Reducing Risk When Hiring A Volunteer

Written by on November 25, 2022

Risk is the chance of loss and risk management is reducing the chance of loss at your organization. The ability of your board and staff to fulfill their missions, goals, and objectives, can solely depend upon the effectiveness of a volunteer’s involvement in your organization. Surveying volunteers help to lay the foundations for healthy volunteer relations and yields positive organization-wide outcomes.

Accomplishing goals and achieving your objectives is backed by your choice of strong risk management and liability reduction plan which should manage extensive forms of volunteer work including:

  • Coaching Staff

  • Board Staff

  • HR Staff

  • Financial Administration

Knowing what you require from a volunteer is crucial in your process of hiring potential new volunteers. Providing these candidates with primary descriptions of available roles at your organization ensures important discernments that your staff can take advantage of. Rightfully so, potential volunteers can ask you HR questions in advance while understanding the skill sets and qualifications needed altogether. A proper risk management plan capitalizes on opportunities presented by a volunteer’s talent while expanding the ever-changing visions of your admin and board.

How Will Your Club Benefit from Surveying Volunteers?

A well-prepared Risk Management and Liability plan includes:

  • Your Goals, objectives, or missions

  • Targeted potential volunteers for roles

  • Primary role descriptions

  • Training that emphasizes your organization’s values

  • How successful outcomes will be measured

  • Volunteer and organizational relations plan

Not all sports organizations are fortunate to have several committed volunteers who care to lend their talents while helping them to execute their organizational dreams and intuitions. No matter your size, all clubs can ensure that the chosen volunteers fit your culture by covering these basics. Which in turn will help you to reap the benefits of effective and efficient volunteer staff.

Using Discernment to Choose Volunteers

Nonprofit sports organizations desperately need the various types of skills offered by volunteers. As a result, screening applicants is only one part of risk management. Providing work descriptions can be one of the most important forms of discernment because it protects your organization from unexpected or unfortunate incidents.

Identifying Types of Volunteer Work

Sports volunteer work can be extensive and or non-extensive, heightening the need for risk management and liability reduction plan. As a result, various types of volunteering may or may not involve surveying. Non-extensive volunteer work requires very little if any surveying when compared to extensive roles which may need rounds of surveying to ensure volunteer efficacy. When there is volunteer work that requires more extensive surveying, risk management plans work hand in hand with ensuring your organization is taking the right approach in its hiring process.

Training That Ensures Sustainability

Once you’ve hired a volunteer for the role, implementing robust training when getting volunteers to support your organization’s new or expanding programs is crucial. Volunteers need the training to understand the organization’s objectives and many missions. They also may need to understand the purpose of the volunteer work that they have been hired for in itself.

Showing The Volunteers That You Respect Them

Volunteers want respect on all levels so showing your potential volunteers that you respect them can be pivotal in volunteer and organizational relations. The same respect that you give your hired volunteers and or staff is crucial to your organization’s reputation. More information regarding your crucial reputation and respect towards volunteers can be found on our site corresponding with linked articles.

Bottom Line:

Though this article is not based on safe sport, we would be remiss not to mention it. Many nonprofit organizations are operated almost entirely by boards and committee staff. However, volunteers in modern times are proving to be one of the many crucial elements behind most successful nonprofit organizations. Risk management tools and reducing liabilities can be done by: implementing technology, screening volunteers, and creating training that emphasizes your organization’s values. Most youth sports clubs already have processes in place for safe sports, however, if your staff isn’t adhering to the safe sport then you may want to reanalyze your staff and refer to your sports authority or governing body.




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