While membership dues still make up a significant portion of the average association’s total revenue, many organizations are focused on diversifying their revenue streams to strengthen the association’s financial health. For example, the average association brings in 29% of its yearly revenue from events, such as fundraisers and conferences. Not only do events improve financial stability, but they can also help your organization attract and retain more members.

However, to be effective and maximize revenue, your association’s events must provide the best attendee experiences possible. Rather than go it alone, it's best to recruit a team of volunteers to assist your staff in making the conference a success. With the right volunteer management tactics, you can expand your workforce at no additional cost.

In this guide, we’ll highlight four volunteer management best practices to keep in mind when preparing for your next conference:

1. Consistently engage members.
2. Recruit volunteers early.
3. Clearly communicate.
4. Show appreciation for volunteer efforts.

In addition to these best practices, technology can provide a strong foundation for your volunteer management strategy. Leverage your AMS for broader event management tasks, and use a dedicated volunteer management solution to facilitate recruitment, scheduling, and more.

To get started, let’s cover how you can use long-term member engagement techniques to cultivate a community of volunteers.

1. Consistently engage members.

To recruit volunteers, you’ll need to start with members who are active participants in association activities. Your mission is more likely to resonate strongly with engaged members, and they will be willing to dedicate their time toward assisting at an event. 

According to Fonteva’s guide to member engagement, these strategies can help you get members interested in your organization’s events and activities while also priming future volunteers:

• Send out surveys to assess overall sentiment toward your association. Make any feasible changes suggested by members to improve their experiences.
• Advertise ways to engage, such as webinars or exclusive training courses. Leverage platforms like email and social media to make members aware of opportunities.
• Welcome new members with an email series, mentor program, or onboarding webinar.
• Offer deeper ways to engage experienced members, including serving in leadership roles, creating member-generated content, and participating in advanced learning opportunities. 

Incorporating strategies like these into your association’s engagement strategy will help you reach members at various parts of their membership journey and make them feel included in the organization. As a valued part of your association, members will be more likely to give back by pitching in at conferences.

2. Recruit volunteers early.

There are so many moving parts when it comes to planning a conference. You’ll need to book a venue, secure vendors, and pursue sponsorships from vendors, to name a few things. Recruiting volunteers can easily fall by the wayside, which is why it’s so important to start the process early. 

Depending on the size of your conference, the number of volunteers you need, and how extensive training will be, it may be necessary to start recruiting volunteers as early as four to six months before the conference.

Start by spreading awareness of your need for volunteers in newsletters, meetings, and other organization-wide communications. Provide basic descriptions of the roles and responsibilities involved. Additionally, reach out personally to recruit volunteers who would be a good fit for leadership roles, and loop them into the event planning process so they have ample context.

3. Clearly communicate.

Few things are more important to successful volunteer management than maintaining clear, open communication. During recruitment, training, and the conference itself, it’s essential to convey explicit expectations for volunteers. This ensures that volunteers feel comfortable and empowered to fulfill their responsibilities—and, your organization can rest assured that each task is being completed properly. 

When recruiting volunteers, make sure to provide a list of the roles needed along with brief descriptions that detail a role overview, the time commitment, skill requirements, and the dates of the conference and any training sessions. If you’re unsure of which roles you need, peruse this list to get started:

• Check-in desk attendants
• Session moderators
• Information booth attendants
• Greeters and ushers
• Tech support 
• Exhibit hall managers and assistants
• Volunteer coordinators or team leaders
• Photographers 

Communicating during recruitment sets your association up for success during the conference by getting volunteers on the same page. Once the conference rolls around, however, you’ll need to maintain clear communication for factors such as:

• Scheduling: Using a volunteer management tool, create and share schedules for each volunteer. Ideally, schedules should include shift times, the location they need to be present at (e.g., front desk or information booth), and any relevant notes. For example, if there is a possibility that a volunteer may need to provide backup to the check-in desk during the morning rush, indicate this on their schedule.
  
  
• Communication channels: Specify ways your volunteers will communicate with each other before the conference. Consider choosing software that offers a mobile app with messaging capabilities so volunteers can quickly resolve questions or issues on the go. Radios can be helpful for team leaders who may be too busy to consistently check messages.
  
  
• Procedures for conflicts or emergencies: Special situations, exceptions, and technical difficulties are bound to happen, so make sure volunteers can handle them smoothly. For example, if they are unable to validate an attendee’s registration at the check-in desk, volunteers should have a way to contact tech support for help. Additionally, provide basic guidance for what to do in the case of an emergency (e.g., a medical issue in which they need to alert on-site medical professionals).

Remember to check in with volunteers throughout the event to ensure all channels are working properly and there are no major issues. After the conference, ask for their feedback regarding communication, and make changes as needed for upcoming events.

4. Show appreciation for volunteer efforts.

To cut down on the cost and time investment associated with recruiting and training volunteers, you’ll need to have policies in place that motivate volunteers to keep coming back.

In addition to creating a streamlined, pleasant volunteering experience with the previously mentioned best practices, you can retain more volunteers by showing your gratitude for their service. As eCardWidget's volunteer appreciation guide explains, showing appreciation for volunteers translates into a variety of tangible benefits, including increased motivation and retention, a strengthened sense of community, increased productivity, and better quality of work.

The guide recommends showing your appreciation through ideas like:

• Sending personalized thank-you notes that greet the volunteer by name and mention the specific role they served in.
• Giving volunteers goodie bags with association merchandise, snacks, thank-you cards, and other small items. 
• Inviting them to celebratory luncheons, dinners, or happy hours to show your appreciation for their hard work.

To make these interactions feel genuine, personalize each message or gesture to the volunteer. Using the information stored in your CRM, mention personal details, career milestones, and past involvement with your association. If you are choosing to give gifts or hold an appreciation event, tailor them to the volunteers’ interests and preferences (e.g., foodies might enjoy dinner at an exclusive restaurant while adventure seekers might prefer a challenging group hike).

While conferences do take significant time and resources to plan, they can make a lasting impact on your members and the health of your association. Volunteers help you enhance that impact by providing positive, unforgettable experiences to attendees. With these best practices, your association can recruit, train, and retain passionate volunteers who will return for future events.