Article by Timothy Sarazen, Better Impact
Association events, especially large-scale gatherings like conferences, often rely heavily on volunteers to go off without a hitch. Whether they’re checking in attendees, running technology during sessions, or directing trade show traffic, volunteers can take many essential event responsibilities off your staff’s plates and create a better conference experience for everyone involved.
Event volunteering can also reinforce the value of membership in your association for those who participate, since they get the chance to give back to their community and engage with your organization in a new way at the same time. However, your volunteers will only fully realize these benefits if you take the right steps to engage them from start to finish.
In this guide, we’ll walk through four proven ways to give association event volunteers the best possible experience during your event and inspire them to continue volunteering in the future. Let’s get started!
1. Conduct comprehensive volunteer training.
Even if event volunteers are only helping your association out for a little while, they need a thorough understanding of what duties they’re required to perform and how to succeed in their roles. One-off event volunteer training doesn’t have to be as thorough as onboarding volunteers who will work with your organization on a recurring basis, but it should still cover the essentials in detail.
Better Impact’s volunteer training guide recommends covering the following knowledge areas when onboarding event volunteers:
- Mission and organizational culture. Volunteers should go into your event with the reasons they’re doing what they’re doing at the forefront of their minds. Begin by reviewing your association’s mission statement, values, and benefits of volunteering to excite and motivate the entire team.
- Policies and procedures. Although this segment is often the “boring part” of training, it’s essential for volunteers’ safety and event efficiency. Cover expectations surrounding attendance, communication, dress code, conduct, emergency procedures, and any other rules outlined in your association’s volunteer policies.
- Role-specific information. This portion of training will look different depending on how each volunteer is assisting with your event. For example, volunteers who are compiling attendee packets will just need a quick explanation of what each packet should contain and how to put it together, while those assisting with trade show setup might need more in-depth instruction on configuring booth technology and interacting with exhibitors.
Train volunteers somewhere between a week and a month in advance of your event, either by creating asynchronous online courses with set completion deadlines or by hosting multiple synchronous training sessions so each volunteer can pick the one that works best for their schedule. Then, gather your volunteers for a quick meeting right before your event starts to review basic responsibilities and answer any last-minute questions.
2. Keep all lines of communication open.
In addition to being on the same page about responsibilities, every volunteer should always know what is supposed to take place when and what to do if issues arise during your event. Your association can make this happen by fostering a culture of open communication between volunteers and staff throughout all events.
Here are a few ways to build this communicative culture:
- Distribute an event run of show. An event run of show is an internal planning document that’s even more detailed than an attendee-facing agenda. It schedules every aspect of your event down to the minute to create smoother transitions and more advanced audio/visual cues, improving production value. Every volunteer should have access to this document both on paper and in a read-only digital format.
- Designate point people to address different needs. In addition to your run of show, give all volunteers a contact sheet so they know exactly which staff member or volunteer leader to approach with specific questions and how to reach them. This way, no one person will have to attempt to deal with attendee complaints, software glitches, and late presenters all at the same time!
- Facilitate peer-to-peer communication. Volunteers often serve as helpful resources for each other as well. Create event volunteer group chats (either via SMS, your digital member community, or a third-party app like WhatsApp or GroupMe) so volunteers have a space to ask and answer questions. Additionally, you might assign new and experienced volunteers to work alongside each other so the experienced volunteers can show the newer ones the ropes.
Continue promoting your culture of communication after events by surveying volunteers about their experiences, including how they felt about getting questions answered and asking for help. Then, your association can use the data you collect to improve your approach in the future.
3. Thank your volunteers after your event
A prompt and heartfelt thank-you goes a long way in making event volunteers feel valued and excited to continue engaging with your association. Consider expressing volunteer appreciation after events by:
- Sending thank-you notes—handwriting and mailing them or designing dynamic digital greeting cards will help your notes stand out more than a basic email.
- Giving out small gifts, such as branded merchandise or discount cards from your event sponsors.
- Filming a video where staff, sponsors, and/or event attendees thank volunteers for their contributions.
- Shouting out your most dedicated event volunteers on social media or your association’s website (with their consent, of course).
- Hosting a volunteer appreciation gathering, which could be in-person or virtual and tacked onto your existing event or hosted at a later date.
It can be tempting to try to re-engage event volunteers right away, but your thank-you messages will be most effective if you just express gratitude first. Then, once volunteers know you recognize their efforts, they’ll be more receptive to a later message asking them to serve in a different capacity within your association.
4. Leverage volunteer management software
Dedicated volunteer management software is often a technology gap that associations leave open. However, this solution is as essential for engaging your organization’s volunteers—during events and beyond—as your association management system (AMS) or online community platform is for engaging your broader member base.
When shopping for a volunteer management platform, make sure it includes the following features:
- A robust volunteer database that automatically creates an individual profile for every volunteer and aggregates information from multiple sources.
- Recruitment form builders, which you can customize for specific events and roles and incorporate your association’s branding into.
- Multiple supported volunteer training formats, including online course creation, document libraries, and multimedia file uploading.
- Built-in communication tools so you can quickly reach any segment of volunteers via email and SMS.
- An accessible volunteer portal where volunteers can view role assignments, event materials, contact information, policy documentation, and other essentials.
- Detailed reporting and analytics to help you see what’s going well and where you can improve your volunteer management approach over time.
Additionally, make sure to partner with a software vendor who has specifically served other associations in the past, not just traditional nonprofits. This way, their team will understand the ins and outs of managing association volunteers more deeply and be better equipped to help you set up your system accordingly.
Event volunteer engagement is a unique beast, especially in an association context. But with a solid strategy and the right tools on your side, your organization will be well prepared to run memorable events with the assistance of volunteers who consistently perform their duties to the best of their abilities. Plus, you can set up a pipeline of volunteers who stay involved with your organization—whether through additional events, recurring volunteer roles, or other member benefits—for years to come.