Drivers of change in sport organisations

This page is about:

What drives sport organisations to grow and develop
Typical strategies that help sport organisations to develop
The benefit for stakeholders of organisation development

Typical aspirations of sport organisations

Organisations, profit and non-profit, are driven to develop for a variety of reasons. In the case of non-profit sport organisations the desired "development" is usually:

Larger membership and increased participation
Improved facilities for playing sport and social interaction
Better results of players/athletes in competition
Capacity to earn greater revenue
Greater reputation

In the case of the for-profit organisation, the desired "development" is usually:

Greater market share
Greater revenue and profit
Improvement of business premises
More highly skilled workforce
And may also include the acquisition of intellectual property and technology assets

Despite the fact that organisational development takes considerable resources, it is a human disposition to believe that there will be a reward for the effort. There usually is, but the time scale is often frustratingly slow and not likely to happen unless there is an excellent strategic plan in place.

Key drivers of change

It is often the case that a major effort in organisational development occurs as a result of something that happens which become a catalyst for change. Typical situations that cause change are:

The organisation is threatened by competition
There is a significant movement of clients/members away from the organisation
The organisation loses a major funding source
There is new leadership of the organisation
If it is a sport club, and it is demoted into a lower division or is aiming to win promotion to a higher division
The organisation suffers a near bankruptcy experience

The following are three examples of how organisations might develop in regard to an ongoing stimulus for change:

Stimulus Example 1: Expectancy of higher service delivery

Explanation

Participants expect higher and higher standards of sport and recreation delivery. This increased expectancy may be due competition from other sports/organisations in the sport and recreation industry and because sport is increasingly commercialised. The media continues to have a great impact on the sport industry. Sport is not just sport anymore, it is big business.

Organisation development strategies

Provision of training and education programs to increase skills of organisation volunteers and professionals
Employment of professionals to administrate programs and events
Restructuring the pricing of sport and recreation programs to provide a higher level of delivery in line with participant expectations
Develop policies, procedures and standards for the maintenance of facilities and equipment
Increase revenues earned from facilities by designing them for multi-purpose use and ploughing revenues back into service delivery

Benefits for Stakeholders

Government sponsors will see an increasing quality of service provision for the community
Commercial sponsors will be more certain about promotion and publicity benefits
Participants will enjoy better sport and recreation experiences
The community will be enriched through improved sport and recreation opportunities

Stimulus Example 2: Critical need for funding

Explanation

A critical need for funding might arise as a result of:

Facility improvement projects caused by an inability of the organisation to provide adequate space and equipment to meet the needs of participants
Financial stress caused by ambitious business strategies that do not turn out as expected
A need to move to a new business premise
Financial stress caused by inadequate financial control (see more about financial control strategies)

Organisation development strategies

Bid for major events including national and international championships and tournaments if there is a possibility of generating revenue through hosting the event
Promote and organise holiday coaching clinics that bring in revenue from the participants directly and indirectly through the canteen.
Recruit a confident sales person from within the membership and incentivise them to obtain sponsors
Organise regular social events
Improve clubhouse operations to raise more revenue through food preparation, bar sales, dinner and dance events, bingo and other fundraising events
Rent out facilities to other organisations

Benefits for Stakeholders

Possibly the main benefit is that increased income prevents the business from becoming insolvent and bankrupt.
Additional funds prevent programs and services being cut either through termination of staff or the inability to cover basic costs
The organisation learns to develop new income streams which it can use in years after the initial critical financial problem is over

Stimulus Example 3: Competition among sport and recreation organisations

Explanation

The marketplace for sport and recreation is increasing in competitiveness. Recruiting new members and participants is becoming increasingly harder and/or more expensive.

Organisation development strategies

Employ full-time or part-time development officers to work directly in schools to generate new membership.
Create resources that enable people to more easily access and participate in your organisation's programs and events.
Development and promote a web site to provide information for all levels of interest.

Benefits for Stakeholders

The community will benefit through children being constructively engaged in sport and recreation programs.
The government will benefit through reduced expenditure on health services as more people are active in sport.