Recruiting volunteers for events - Event Management 101

I volunteered to be a corner marshal for the first time in 1981.  It was a low key 10K, and I mostly stood on a corner and clapped as the athletes went by.  In 1993, I volunteered for the US Cycling Team Trials sponsored by Self Magazine.  I worked corners, stopped traffic, collected traffic cones, and generally spent a handful of days working the event.  Over the next couple of years, I did more events with Northwest Classics, as corner marshal, crew boss, and tactical race director.  There were a number of really great volunteers that made this group work - volunteer coordinators, construction managers, hospitality and catering managers, and others who just liked to be involved.  These formed the core of a group that expanded to dozens or hundreds depending on the event.  And in being part of this group, I learned a few keys that I've relied on ever since to run successful events.

Core cadre - No promoter can do it all on their own.  And while part of being a promoter is that since it's all on your shoulders, you want to maintain control, the reality is that to do so means you are spread too thin.  Details get missed, jobs are left undone, and snap decisions replace critical thinking.
A good event relies on a core crew of trusted decision makers who can handle most of the routine, *consulting* when needed, and engaging the promoter when necessary.  This core cadre should be there for a couple of reasons - loyal to you as friends or colleagues, and engaged because they want to contribute to the event(s) for some altruistic reason.
Identifying and developing these key individuals, and nurturing them is key to long term success.  Having these key managers build their own teams of volunteers that *they* trust is equally important.

Recruit lots of volunteers - Every event promoter who has done more than one event has a list of people who volunteered the first time (and you keep growing the list).  One of the hardest things to do is to get those 'professional volunteers' who just love to work events and are always up for another one.  MOST people aren't that dedicated or willing.  It's important to offer the opportunity to everyone, but not *ask* the same folks to do the same thing every time. After a while, those ready volunteers will start avoiding your phone call and looking for reasons to be 'out of town' on event day.  The secret is to over-recruit, even if you can't use them all at the current event.

Don't over staff - The contradiction to the above is that too many volunteers is almost as bad as not enough.  People who give their time want to be valued.  If they take the time to show up, they generally want to be doing something useful - even if it's standing on a corner at the far end of civilization.  Having 5 people on a corner that doesn't need but two means that those 5 are less likely to come back next time.  It's OK to say 'next time' - and if you do it right, they'll look forward to your call.

Surly Brewing here in Minneapolis has perhaps the most awesome volunteer program I've ever seen.  They work with civic projects and local sport events to provide volunteers to paint houses, marshal corners, pack meals, or other activities that require lots of manpower.  "Surly Gives a Damn" events usually fill up within a matter of minutes after they open the signup page.  Amazing!







Rotate jobs - Keep track of what people do at your events.  If they were corner marshals one time, *ask* them if they'd like to work construction the next. Or if it's really all corner marshals, offer returning volunteers their choice of corners first.  You may be surprised where they'd like to work, and they will almost certainly be glad you asked.

Identify and promote leaders - key volunteers burn out too!  One of the secrets to maintaining the core cadre is to have them constantly watching for and training their replacements.  It doesn't matter the position, everyone is replaceable, and often seem to disappear at the least opportune moment.  One of my trusted core decided to move to Montana 3 weeks before a big event. Unforeseen, but since their lieutenant was on board, it was relatively easy to transfer their tasks to a new person.  

Thank volunteers - Above all else, make sure your volunteers are appreciated.  Just giving them a t-shirt isn't enough.  Personal thanks, a thank you email, something to tell them that they are appreciated.  For big events, build in a volunteer meal - that opportunity to share war stories, hear how the event went, and see the 'big picture' will do wonders for the volunteer's engagement "next time".