On May 7, 2024, Members of The Coalition for Sports for Social Impact gathered for a fascinating meeting on recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers. The meeting was held at the pre-military academy of the “5 Fingers” organization in Zikhron Ya’akov and began with an introduction to the activities of the organization and their plans to establish an Education and Knowledge Center, which will operate alongside the academy.Â
The focus of the meeting was an engaging lecture by Michal Magen, who holds a master’s degree in business administration and has extensive experience in recruiting and managing employees and volunteers. Michal presented the coalition members with practical tools that can be immediately applied in organizations to recruit and retain staff.Â
Topics discussed in the lecture included:Â Â
- Characteristics and expectations of Generation Z from the workplace: Generation Z is a technological and impatient generation that values work-life balance, deep meaning in work, and a positive organizational culture.Â
- Employee satisfaction survey: A survey conducted in May 2023 by The Marker in collaboration with 300,000 employees in 150 large companies found that workplace relationships (organizational culture and work environment) are the most important factors for employees in recent years, followed by satisfaction with the direct manager. Salary was ranked low.Â
- The employee/volunteer lifecycle in the organization: It is important to create a clear and personalized path for each employee/volunteer, including training, development, and advancement.Â
- Focused recruitment questions: When recruiting employees or volunteers, it is important to ask focused questions such as “What is my story?”, “Why would they come to me?” and “Who would be interested?”.Â
- Choosing the right candidate: The right candidate should be selected based on their skills, experience, and fit with the organizational culture. Do not recruit an unsuitable candidate for a specific role just because they are generally impressive.Â
- Recruitment and candidate experience: Creating an efficient and enjoyable recruitment process for candidates is important, highlighting the organization’s values and work experience.Â
- Onboarding process: A structured and warm onboarding process will help new employees integrate smoothly and quickly into the organization.Â
- Employee retention: Employee retention is an ongoing process that requires professional management, including evaluation, professional development, fostering a sense of belonging, and connection to a larger purpose.Â
- Volunteering: There are many and varied areas of volunteering, and the motivations for volunteering can be diverse. It is important to offer appropriate rewards to volunteers and ensure their satisfaction.Â
- Challenges in recruiting and managing volunteers: Common challenges include lack of commitment, high volunteer turnover, and difficulty in recruiting skilled volunteers.
- Keys to success in managing and retaining volunteers: It is important to create a personal connection with volunteers, provide them with proper training, give them a sense of appreciation and partnership, and ensure a pleasant and supportive work environment.Â
- Summary and tools for success: Michal concluded the lecture by summarizing the main points and providing practical tools for successful recruitment and retention of employees and volunteers.
After the lecture, coalition members gathered in small work circles, exchanging common challenges related to recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers and proposing possible solutions. The discussion was lively and interesting, addressing the challenges and their roots and underlying causes.Â
At the end of the meeting, all groups reconvened for a summary plenary, where each group presented the challenges raised and formulated possible solutions. The solutions included potential collaborations between coalition members and strengthening mutual connections, such as cooperation between organizations to create a weekly schedule for a coach and establishing an employee/volunteer forum.Â
The meeting was successful and enjoyable, and it significantly contributed to understanding the challenges and opportunities in recruiting and retaining employees and volunteers in nonprofits.Â
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