On the 23rd of November, Banbridge Rugby Club ran a successful volunteer information and recruitment event.
Over the last few years, the club recognised a need to recruit more volunteers, and after attending a workshop hosted by Ulster Rugby which helped them to identify and prioritise the roles they needed to fill, they put a plan in place to host an information and recruitment event.
Banbridge hosted the event on a Saturday morning between 10:30am and 1pm when their Youth and Minis teams would be playing at home, when there would be a large number of parents at the club - their target audience.
They had organised for volunteers from the club to provide bacon baps, tea and coffee (free of charge) to make people feel welcome. Potential volunteers were invited in to have a chat about the volunteering opportunities available in the club and how people could become involved.
Banbridge advertised the event two weeks before the event via emails, posters, WhatsApp messages and word of mouth to all of their members and parents, as well as listing all the available volunteering roles. The turnout was better than the club could have expected; they had 20 potential new volunteers sign up including two book-keepers, a public relations and digital media volunteer, event helpers and several coaches.
The Executive Committee and the Volunteer Liaison Officer had prepared for the event firstly by identifying the areas they needed to prioritise recruitement and secondly preparing-clearly defined roles descriptions for each role. This would give potential volunteers an idea of the role and what their responsibilities would be). They also had a sign-up sheet where people could leave their contact details and the role they were interested in, to enable the Volunteer Liaison Officer to follow up with potential volunteers as soon after the event a possible to start the recruitment process.
Banbridge advertised the event two weeks before the event via emails, posters, WhatsApp messages and word of mouth to all of their members and parents, as well as listing all the available volunteering roles. The turnout was better than the club could have expected; they had 20 potential new volunteers sign up including two book-keepers, a public relations and digital media volunteer, event helpers and several coaches.
The Executive Committee and the Volunteer Liaison Officer had prepared for the event firstly by identifying the areas they needed to prioritise recruitement and secondly preparing-clearly defined roles descriptions for each role. This would give potential volunteers an idea of the role and what their responsibilities would be). They also had a sign-up sheet where people could leave their contact details and the role they were interested in, to enable the Volunteer Liaison Officer to follow up with potential volunteers as soon after the event a possible to start the recruitment process.
“This event has been a massive success for our club and we have now put plans in place to run this event annually.” Clifford Harris, Volunteer Liaison Officer at Banbridge RFC