Volunteers At Their Best…

Although I have not experienced it first hand, I have heard that organizations such as Disney Theme Parks and some cruise lines really know how to treat their guests. It seems that they learn as much about their customers as possible and then use this information to make each guest as comfortable as possible. While I realize that festivals and events can’t use this exact technique, they can use the philosophy behind it. That is to make their customers (attendees) as comfortable as possible. What does this mean to festival organizers? To me it means having a well organized festival with informed, identifiable volunteers. A short while ago I was fortunate to judge some very outstanding festivals and events in a number of different categories. One of the categories was “Best Volunteer Program”. There were a number of entries, but one stood out, to me, above the rest! Their Volunteer Program, from recruitment to retirement, was amazing! It was complete and covered all aspect of managing their volunteers. It is no wonder that this festival is considered one of the best in the world. So, taking a lead from their program, here are 10 smart ideas to consider:
1. Screen your volunteers, just as would for a job interview
2. Determine what would be the best and most appropriate job for each volunteer
3. Prepare detailed job descriptions and make sure each volunteer is given one
4. Have volunteer orientation and training sessions
5. Appoint mentors to new volunteers
6. Give each volunteer a festival uniform and identification badge
7. Give each volunteer an event work schedule
8. Have a meaningful volunteer appreciation program
9. Develop a volunteer perk package
10. Hold a volunteer wrap-up event and let everyone know how the festival/event did
The whole point to this blob is to remind festival organizers that they should treat their guests (festival attendees) like princes or princesses as soon as they enter the festival grounds (sooner, if possible). This means having volunteers having well informed, recognizable volunteers who are friendly and prepared to guests on all aspects of the festival and the community. If you get this part right, everything will fall into place.
NOTE: The outstanding festival mention in this blog…