What is retention all about?
Without volunteers effort, time or attention to your club s there would, quite simply, be no club. Therefore, those activities like sailing, windsurfing or cruising wouldn t be there for club members to enjoy.
By working efficiently together as a team your club could provide a haven for members, as I am sure some clubs already do. Whether your club has a small or large membership, twenty different fleets or two, volunteers are essential to your clubs survival. Consequently, it is crucial that the correct methods are employed to ensure that your volunteer workforce remains and this is what retention is all about; finding the right retention system for your club.
How does our club go about retaining volunteers?
There are a variety of things that your club can do to make sure that your volunteer turnover is low.
Some clubs may only need to refer to one of these aspects; others may need a combination of all four.
Training
There are various types of training, both on and off the water, which can help to retain volunteers. These might be in-house (informal) training like giving tips and pointers on the bar, food hygiene, the books, basic powerboat or sailing skills, including rigging/de-rigging boats. Simple training will help increase the number of volunteers.
Formal qualifications such as RYA certificates, for instance RYA Powerboat Level 2 or First Aid are useful for volunteers wishing to become more qualified, and possibly for those larger clubs who hold open meetings and have bigger fleets who really require qualified volunteers.
It is important to remember that you need to train the volunteer to do a particular job; this may or may not include formal qualifications. Training doesn t have to be expensive.
Communication
Talk to your volunteers; find out how they re getting on, if they have any concerns or ideas for the club. Basically, have a get together every now and then and discuss their roles, are they enjoying it? Do they need more help or support?
By doing this you will be displaying an interest in their role and in return you should have a motivated volunteer workforce, eager to work as a team and make your club a success.
Promote Teamwork and get FEEDBACK!
Support your volunteers
For new volunteers introduce a buddy system or job shadowing. This will help new volunteers learn about a particular role and give them confidence to do the role properly. This is particularly useful for a Race Officer position, where people could easily lack confidence if they were put in at the deep end.
Give new recruits an induction or joining pack outlining different aspects of the club, including volunteering opportunities, the roles available, the support network within your club, what would be expected of them and so forth.
Regarding existing volunteers, as with communication , have a team talk see how they re getting along. Are they still enjoying their role? Do they want more or less responsibility? It s really about performing an informal appraisal.
Recognition
Make sure you thank your volunteers. A personal thank you can mean a great deal to an individual and will keep them motivated and therefore happy to continue being part of the volunteer workforce within your club.
A simple thank you letter or token gift like a bunch of flowers or a bottle of wine at the end of the season, a BBQ or drinks party after an open meeting for instance would be gratefully received.
Continuous recognition throughout the season would help to keep your volunteer workforce motivated and committed to working hard to help your club.
Ensure volunteers feel appreciated and valued.
Remember:
every club is different. Some will need to provide training maybe to get more volunteers out on the water and some will need to improve communication and support to avoid a high turnover of volunteers.