Volunteering is all to often left to chance.  As a result many clubs do not have sufficient volunteers and the turnover is high, or they can't find people with the skills needed for particular roles.  Volunteers can become over burdened, out of their depth or disenchanted with their involvement.  

It is important that a club spend time planning.

-  Identify where you currently are and what you're doing well.
-  Identify what areas you may be weak in and why.
-  Identify areas of opportunity for improvement in current areas or development of new ideas.
-  Identify possible threats, currently or in the future, to your club and volunteers.

Talk to people who may be able to offer advice, a neutral viewpoint or suggest ideas. 

Here is a list to use as a starting point for the sort of information the club may want:

-  What jobs need to be done?
-  What positions are available?
-  What is involved in each job or position?
-  How much time would someone need to commit?
-  What sort of person would be best suitable, what skills would be helpful or necessary?
-  What could they expect to get in return?  Expenses, training, rewards, friendship?
-  Where can you find such people?

Role Description

-  Before you can begin to recruit it is important to know which volunteer positions you are trying to recruit for.  Using the answers to the questions suggested try to develop a role description for the position.
-  It is important you are clear about what the position involves.
-  If someone has already been involved in the position speak to them to get honest feedback as to what is "really" involved.
-  Let people know what it is you want them to do and set standards.  People want to do a good job and will appreciate what standards are required earlier rather than later.
-  To help yourself make a list of skills and experiences which are required for the role.  Are particular skills more important than experience?  Can you assist the volunteer to achieve the necessary skills?  Is swimming knowledge essential?
-  Try to steer away fro ma long list of tasks required for this position.  Use the role description as more of a guidance for volunteers and try to make the role sound fund and not too daunting.

Retention

Once a person has begun volunteering it is very important that they receive ongoing support to ensure they feel comfortable and so they know they are valued and wanted.

It is a good idea to:
-  match potential recruits to the roles they feel happy with and one in which they can utilise their skills.  Don't match a volunteer to the only role you have available as it may not be suitable for them.
-  It is advisable to let your new volunteer know that they will receive appropriate training for their position, if required.
-  Make them feel comfortable, not daunted.
-  Try to provide new volunteers with a contact or buddy/mentor.  Someone who can answer their questions and most importantly a friendly face.  Try where possible to use someone who has done the job before so as to encourage a handover of responsibility.
-  It is often a good idea for new volunteers to receive a short induction.

Introduce them to other members of the club and explain what roles they carry out.  Perhaps provide them with contact numbers for members of the club or a club handbook.

Provide them with a copy of their role description.

Make sure they are clear what they need to do:
-  meetings they need to attend, when and where
-  who to report to
-  where equipment is kept and how to use it.

Set standards.  Most volunteers want to do a good job and will appreciate knowing what standards the club sets rather than being told they have done something wrong after the fact.

It is a good idea for the club chair/president to spend time with any new volunteer, welcoming them to the club and thanking them for their interest.

Empower all volunteers to take responsibility.  People will operate better if they feel they are trusted but appreciate knowing that they can ask for help.

Continue to provide feedback.  Let them know how they are getting on and give them the chance to ask further questions or air concerns.  Arrange a review date to have such a get together.  Try to find out:
-  Are they enjoying themselves?
-  Is the role what they expected, if not, why?
-  Would they like to take on anything else?
-  Is there any training they would like to get involved in?

Not only should you use this time to praise your volunteers but also to help them improve in any areas where they may be struggling.

Make sure their volunteering is  positive experience.  Always have empathy and understanding.  Someone's voluntary role may only be a small aspect of their life and sometimes other things may demand more of their time.

Recognition & Reward

-  Always make sure that your volunteers feel appreciated and valued.
-  Always communicate the value of volunteers throughout the organisation.
-  Recognising and rewarding your volunteers can be done in a number of ways:
a.  can be as simple as a thank you or well done.
b.  a thank you letter or card after an event
c.  make a personal phone call
d.  keep in touch with your volunteers and always show an interest in their role. 
e.  small gifts or club memorabilia
f.  organise volunteer social events
g.  perks - tickets to events, goodie bags, trips with teams.

When thanking people, always be aware to:
-  match the recognition to the individual.  One person may strive on being thanked in front of others, the same may upset another.  Always understand what motivates the person you are thanking.
-  Be fair and consistent.  Identify others, not just key players or those with whom you have the strongest relationships.  What about those volunteers who always turn up on time and do exactly what is asked of them, even if their role is not seen as high profile.
-  Recognise volunteers at all times. 
-  Try and make the reward specific to them.
-  Communicate praise and awards. 

Try and encourage your swimmers to thank all volunteers involved in the club.  Encourage children from an early age to appreciate all those people who help and look after them.  They may be the volunteers of the future.

End of the season.  Use this opportunity to make a fuss over your volunteers.  Hold an awards evening, looking back at the clubs successes over the previous season.  Make everyone aware of the invaluable contribution of your volunteers.  Or hold a social event just for your volunteers giving you a chance to thank all of them at once.

Try to nominate your volunteers for awards outside of swimming such as through your community or provincial association.

Communication

It is essential that all volunteers feel they are part of the club, whether they are old or new volunteers.  Communication with volunteers is vital to keep a happy and motivated volunteer workforce.

It is important that all volunteers feel that they are communicated with and feel you are a club which is approachable so they can communicate with you.

Try to involve everyone, whether they give 1 or 21 hours per week.

Hold get togethers or forums after training sessions, events or set aside meetings for volunteers to attend.  Alternatively set up social events for everyone involved with the club to attend.  Remember meeting new people and socialising is the key reason why many volunteer.
-  make sure to vary the time, dates, venues of meetings, gatherings to make them available to everyone.
-  make sure any get together is really needed rather than one that is just routine.
-  avoid wasting peoples time by being realistic about who needs to attend

Make sure communication is a two way street.  As well as your volunteers receiving information from the club make sure you have time to listen.  Both parties should give:
-  honest and constructive feedback.
-  information about what they enjoy the most/least and anything they would change.
-  information on why they first got involved, are they achieveing their goals?

It is always important to be aware of any concerns your volunteers may have.  If someone is finding they do not have the time available, they may be interested in a job share to release some of their responsibilities.

Always make sue that you are approachable.

Remember communication is vital within your club to:
-  motivate everyone involved.
-  listen.
-  review your volunteers.
-  recognise and reward achievements.
-  identify any changes/improvements.
-  identify any need for further training.
-  build morale.

Don't assume volunteers know what is going on.  Some volunteers may not be as heavily involved as others but still deserve the right to know about decisions/events/changes which may be happening within their club.  Use:
-  notice boards, signs, posters.
-  club newsletters.
-  email or text messages.
-  event programmes.
-  volunteer briefings