Building a positive club culture
A positive culture – where volunteers feel appreciated and supported - can help attract volunteers, while a negative culture will do the exact opposite.
One of the challenges a club faces is creating a 'contributing' culture. This is where members help run the club rather than just turning up expecting everything to be done for them.
If your club has a focus on building a positive ‘contributing’ culture, it will ensure the volunteer load is spread across the entire club and not just a few key people.
But how?
- Ensure all members understand that the club is managed and operated by the joint efforts of volunteers and without them, the club simply cannot operate.
- Ensure all members accept that everyone is expected to contribute in some way.
Basically, the message should be that volunteering is an expected part of being a member of the Club and “this is the way we do things around here”. “It’s not about doing everything, it’s about doing something.”
Tip – Communicate this clearly with members from day 1. Eg. When they register.
Example:
“Thank you for registering with our Club, we look forward to you being part of our cricket family. Our Club operates solely on the efforts of volunteers and without them we simply would not be able to function. To ensure our Club is successful we would appreciate your willingness to contribute and offer assistance to help spread the load. Contact XXXXX to see what you can do to help.”
Diversity of volunteers
Ask yourself:
- Do you invite a mix of ages, genders, cultures, populations, members and non-members into your volunteer group?
- Are they representative of the surrounding community?
- Is the group as diverse as it could be?
- Is your committee representative of your members?
- Are your policies and procedures inclusive and do they allow for diversity?
- Have you looked outside of your club for volunteers?