Large and small events are entirely dependent on volunteers. That makes it important to have a good system that keeps track of those who have taken part before, and tools to recruit new ones. But perhaps most important of all: a system that makes it easy to communicate with each other.
For most event organisers, getting enough volunteers every year is the really big job. Fortunately there are always some dedicated enthusiasts who loyally turn up year after year, but you usually need far more than that. Then it helps a lot if the organiser has a well-functioning recruitment system.
A dedicated module for volunteer work
Few things can match the Norwegian spirit of volunteer work (dugnad). Dedicated enthusiasts and eager volunteers are more than happy to help out when festivals, sporting events, flea markets, gatherings and meets are organised.
We bake waffles, hand out bib numbers, put up fences and staff the kiosk. Rubic Funksjonær is the system's volunteer work module and works as a useful recruitment system while also keeping track of everyone.
We needed something new, as the system we had was becoming outdated. We needed a system where officials can sign up, where we can map needs for accommodation and food, as well as a reward system.
The chef runs a separate report on all food allergies, and we can see who is getting what and at what time, explains Bente Fjellstad Bjørge of the organising committee at World Cup Kvitfjell, and slope manager Per Arne Kleven adds;
The possibilities are there! I send out an SMS every afternoon to the slope crew, telling them where and when to meet on the slope. The slope, course and arena crews alone number between 160 and 170 people.
Sales tool
When several hundred volunteers need to be organised, it is important to have an efficient system. Marit Lien, who helps organise the Peer Gynt-stevnet festival in Vinstra, knows this. With four full-time employees, an artistic director in a half-time position and 350 volunteers at work during the festival itself, which had 31,000 spectators in 2017, there is a lot to keep track of.
We have now also imported all our guests into the system, and also use it as an SMS tool, for example if there are some tickets left over for a performance.
SMS is a very effective sales channel, and although so far we have mainly used Rubic as a communication channel, we hope it will also become an even better project management tool for us. We have not yet found a good system for that, and running the Peer Gynt-stevnet with all its events is a year-round project, she says.
Rubic Funksjonær
Rubic Funksjonær takes you away from spreadsheets and sticky notes and into a structured, simple and efficient everyday routine. Here volunteers can sign up, or be brought in from the membership system.
With Rubic Funksjonær you create a dedicated landing page with all the content for the event. The link to it can be emailed to last year's volunteers or other contact lists, or – perhaps best of all – you can use Rubic's member register.
Rubic Funksjonær is a module integrated with Rubic Medlem. Once the landing page is set up and distributed, things start to happen! Among other things, all the positive, dedicated enthusiasts report on the landing page when they are available. As the organiser, you see things taking shape, concludes Rune Solholm Bakken, founder of the IT company Rubic.
Forget messy Excel spreadsheets – read more about the benefits of Rubic Funksjonær here.