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The Women and Sport Commission
hosted a conference on the theme ¡§The Winning Formula for recruiting and
motivating volunteers¡¨ at the Jockey Club Lecture Theatre, Sports House,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong on 21st March 2004 (Sunday) from 2:00 p.m. to
6:00 p.m. The Conference was officiated by Mr. Victor Hui, JP, Vice-President of
Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and Member of Women &
Sport Commission.
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Main Presentations
Under the main theme ¡§The Winning
Formula for recruiting & motivating volunteers¡¨, three keynote speakers
presented in various sub-themes to an audience of over 50 on the day. The
sub-themes were:-
¡¥Overview of Sports Volunteerism in
Hong Kong¡¦ by Mr. Pang Chung,
¡¥Retention of Volunteers: How to
get ahead of the game?¡¦ by Dr. Chris Auld,
¡¥A Two-sided View of Sports
Volunteerism¡¦ by Mrs. Laura Ling.
Mr. Pang Chung, BBS (Hon. Secretary
General, Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and Member of
Women & Sport Commission) has been a long time volunteer and leader in sport for
over 40 years. He described the general definition of volunteerism, the reasons,
values and incentives of being a volunteer; and
gave his views on the development, issues and problems of volunteerism in Hong
Kong. He compared and analysed how the facilitation of volunteers had enhance
the success of several Olympic games. He shared with the audience that a new
document on Volunteer Programme is being prepared by the Organising Committee
for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 and the idea of such paper is to provide
standard guidelines in the area of sport volunteerism. He expressed the wish
that Hong Kong can rely on sport volunteerism to enhance or improve the Hong
Kong Sport culture which will eventually lead to better Hong Kong spirit.
Dr. Chris Auld (Associate
Professor, Institute of Human Performance of the University of Hong Kong) is a
former consultant to the Australian Sports Commission on the development of
national volunteer management programme and is the co-author of the Manual for
Recruiting and Managing Volunteers published by the Australia Sport Commission.
He explained that in order to maintain volunteers, it is important to understand
why people volunteer and why they leave. He talked about what is good management
practice in the training and development of volunteers and he stressed that to
have fun and a good learning experience in the process is the key for volunteer
returning. He introduced the role of a volunteer coordinator who can facilitate
selection and screening in recruitment and later arranges training and
development. He highlighted the rights and responsibilities of volunteers and
the needs for appraising, recognising and rewarding volunteers. He mentioned
that exit interviews were important for identifying problems and would serve as
good reflection for future planning. He concluded by sharing recommendations on
maintaining volunteers from a number of Australian organizations.
Mrs. Laura Ling, MH (Chairperson,
Hong Kong Sports Association for the Mentally Handicapped) is a school
principal, a sport volunteer and a leader in a sport organization. Her talk
about her first experience in bringing a team of Mentally Handicapped children
to the Winter Olympic Games brought forward key issues in the training and
development of volunteers when dealing with very specific groups of athletes and
the associated tasks. She elaborated on the interdependency between
organisations and volunteers and how to bond the relationship. She explained
how her organisation recruited, trained and developed the volunteers. She
emphasised that the development of the volunteer¡¦s sense of achievement is very
important and giving recognition and respect are the key elements in retaining
volunteers. She also talked about how volunteerism can bring out the best in
individuals and on the other hand, individuals gained personal benefits through
volunteer work. She concluded that her organisation had indeed benefited a lot
from its volunteers.
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Open forum
In the open forum, Ms. Malina Ngai
(Vice-Chairman, Friends of HKSI and Member of Women & Sport Commission) acted as
the moderator. Two invited guests, Dr. Leung Mee Lee (Head of Department of
Physical Education of Hong Kong Baptist University and Hon. Deputy Secretary
General, Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China) and Mr. John
So (Hon. Executive Member, Hong Kong Youth Hostels Association and Hon. Advisor
of International Awards for Young People Association of Macau), together with
the three keynote speakers and conference participants, participated in
discussions on various issues on volunteerism in Hong Kong. Three main topics
were covered in the open discussions.
First topic of discussion: What is
the definition of a volunteer? Are they still volunteers or just helpers if they
are paid? What sort of problems is Hong Kong facing? Who should be volunteers?
Ø
On the definition of
volunteer, most members of the panels considered that they should not have
monetary benefits from voluntary work. Some participants debated that
individuals would be considered to be ¡¥helpers¡¦ rather than volunteer if they
are paid. Yet most agreed that it is OK to accept travelling allowances when
travelling to great distances or serving at very early hour are required.
Ø
Mr. Pang reflected
that the initiation of the payment of travelling allowances by the Government¡¦s
Recreation Services Section (RSS) in the late 70¡¦s, had changed the nature of
volunteer work. Since then, requests for travelling allowances had increased and
coupled with the current profit oriented environment, the budget for hosting an
event has increased greatly. As a result, volunteer recruitment has become more
complicated.
Ø
Mr. So told the
panels that civil servants had often been considered as the best volunteers in
the early 70¡¦s and 80¡¦s but this is not the case in the current economic climate
with everyone expecting to work longer hours. He reiterated similar problems
outside of sport in getting volunteer supervisors or assessors for Award Schemes
after the travelling allowance was initiated by the government.
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All agreed that any
person can be a volunteer if they are willing to serve.
Second topic of discussion: What
will be the winning formula for recruiting and motivating volunteers? What is
the best way to retain volunteers?
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There are several
important suggestions in the formula mix. For individual volunteers, the mixed
quality required is ¡§mission, care and love¡¨. The ingredient of a successful
volunteer contains faith, love, patience, willingness and sincerity. A person
should have feeling and passion for others and is willing to share.
Ø
From the
organisation¡¦s perspective, a successful formula is equal to a successful
experience. A successful experience will motivate the volunteers to return or
continue. A happy or felt rewarded volunteer will influence or encourage other
people to volunteer. Yet a negative experience is more damaging for the
organisation and it spreads further. A well organised association should provide
the opportunities for the volunteers to prove themselves and should ensure that
volunteers have fun, satisfaction, recognition and respect in their work
Third topic of discussion: What
will be the role of volunteers in the future of Hong Kong? In anticipating the
2009 East Asian Games, who will take the leading role in the development of
volunteers in Hong Kong?
Ø
All agreed that
volunteers are essential to the success of future local and international
sporting events. The Chartered Standard Marathon is a successful example. For
the coming 2008 Beijing Olympics, Mr Pang expressed that the volunteers from
Hong Kong can play a significant role. People of Hong Kong can be good
ambassadors for China because of the strong language background.
Ø
From an outsider¡¦s
perspective, Dr. Auld thought that a strong sporting culture in Hong Kong should
be developed leveraging on this perfect platform of hosting multi-sport games.
He is aware that the traditional ¡¥to study¡¦ first is difficult to break but many
areas can help. The government and the Sports Federation can take the leading
role. Through the media, a strong programme in school, facilitating sport
awareness more at community level and lesser at international level are all ways
to make changes.
Ø
For the coming 2009
East Asia Games, all participants agreed that the SF&OC should take the lead in
the development of volunteer programme in Hong Kong. It should have the full
support from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). For the
build-up of the network, more seminars and workshops on volunteerism should be
organised in the future. SF&OC can join force with tertiary institutions to
provide different types of training courses. Diplomas and certificate can be
awarded in recognition of specific skill.
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Last but not least,
it is important that effort is being put by the leading organisation into the
promotion of sports volunteerism. Firstly, this can raise public awareness of
the contributions made by volunteers to Hong Kong sport; and secondly it
enhances the image of sports volunteers so that individuals can proud themselves
of being one.
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Closing Remarks
Mrs. Vivien Fung, JP
(Vice-President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and
Chairperson, Women & Sport Commission) gave the closing remarks for the
Conference. She first thanked student volunteers from Baptist University for
helping with the simultaneous interpretation of the conference proceedings. She
considered volunteers whether they are ¡¥amateur¡¦ or ¡¥professional¡¦ volunteers,
they should have three ¡¥D¡¦ attitudes: being Desire to contribute; Determination
to do a good job; and Dedication to put in effort and to complete the job well.
She concluded that SF&OC should take the lead with the support of LCSD in the
sports volunteer development in Hong Kong.
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General comments and feedback
Participants
indicated that the conference had been successful in achieving the objective to
raise the awareness on
issues of volunteerism. The structure was appropriate and the timing was well
controlled. The conference started slightly behind schedule but was able to
complete in time. The speeches from the speakers were relevant, co-ordinated and
synchronized. From a broad overview of volunteerism, then concepts on good
practice in recruiting and retaining volunteers, to a real life example of
volunteers in operation.
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Acknowledgments
The Commission would like to thank
all participants including students, athletes, coaches and personnel from
tertiary institutions, National Sports Associations and LCSD for participating
in the Conference and making it a success. Thanks should also go to the students
from Baptist University in providing simultaneous interpretation service; staff
of the Sports House for technical support and a special appreciation to Ms Grace
Ng at the SF&OC Secretariat for her kind assistance and coordination of all
administrative arrangements in relation to the Conference.
Reported by Cecilia
Au on 29th March 2004
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