To start off our class we were joined by some Gus Macker Alumni, Shane and Erin. Although it was surprise visit, we could not have been more happy to hear from them. With their tokens of advice on how to power through these next few weeks leading up to the tournament, we Finch Fanatics are inspired to show them what we're made of.
It was also awesome to hear what opportunities have come to these two from being a part of the Gus Macker Family. The experience of event planning at this level has allowed these two to take what they have learned and stand out against other candidates in employment opportunities. We could not be more proud of Erin and Shane and also the CMU RPL Program.
Following these two, we were lucky to get a crash course in the value of volunteers from the lovely Suzi Tengen! After coordinating volunteers for 15 years in an annual benefit golf outing, Suzi knows how much volunteers mean to an event planner.
With that said, here are Suzi's key pieces of advice for event planners who want to manage volunteers effectively and efficiently to keep them coming back.
1. Feed your volunteers.
They're going to be working just as hard as you. Give them food and reduce the chance of anyone hangry volunteers.
2. Volunteers do not have to be your friends.
You need volunteers to be people you can depend on. Sure your BFF Jill is great fun, but can you depend on her to be at your event bright and early at 8 a.m.?
3. Match skills to volunteer jobs.
Ruth was an administrative assistant for 20 years? She's incredibly good with organization and filing? Okay then. Let's not make Ruth part of the volunteer team doing heavy lifting. She would probably own the registration table though. You picking up what I'm throwing down?
4. If you give your volunteer a job, let them do the job.
Nobody likes a micromanager. The reason you are giving this volunteer a job is because you need the help and trust them to do it. (See tip number 2) It is your responsibility to train your volunteers. After you have trained them to the best of your ability, let them do the job. They are perfectly capable and that is the reason they are here.
5. Keep volunteers busy.
Volunteers do not want to stand around feeling unneeded. That is not an event people will want to volunteer for again in the future.
6. Make them feel important.
Number 5 and 6 are very similar because they go hand-in-hand. Keeping volunteers busy and giving them tasks you trust them to do because it matches their skill set (See tip 2-4) will, as a result, make them feel important to the event.
7. Make sure they are identifiable.
It is not productive if you cannot easily identify the volunteers of an event. Even if it means putting them in an obnoxious yellow t-shirt with a hawaiian shirt over that. ;D Make sure not only you can tell who the volunteers are but people participating in the event. Chances are people at the event have questions and if you've trained your volunteers to the best of your ability (see tip 4) then they should be more than enough informed on how to answer all of those questions.
8. Anticipate their needs.
Whatever you feel your basic needs to function at your event are, you should also equip your volunteers with. Example: sunscreen for an outdoor summer event, bandages at a skating event, 5-Hour Energy for an overnight event, hand warmers for a winter event, etc.
9. Write thank you notes.
Last but not least, thank your volunteers. They are truly the backbone of every event because they are the people who make the small things come together and run smoothly. The least you can do is sit down with cute stationary and hand-write your gratitude to each volunteer for his/her help.
So thank you Suzi for sharing your volunteer wisdom with us. We will for sure keep all these tips in mind during the Gus Macker Tournament!
If you're in the Mount Pleasant Area on Wednesday, March 30 and get the hankering for a cold fruity drink, feel free to help out the Finch Fanatics in our Tropical Smoothie Fundraiser! It starts at 5 p.m. and goes until close. Just make sure to mention Gus Macker ;)
Catch you next time!
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