At TeamKinetic, we understand the importance of appreciating art and culture – and of course, we love a good festival! That’s why we are proud to announce our recent addition as Friends of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).
What is the AIF?
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) stands as a cornerstone for independent festivals across the UK. AIF are recognised as the leading representative body for festivals. They advocate for their members, fostering collaboration, and driving the growth and sustainability of independent festivals nationwide.
At TeamKinetic, we firmly believe that volunteers play an invaluable role in events worldwide. Their dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work are fundamental to any festival’s success. That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with the AIF to enhance the volunteer experience within the events sector.
What does this partnership mean?
Through our collaboration with AIF, we are committed to delivering top-notch volunteer management and engagement services to their members. Our goal is to ensure that volunteers feel genuinely valued, adequately supported, and empowered to make significant contributions to the festivals they serve.
Recognising that the volunteer journey extends beyond the event day, we understand the importance of offering comprehensive support. From recruitment and training to on-site coordination and acknowledgement. By closely collaborating with AIF and its members, we aim to implement industry best practices, streamline processes, and elevate the overall volunteer experience.
Furthermore, our partnership with AIF presents a great opportunity to gain deeper insights into the volunteer landscape within the events sector. By collecting feedback, sharing insights, and fostering open dialogue, we can collaboratively identify areas for improvement. Allowing us to implement solutions that benefit volunteers, event organisers, and attendees alike.
Together with AIF, we are committed to fostering a culture of appreciation, inclusivity, and excellence within the events industry. We look forward to utilising this partnership to support the incredible work of event volunteers.
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Managing event volunteers is no easy task, but they’re an essential piece of the puzzle that is creating a successful event. It helps that nowadays, we have a range of digital solutions that can speed up processes and cut down on stress.
With the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 coming up – less than a month away – we’d like to take a look into large-scale events and what it takes to keep them running smoothly.
EURO 2022
Yes, we are officially less than one month away from the start of the EUROs! This year it’s taking place in England – something I am personally very excited about.
I’ve seen first-hand the impact these competitions have on the local area and country as a whole. Attending the 2017 EURO in The Netherlands and 2019 World Cup in France are experiences I won’t forget in a hurry!
The hosts won it in 2017… Can England repeat the achievement?
Aside from what happens on the pitch, it’s also clear how much hard work goes into each tournament. This year is no different. It is estimated that around 1500 event volunteers will help out across the host cities. These cities range from up north in Manchester and Sheffield, to down south in Brighton and Southampton. So how did volunteers get involved?
How are event volunteers recruited?
From recruitment to rewarding, digital makes everything easier. EURO 2022 is no different. Their entire volunteer recruitment process was online. Running from September 2021 to April 2022, prospective volunteers applied online and were then interviewed via video chat. All successful applicants could then use the official volunteering portal to find out more about their roles.
A group of EURO 2022 volunteers at Wembley Stadium – the venue for the final.
Each host city’s team of volunteers will aid the influx of football fans. This is likely to include guiding them around the city centre, stadiums, Fan Zones, and transport hubs.
Around 50% of the volunteer roles will be focused on spectator services. This includes building the crowd atmosphere, helping people find their way around the stadiums, and answering any questions visitors might have.
Getting your event volunteers ready
I think we’ve established that volunteers are vital to the smooth running of any and every event. The level of training they receive is also vital. Volunteers could be meeting people who have never visited the local area before. Seeing a friendly face is likely to make all the difference to their experience.
This is why it’s important to provide suitable training to all volunteers. While some training requires face-to-face delivery, it doesn’t mean digital can’t be involved. Being able to track whether volunteers have completed training and what steps they have to take next saves time and effort.
For instance, EURO 2022 began training their volunteers in April. Their training includes material specific to the role they signed up for as well as the stadium or host city they will be working in.
Accreditation
Alongside training, accreditation passes are another key thing to prepare. Volunteers that have completed all the necessary requirements and are authorised to be at the venue(s) will be given passes.
With TeamKinetic, you can automatically create Accreditation Badges for specific events or single opportunities. We also have a version specifically created for events – AccessKinetic.
Keeping them updated
Communication is the foundation of good volunteer management. Whether you’re building relationships with your volunteers or keeping them up-to-date on what’s going on in the run up to an event.
Nowadays, all good volunteer management systems will allow you to send emails, SMS text messages, notifications, and share to social media.
Furthermore, the ability to use chat rooms (like in TeamKinetic!) is an added bonus. WhatsApp is a popular medium for instant communications, yet it has its risks. Aside from the big issues like data protection, instant messaging services open the door for unfiltered communications and the potential sharing of misinformation.
With opportunity-specific chat rooms, volunteers can communicate with one another and the opportunity provider. This means they can post questions, build relationships with the people they’ll be working alongside, and offer their peers support. All this is possible before, during and after the event.
An example of an opportunity chat room within TeamKinetic
Rewarding all that hard work
While volunteering at such a prestigious event is a reward all on its own, the people giving their time still deserve appreciation.
For example, all EURO 2022 event volunteers will receive a uniform to keep as a momento after the tournament is over. They’ll also undoubtedly receive post-event communications thanking them for their contributions.
Providing these momentos and setting up automated communications after the event is a great way to show your appreciation and possibly convince your volunteers to apply for your future events. Other ways you can show appreciation are through paying expenses and sending them a thank you card. However, the possibilities are endless, just check out this blog on how else you can reward your volunteers.
Adopting your own system
Interested in speeding up your volunteer registrations and reducing administrative burden? Look into adopting a volunteer management system. You can start with TeamKinetic. We’d be happy to take you through a demo of our system, just reach out via the live chat on our website or email me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk.
