Developing people in the organisation

The survival and prosperity of a sport organisations, like any business, depends on its human resource. This includes:

Organisations need people with the right skills and getting the right people is not just a matter of putting an advert in the paper and hoping for a good response. If only it was as simple as that!

Invest in training

Sport and recreation organisations need to invest in providing training and developing their human resource. It takes time for people to acquire skills, especially in coaching, and for the benefits of training to become visible. Many would argue that it takes 5-10 years to become a good coach.

Most smaller sporting organisations fail to set aside any budget for training of personnel. There is no attempt to cost the training of personnel into the organisation's fee structure. Any expenditure on training is often spasmodic, and there is an absence of longer-term planning when money is spent on training.

However training does not need to be a big budget item. Much of the training people need is just some induction / orientation sessions, practical training on the job and perhaps some mentoring.

Induction Training

Ideally all organisation personnel including volunteers should receive a session of induction training. The duration of the session might be an hour with some handouts or a manual to peruse afterwards. Content of such training for most organisation personnel should include:

The above training is useful for organisation personnel in any position. For persons who will serve on a committee/board, some additional training may be warranted. Many people who find themselves on a committee have no management, financial or legal training and the learning curve is very steep. This is one reason why LEOISAAC.COM exists. It would be ideal, however, of all persons serving on a committee received some basic induction training in the legal duties and responsibilities of a committee member. Usually, it is a matter of stumbling along wondering what is meant by "constitution", or "conflict of interest", or "proxy voting". etc.

Specific Task Training

To a degree, people who put themselves forward to act as a coach or referee obtain some recognised training for the purposes of becoming "accredited". This training is important but by no means does it turn a person into a confident and credible coach or referee. It is not possible to obtain depth of knowledge in the mere weekend over which such training is provided.

Organisations, therefore, need to find ways of enabling people in the organisation who have knowledge and experience to pass it on to those who don't. It is a travesty when this process to a large extent fails. Coaches of all levels of experience arrive and depart from the club every training session without any significant cross-pollination of ideas.

Ongoing training can be provided by:

Planning Human Resource Needs

Organisations, that is management committees, tend to only act when there is a crisis. In reality, however, a lack of training is a crisis, a crisis waiting to happen. A good practice for organisations to adopt is to conduct a planking process that looks at:

This last point on 'conditions that will encourage' is extremely important. People can be encouraged in a variety of ways other than simply paying money. An opportunity for personal development, particularly if it increases a person's employability, is a very powerful strategy.

 

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