A volunteer co-ordinator plays a vital role in the recruitment, development and retention of people at their venue. They should have great organisational and social skills, and show a commitment to making everyone feel welcome and included. The co-ordinator will be the main contact for all new and existing volunteers, and needs to be visible at club meetings and events.
Recruitment of volunteers
The volunteer co-ordinator is responsible for advertising roles, so that everyone interested can apply. This can be done informally, by putting information on your club noticeboard, or more formally by putting a story into your local paper, your club website or on social media. If a criminal record check is required for the role, you should include this information in the role description and advert.
Applicants should be informally interviewed for the role. The questions you ask can help you to find out about someone’s experience, attitudes and expectations from the role. It is also important to obtain references. For more information on safe and inclusive recruitment, see What’s the Score.
Selecting the right volunteer
Matching the right person with the right skills to the right role will be a key challenge! It is important to ensure that matching is based on a skills audit and interests of the potential volunteer. The volunteer co-ordinator role needs to be filled by a person with good communication skills, experience in team mamangement, great persuasion skills and the ability to engage with people from diverse backgrounds.
Ensuring everyone’s safety as a volunteer co-ordinator
The co-ordinator will also need to ensure that volunteers working with children or adults at risk have a criminal record check. It is important to protect your members, your venue and the volunteer by putting these safety measures in place.
Planning for new volunteers
The volunteer co-ordinator is responsible for finding new volunteers for the venue’s committee. It is important to plan for the future by understanding what skills are needed for each role and identifying potential members that could fulfil that role. Using role profile descriptions and having handover notes will help with the transition as volunteers leave.
Volunteer recognition
It will fall to this role to thank the volunteers for their support and to also put forward outstanding members for award nominations. This could be a county award as part of the British Tennis Awards, a local newspaper awards or national recognition, such as the Queen’s Birthday and New Year Honours.