Regional events are dying due to fewer volunteers
Regional events are dying due to a declining volunteer workforce.
Without better volunteer management we will continue to lose many of the great regional events that drive visitation into their communities - rural communities that don’t often have any other tourism attractions or leisure-based experiences to create this economic and social impact.
What happens when the reason that visitors come and the very thing that creates brand awareness is gone?
Competition and financial sustainability are certainly key factors for regional events, however one of the most pressing issues facing regional events and their sustainability right now is volunteer fatigue and burnout.
After working with so many events I have no doubt that these are the universal challenges for regional and rural events today:
Event sustainability – Do events in your regiont have a succession plan? Do they have reserve funds? Are they on a growth trajectory or have they hit a plateau?
Volunteer recruitment and retention – Do they have strong teams? Do they have enough volunteers? Is it a struggle to attract volunteers each year?
Innovation – Do your region’s event organisers consider each year how their event can become innovative or are they just too busy making the event happen to think beyond operational logistics?
Event competitiveness – How many new events are starting? Are events are starting to become a bit same-same?
Capacity of volunteer committees – Do committees have the time and skills required to successfully deliver on events?
This is the very reason that rEVENTS Academy was established:
to address the success and sustainability of regional and rural events
to provide the organising team with the knowledge and tools they need to ensure longevity and efficiencies (and reduced stress!)
The number one challenge that every regional event I speak to believes that they are having is volunteer retention and attraction.
Common concerns are volunteer burnout, inability to attract a younger volunteer base and the growing workload.
A survey conducted by rEVENTS Academy found that over 85% of surveyed events agreed that attracting and retaining volunteers was a key priority to ensure event sustainability.
My response is never how to attract more volunteers.
It is always how can you better manage your team and workload to make everyone’s life easier, and ensure you are attractive to potential new volunteers?
There is no doubt that having more volunteers will help but having sound systems and efficiencies in place can achieve so much more.
At rEVENTS Academy we strongly believe that the challenge is more about how volunteers are managed and retained, than it is about not having enough volunteers. Events need to become more efficient and effective on less volunteers.
Events need to take the time to set up a structure and checklists so that volunteers are excited by the idea of working with the event – organisers need to sell collaborating on the event to them!
Once volunteers are on board events need to keep them engaged and invested in the event. Event organisers can
Make their job as easy as possible with good communication and clear direction.
Provide them opportunities to build relationships – research has proven that when people build relationships in a team/community they are more committed, and productivity increases drastically
Allow for some fun – field trips/R&D, social times.
Do not overwhelm them with unnecessary meetings and time pressures.
So, it’s not always about how do we attract more volunteers….it’s often about how we create a team environment that is welcoming and makes people want to join..
Let’s take a classic example…
When I ask people why they don’t volunteer on their event committee the answer is more often than not, 'I get frustrated by the meetings', or 'I don’t have time to go to their meetings.'
Why are we so focused on meetings and not output? Why are we turning amazing people away because of meetings…especially when we live in a society that is so connected? (even when we don’t want to be!)
Meetings are essential, but they can also be VERY BIG time wasters.
It’s time to think differently. It’s time to empower. It’s time to decentralise event committees and support a new way of volunteering.
Click here to learn more about rEVENTS Academy and to download resources for volunteers.
Event Volunteering Master Class webinars:
How to keep your event's volunteers motivated and energised (Watch on-demand)
Creating an efficient team structure without losing the fun (Watch on-demand)
Tips on recruiting and managing volunteers (Watch on-demand)
ONLINE TRAINING MODULE: Creating an empowered event team to drive success
Learn volunteer management skills in our online training program with
Training video
Supporting resources, tools & templates to help you action learnings
Successful case studies and examples to highlight how others do it
Links to further supporting readings, podcasts and blog articles to extend your knowledge
Access to Q&A sessions to allow for further discussion on the topic
Lesson 1: Recruiting volunteers and meeting expectations
Lesson 2: How do you get the best out of your volunteers?
Lesson 3: When do you call on external professional support?
