Volunteer Development
Volunteer Development
Even with the ever-increasing professionalization of USFencing, we are still, and will remain, reliant on a large corps of volunteers who serve in a number of different roles. As an organization we need to find ways to encourage people to volunteer, to help train them in the role(s) that they fill, and support them so that they continue to find value from their efforts.
There are five prongs to how this can work:
- Advertise volunteer opportunities
- Actively solicit volunteers
- Provide well-defined pathways for advancement
- Training
- Recognition
The first step must be to let people know that there ARE volunteer opportunities available. Any number of athletes, coaches, and especially parents have said that they would like to help out but simply don’t know how.
What is the number one way to get someone to volunteer? Ask them.
As an organization we need to do better at proactively bringing new people into the fold. While some people will poke around and ask and find ways to get involved, most will not. We need to systematically try to recruit potential volunteers. We have a huge number of roles available. For pretty much any person associated with the sport we should be able to find at least one match. We need volunteers to referee, to run tournaments, as technicians, to organize and run divisions and sections, to serve on committees and task forces, and any number of other standing projects, as well as ad-hoc services when required.
Having well-defined pathways for advancement serves two purposes. First, it helps identify rising talent, moving them into ever more vital positions. Secondly, it serves to encourage and retain volunteers who can see growth in their abilities and service.
Currently we have limited volunteer training available. The FOC does a very good job of have systems in place for training referees, especially at the lower levels. Other groups, such as the bout committee people, do similar work, although less formally. We should look at what works in the FOC program and see how we can modify it for other domains. We need to set up educational opportunities for new division officers, new committee members, and new Board members.
Additionally we need to expand the offerings. It isn’t good enough to only offer training at one level. We need training targeted at people completely new to the task, those with some level of experience that are looking to get more seriously involved, and advanced training for those that are already starting to hit the upper echelons of whatever structure is in place.
Finally, we need to set up mechanisms to recognize volunteers. We rely on people to give hundreds of hours of their time annually. Generally not receiving even a “Thanks” in return. This must be fixed.
One program that we currently have is the “service pins” for those who serve as volunteer officials – referees, technicians, bout committee staff, and athletic trainers – for at least 5 days at Summer Nationals. These pins, now in their fourth year, have been generally well received. Especially among the referee corps, where the uniform incorporates a blazer with lapels that can easily serve to display such pins, it’s common to see people in tournaments around the country proudly sporting these tokens of recognition.
Finding other ways to recognize people for the time, energy, and service that they provide is not only vital to our continued functioning, it’s the right thing to do.
We need to systematically identify the ways in which interested people can volunteer to help serve USFencing. For each of these roles we should then determine what, if any, requirements and qualifications are necessary or desirable. We can then advertise these needs and what steps an interested candidate should take in order to begin the process.
While in many cases this should take place at the local level, where the actual service is likely to begin, much of the work that needs to be done is the same. It’s most efficient and effective to have this framework created once and then replicated, with modifications to fit local needs and circumstances, rather than reinvented in each of the 68 divisions. The general information can be hosted as part of the national website, and then copied for local use.
One or more individuals should be identified to help define a framework of development for each type of volunteer work. The current national bout committee staff should be called upon to help design a system for how people new to this area can learn. A group of experienced division leaders should come up with a list of Best Practices, hints, tips, and advice for new division officers.
We need to have answers to the following questions easily available:
- What jobs are out there?
- What does each job require?
- How do I get started doing THAT job?
- How do I learn how to do that job?
- Once I’m doing it how do I get better at it?
- Where can I go next?