Reward & Recognition

Recognising Volunteers

Organised by effort level, so clubs can start where their capacity allows.

Do this week (no cost, under 1 hour):

Identify one volunteer who has been overlooked recently. Send them a personal, specific thank-you from the President.
Assign a buddy to any volunteer who joined in the last 3 months and hasn't had one.
Add "Volunteer of the Month" to the next committee meeting agenda as a standing item.

Do this season (low cost, 2–5 hours):

Build a one-page "If I got hit by a bus" handover document for every critical role.
Run a 90-day pulse check with any volunteer who joined since pre-season.
Set up a National Volunteer Week activation (third week of May) — posts, personal messages, a club event.
Nominate at least one volunteer for the Rugby Australia Volunteer of the Year Award.

Do this year (moderate investment, planning required):

Design and run your end-of-season Volunteer Recognition function with multiple award categories.
Build or adapt a volunteer exit conversation process and run it with every departing volunteer.
Draft a basic succession plan covering your five most critical roles.
Run an end-of-season volunteer survey (MS Forms, 8–10 questions) and share the results back to your volunteers.

Build toward (strategic, 12+ months):

Integrate volunteer satisfaction tracking into your club's annual reporting alongside member registration numbers.