Last week I had the pleasure of heading up to Sheffield Business School to talk at the Event Management Hub about running events on a shoestring. As you’d expect I shared a lot of information about how technology can make you more efficient and effective; not only in terms of the time you can save but also the value it can add to your brand and the data you can collect to improve relationships with partners, sponsors and budget holders.

Related: How To Get Your Event Budget Planning Right

The second half of the session was all about volunteering and it made for a really interesting discussion. So many event organisers just get volunteers on board for the day, but we feel that before you even start allocating roles you should really understand what has been the motivation behind each person’s decision to volunteer.

For Sheffield Pride, they said that some of their volunteers were parents who had a few hours to spare and just wanted to show their support for their child and their sexuality. For others, they knew that many people were happy to give up some time if it meant getting a free ticket and that they could go off to enjoy the event afterwards.

What became clear is that volunteers looking to build experience in the industry generally give back so much more if they’re allowed to be involved in more of the event. For a student, it’s not really going to do much for their CV unless they can talk enthusiastically about the experience and have real skills that they’ve picked up as a result.

Thinking creatively about how volunteers can be a part of your event will also open up many more opportunities. You might be able to involve business students in the ticketing process, marketing students in monitoring the social channels, film students in capturing the atmosphere.

So for anyone organising events, I think the message is loud and clear – there are people out there willing to help but you have to be prepared to give back to them so they’re fulfilled by the experience. After all, a happy volunteer reflects your brand in a positive way and is much more likely to keep coming back.

For my top technology tips check out my post on Sheffield Business School’s Event Management Hub, and be sure to follow EventbriteUK on Twitter!

Related: Download your event budget template