Supporting your volunteers
What do your volunteers need from your club?
This will depend on:
- Your club’s goals and ambitions
- The size of your club
- Your sport
- Your members, players, and participants requirements
Reviewing your club’s volunteer workforce regularly will help you support and retain volunteers:
- Appropriate and up to date coaching qualifications
- Appropriate insurance cover
- Minimum coaching age
- Safeguarding children and vulnerable groups
- First Aid
Check with you National Governing Body for more information as these will vary between sports
Recognising your volunteers
Simple, cost-effective ways to help retain and celebrate your volunteers include:
- Celebrating birthdays by sending a card or presenting them with a cake
- Celebrating length of service or milestones in the project like introducing a volunteer recognition certificate
- List volunteers in external and internal communications including newsletters, annual reports, or a website
Other ways in which you can recognise volunteers’ contributions are:
- Give them positive feedback from participants or parents
- Fund volunteer training to show you are investing in them
- Credit your volunteers in local and social media and newsletters
- Introduce pathways to paid employment
- Include your volunteers in planning discussions and consultations
- Ensure volunteers are well informed of any new club developments and news.
More information and resources on retaining & supporting volunteers is available via the Club Matters Link.
https://www.sportenglandclubmatters.com/volunteer-development/recruiting-volunteers/
https://www.sportenglandclubmatters.com/volunteer-development/understanding-your-volunteers/
https://www.sportenglandclubmatters.com/volunteer-development/effective-volunteer-management/
