[Deptheads] We need more volunteers

Fri Feb 24 16:40:53 PST 2012

As I re-read a lot of this, now that I'm slightly more awake and my brain
isn't slurggy, I think something else to keep in mind is that we're a
varied staff--some of us have a great deal of experience and some of us
don't.  We *are* all volunteers and we do all have the same goals:
Improving and growing the convention.  We need to be careful not to fall
into the trap of "We tried this before and it went horribly wrong."  We're
a different group now than we were then; we need to be willing to listen to
new ideas and new suggestions--even if it's a "we tried it before" thing.

Boardgames is having trouble attracting and retaining volunteers.  Since
that's our primary draw, we need to cater our volunteerism towards them.
 Will the other departments benefit from the changes we use for boardgames?
 Very, very likely.  I think if more people understood what working in HQ
was all about, they may be more willing to do it.  I've heard Ken tell me
about the fun he's had working at the desk...I've watched his face light up
with joy as he got to tell someone all about a tournament or a game--in
fact, I saw him help a little boy who was so proud to be at his first
convention.  It's a very rewarding position and I really think we need to
advertise *those* benefits more.

If we use volunteering as a marketing/promotional tool, I think we'll find
that we'll have more people wanting to join in and help out.  If we give
people some idea of what's available for them to do, I think they'd be more
willing to help out.  Rather than just saying, "Volunteer for 8 hours!" and
the person going, "Uh....what do I do?" offer them something more... like,
"Share your passion--run a game for Boardgames!"  Or "Be a leader by
serving fellow gamers at Boardgame HQ" or something.  Something that
appeals to the inner person--something that *might* look good on a resume.
 That's how Downing lured me onto the marketing team.  "Kryssie, why don't
you write the e-mails for marketing...you could put that on a resume, you
know..." Leverage the intrinsic stuff.  I know most people are motivated by
extrinsic rewards, but I think we're putting too much emphasis on that...if
we're losing volunteers, clearly the extrinsic is either not of enough
value OR it's not the correct motivator OR both.

Perhaps we should go back to the beginning and think about how and why we
each stepped up to volunteer.  Was it just for the free badge?  Or...was
there something deeper?  Play on that "something deeper" and use it to
attract others.

On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 4:25 PM, Fred Upton <frupton at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Edit:  Caught up on my E-mail and see I have been ninja'd by Victor about
>  4 hours ago.  So I'm seconding that, I guess.
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Fred Upton <frupton at sbcglobal.net>
> *To:* deptheads at strategicon.net
> *Sent:* Fri, February 24, 2012 4:19:38 PM
>
> *Subject:* Re: [Deptheads] We need more volunteers
>
>  One of the first cons I came to, about 7 years ago, there was a guy
> walking around the ballroom handing out small cloth stick-on banners that
> you could affix to the bottom of your badge.  It was sort of like a post-it
> note, but about 4.5" wide and about 1" high.  (Like a ribbon, but
> sideways.)  The one I got said "Gaming Minion" and it drew quite a lot of
> positive attention.
>
> I realize that we already have the different colored stripes on the badges
> for the volunteers and that's essentially free compared to the cost of
> add-on badge banners, but the banners are, well, cool.
>
> So an idea is that we could give them to volunteers (or pre-affix them to
> their badges).  We could even have ranks ('Minion", "Senior Minion",
> "Minion Extraordinaire") and you could "upgrade" someone if they help fill
> in something for you in a pinch.  They'd also be much easier to wear than
> sashes or even armbands. (Though the armbands are also kinda cool.)
> I suppose if folks don't want to wear them they could remove them, but I
> would expect that to be uncommon.
>
> -- Fred
>
>  ------------------------------
> *From:* Kryssie <phantom.hopscotch at gmail.com>
> *To:* deptheads at strategicon.net
> *Sent:* Fri, February 24, 2012 1:58:09 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Deptheads] We need more volunteers
>
> I would agree...except I seem to be the token cosplayer.... so, I'm
> automatically wearing something different from everyone else.  Though, I
> could have a handler to keep the creepers at bay.  Like Assless Chaps Man.
> <shudder & twitch> So glad he wore actual clothes this time...
>
> Anyway, seriously, though.  I think a unified look is an ideal.  I just
> don't know how it could be implemented consistently throughout staff and
> volunteers.
>
>  On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 1:51 PM, Taralyn Frasqueri-Molina <
> theunsquare at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>  In volunteering, I think one unified look is important.  If that's not
>> a shirt, then a very prominent badge or pin or hat.  I really think we
>> should all be wearing something visibly distinguishable that is the same
>> (or the same from dept to dept) since we are different from the patrons
>> playing games.  One look, one team.
>>
>>   ------------------------------
>> From: cyrissia at hotmail.com
>> To: deptheads at strategicon.net
>> Subject: RE: [Deptheads] We need more volunteers
>> Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:52:57 -0800
>>
>>
>> Good point Neil.  Everyone has different motivations for what they do.  I
>> would be fine with it either way, or another direction entirely.  My case
>> is for the earned distinction rather than a big label that says "I
>> volunteered and you didn't."
>>
>>
>>  ------------------------------
>> Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:17:03 -0800
>> Subject: RE: [Deptheads] We need more volunteers
>> From: fadtwentythree at gmail.com
>> To: deptheads at strategicon.net
>>
>> Your take on the volunteer shirt and mine are diametrically opposed. When
>> I volunteer for an event, I'd rather not have a shirt that says "volunteer"
>> on it. I can't express how strongly I feel about this.
>> Now an alternate volunteer-exclusive design, THAT I can get behind. Just
>> leave off the descriptive text and I'd actually wear it.
>> A question to follow that is how much would that cost?
>> Of course, the notion that 16 hours would earn a shirt was a suggestion.
>> 12 hours would be just as good to me, provided we found something
>> worthwhile for 16 and 20 hour volunteers.
>> twenty-three-skidoo,
>> Neil Figuracion
>> On Feb 24, 2012 10:53 AM, "Ken Barnard" <cyrissia at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>  A bit of a follow on here that came up discussing this with Kryssie.
>>
>> This con I worked 12 hours.  Board Games was running a little short so I
>> offered the extra time to help make ends meet.  12 hours for me is a good
>> cap because I like to hit the RPGs and each shift I work cuts out exactly
>> one RPG session that is available to me.  16 hours would have excluded a
>> fourth session so I don't think I would have been excited to work a fourth
>> shift.  I can't honestly say if a free con shirt would have made me want to
>> work another four hours, but I wouldn't have thought twice about doing it
>> for an "exclusive" volunteer shirt.  That's not ego, that's all geek.  You
>> can buy the con shirts, you have to earn the volunteer swag and that makes
>> it special.
>>
>>
>>  ------------------------------
>> From: cyrissia at hotmail.com
>> To: deptheads at strategicon.net
>> Subject: RE: [Deptheads] We need more volunteers
>> Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:32:54 -0800
>>
>> It seems to me that we could mitigate that and distinguish our volunteers
>> at the same time.  Say for example that we add a free con shirt with 16+
>> hours of service.  If you volunteer well in advance your shirt is ready and
>> waiting on Friday evening.  This is especially important if we make the
>> volunteer shirts a different color and/or add the word "volunteer"
>> prominently under the Strategicon logo.  Everyone at the con knows at a
>> glance that you are a volunteer who has put in some serious hours.  Late
>> additions who get in their full hours will still get the same shirt, which
>> they can pick up at the next con.  (Yes, I know that I'll have to inventory
>> and store them)  I think that would save us the hassle of trying to guess
>> at how many extra shirts we'll need and it really incentifies volunteers to
>> commit in advance.  The flip side is that we'd probably all need to contact
>> our volunteers a little earlier than we have in the past.  Then again, I
>> have no idea how far in advance we'd need to order the shirts or the added
>> cost of modifying the design.
>>
>>
>>  > From: ealdrich at mac.com
>> > To: deptheads at strategicon.net
>> > Subject: Re: [Deptheads] We need more volunteers
>> > Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:49:06 -0800
>> >
>> > I like the ideas put forth in the various emails, but as much as I
>> > like the TShirt idea, it's not so simple -- we'd have to take a guess
>> > as to how many extra to print. I'll do it, but I'd expect a few misses
>> > the first few time as we try to get the numbers right.
>> >
>> > Eric
>> >
>> > On 24 Feb, 2012, at 06:21, Tim wrote:
>> >
>> > > I agree with Victor. People volunteer for different reasons but the
>> > > hardest ones to get are the ones who work the 'desks'. I think
>> > > adding a t-shirt for the 16 hour level works. We could also do a
>> > > raffle for a free badge next con. I think anything that awards
>> > > "best volunteer" or some other subjective criteria will cause a lot
>> > > of grumbling and is something that can be abused.
>> > >
>> > > I volunteered at these cons going back to the early '80s.
>> > > Originally I did it to save the $30 (I think) admission fee. After
>> > > doing it for a few years, I got burned out and found it was more
>> > > enjoyable to just buy a badge and have no responsibilities other
>> > > than to play games.
>> > >
>> > > So my thought is a raffle or a set number of (48?) hours will get
>> > > you a free con badge.
>> > >
>> > > Tim
>> > >
>> > > On 2/24/2012 12:01 AM, Victor B wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >> You can bling up your vols as you see fit. Just probably best to
>> > >> avoid best or make anything a competiton since where there are
>> > >> happy winners there will be disgruntled losers or those who feel
>> > >> slighted.
>> > >
>> > > --
>> > > Hadrian decided to build his wall so the Scots would be left
>> > > undisturbed in their never-ending war against their mortal
>> > > enemies... the Scots
>> > > _______________________________________________
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>
>
> --
> Kryssie Mackey
> Talent Acquisitions & Marketing
> 310-766-9954
> phantom.hopscotch at gmail.com
> Strategicon Events <http://www.strategicon.net/>
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Kryssie Mackey
Talent Acquisitions & Marketing
310-766-9954
phantom.hopscotch at gmail.com
Strategicon Events <http://www.strategicon.net>
Follow me on Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/Kryssieness> &
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