MB20NE02- Event Management

NAME: Bharathwaj N

REGISTRATION NUMBER: RA2152001040118

YEAR: II

SECTION: B

SEMESTER: IV

BATCH: 2021 - 2023

TOPIC: Perceptions of students on the evaluation of

university-level event management education.
INTRODUCTION
Volunteers play a vital role in the organisation and delivery of many events, the importance of
which has only recently gained wide acknowledgement in the literature (Ralston, Lumsdon and
Downward 2005). Volunteers contribute to the economic viability of events (Ralston et al.
2005), the quality of service delivery (Reeser, Berg, Rhea and Willick 2004) and the visitor
experience and satisfaction (Karkatsoulis, Michalopoulos and Moustakatou 2005). Volunteers
can become the public face of an event, with their enthusiasm, commitment and service
drawing praise from organisers, spectators, participants, and the media. To date, events
research has largely focused on volunteers once they are involved with a specific event. In
contrast, this paper focuses on how event organisers attempt to recruit volunteers to provide
the human resources necessary to run events and festivals.

Recruitment is crucial for the success of a volunteer programme and often the sustainability of
an event organisation. However, recruitment is a significant challenge for those managing
volunteers (Hager and Brudney 2004; Zarinpoush, Barr and Moreton 2004; Volunteering
Australia 2006). Hall, McKechnie, Davidman and Leslie (2001) suggest that volunteers are
becoming more selective in their choice of volunteering activities and are looking for new ways
of volunteering. In response to changing demands and needs of volunteers, there is an
acknowledged trend towards more flexible volunteering commitments (Gaskin 2003; Brudney
2005; Merrill 2006), including one-off and short-term volunteering. These can be referred to
as ‘episodic’ volunteering, and increasingly this form of volunteering is being seen as distinct
from the on-going or sustained commitment of many traditional volunteering situations (Bryen
and Madden 2006). The volunteering literature often cites special events as a typical episodic
volunteering arrangement (Borgiattino 2005; nfp Synergy 2005). Nevertheless, from the events

literature it is evident that the event volunteering situation is more multifaceted. A number of
studies make the distinction between core and non-core event volunteers (for example, Saleh
and Wood 1998; Handy, Brodeur and Cnann 2006). Core volunteers make greater time
commitments, typically over a longer period, and often in organisational, managerial or
governance roles within the event organisation. In contrast, non-core (or rank-and-file)
volunteers largely work only during the delivery of the event. It is this latter group that can be
classified as episodic, and these form the focus on this paper.

Increasingly, more complex typologies or continua of event volunteering are being proposed,
recognising that while the volunteering activities may be short-term, the volunteers may return
or re-engage with a single organisation in a series of episodic relationships. Bryen and Madden
(2006) use the term ‘bounce-back’ to describe this situation. Macduff (2005), Bryen and
Madden (2006) and Handy et al. (2006) each offer multiple categories of episodic volunteers
based on the time, duration, and bounce-back of service.
There is a growing body of literature examining volunteer workers at events, mainly, but not
exclusively, at sporting and mega events. These works primarily consider volunteer
motivations, expectations and satisfaction (Saleh and Wood 1998; Kemp 2002; Twynam,
Farrell and Johnston 2002/03; Ralston, Downward and Lumsdon 2004; Reeser et al. 2004;
Monga 2006); and aspects of commitment (Elstad 2003; Cuskelly, Auld, Harrington and
Coleman 2004; Green and Chalip 2004). Researchers have also considered particular volunteer
management challenges for event organisers, including scheduling (Gordon and Erkut 2004),
training (Kemp 2002), assessment of the economic value of volunteers’ work (Solberg 2003),
and recruitment and retention (Coyne and Coyne 2001).

The majority of this research focuses on collecting data from the volunteers themselves, rather
than an organisational perspective. Case-studies of individual events dominate, with a few
exceptions where multiple events are compared (for example, Monga and Treuren 2001;
Cuskelly et al. 2004; Handy et al. 2006). This paper study also takes a multi-event approach,
and attempts to contribute to the understanding of the organisational approaches to volunteer
management. Previous studies considering the recruitment and selection of event volunteers
are discussed before the presentation of findings from twelve festivals involving volunteers.
The findings discuss the ways in which event organisers can encourage volunteers to return, or
bounce-back, and then consider the dominant approaches to the recruitment, selection and
screening of new volunteers.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION OF EVENT VOLUNTEERS

Notwithstanding an increased desire for episodic volunteering opportunities, recruitment is a
particular challenge for events (Saleh and Wood 1998). The pulsating nature of event
organisations creates challenges in retaining personnel throughout the event operating cycle;
Hanlon and Jago (2004) consider this in relation to paid employees, however similar concerns
may exist in retaining a pool of volunteers from year to year.

The recruitment process is important for inspiring volunteers whilst creating realistic
expectations regarding workload commitments, responsibilities, organisational support, and
the overall volunteer event experience (Williams, Dossa and Tompkins 1995; Ralston et al.
2004). During recruitment, the core values of the organization (Karkatsoulis et al. 2005) and
the benefits of volunteering can be communicated (Downward, Lumsdon and Ralston 2005).
The recruitment process can also be a source of dissatisfaction which can influence other
expectations of the event volunteering experience (Ralston et al. 2004).

For those recruiting episodic volunteers, it also has to be considered that the retention or re-
enlistment rate of ‘veteran’, or repeat, volunteers will partly determine how many new
volunteers need to be recruited (Coyne and Coyne 2001). Bryen and Madden (2006)
conceptualise this as ‘bounce-back’, the re-engagement or return of episodic volunteers,
although the extent to which this is incorporated into recruitment policies is not clear. Event
organisations can use a range of methods to recruit volunteers, and previous research indicates
the importance of informal word-of-mouth recruitment (Williams et al. 1995; Coyne and Coyne
2001; Monga and Treuren 2001). While case studies and post-event evaluation reports (for
example, Manchester 2002; SOCOG 2002) detail the recruitment methods events have used to
attract volunteers, there is little work exploring the range of options available to the event
organiser, or how organisers perceived the value of different recruitment methods.

Once attracted to volunteer at an event, how are individuals then selected to fill the available
volunteering roles? Selection and screening for the most suitable, competent and motivated
candidates is important for the success of the event, the quality of service delivery (Reeser et
al. 2004) and also contributes to a volunteer’s evaluation of their experience (Ralston et al.
2004). Data suggest that sporting mega-events suggest receive many more applications than
there are volunteer positions and post-event reports (for example, Manchester 2002; SOCOG
2002; Walker 2002; Karkatsoulis et al. 2005) contain descriptive details of the selection process
and sometimes the selection criteria. Many events have application forms, variously submitted
by post or online, and even at large scale events, interviews are a commonly used selection
tool. However, the event organiser’s rationale for adopting particular selection procedures (for
example, interviews), and the perceived value and usefulness of these strategies, has not been
explicitly considered in previous research.

At reoccurring events, retaining volunteers reduces the requirement for future recruitment, and
builds a core of experienced and competent volunteers (Saleh and Wood 1998; Coyne and
Coyne 2001; Downward et al. 2005). While the desirability of retaining past volunteers is
widespread, it is not clear in studies (for example, Coyne and Coyne 2001) whether previous
volunteers who are interested in return are automatically taken on, undergo any additional
screening or assessment of their past performance, or perhaps have to re-apply with other new
applicants.

METHODOLOGY
This paper addresses two aspects of the involvement of event volunteers. First, which methods
are used to recruit event volunteers and what factors influence an organiser’s choice of
recruitment methods? Second, how, if at all, does the screening and selection of potential
volunteers occur and what is the perceived value of the different methods?

In contrast to the dominant approach of event volunteering research to date, with its emphasis
on case studies of single events and collecting data from the volunteers themselves, this study
takes a comparative organisational perspective. Data was gathered using semi-structured
interviews with the person, or persons, responsible for the management, specifically the
recruitment, of volunteers at twelve special events across the Australian state of Victoria.
Interviews lasted between forty minutes and two hours, and covered the role of volunteers in
the organisation, the rationale for their involvement, approaches to recruitment and selection,
including the reasons for using particular recruitment, selection and screening methods. This
qualitative approach produced rich data and enabled themes to be explored in depth with
participants. Notes were taken at each interview and, where permission was given, interviews
were recorded and later transcribed. These were analysed by identification of key themes which
were developed from the research questions, with additional themes emerging from the data.
To maintain the confidentiality of respondents (a requirement human ethics committee
approval), the selected direct quotes and case studies used to support the discussion are referred
to anonymously. A profile of the festivals is given in Table 1.

All twelve events are cultural festivals, and are large enough (in size or profile) to attract both
local and non-local attendees. The sample includes arts, music, food and wine, and annual
celebrations (Christmas, Easter, etc.); originally sporting events were included in the study, but
those approached declined to participate. The events were selected purposefully to obtain a mix
of locations (metropolitan, regional centres, country). Five events were managed by local
councils. The remainder were voluntary organisations governed by a volunteer committee or
trustees. Of these, in four cases [I, J, K and L] the event was managed by these volunteer
committee members; events B and H employed paid management staff year-round; and event
G was managed as a short-term paid consultancy. All events reoccur on an annual basis.
Type of Type of Type of Location Approx no. Event
festival governance management† of volunteers duration
involved in
most recent
event
A Community Council Paid staff Metropolitan 100 1 day
B Arts Voluntary Paid staff Metropolitan 30 17 days
C Community Council Paid staff Metropolitan 1,000+ 4 days
arts
D Floral Council Paid staff Regional 100 3 days
centre
E Community Council Paid staff Regional 400 4 days
centre
F Children’s Council Paid staff Regional 1,100 8 days
centre
G Music Voluntary Paid staff Regional 33 3 days
centre
H Arts Voluntary Paid staff Regional 220 3 months
centre
I Wine & Voluntary Volunteer Country 30 2 days
Food
J Music Voluntary Volunteer Country 80 3 days
K Community Voluntary Volunteer Country 67 5 weeks
L Music Voluntary Volunteer Country 1,000 4 days
FINDINGS
This analysis focuses on the involvement of non-core or rank-and-file volunteers (classified as
episodic), those working in operational roles, primarily during the event but also in the
immediate build-up and shut-down periods. It excludes those volunteers working primarily in
managerial and governance positions, although it is important to acknowledge that they may
also give their time in operational roles during the event. Many events rely on returning
volunteers, therefore firstly, the ways that organisations encourage volunteers to bounce-back
are considered. Second, the recruitment, selection and screening of new volunteers is discussed.
Examples are used to illustrate best practice of events that have moved beyond the dominant
word of mouth approach to recruitment and have been innovative in their approach to involving
new volunteer workers.

All but one of the events heavily rely on returning, or bounce-back, volunteers; having three-
quarters of volunteers returning each year is not unusual. The main advantage to the event of
bounce-back volunteers is they bring their past experience and knowledge of the event and
tasks; for example: “[They] understand the culture of how the Festival operates” [Festival B].
Often volunteers return to the same role, and over time build up confidence, expertise and
ownership. Repeat volunteers often require less training and involvement from management.
One organiser suggested that as volunteers “become more regular they become more reliable”
[Festival L] and experienced volunteers can also be more flexible and open to last minute
requests.

In general, past volunteers are contacted first to ascertain how many want to return; other
recruitment methods will then be considered to fill the gaps. Organisers did reflect on a
volunteer’s past performance, and if they were judged to have been unsuitable, they may be
invited back but in a different role, or simply not contacted again. In general, returning
volunteers did not have to formally reapply; an exception was the children’s event which
requires an annual police check, so past volunteers have to re-submit an application.

Event organisers were asked why they thought volunteers returned to volunteer at their event,
and how they encourage bounce-back. From the organisation’s perspective, this was related to
how they treat volunteers during their volunteering, and how they reward them; summarised
by one respondent as: “Because we look after them during and after the event” [D]. During the
event, organisers focus on the intangibles: enjoyment, atmosphere, making the volunteers feel
welcome and involved: “they’re all acknowledged by name and they feel like they’re actually
part of it, [that] they are an important part” [F]. Following the event, the focus is on thanking
the volunteers (in person and by letter), showing appreciation, and giving opportunities for
socialising, including post-event functions. Acknowledgement can also come from and via
other external stakeholders. Those offering free tickets in return for volunteering felt that while
this might attract first-time applicants, it was not a significant factor in retaining bounce-back
volunteers.
Most event organisers maintain a volunteer database and use this to target previous volunteers.
In addition, occasional, but on-going, communication with these volunteers has a role in
maintaining their involvement, and commitment to, the event: “touching base with volunteers,
not just disappearing from their lives” [D]. The notion of a being part of the festival ‘family’
was referred to on a number of occasions.

Encouraging bounce-back is not without its challenges, not least making volunteers feel
involved in the event. Other commitments mean volunteers are often not available every year.
The only event without a strong returning cohort of volunteers observed that they found it
“difficult sometimes to keep up with volunteers because we find sometimes some of the
younger ones, they move on, they disappear, […] we lose contact with them” [E]. Relying on
returning volunteers also means they age with the event and it can be a challenge to involve
new and younger people.

Recruiting New Volunteers

While relying on bounce-back volunteers can bring benefits, all events require at least some
new volunteers each year to replace those who have left or are unavailable, or to grow the
volunteer pool. The remainder of this discussion focuses on the ways event organisers attempt
to attract new volunteers to their festival. While each event has a different strategy, they all use
a combination of multiple recruitment methods. Evidence from these festivals is that event
organisers recruit new rank-and-file volunteers from two main sources: individuals from the
local community; and groups of volunteers from local clubs and associations, educational
institutions, and other event stakeholders.

The first source of volunteers is to recruit individuals from within the local community, and
occasionally beyond. The main way of getting individuals involved is through word of mouth
with potential volunteers suggested by existing volunteers, committee members, and the
organisers themselves. This has a number of advantages: “…they know the festival and they
know someone who works [here], so they know what the work entails” [L]. Consequently,
“because of the way we recruit people, word of mouth, it’s very unusual for people come and
say look I don’t like this” [H]. The willingness to suggest friends as volunteers also indicates
that the current volunteers feel satisfied and appreciated. Personal contacts are also often used
when there is a last-minute need for additional volunteers, and whilst they may be “doing it as
a personal commitment to you”, rather than a commitment to the event, you “know them and
know them to be reliable” [G]. This ability to judge reliability and trust via word of mouth was
a reoccurring theme. The notion of community, and knowing everyone within a community,
was strong not just in the country settings but also in the larger regional centres; indeed, this
was mentioned everywhere except Melbourne.

Event organisers place recruitment advertisements for volunteers in a range of outlets,

including print media (particularly local newspapers and council newsletters), the event’s own
publications (programmes and website), and occasionally on general volunteering websites (for
example, www.govolunteer.com.au). While most event organisers noted a limited response to
adverts, one festival had previously being overwhelmed with applicants following an advert in
The Age. Overall, adverts were mainly seen as a way of raising awareness of the event and its
need for volunteers, with other recruitment methods also required.

Most events primarily recruit from their local community, however there are cases, particularly
arts and music festivals, where volunteers are sourced from a special-interest community that
can be spread over a wider geographical area, potentially including overseas. For these
festivals, the Internet is a key recruitment tool. In comparison, most of the other festivals use
their website primarily for information about the event, rather than as an active volunteer
recruitment tool. Where events attract non-locals to volunteer, there is scope to recruit
individuals from the volunteer pools of other similar events; this cross-fertilisation was evident
at the two music festivals.

A perceived disadvantage of some recruitment methods, particularly advertisements and

responding to unsolicited applications, was they attract the ‘wrong’ volunteers. To overcome
some of the concerns over recruitment methods, some events out-source elements of their
volunteer recruitment and selection. While there were mixed attitudes towards using job or
employment networking organisations, there were generally more positive experiences of
volunteer resource centres.

The final established group of volunteers that can be accessed are students, usually on degree
or TAFE courses, but also at secondary school. Recognising the need to gain experience for
future employment, some events work with institutions offering event management, tourism
and hospitality qualifications, and involve students in event planning and behind-the-scenes:
“we try and make it so as their volunteering can actually complement the study that they’re
doing” [F]. Organisers stress the need for aspirant event professionals to understand the
realities of the industry: “get out there and see what it’s all about because it is an incredibly
rewarding experience but it’s also a lot of hard work” . Particular courses can be targeted to
recruit students with specific skills, for example, those on early education courses to run
children’s activities. As with community groups, the initial, and often ongoing, contact is with
one person, the lecturers and teachers.

A fundamental element of volunteering definitions is a lack of payment, however, two of the

voluntary organisations in this study paid their volunteer groups for their services. For these
voluntary events, both in rural locations with small resident populations, paying the
contributing groups is a means to recognising the community’s commitment and ownership of
the event, and a way of investing the proceedings of the event back into the community and
local economy. Payments, or fees, are calculated on the number of volunteers hours required
for a particular task. Despite the payment, these are still perceived as volunteers, “because
you’re not giving each individual person money” .
Selection and screening
While most event organisers are happy with the current number of volunteers, they would also
be willing to take more. Only two had to turn excess volunteers away, and in one case this was
people approaching them just before the event. Others expressed a desire for additional
volunteers in particular roles, or to be able to get volunteers to commit earlier. Only one event
felt it had a serious recruitment problem, largely due to the late organisation of volunteering at
the festival. However, few were in the position to turn down prospective volunteers due to an
over-supply of applicants. Given this situation, organisers take a relatively open approach to
selection, wanting to encourage participation, and are willing to give people a chance. For
example:
“The Festival really does embrace the volunteers. We’re very open to whoever wants to come
along and if there are issues with volunteers we try and manage those issues rather than turn
them away from the event and put them in positions that would be suitable.”

Although selection, or choosing between candidates, was not a requirement for the majority of
these events, there was a general recognition of the need to screen applicants; this was seen as
a duty of care: “to the audience as well as to ourselves and the volunteers themselves, that it
has

to be done in a formal way”, screening can also be a “safeguard” for the event organisers.
Nevertheless, overall, screening of volunteers is kept relatively informal. More formalisation
is avoided for a range of reasons: it would put people off applying, particularly some younger
and older applicants; screening “is not that big a deal for people, because they are recruited
through word of mouth”; and the volunteer-run nature of an event, and its small scale, does not
fit with a highly formalised approach. Even those adopting more formalised screening methods,
typically council-managed events, mentioned “people often judge their own suitability for a
role”.

Broadly, there could be five stages in the screen of event volunteers: the initial contact, written
application, interview, references, and police check. In practice, screening may be confined to
a single conversation with a prospective volunteer, particularly when recruited through word
of mouth channels.
Screening begins at the first contact point, and organisers use this to get an initial impression
of the applicant. Less than half of events in this study had a formal application form; those that
did generally used it to collect contact information, availability, and an indication of the role
or area applicants wanted to volunteer in. Subsequently, an interview of some kind may take
place, although organisers stress that this is very informal and may be face to face or by
telephone or email. This interview is usually focused around finding out more about the
applicant and their motivations or interest in volunteering, and matching them to a suitable role.
This informal nature suits many organisations, because of their small size, their informal
working culture, and the nature of the volunteering relationship. References may be asked for
on an application form; however these are often not taken up unless doubts are raised during
other parts of the screening process. Recruiting via word of mouth often means that organisers
feel additional more formalised screening methods are not required. Organisers usually ask the
person who recommended the prospective volunteer or “we know them and what they are able
to do, and in [this city] everyone knows everyone, especially within communities such as the
music community, or if we don’t know someone, we know someone who does”.

It is acknowledged that some volunteers may find overt checking a sensitive topic and its can
go against a desire to “embrace community spirit”, and some volunteers, particularly those
previously involved, may feel insulted. Nevertheless, “people are mostly okay with police
checks as they understand they are required”. Events and roles working directly with children
require police checks or a statutory declaration that they have no police record. None of the
events reported having to reject any one on the basis of a police check, but two noted that if
volunteers are not happy with being asked they are likely to place themselves in other roles not
with children or “if they know that they’ve got history then you just don’t hear from them
again”. When volunteer recruitment is outsourced, to either a Volunteer Resource Centre or
other groups, the responsibility for screening individuals is also passed on, with the exception
of the children’s festival who, given the focus of their event, process all police checks
themselves.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

By focusing on reoccurring events and cultural festivals, this study offers a counterbalance to
the dominance of research on volunteering at sporting and mega events. It moves away from a
focus on the volunteers themselves and the single case study event, and takes a comparative
approach, drawing on the experiences and opinions of event organisers responsible for
volunteer management. Although the sample size is restricted to twelve festivals, the
qualitative approach has produced rich, in-depth data and goes beyond just detailing research
and selection methods to start identifying the perceived value of different recruitment
strategies.

This research gives weight to the observation that event volunteering is not just once-off, rather
episodic volunteering can incorporate bounce-back, and this can be related to motivation,
satisfaction and commitment. It is evident that involving volunteers in reoccurring events
brings different challenges to one-off mega events, and there is scope for the application of
work on pulsating organisations (Hanlon and Jago 2004) to include the implications for the
management of volunteers as well as paid staff. The reality for reoccurring events is they come
to rely on a returning cohort of volunteers, so recruitment is as much about retention: satisfying
volunteers by offering them a rewarding experience and acknowledging their input, in an effort
to encourage their return. Future research should explore, from the volunteer’s perspective,
what encourages them to bounce-back, and include a more overt consideration of repeat
volunteering in the established areas of volunteer motivation and commitment.

For new volunteers, there are two main sources of operational volunteers: individuals and
groups. Choice of recruitment methods is linked to whether organisers believe they are able to
attract reliable and trustworthy volunteers. An informal approach to recruitment relies on a
sense and knowledge of community and, as suggested in previous research (Williams et al.
1995; Coyne and Coyne 2001; Monga and Treuren 2001), for individuals, word of mouth
recruitment dominates. Advertisements also play a role in raising awareness of event
volunteering opportunities, and festivals which can tap into an established special-interest
community are also using the internet for recruitment. Outsourcing recruitment and co-
ordination to a trusted third party, such as a Volunteer Resource Centre, can increase the
formalisation and rigour of an event’s recruitment processes and free event staff from this time-
consuming role. The benefits of outsourcing also lie behind the recruitment of groups of
volunteers, where the event organiser can focus on building relationships with the key contact,
and the group can take ownership of the event, or an element of it. While the focus is on local
community groups, the case studies in this paper demonstrate the scope to use volunteering to
strengthen relationships and involvement of the local business community through employee
volunteering schemes and sponsorship arrangements.

Unlike once-off mega events whose volunteer programmes are typically hugely over-
subscribed (Manchester 2002; SOCOG 2002; Walker 2002; Karkatsoulis et al. 2005),
reoccurring events

are rarely in a position to choose between various applicants to fill a limited number of roles.
Rather, selection focuses on screening volunteers to assess their individual suitability. An
informal approach to selection and screening, along with a focus on word of mouth recruitment,
fits with the organisational cultures of these festivals. Screening may be confined to an informal
discussion with a potential volunteer, although some events, particularly those run by councils,
have procedures for more structured written applications, interviews, and reference checks.
The only standardised step is for volunteer roles that involve working directly with children,
when police checks or statutory declarations are sought. Further analysis will be undertaken to
explore what makes a suitable, or unsuitable, candidate, but the overwhelming evidence is that
few, if any, applicants are rejected. Future research should contrast this organisational
perspective with the opinions of newly recruited and veteran volunteers and their subsequent
volunteering experiences. This could explore the relationship between the means of recruitment
and retention rates, or the extent of selection and screening and the subsequent performance of
volunteers.

By taking a comparative methodology, it is evident that while each festival has its own
approach to recruitment and selection, there are commonalities in the event sectors’
involvement of volunteers, but also innovation and examples of events thinking creatively
about ways of diversifying their volunteer base and increasing formalisation of their volunteer
management.