Managing Volunteers In Sports And Events

Concept of the volunteer in sports and events

Discuss about the Managing Volunteers in Sports and Events.

Volunteers are considered as the lifeblood of any sports and event as the successful running of any event is dependent on the volunteers (Waikayi et al., 2012). Smart clubs are involved in generating many techniques to recruit, manage and retain their volunteers. In order to manage the volunteers in any sports events, it is crucial for the organization to gather information regarding the specific volunteer policy, award and the induction. Volunteers may be paid or unpaid hence their management is necessary for sports and events to give shape such programs. In the context of the sports club or other organization, the volunteer work depends on the characteristics of the organization. This review of the literature reveals a critical analysis of the volunteer management process by the club and organization during sports or other events. This study includes a brief discussion of the practices that are encountered in the volunteer management. Apart from this importance of the volunteer management for the organization to give shape the sports or other events will be discussed in this section.

Volunteers refer to those people who donate their times without expecting any benefit from their work. However, the volunteers are crucial for the successful outcome and continuity of any sport and event that are organized by club and organization. The volunteer aims to help the people during the event and they have the great interest in their work (Safrit & Schmiesing, 2012). For the sports club and other organization, volunteer management is necessary to develop a positive situation in the context of sports and events. Volunteers do their work according to their interest that is the main reason for their success.

Volunteer lifecycle includes motivation, interview, learning, development, feedback, giving help and the retention. However, it is important for the club and the organization to understand the lifecycle of the volunteers to manage them properly (Vecina et al., 2012). The application is an element volunteer life cycle that focuses on the interest of the volunteers in order to manage them. The interview is another element of such lifecycle that reveals the strength of the volunteers. Learning and development are the major areas of the volunteer management. However, the sports club can identify the goal of the volunteer and their specific duty as it enables this organization to manage the volunteers during the sports and events based on their goal. 

Volunteer lifecycle

Training is a part of volunteer management provided by the organization to develop the existing skills of volunteers as it will make them effective in their work (Wicker, 2017). The staff and supervisor of the organization provide support to the volunteers to make them comfortable to undertake their duty. Therefore, the volunteers are able to understand their role and they also involve in decision making regarding their work. Organizational support enables the volunteers to make good relationship with their co-workers and the supervisor empowers the volunteers to exhibit their own thought regarding their work. Collecting feedbacks from the volunteers about their issues is another vital area of volunteer life cycle and their management.

Volunteer management needs the high motivation of the volunteers by the organization that is involved in the selection of volunteers for sports and events. The organization can motivate the volunteers through the intrinsic and extrinsic process (Blackman, Benson & Dickson, 2017). Intrinsic motivation is associated with intrinsic reward. However, to manage the volunteers it is crucial for the sports club to motivate the volunteers. For this reason by providing intrinsic reward is an effective process to encourage the individual volunteer in their work. Autonomy and self-esteem are the common needs of paid employees and the volunteers in an organization. Volunteers do not expect money from their work thus intrinsic reward or nonfinancial reward will give them pleasure and develop their self-esteem (Vecina et al., 2012). On the other hand, by providing financial award extrinsic motivation can be done in the context of volunteers. Therefore, by applying motivational theories as for example, Maslow’s hierarchy theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theories the organizations are able to motivate the volunteers.

Maslow’s theory is beneficial to fulfill the self-esteem needs of the volunteers, which insists them in their work. However, by following Maslow’s theory the organization gives respect and value to the volunteers that enhance their self-esteem (Nichols, 2017). On the other hand, Herzberg’s two-factor theory includes extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors, which allow the organization to motivate their volunteers and maximize their performance by satisfying their needs. However, motivation is mandatory for volunteers to manage them during sports or events as highly motivated volunteers will be interested in their work. Application of motivational theories allows the sports club and the organization to increase the interest of the volunteers and to manage them by satisfying their needs (White, 2016). Giving award and the non-financial reward is crucial to managing the volunteers during the sports and the events.

Volunteer motivation

Sports club and event management organization need to understand the interest of the volunteers as it helps the organization to encourage the volunteers by maximizing their interest level. In order to manage the volunteers, the organization should understand the needs of the volunteers (White, 2016). This study deals with the management of newham volunteers by the sports club. Application of psychological contract leads the organization to understand the expectation of the volunteers regarding their work and from the organization. However, through the psychological contract, it has been recognized that there are many rewards apart from the paid work that encourage the volunteers in their work. The social reward is effective for the volunteers that maximize the interaction of the volunteers with their colleagues. During the major events, the volunteers should be managed competently. A clear communication is required to manage the volunteers by understanding their expectations. However, the involvement of the volunteers in prestigious event that is conducting in their own city leads them to feel valued. This is a big approach to encourage the volunteers by identifying their expectations (Nichols & Ojala, 2009).

Psychological contract reveals that the expectations of club administration and the volunteers are different from each other. Hence, the club administration wants to make the volunteers more professional while the volunteers provide their concern to the rewarding work (Lee, Kim & Koo, 2016). For this reason, the management of volunteers needs to make resemblance between the expectation of the club administration and the volunteers. Volunteer management is a process between the membership management and the program management. However, the psychological contract reveals a promising framework in order to understand the expectations of the volunteers. The psychological contract allows the club administration to identify the emotion and feelings of the volunteers that are associated with their work. However, by understanding the psychology of the volunteers the club administration is able to fulfill their needs by giving them more respect and value.

This research methodology includes qualitative method in order to understand the expectation level of the newham volunteers. However, interview has been conducted over the six event managers and the result is recorded.  However, the qualitative method reveals the differences of the perceptions between the event managers and the volunteers (Johnson et al., 2017).  Apart from this the findings of the research focuses that enthusiasm is very important for the volunteers to manage them during the sports and event management. Enthusiasm enables the volunteers to be competent during their work.

Volunteer management through psychological contract theory

Various factors are involved in motivating the volunteers and they need the different type of management tools. This situation leads the club authority to manage the volunteers. However, proper management of the volunteers develops a win-win environment that encourages the sports organization as well as the volunteers (Kim & Cuskelly, 2017). The relationship between the clubs and the volunteers may vary based on the volunteer management process. Therefore, often the clubs try to develop the volunteers without understanding their particular needs that affect the volunteer management process.

The volunteers are an integral part of a sports club thus it is vital for the organizations to make the positive environment for the volunteers that lead them to feel respected and valued as a part of the sports club. If the volunteers feel respected and rewarded by the sports organization then their confidence level increase. This insists them to contribute more effort for the success of the clubs (Vecina et al., 2012). Management of the volunteers makes a balance between the needs of the volunteers and the clubs as it is important for the success of any sports and event. However, a proper balance between the volunteers and the club enables the club to get more efficient work and support from the volunteers in the coming future.

Conclusion

The above study highlights on the management of the volunteers in sports and events. However, it has been found that different motivational factors are associated with the volunteer management. It is important for the sports organization to understand the expectation of the volunteers regarding their work. For this purpose, the psychological contract is beneficial to understand the expectation level of the volunteers. On the other hand, providing intrinsic and extrinsic reward will be an effective approach to the volunteer motivation. Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy theory and Herzberg’s two-factor theory are beneficial for the sports organization to motivate their volunteers in their work. Research reveals that intrinsic reward is good for the volunteers as it maximizes their confidence and belief in the organization.

References

Blackman, D., Benson, A. M., & Dickson, T. J. (2017). Enabling event volunteer legacies: A knowledge management perspective. Event Management, 21(3), 233-250.

Johnson, J. E., Giannoulakis, C., Felver, N., Judge, L. W., David, P. A., & Scott, B. F. (2017). Motivation, Satisfaction, and Retention of Sport Management Student Volunteers. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 9(1).

Kim, E., & Cuskelly, G. (2017). A Systematic Quantitative Review Of Volunteer Management in Events. Event Management, 21(1), 83-100.

Lee, Y., Kim, M., & Koo, J. (2016). The impact of social interaction and team member exchange on sport event volunteer management. Sport Management Review, 19(5), 550-562.

Nichols, G. (2017). Volunteering in Community Sports Associations: A Literature Review. Voluntaristics Review, 2(1), 1-75.

Nichols, G., & Ojala, E. (2009). Understanding the management of sports events volunteers through psychological contract theory. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 20(4), 369.

Safrit, R. D., & Schmiesing, R. (2012). Volunteer models and management. The volunteer management handbook: Leadership strategies for success,, 3-30.

Vecina, M. L., Chacón, F., Sueiro, M., & Barrón, A. (2012). Volunteer engagement: Does engagement predict the degree of satisfaction among new volunteers and the commitment of those who have been active longer?. Applied Psychology, 61(1), 130-148.

Waikayi, L., Fearon, C., Morris, L., & McLaughlin, H. (2012). Volunteer management: an exploratory case study within the British Red Cross. Management Decision, 50(3), 349-367.

White, M. D. (2016). Volunteer Management: Understanding Volunteer Motivation and Recognizing Critical Tactics for Managing the Volunteer Workforce (Doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland University College).

Wicker, P. (2017). Volunteerism and volunteer management in sport. Sport Management Review.