THE ACTIONS
OF THEIR
VOLUNTEERS
TO MEET
GOALS,
STRATEGIES,
AND TO
PURSUE THE
VISION OF
THE EVENT”
activity that involves spending
time, unpaid, doing something that
aims to benefit the environment or
someone (individuals or groups)
other than, or in addition to, close
relatives.’ It would be true to say
that the majority of events that
take place would not be delivered
without the use of volunteers, and
is it just as well that the appetite for
volunteering at events is so good.
The Northern Irish organisation
Volunteer Now states that over
10,000 volunteers are registered
in Northern Ireland alone for
volunteering opportunities in
relation to event management. The
figure for the whole of the UK must
be considerable!
At the largest scale, the
London 2012 Summer Olympics
demonstrated the appeal of event
volunteering. In the Independent
(2016), it was stated that there
were 70,000 Olympic volunteers,
delivering eight million hours of
voluntary work, and that ‘their
time and energy have been the key
to the Games’ success.’ The BBC
also reported: ‘There is apparently
no shortage of appetite for
volunteering - more than 200,000
people applied and 100,000 were
interviewed to be Games Makers.’
Events will more often than not
have positions that volunteers can
fill, and they are, of course, more
cost-effective than hiring in staff if
you get their management right.
LEADERSHIP AND TRAINING
The efficacy of volunteers
within the event management
industry is of utmost importance.
Volunteers need strong leadership
and communication to achieve
the requirements of their roles.
It is important for leaders to
be good role models and be
able to influence the actions of
their volunteers to meet goals,
strategies, and to pursue the vision
of the event.
Organisational management
is of great significance. It should
have a focus on the structure,
retention, and the well-being of
volunteers. Treating all staff well,
volunteer or not, is crucial. It will
bring out the best performance
in people and result in a more
successful event.
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