I’ve never run a conference without volunteers. I’ve spent over thirty years organizing meetings. Here are 6 lessons I’ve learned about volunteers at conferences.
1) Is this conference marketable?
One of the most important ways I leverage volunteers is during the earliest conference planning stages to determine whether a proposed event is marketable.
Here’s my simple rule of thumb when deciding whether an idea for a conference might work.
Can I find at least five people enthusiastic enough about the proposed combination of topic/theme, audience, location, and duration to volunteer their time and energy to make the event happen?
If I can’t easily find at least five volunteers enthusiastic about a conference, I’ve (painfully) learned that the event is almost always unviable.
2) Use volunteers for creative work
You’ve got a bunch of willing volunteers—what should you have them do? I try to allocate volunteers to creative jobs at conferences. Research indicates that paying people to do interesting work can make them less motivated! Here are some examples of conference tasks well suited to volunteers:
- greeting arriving attendees
- introducing attendees to each other
- facilitating sessions
- organizing and running fun activities
I generally use volunteers for creative work and reserve mechanical tasks for paid staff.
3) Check in with your volunteers
Talk with each volunteer individually well before the event. Ask them how they’d like to help and come to a clear understanding as to what’s expected from them.
4) Plan to have enough volunteers
Volunteers are sometimes less reliable than paid staff. Ensure you have a few people who can cover for last-minute gaps in your volunteer staff during the event.
5) Reward your volunteers
Reward your volunteers throughout the event. Make sure volunteers receive refreshments, meals, and access to conference amenities. If they are attending the conference, offer them reduced or free admission. Reimburse them for any incidental expenses they incur.
6) Never take your volunteers for granted!
Make sure you recognize their contributions, not only publicly, using appropriate perks, awards, and publicity, but also privately. Show them you genuinely appreciate their contributions, and they will become your biggest boosters.
These are the 6 lessons I’ve learned about volunteers at conferences.
How do you work with volunteers at your events? What lessons have you learned?
Image attribution: flickr user sanjoselibrary – creative commons share alike 2.0 generic
Hi Adrian,
Having run many conferences I can endorse your comments as a very helpful picture of how to work with and manage volunteers. You make it clear just how important they are to running events.
Even the Olympic Games in Sydney relied heavily on thousands of volunteers who loved serving and without whom the event would not have been possible.
Perhaps another point you could mention is the need to build some form of community of interested and, at some level, committed volunteers throughout the year via social events, blogs, social media, and personal connection. People who have a sense of community are much more reliable than volunteers who have availability but not much connection.
Thanks for your article
Regards
John
John, I couldn’t agree more with your suggestions to create a community of volunteers that is refreshed and renewed throughout the year. It’s so important, and pays rich dividends (besides being the right thing to do whenever possible).
I’m always surprised that more people don’t use volunteers at events. When I worked in higher education, going to the volunteer booth at the annual meeting and signing up for some responsibilities was just part of the routine. We often forget that engaging people as volunteers allows them to meet new people and form new connections, even if doing more mechanical work, so it is an excellent opportunity for newcomers in particular.
Jeffrey, thanks for responding here; I’ve been a fan of your work (and smart aperçus) for some time!
Yes, it’s a waste of a great resource not to seek out and invite those folks who “get” the positives of volunteering and have the time free to volunteer. And if you are sensitive to their needs and realistic in what you ask them to do, most of them, in my experience, will really appreciate the opportunity and gain in all kinds of (often unexpected) ways.
P.S. If you can’t find a pool of useful volunteers after making a reasonable effort, it’s a sign that what you’re trying to do probably doesn’t have significant community support.
I use volunteers at all my events as well. They are always enthusiastic about helping and jumping in where they can. I have them run silent auctions, serve as “room hosts” in breakouts, greet guests, host small group dinners… the possibilities are endless. I always send a hand-written thank you note and a small token of appreciation after the event in addition to the perks you mentioned in your article.
Like Jeffrey, I’m surprised more conference organizers don’t follow our example Sheila. Volunteers are a valuable yet often overlooked resource. They are not free, because they require committed attention, care, and direction—but they are invariably well worth having.
Great ways to use volunteers Adrian…probably why your conferences are so popular. If you put that much thought into your volunteers it’s likely you put that much thought into everything.
I would like to add one thing you should never do. Tell a volunteer that you no longer need them. Things change, that’s inevitable, but if someone committed their time to help out…please…find something for them to do. Nothing will turn an enthusiastic supporter into an enemy faster than disrespecting them.
Good add Traci. When I notice that a volunteer seems dissatisfied with what s/he has been doing, I’ll check my observation with them and, if necessary, initiate a discussion on what might be a better fit from other tasks available. If it turns out that there’s nothing that fits for the volunteer s/he may step down at that point, but then it’s her/his decision, not mine. Finally, when any volunteer leaves I publicly (if at all possible) and privately (always) thank them for their service.
Many events fail to attract enough volunteers because organizers insist that prospective volunteers attend orientation/training on a day(s) that differs from their days(s) of involvement.
This culls the field of potential helpers. Training for most event tasks should be conveyed in less than 20 minutes, before shifts start. And scheduling should enable first shift volunteers to train their replacements.
Volunteer shifts longer then four hours should be avoided because people will self-disqualify.
All volunteers should be thanked personally and given access to meeting/conference activities on the day(s) they help at no cost. Same goes for meals, drinks, t-shirts, event badge, etc.
The phrase “use volunteers” should never be used. Engage, empower, activate and involve are far better.
Using volunteers to fulfill administrative tasks is considered usury and not at all meaningful in the minds of the majority of people. Build allies (volunteers) without a “free labor” mindset. Otherwise hire temporaries!
Few people will do work they don’t find interesting and a good use of their time. The exceptions are volunteers who have strong personal connections to the cause, allegiance to the specific organization or receive third-party credit.
Align with a local 501(c)(3) non-profit if possible so volunteers can get credit for their hours, and leverage the relationship to recruit more volunteers at colleges, community clubs, companies that work in related fields to the event’s cause (theme), and among the public.
Look at your recruitment challenge from a volunteer’s perspective. What tasks are meaningful that will generate high interest? Can volunteers be successful and feel fulfilled? Finding good tasks will encourage many volunteers to sign up for multiple shifts, relieving the organizer’s burden.
Chris, thank you for all of your excellent observations and suggestions!
I took a look at your Volunteer Orlando website. It’s a great resource. Anyone who wants to learn more about different aspects of volunteering and how to appeal for and to volunteers should check it out!