26. Why volunteers don't come back to your event (and how to fix it)

October 01, 2026

Show Notes:

Sally interviews serial volunteer Emma Boddington-Stubbs on The Event Show about why she volunteers and what volunteers gain, including fun, friendships, new skills, supplier contacts, and improved communication that has benefited her professional life.

Emma shares volunteer roles ranging from Eat Up Australia’s one-hour cheese-sandwich sessions for schoolchildren to welcoming and supporting people at Brisbane courts through UnitingCare.

They discuss why people may volunteer less, the value of giving time versus money, and how volunteers can soften guest experiences.

Emma outlines what organisers should do to value volunteers: clearly share the why, prepare volunteers with practical details, respect their time, ask for feedback, acknowledge them genuinely, close the loop with outcomes, and plan for volunteer issues and risk management.

00:00 Meet Emma Volunteer Life
01:55 Volunteering Roots and Early Days
03:52 Career Skills from Volunteering
09:04 Why Volunteers Keep Coming Back
10:56 Eat Up Sandwich Shift
16:59 Choosing the Right Gig
19:39 Doing It for Yourself
26:34 Time vs Money Giving
30:43 Volunteer Comms That Work
41:02 Volunteer War Stories
47:00 Volunteer Snubs
47:23 Organiser Chaos
48:48 Offboarding Feedback
50:16 Recognition That Works
52:23 Volunteer Logistics
54:20 Volunteer Visibility
56:20 Courthouse Volunteering
01:03:29 Why We Say Yes
01:03:48 Volunteer Checklist
01:14:24 Risk Management
01:21:20 Raffle Lessons
01:24:03 Final Wrap Up

Episode Transcript

[00:00:00] Today we're talking to Emma Boddington-Stubbs. Emma volunteers for the fun, the friendship, the laughter, and the adrenaline rush, and she'll tell you that she is absolutely doing it for herself.

Hello and welcome to The Event Show. Emma calls herself a serial volunteer and has been volunteering since she was a young girl.

She volunteers on activities such as making cheese sandwiches for children in schools who possibly have gone without breakfast that day or don't come to school with lunch. She does this for Eat Up Australia. She welcomes people through the Brisbane courts at what she calls a director of first impressions.

In this episode, we talk about what volunteers get out of it, from friendships and new skills to meeting suppliers that she would add to her little black book, and why she says her volunteering has made her a better communicator and made a huge difference to her professional life.

We also talk about how volunteers can soften the experience for your guests, and Emma shares what organisers can do to [00:01:00] make sure volunteers feel valued, including sharing the why, preparing them well, respecting their time, and saying a genuine thank you.

Her philosophy comes from Maya Angelou that people never forget how you made them feel. Emma finishes with, "Volunteers make the world go around," and this conversation is about how we make sure they know it. Here's Emma

Sally Porteous: So Emma, would you like to start by just telling us a bit about you? So, how you came into volunteering what you love about, just in general, like why, why is it something that is so important to you in your life, and how does it fit in with everything else?

So we get a bit of a whole of Emma picture, not just Emma the volunteer picture. 'Cause you're an amazing human. Oh. And I want people to know what an amazing human you are. But also how that relates to your volunteering.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Sal, thanks so much for having me. I am a serial [00:02:00] volunteer. I have been volunteering since I was a young girl. I blame my mother. It's in the genes. She is also a lifelong volunteer, and I got that gene from her. So Mum had my sister and I at various events and volunteering.

She did a lot of volunteering with people with disability. And yeah, I th- I really think that's where it all began, in the genes and from those early experiences. As I moved through life and I did Brownies and Guides, I did volunteering through those organised activities. I loved volunteering at the RSPCA.

Back in the day, we were able to frolic with the puppies and the kittens, and wash them and have fun with them. Things perhaps that the paid employees or, or other volunteers didn't necessarily have time to do. Although, nowadays I [00:03:00] can imagine that that would be a, a, an incredibly popular activity with those- Mm

who are loving animals. And then I moved into adulthood. I can't recall really my first adult volunteering experience. Suffice to say that I have been volunteering for many, many years across a broad range of things. So from wrapping gifts at Christmastime to sleeping in my car, to fostering dogs, to making cheese sandwiches.

All sorts of things that have really been such an incredible experience, and have helped shape my life and the lives of those around me. Particularly my husband, who's always up usually for any weird fandangle thing that I'm interested to try.

Sally Porteous: I love that. I love that. Has it shaped, has it shaped the kind of work you've done in your professional life, do you think?

Has it, has it kind of [00:04:00] helped you- Understand your own personal likes and dislikes. Has it given you that kind of opportunity?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Absolutely. And I think that the experience of being a volunteer across all those different industries and, and event duration has made me a better communicator, my profession.

Sally Porteous: Okay.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Because I've been able to experience firsthand what it's like to receive good communication or- ... not. And it's so important for volunteers to have good information, to have a good experience. And while I haven't necessarily been formally managing event volunteers I have helped manage events.

I have run events, led events, et cetera, and that has made such a huge difference in my professional life. [00:05:00] And I highly recommend it.

Sally Porteous: It's made you- A- ... a better event organiser knowing that you're- sitting on the other side of the fence. I know for me, I I w- when I first decided to hang the shingle and say, "I'll, I'm going to be an event manager," I had no idea it was a a career.

I didn't know it was a trade per se. Mm. And I only hung my shingle back in 2011, so not too, we're not talking the '80s or the '90s, not too long ago. And I decided that after volunteering for 12 months. I was studying it, working in it I had a job in it as well. And I thought, "Oh, this is something..."

I started to realise this was a skill not everybody had, and I did, which was a revelation for me, 'cause I thought I was a Jill of all trades. So it was really nice to kind of go, "Ooh, I've g- I've got something special that other people don't have." But I still didn't believe it, so I too volunteered for 12 months.

I thought, "I'm going to go volunteer on this for a [00:06:00] year. If I still like it after a year of doing it for no pay, it's worth, it's worth investing in and it's worth keeping going in." Mm. And I think that was, And that's why I asked you the question, because I think it's such a great opportunity to figure out do I like the kind of people that hang out in this industry? Do I like what it supports? Mm. Do I like the kind of work that I get to do? Do I like the hours? Do I like... am I, how do, how do other people get treated in this space?

And you kind of get to see that from an... Not to say you're not committed, 'cause you're absolutely committed, but it's a different kind of commitment, isn't it?

It's a commitment- Mm ... to the cause and, and the purpose of what's happening, rather than a commitment to your employer or your supervisor or some other human in the mix. I find it really interesting.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: So interesting. I often use the word work experience. So in [00:07:00] high school and university I didn't necessarily think it was volunteering, although it absolutely was, 'cause it wasn't paid.

But I called it work experience. Yeah ... and absolutely gives you an insight, as you say, into the industry and the workplace. Had I not done that workplace volunteering, I would have looked exactly the same as all of the other graduates coming out of the, the degree that we had done together.

I was able to stand out from the rest because of that volunteering or that work experience. So I could say, "I know how to use and break a photocopier." I know how to fix it- ... more importantly. More importantly. More importantly. Exactly. And, and what it's like to work in a team. Because not a lot of graduates necessarily have that experience of working in a, in a workplace and what is it like to, to work in a team. We've all done the group assignments, and I really think that- Yes ... that's why they, they [00:08:00] test you in that way, because that is the reality of what the workplace is like. Yeah.

Sally Porteous: And possibly it's an opportunity now in an environment now where there's less and less group work.

Mm. Because there's the work from home, there's-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm ...

Sally Porteous: there's the gig economy. We're all so independent now. I know I kind of miss the... Or, or I, I, I don't miss it because I'm past it, but I do pine for the younger generation and wonder how are they making their friendships, how are they building relationships, when for me it was all done at work.

Mm. It, it was always work. I met my friends at work. Everything happened at work. So, perhaps this volunteering idea is an opportunity for those that do want to get back into the mix with other people. Volunteering on different causes at different events is an opportunity to do that, to work with others as well, and kind of pick up those skills.

So I guess that, that's something that hasn't gone away. You can't really- Mm ... work from home when you're [00:09:00] delivering an event. You have to be- Mm ... on site with other people. Mm. Yeah.

So let's talk about some events. Let's talk- Yes ... about some events that you've volunteered on. Let's. I would love to hear, and hopefully it'll come top of mind, what's your favorite one?

And I'm, I'm going to ask you to pick your children. I know. I'm going to ask you to pick your children. Is there one that comes to mind that, that you really loved working on, and I want to hear why you, you really loved it.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I, I honestly don't think I can pick my favorite child. I think each one has brought me something different, Sal, and for that I will be forever grateful.

For some it might be incredible friendships. For some it might be so much frivolity and laughter and a good, good adrenaline rush. I also get the opportunity to meet new contacts, in in a work context, like suppliers. And I think- Yeah ... ooh, they are good to work [00:10:00] with. I really like their energy or their professionalism, how they engage with other people. I'm going to write them in my little black book of suppliers. So they're opportunities that you don't always get. You get to try before you buy. I get to often attend events without paying. Yes.

Sally Porteous: Yes.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: A- and I can, I can be part of the action but not as a paying guest.

I have a different experience to a paying guest if that, if that's what that particular event might be. But I also gain an enormous amount of work experience, Mm ... having different insights into how things work, good or bad. And that even if it is a, a negative experience for whatever reason, I learn from that.

And my events and my work experience is better as a result of that- As a result, yeah ... experience, yeah.

Sally Porteous: What's the latest event that you've volunteered on?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: [00:11:00] My most r- okay, beside, so I als- I do event volunteering, but then I also do regular volunteering. So m- perhaps my more recent event one was one of my new favorites, Sal, and it's through Eat Up Australia.

Mm. And they make cheese sandwiches. The volunteers make cheese sandwiches which are then frozen and distributed to schools for children who come to school with no food or no lunch, and they're packaged up with other other healthy options, apple, yogurt, whatever it might be for that particular child.

So, the e- event experience is very short, which is one of the reasons why I love it. It's one hour. Generally it's every school holidays. And just for one hour, you get in there, you have your briefing, you understand why you are there. Yeah ... what is the purpose of Eat Up Australia. They give you some [00:12:00] guidance on how to make the cheese sandwiches because everybody has a role to play.

And then you smash out those sandwiches like nobody's business. And several thousand sandwiches later, you are able to physically see the product or the outcome of your service. And-

Sally Porteous: Yeah ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: yeah, it's really a great experience. They have great communication and it's, it's a good feel-good story. So I love Eat Up Australia.

Sally Porteous: How, how many sandwiches would you smash out in an hour?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: W- I'm not sure how many personally, but s- at the recent one there might have been maybe 20 people. We almost made 2,000 sandwiches. So that's pretty great. Pretty great.

Sally Porteous: Yeah. Yeah. What's that, 100 sandwiches per person?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, I'm not good at the math, Sal.

Sally Porteous: I think that is. I think that's 100 sandwiches. But- 20 times 100 is three zeros, 2,000. Yeah. Yeah, wow.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: But they g- I love, they give [00:13:00] updates throughout the session. There's music, there's someone going, "500 sandwiches. Woo."

Sally Porteous: Oh, that's amazing, isn't it? Because you do- It's really good ... need that motivation, don't

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: you?

Absolutely.

Sally Porteous: Especially if you're on a production line. And I know that-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes ...

Sally Porteous: in events, for example, oftentimes the production line might be packing delegate bags-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes ...

Sally Porteous: for a conference or something like that, right?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: And you've always just gotta have so much fun. The organiser has to have, as you say, music playing.

There's, there's gotta be lollies. There's gotta be- Yeah ... good food to be had.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: Great engagement with people, and it's gotta be lots of fun.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Exactly.

Sally Porteous: But not too much that it kind of takes away from the task, because those tasks are repetitious, aren't they?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes, absolutely.

Sally Porteous: And I know for me, that kind of thing I'm old enough to know to be a payroll officer when we got paid in cash.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: So it was actually my job to go to the bank [00:14:00] and pick up the $70,000 in cash. Whoa. I can't believe that we used to do this.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: My gosh.

Sally Porteous: Go back to the office. And me and my colleague would sit opposite each other. Mm. And the printer would be going off in a rhythm. The, the old dot matrix printer would be going off.

And we would be counting cash and putting it in pay slips. Oh. And we used to dance and sing and... But we never kind of... we got to the point where we completely disassociated from the cash that we had in front of us. And I'm talking early '90s, so $70,000 was a lot of money.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, absolutely.

Sally Porteous: That I used to go to the bank and get on my own.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: That is

Sally Porteous: outrageous. Right? The only, the only caveat was I didn't go at the same time. I went every Thursday. Oh,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: yeah. Mix

Sally Porteous: it up. But I didn't go at the same time of day. But that was the only kind of risk mitigator that we had. Oh my

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: gosh. Oh my gosh.

Sally Porteous: Isn't that nuts?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: It is nuts.

Sally Porteous: Anyway.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Absolutely nuts.

Sally Porteous: But I remember we used to just have so [00:15:00] much fun.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: And laughter. Yep. And the bosses used to walk past and go, "Y- you can't be mucking around while you're doing that." It's like, "But we have to, otherwise we would make mistakes because we would get bored."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: We'd lose focus.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: Like, all of that kind of thing. So I think you've got to have fun when you're doing anything that's repetitious like that.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Absolutely.

Sally Porteous: And- And there's plenty of that kind of work around.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: So true. And particularly if you want your volunteers to keep coming back. If you have a regular or an annual event or whatever it might be you want them to have fun and to have a good connection opportunity because you want them to sign up.

One of the things that I one of the philosophies rather that I follow in my life, in my professional and volunteering life, is a quote by Maya Angelou. She was Oprah's mentor. And she says, "People..." Or she said, rather, "People will forget what you said. People will forget what you [00:16:00] did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

And that is such an important thing, because we go to conferences and events all the time, and we can't necessarily remember everything that happened or that was said or did or whatever. But we can remember, "Ooh, that was a good conference," or, "That was a good event," because of how you felt. Yeah. Because the whole package, it was a good vibe.

You had laughter. Laughter makes you feel good. Yes ... you felt informed. You felt good about that. You were- Uplifted ... appreciated. I think we all just want to be uplifted, right? You were u- uplifted. You felt- Yeah. You, you heard the stories. If there was a, a feelgood story that, that needed to be shared, you felt good about being there.

So you remember- Yeah ... that that was a good event or a good conference because of how you felt

Sally Porteous: That's right. That's right. I want to, [00:17:00] I want to touch on something that you just mentioned there, Emma.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: And that is I want it, I want to keep coming back. Mm. You said they make you, they make you want to keep coming back.

When you're, when you're signing up for a new volunteer opportunity-

...

Hopefully you remember this, but what are, what are some of the, I guess, deciding criteria that goes through your mind when an opportunity is, opportunity is presented to you, or someone says, "Hey, I'm doing this thing." And you're like, "Oh, I wouldn't mind volunteering on that."

Do you have a series of questions you ask yourself? Or do you have some kind of little matrix that you run in your brain before saying yes?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. Do you know what that is? Perhaps, perhaps an informal matrix if you like. And, and not necessarily in any order, Sal. I always look at the location.

Being south- yeah ... side of the river, I'm like, "Do I want to go north side of the river?" Am I, am I prepared to [00:18:00] travel for how long, how far? What else I, can I do at that same time? What is the overall experience? As in, what am, what is, what am I required to do at that particular event? Is that appealing to me?

Is that going to- ... expand my mind, expand my networks expand my education? Am I going to be a better person as a result of that experience? Love it. I think the timeframe or the duration of the event. Is it one hour a week? Is it one hour every school holidays? Is it once a year? So all of these things weigh up in my mind.

Am I available, of course, to do that particular thing? And I have done events and volunteering that require all those things. So an annual event a fortnightly event, a weekly event, every school holiday. So I've, I've done them all. A one-off event. ... And some that I will never do [00:19:00] again.

But yeah, I think typically I'm looking for things that are going to bring me joy as well. Consider me selfish, but I want to have fun and learn something at the same time.

Sally Porteous: Yeah. I love that. And it's really interesting that you would say, "Consider me selfish." Because- ... I think if you, if if you keep asking why, the question why to people, I think 100% of the answers would drill down to because it makes me feel good.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. Yes.

Sally Porteous: Makes me feel good.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. And

Sally Porteous: certainly we're, we want to help people, but we want to help people because helping people makes me feel good.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: It's so true, Sal. And I must share, Someone I, I, I was told that someone had made a comment about a group of volunteers recently. Oh, the only reason that they're doing that is it s- 'cause it's their in, in their best interests or in their own interests.

And initially I w- I was a [00:20:00] bit miffed, to be honest, when I f- I heard that comment because I knew that it wasn't made in a positive way.

Sally Porteous: Yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: And I changed my- The intention behind it ... intention behind it, exactly. But I've changed my mindset, and I thought, "Actually, damn straight. I am doing it for myself."

Because giving is receiving, and I get a lot of joy. So if you want- Yeah ... to say that I'm doing this for myself, then damn straight I am.

Sally Porteous: Yeah. Yeah, no, e- and, and like it really does come back to that intention behind comments- Mm ... like that as well. The disappointing thing about that is that you may not volunteer on that event again-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah

Sally Porteous: because of a flippant, backhanded comment- ... that someone has made.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: It may not even be the organiser. It might be someone somewhere else, involved in the process. But as organisers, that's the biggest risk, that you've also got to be managing the people who are managing the people, right?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: It's not, [00:21:00] it's not a... to be a volunteer manager you're not managing anyone. I remember I, I used to work for a big government organisation. And when I took on this particular role of going to this event, people from within the organisation were invited to come and participate, but it was unpaid.

But it was a pretty fun event that they got to come to. And then when people started to come when it was on my watch, they were like, "This is so much more fun with you." And I was like "Well, you're grown-ups. Just don't leave a mate behind on their own. It's as simple as that. You can go off and enjoy this event.

Have your breaks whenever you want to have your breaks. As long as there's at least three people here at any one time."

Mm. Mm. "

I don't need to schedule, we can all do it together. We would schedule the, what the roster looked like together."

Mm.

And they were really surprised that [00:22:00] I ran it that way.

But I was like, "You're here for free."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: Exactly. I'm grateful that you're here for free.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. '

Sally Porteous: Cause if you weren't, I'd be doing this all on my own, and I'd be run off my feet.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah. And, and- I

Sally Porteous: find

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: it- ... and sometimes it's not possible. You can't be in three places at once, so.

Sally Porteous: No. No. I just find it so interesting if if you do get that kind of, "They're only in it for themselves."

Well, of course- Yeah ... they're only in it for themselves. I knew a lot of these people used to come and volunteer on this event just so they could get in. Oh, yeah. Nothing, it cost them nothing to get in. I'm like- Yes ... "Awesome."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yep.

Sally Porteous: Absolutely, please come as, you do your three hours, and then you can- Woo ... enjoy it to your heart's content.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: So no. I, I think, yeah. Anyway, inherently we all end up back at because it makes me feel good.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Exactly. Exactly. It's why we do

Sally Porteous: anything.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, that's right. No matter if it's volunteer- And if you feel good, you do good. Yeah. You, you want to go again. You deliver a better experience for the clients, the [00:23:00] patrons, whoever that might be.

And if you are fundraising, then ultimately the beneficiaries. Because if those clients and patrons are having fun, they might donate more or whatever it might be- They're going to donate more ... in getting you to your fundraising target.

Sally Porteous: Yes, indeed. Emma, are you part of any kind of sort of cohort of volunteers?

Do you have your own a group, I guess, where you share good volunteering experiences or is there a online hub or a space where you kind of might hang out together?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: No. Not... I'm not part of any necessarily formal network. There is one group that I regularly volunteer with.

They have a volunteers' Facebook group where they- Okay ... where the organisation will share volunteering opportunities that are coming up, and we encourage you to register, et cetera, et cetera. But otherwise, I am always on [00:24:00] the lookout for something different- Yeah ... that might appear in the socials.

And I think the algorithm knows me pretty well. Mm. It will feed me things that say, "Oh, you might be interested in this." I have no idea where I found out about Eat Up Australia about the cheese-making. But I was like, "Hey, ticked all of those boxes, location, duration." I was prepared at that stage to go across the river.

So it ticked- ... all of the boxes, and so I just signed up. Ah. And then I recently did, I think it was my, my fourth cheese-making experience with them. So- Yeah ... yeah. Yeah. It's,

Sally Porteous: Do you think that the short-term... So the reason I'm asking you the question- Mm ... is I'm just kind of, I guess, wanting to tap into other people that you know or, or your- Yes

network. Because one of my theories in relation to event volunteering is the reason people are struggling with getting volunteers for their events is because it's about the messaging and the marketing, and people think they have to sign up for life. No. People think, "Oh, if you're [00:25:00] asking me to be a treasurer on your event committee, then oh, my gosh, I'm going to have to be there forever."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm.

Sally Porteous: So that's not- Absolutely not ... so why do you think people aren't volunteering for... So, so it's a big, it's a huge problem why people are not volunteering-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ...

Sally Porteous: for events.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: Why do you think that? Well,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think- Well, I, I only have hypotheses. I, I really don't have any- Please, yeah ... formal qualifications to, to share this.

But I think, everyone's experience is different. If I look at one group of, group that I'm volunteering with at the moment, there have been a lot of people dropping out. They have uni commitments. They're they have parents with ill health. They're, physically moving house, and they can't, commit to that particular location anymore.

So a whole range of reasons. But why people don't sign up, I don't know. You'd have to ask them. But I think people are busy. There's so many extracurricular things [00:26:00] happening- Yeah ... in lives these n- Yeah ... these days. And people, are more precious of their time. Yeah ... I think I was lucky to get the volunteering gene, as I said, from my mother.

So it's in me to give. I'm a giving- Yeah ... person. I'm, I I want to leave a positive legacy. Getting a bit emotional. Yeah. But- Yes ... n- not everyone has that gene. Other, there might be other people who their giving is through financial,

Sally Porteous: Yeah ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: gains or financial support rather.

Sally Porteous: Yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: And, and that's how they give. And-

Sally Porteous: Well, I wanted to ask you about that actually. Yes. What the difference is between giving money or goods versus giving your time. What is ma- what is, is it simply because it's in your genes, that's why you choose? Or do you think there's more value in actually participating in an experience versus just handing over some dollars or goods?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Well, I think- [00:27:00] Every little bit helps. Whatever that looks like, sell. And if at, one person's particular stage in life they're only able to give money, then knock yourself out. Money is always gratefully received by charities and not-for-profits. There's so many causes that need money. And there might be other instances in your life where you don't have some extra funds to give.

Time is a precious resource. And no matter how low on cash you might be, people have time. Well, pe- a lot of people have time to give. Yes, yes. And that can be an equally rewarding way to give back to the organisation, to the community. But I have felt where I have given my time, myself, my blood, sweat and tears, my heart, soul, whatever it might be, in those instances I [00:28:00] have come out of that experience as a better person, as a- Yeah

better communicator. As a more well-rounded human, I think, because I've been able to see life through other people's eyes, which I may not have if I had only given cash. I may have stayed in my- Mm ... very protected bubble and not been exposed to so many things rich experiences, had I not been there in person seeing with my own eyes, hearing, feeling doing whatever that might be

Sally Porteous: Yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Well, you're a

Sally Porteous: special human Oh, well. You are a very special human, Emma. Well, it's... i'm listening to you and I'm in my... What my brain is doing right now is going, "But how do you cope with, how do you cope with the feeling that you're being taken advantage of? [00:29:00] That you're working harder than the person who's getting paid over there and you're not even getting paid?"

This is the kind of stuff- ... i'm going to be vulnerable for a minute, that I have sat in as a volunteer and gone, "Hang on a minute."

Mm. "

Just because I'm volunteering doesn't mean that you pass the whole job over to me and you sit there and do nothing and you're getting paid." And, like, how do you reconcile those kind of, I guess, thoughts that come to you?

Or do you just not do that job again?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I don't often think that- You probably don't

Sally Porteous: even get those things

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I, I, I don't think that often. However there've been a couple of times where the volunteer manager who is getting paid has made comments on more than one occasion about how the volunteers can't contact them on their days off only during their work days, because their time is important.

And that was probably one of the very few times where I've gone, "Hang on a minute. We [00:30:00] are-" Yeah "... devoting our free time to, to the cause that you're getting paid for. Please don't rub it in our face that you're getting paid and your time is more important than ours." So-

Sally Porteous: Yeah. Wow ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: it, that irked me a bit. I still volunteer.

Yes, yes ... but I don't necessarily think in the same way as you, because I feel I'm g- I'm getting something out of it, whatever the experience. So- Yeah ... whether it's paid financially or, or not, I'm still getting something out of it.

Sally Porteous: Mm. Well, like I said, you're a good- You're a good special human.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Stop it.

Sally Porteous: Absolutely. All right. Let's talk about process for a minute. Yeah, yeah. Let's talk about process for a minute. So let's say I have an event. You've signed up to volunteer on my event. What do you need from me? What is it that you're expecting or hoping that I'm going to share with you in that first instance- Mm

to keep you motivated? [00:31:00] Do you want lots of communication? Do you want just one? Like, how, what is it, what does the best case scenario look like for you in terms of me communicating with you- ... about what I need you to do?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think more information is better than none at all or very little. Yeah.

Because it is then up to me to skim through and choose what I feel is important. So, a- a- as part of the volunteer experience, I'm keen to know what to expect, and they could be as minuscule as where do I put my bag? Can I even bring a bag? Can I bring a water bottle? Where do I park my car? A public tran- is public transport the only option there?

Do I have to wear a particular event shirt? So if I have to wear that, where do I get changed into that? Where do I put my clothes if I can't take a bag? Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. There's so many things to think [00:32:00] about, and I guess as a n- as a professional and natural communicator, I'm like, that information needs to be either in an email, depending on how advanced your event might be.

Because sometimes it might be an event run by other volunteers. Mm. So, but more information is better. I think you need to give people an understanding of the time commitment, what time they need to arrive, what time that they can expect to leave by. There, there are So many ways in which you can share that information.

Written is good. I think also one of the tips that I was keen to share with event organisers is if you are sending an email to a volunteer with the information, don't then set up a briefing for the volunteers if there's nothing new. Because that is just a waste of time, and I'll get r- really annoyed [00:33:00] by that.

If you're... If I need to take a morning off or, or give up my lunchtime or whatever it is to come in in person because you've asked me to because it's a volunteer briefing. Yeah. And then the information you shared has already been emailed to me, I ain't happy. Or could

Sally Porteous: have been a webinar.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: It could have been a webinar.

Exactly. Yes. Exactly.

Sally Porteous: Yes,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: yes. So there are, are so many things for for a volunteer manager to consider, an event manager to consider with the volunteers. So there's never too much information. I think the frequency of which you communicate with the volunteers can be up for debate. Okay ... but depending on when the volunteer comes to you and when the actual event is.

Like if it's, if you sign up and the event is in two weeks time, you can expect a few emails. Mm ... but if it's i- in six months' time or whatever it might be, it might be once a month or-

Sally Porteous: Mm ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: once every few [00:34:00] months. But-

Sally Porteous: What's... Have you, have you had a great engagement experience that you're willing to share?

Have you been a volunteer on something that was, say, six months in advance? And, and you had a really great communication experience with that organiser?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think I can't name one necessarily, but I ha- I did sleep in my car for I think it was three or four years in a row through the Forgotten Women.

So that you signed up quite a few months in advance for sleeping in your car. So there'd, there'd be the initial communication, "Thanks for signing up." There'd be regular, "How are you going with your fundraising? Here are some tips," et cetera, et cetera. And then in the lead up too, "This is what you can expect, when you arrive at the venue next week.

This is what you should bring," blah, blah, blah. So I think that, that would be quite a, a positive experience in terms of communication. And you

Sally Porteous: liked it being spread [00:35:00] out? Or did you get it all at once and then reminded? Or...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think they also had a, a website, so it's quite sophisticated- Mm ... in terms of where volunteers could go to get more information.

I think also people's experiences from doing it for the first time versus doing it second, third, fourth time is, is different. Because when you're doing it for the first time, obviously you don't know how it works. You don't know what to expect. But for that particular experience where you slept in your car, and this is part of the, the thinking behind sleeping in your car like a homeless woman does- Where do you go to the bathroom?

Are there showers available? Where do you get food? How does this all work? But that's part of the experience that they want you to have of being someone who is homeless. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that's why [00:36:00] volunteering can be incredibly life-changing. I never thought about things like that before.

Yeah. Because I am in a bubble. I'm very sheltered, protected. I, I'm- Yeah ... blessed to have a house. I'm blessed to have food. I can turn- Yeah ... the light on and power comes on. I have somewhere to charge my phone. But these- Yeah ... these, this is not everybody's experience in life, so. No,

Sally Porteous: that's right. Yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I digress a bit there, Sal, but

Sally Porteous: No, no, no.

That's, that's absolutely right, though. But I just want to pop back. You said some- ... 'cause something I want to share that's easier to do now, you said some experiences have had a website,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes ...

Sally Porteous: around it. That's so easy to do with AI now, so- Yes. Absolutely ... if you're coming along to my AI webinar tomorrow I actually did this recently for a conference.

Mm. Because I was managing exhibitors, and they kept asking me the same questions.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: So I just built an FAQ website off the back of my own.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: So good. So good.

Sally Porteous: And so when people just asked me questions, [00:37:00] I'd say, I'd answer the question and say, "But here's the FAQs. Keep up, keep up with the information here."

Absolutely. And it minimised. But it was so easy to build, yes. Once upon a time- the approval processes, the, the, the, the machinations around building a web page were ridiculous.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Much harder. Absolutely. And, as a professional communicator, couldn't endorse more highly the frequently asked questions page or, or questions and answer pages.

Yeah ... it is often in my professional life one of the aspects that I really love. Because I put myself- Yeah ... in the shoes of the person having the experience. What is it that I would want to know? So you just start- ... off by listing all of the potential questions. Some may be completely random.

You may need to come back and group them later. That's usually what I do.

Sally Porteous: But it's searchable.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: And searchable. It's searchable too. All of those things. So you can just go

Sally Porteous: in as a volunteer [00:38:00] and say-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Parking ... "

Sally Porteous: Toilets."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. Yeah,

Sally Porteous: parking. Parking. It's all, it's all there. So, Mm ... no, I think it's much easier.

I, and I guess that leads me to my next question. You talked about ways of communicating. Mm. Our good friend Leanne Hughes- Yes ... recently I, I recently tapped into I think an old podcast episode where she was talking about private podcasts.

Ooh.

And so as I'm building this membership, and part of this membership is going to be a private podcast.

But you could use that for volunteering- Yes ... as well.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Good

Sally Porteous: idea. So you could have a private podcast for your volunteers where you're just drip-feeding information that's not for general public consumption.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: They get a behind-the-scenes look at the event. Mm. So they feel more involved, right? I think it sounds- So you've got a private podcast.

You've got- Yes,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I, sorry, Sal, I was just going to say, I think it sounds like a brilliant idea, and not one that I've ever had as a volunteer.

Sally Porteous: It just popped into my head just now- Yeah ... with [00:39:00] us talking.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Capture that. Capture that.

Sally Porteous: Well, because what I'm thinking about is we often fall into the trap of communicating in our own style.

Mm. Yeah.

How we normally receive or send information, which for my generation, it's email. It's picking up the phone and calling people. I'm on a mission to bring back the phone. Please, pick up your phone. I've, I've got a client at the moment, for example. I'm trying to deal with the venue.

The venue's in Melbourne. Mm. And I keep writing to this venue manager saying, "Please, could you call me or answer your phone?"

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. "

Sally Porteous: It... This would be so much quicker-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm. Mm ...

Sally Porteous: if I could just ask you my 10 questions."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, absolutely. But,

Sally Porteous: So, so we've got obviously email. We've got FAQs. You could pop a...

the CEO video on that F- FAQ page would be amazing.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: A WhatsApp group, but I will say, I get a bit buried in a WhatsApp group. Mm. I kind of, I lose track. I, I need segmentation. Yeah. I [00:40:00] need, I need conversation, I don't know, chapters. I need something in there, because I just get buried in the milieu of it all.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: But voice notes. Mm. Private voice notes to people.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: There's a whole bunch of different ways that you could communicate with your volunteers now, right? And share that information, rather than just a drip-fed email comms.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm.

Sally Porteous: Which now with Gmail, with it all going into promotions-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm ...

Sally Porteous: in Gmail, for example.

I noticed in my Gmail, it will just naturally unsubscribe me from something now if I haven't opened it in, six months.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Wow.

Sally Porteous: So it takes it from the inbox to the promo tab, and once it's in the promo tab- Mm ... I don't see it at all. Yeah. And then if I don't look at it in there, it just- Mm ... says, "We've unsubscribed you.

Thanks so much."

Right. What

do you think? Yeah. Yeah, it's wild. I don't know what happens on the side of Apple.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm ...

Sally Porteous: but it's ha- it's getting harder and harder to get through on email, isn't [00:41:00] it? Yeah. Okay. Do you want to share any war stories?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah and not in any- 'Cause

Sally Porteous: you know we'd love to hear some.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, yeah. Okay, not in any particular order, and I guess they're not really- If, if- But,

Sally Porteous: Well, in a, in a learning capacity. So we're doing- Yeah, in a learning capacity ... in a learning capacity. Okay. So it's not... we're not just bagging people out.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: No, no, no.

Sally Porteous: So- We, we want to share these. Yeah, go on.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Okay, so, I'll give a few.

So one eh, volunteer experience. The... all of the volunteers got a, like a, a gift pack if you like. So a little calico bag with some goodies in it. Particularly loved the the donuts that were clearly sponsored. Loved that treat. But there were also some other gifts in there. One of them being a blanket, and it wasn't a sort of picnic blanket size, it was probably more what, like a lap blanket, and it was branded.

And I just thought to myself, "Oh, look, I appreciate that [00:42:00] that blanket may have been on theme with the particular event," but I immediately thought, "What a waste of money. What am I going to do with that blanket? Because it's too small. It's not a picnic blanket, et cetera. It's not big enough. And that money could've been used for the actual people that we're fundraising for."

I didn't ask for that gift. Yeah. And now I've got... well, at that time, two from that one event, 'cause my husband was doing it as well. I've got these two purposeless blankets that now I'm going to have to offload to someone 'cause I can't throw things out. But you know, that- ... that's a real waste of money, and it kind of got me annoyed because I thought, "We're fundraising and you've wasted this money."

So it was not a- Mm ... a good gift with, the, the event. So I think for event managers to really think about if they are giving a gift even if it is sponsored by somebody else, [00:43:00] like a third party, that sponsorship money could've been better used.

Sally Porteous: Yeah ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: but that was probably one. What

Sally Porteous: about T-shirts?

How do you... what about, what about volunteer T-shirts?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Love a good T-shirt.

Sally Porteous: You want them? Go... yeah, you love

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: them. Love a good T-shirt. I do

Sally Porteous: too.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ... but I think there... there's one event that I participate in and they sometimes change their colors each year.

So we get a different T-shirt, and I'm like, "Oh, it seems a real waste." Like- Right ... but that's part of the experience. After this particular walk, everybody who c- who did the walk got a medal And I don't know why I did medal, but they got a medal-

to, to put over everybody's head as they walked through the, the, 5K or 10K mark. But the amount of medals that I saw in the bins walking- Oh ... back to the car because it was just such- Oh, no ... a waste of money. It was, what are people going to do with a [00:44:00] medal? It was clearly they'd spent a fair bit of money on it, 'cause it was, like, wooden etched a little medallion with a beautiful sort of ribbon.

And it was, like, so many medals in the bins as I was walking s- through the park- Oh, wow ... to the car park. So again, another waste of money that could have been- Yeah ... used to go towards research or whatever it might be. Another example was where I was volunteering at an event, and for this particular organisation, much to my annoyance, they don't give the volunteers T-shirts to keep.

So every time I volunteer with this organisation, I have to change into their event T-shirt. And this particular event was at a very fancy venue and the event managers had clearly washed all of the volunteer shirts, but thrown them perhaps into the dryer. [00:45:00] Every single one of those T-shirts was crinkled like I've never seen.

It d- it's like they had sat- Mm ... at the bottom of someone's laundry basket.

Sally Porteous: Taken out of the dryer hot and

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: like- Taken out, yep. Oh, wow. And I was absolutely mortified that I was at this fancy event where everybody looked beautiful, like the beautiful people were there, and I was about to swap out of my beautifully ironed clothes and to put into this crinkled- volunteer T-shirt.

I was absolutely mortified. And yeah, it was embarrassing. It really was embarrassing. Yeah. Like if they needed somebody to, you know- Steam iron them. Yeah ... ho- i- iron those shirts. Or better still, give the volunteers the bloody shirts to wash and- Yeah ... launder and, and iron themselves and come in. And then you don't have the- Yeah

situation where you've got to undress, dress or whatever. So yeah, that, [00:46:00] I didn't particularly like that. '

Sally Porteous: Cause that lends itself to a whole bunch of other issues.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm.

Sally Porteous: Storage of all your personal possessions.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Exactly. Exactly.

Sally Porteous: Somewhere to get changed that's large enough for-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ...

Sally Porteous: however many volunteers.

Privacy concerns. Yes.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh, yep.

Sally Porteous: Like-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ...

Sally Porteous: fit.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah. Like- Exactly ...

Sally Porteous: highly unlikely there'd be one there that would fit me. Like-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I know ...

Sally Porteous: so,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: mm. I hear you, Sal. A- Interesting ... another experience where okay, I got another two. Hope you got time for them. Yeah. Oh,

Sally Porteous: absolutely ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: where, so there's, it was at a particular event.

They, the CEO of that organisation, that not-for-profit, had to walk through basically between two tables of volunteers. And the event hadn't yet started, but the CEO had arrived to do whatever the CEO was doing. But walked in between those two tables without any acknowledgement of the volunteers, who were wearing the organisation's T-shirts.

[00:47:00] So there was- Oh,

Sally Porteous: wow ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: fat chance that they wouldn't have known that they were volunteers. Their volunteers. And I just, I, I looked at that and I thought, "That is so rude. That is so awful. You could have just waved, smiled, whatever." But absolutely nothing. Like-

Sally Porteous: Said thank you.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: It's a thank you, at the very least.

I, so I was re- I was disappointed by that.

Sally Porteous: Yeah ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: and at a, at another event, the- organisers hadn't, didn't have their shit together. It was, it was pretty woeful. And so guests, paying guests were arriving for that event. The organisers were still trying to work out where their tables were going to be.

They had written what looked like a scrap of, it was a scrap of paper, hand-drawn table settings or table arrangements, seating plans, that's what I'm trying to say. Just written, which, [00:48:00] that's fine, but it was s- it was all happening. They were building the plane while flying it, basically. Yeah.

And the paying guests were arriving, so then the organisers were saying to the guests, "Oh, you're going to have to go and stand over there until we're ready." It was a nightmare. I was mortified. Yeah. Yes. So you have to have your shit together before the guests arrive, and absolutely- Yeah ... as well before your volunteers arrive

Sally Porteous: Or maybe have the conversation with the volunteers, right?

Right. We're having trouble, you know- Yes ... we're, this is what- But beforehand ... we're dealing with. Yes, yes. And- Beforehand ... but they would probably then say, "Well, can we help?" Oh, yeah. More heads are better than one.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: Rather than trying to keep it to yourself and just, leaving them over there to deal with the customer.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I agree. And one of the, the things that I am keen for every time is to provide feedback. Yes. So I do love when they put out a survey link [00:49:00] to the volunteers to say, "What went well? What could we do better next time?"

Sally Porteous: Okay.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: But very

Sally Porteous: few actually do

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: that.

Sally Porteous: So that leads me to my next question.

Sorry, Sal. Yeah, that leads me to my next question, which is- ... the off-boarding experience. Mm. Have you had, do you normally get a good off-boarding experience, like a thank you letter, certificate of appreciation, opportunity to give feedback? Does that happen very often?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: It really varies. It really varies, Sal.

Even from the same organisation. Just depends on the event or perhaps how- Oh ... clearly, how much time that volunteer or event manager may have, because sometimes they might not want the fee- feedback. Yes.

Sally Porteous: Yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: There was, there was one time that they did ask for feedback, and I loved it because they, it was like an Excel spreadsheet and it had, what worked well, and they themed it, and I loved it, and I was really into providing the feedback, 'cause there were a lot of lessons to be learned from that one.

Yeah. But, but other [00:50:00] times I feel, oh, maybe they don't care, they don't want to know, so they don't ask. So if you want to provide feedback, you've got to provide it unsolicited. So I think, well, if they haven't asked, can I be bothered? I'm not really sure. Yeah. It's not my problem per se. Okay

some organisations don't offer anything in terms of a certificate, and look, that's not why I'm doing it. But others do. Right. And in fact- Then I go, "Mm, a certificate is not something that I want. What am I going to do with this laminated certificate?" Yeah. It's not when you're at school and you're building your, your CV and you're- Yeah

collecting your c- your certificates- Yeah ... like we did in the day. I think perhaps in my view, that time could be better spent. You could ask your volunteers after, "If you need a certificate, let us know." And basically they've already got a template, so it could be spat out quite easily. But otherwise, here's some social media tiles that we've [00:51:00] produced in LinkedIn, Facebook Instagram, for you to paste on your social media channels that says, "You were here and this is what you did," or whatever it might be.

So it's very easy. There's no paper. Oh, wow. And everyone can share it, and tag us in the post or whatever it might be. Yeah ... so I think more organisations need to think strategically about what is going to get the best return on their investment for their time and their money. I think when we say-

Sally Porteous: Because that is ticking, that's ticking the association box, right?

Mm. Because it's, there's... What do they say? We want, we want three things. Here it is. People want three things. They want affiliation, status, and freedom from fear.

Mm.

That's what the human race wants. And that, that gives us our affiliation. Yeah. Because we- we're working for that organisation 'cause we want to be affiliated with either them or the cause or the CEO or the people, right?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm-mm.

Sally Porteous: So then we need to be [00:52:00] able to give you-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes ...

Sally Porteous: something to share to go- Yeah ... "Hey, I'm affiliated with them." Yeah. 'Cause again, it comes back to how we feel about it.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: That's right. And always, always comes back to people, good or bad. Yeah. So whether you've had a good experience with other volunteers, with the volunteer event manager, has it been a good vibe?

Have you had fun?

Sally Porteous: Yes. Yeah. Indeed.

I want to talk a l- logistics for a quick second.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes, go for it.

Sally Porteous: Do you want to be fed? Do you want to be watered? Do you want lollies? Do you want a room, a back room to take breaks in? In terms of logistics, do you want to be... Like, do you want a volunteer space? H- what do you...

How does it work for you? Are you happy when you show up and- All of those things are there for you? Or does it not make a difference?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think, Sal, it depends again on the event and the duration of the event. Because if it's only a short [00:53:00] window, like a couple of hours, I'm not expecting a room out the back.

I would love to know is there somewhere to put a bag. But these days, at the events, whether they like it or not, I put a, over the shoulder small bag. Yeah. That I don't have to leave anything out the back. Because you don't know whether necessarily that's going to be available for you. But there was- Or secure.

Yeah. There was an event that I attended early in the year that had a massive room out the back where they had meals and props and things that we could use, like streamers and, and face paint and really get into the sparkly vibe, which I loved. They had, where we could get our T-shirts and all sorts of things.

There were people there manning the, the back room, if you like, ready to answer questions. So that was a fun thing to, to have. But that was a, a, a fairly lengthy event, probably over, six hours or so. So it was good- Yeah ... to [00:54:00] have that room out the back. But I, I always feel, even though I'm volunteering, I'm like, "Oh, I can't spend too much time out there."

Because I feel a bit- Yeah ... bit of a bludger. But I always- Yeah. ... being a, a sug- sugar addict, I will never knock back little treaties. Thank you very much.

Sally Porteous: No. Indeed, indeed. Well, let's have a chat about the audience experience and whether, whether you, you feel like your volunteering adds to that experience, or are you seen as just part of the event crew?

What, what have you noticed at events that you've volunteered at?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: In terms of the customers, whether they- ... identify us as volunteers?

Sally Porteous: And whether it elevates their experience. Does it, does it create a different experience for them, do you think? Or is it the same no matter what?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think people at, particularly at the bigger events or, look, even smaller things- [00:55:00] People appreciate knowing that someone is a volunteer or perhaps a, a, a paid employee.

I think it maybe softens the experience. Maybe if it's a a stressful experience that someone is going through and it can help deescalate things, if you like. If someone knows that we are volunteering, like- Yeah ... basically I didn't make up the rules here, sister. I'm, I'm just... I'm here solely to help you and for you to have a good or better experience.

So I think people are generally very happy to engage with volunteers. Yeah.

Sally Porteous: Yeah, yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Particularly if you're, you're wearing something that says volunteer or identifies you as a volunteer whether it's a high vis vest or a hat or, you know- Mm ... T- T-shirt or, or a, a lanyard that stands out. Again, that can vary between [00:56:00] events, because I'm all for wearing things that make you stand out so that people can identify you and...

or if you need to point someone out, you can say, "Oh, hey, Sally. Yeah, just go d- down that little, 20 meters down and you can see that person with the hot pink fluoro vest." Yeah. Yeah ... it's easier as a marker

Sally Porteous: Yes

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: So I

Sally Porteous: think- Shall we, shall we talk about one of your most unusual or what I think is one of your most unusual volunteering gigs that you have, which is in the courts?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh.

Sally Porteous: Can we talk about that?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, yeah. '

Sally Porteous: Cause I think that's probably an experience where what you're alluding to there is that there's heightened experiences that people- Mm ... are having in those environments, and then knowing that you're a volunteer may minimise that somewhat. Yes. So why don't you share what that is?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I-

Sally Porteous: It's kind of fascinating ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: oh, it is fascinating. So I was volunteering at another, with another organisation, and I learnt about one of [00:57:00] these opportunities at, at the court. So it's through UnitingCare, and they have volunteers who go into the Brisbane Arrest Court, and now the Brisbane Magistrates Court, and potentially that may expand.

There's also Ipswich Magistrates Court. So w- I consider us, like sort of director of first impressions. So once people come through security we help people with where to go which courtroom they need to be in do they need to speak to the legal aid or the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service.

Sometimes we might actually go into the court with them to support them while they're in the court help them on the way out. So is there, what are their bail conditions? Has it been enlarged? Are they free to go? What do they need to do? So, yeah, I love it, and it's really opened up my eyes.

That's

Sally Porteous: exciting.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: And I've met some lovely fellow [00:58:00] volunteers. And because I'm me, and the other volunteers are in a similar boat, we are friendly, welcoming faces. So people come in at the Brisbane Arrest Court. That is typically their first engagement with the court process. We, we absolutely do have regulars who, who come in.

But it's, it's a whole new, new world for people perhaps that have may not been there before. And having someone welcoming, friendly, helpful, I think makes it- Yeah ... a far less stressful experience. If they can again feel, I won't necessarily say feel good, but feel better about being there because somebody is there to help them.

Sally Porteous: So what kind of briefing do you get in that environment? What is, what does your volunteer manager say to you at the start of that shift? Do they-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: We don't have, ... [00:59:00] So for that particular one, we had two days of training initially. And then we have meetings probably once a quarter where we g- might get new information.

But we have some WhatsApp groups, so, if, if we have questions we generally help each other, because you're usually on volunteering with somebody else. And so between you, you might work it out. But typically the questions are the same that we get every time. Yeah ... and we, there are also paid people that work at the court.

So if there's something that we don't know the answer to, we can take the person over to the registry office and they will assist them if we don't know the answer. So we have that backup.

Sally Porteous: Yeah. That's a great example, I think, of- Mm ... improving the customer experience.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah,

Sally Porteous: yeah. If you weren't there, if they didn't walk in and see your delightful face, they'd be scared-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm

Sally Porteous: you know, regardless of what someone's done. [01:00:00] Mm, mm. They'd be frightened. Allegedly. Allegedly. Yes. Yes, absolutely.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: I can imagine it would be a very frightening experience regardless- Mm ... of how tough you were. Yeah. You'd still be, you'd still be walking in there-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Absolutely ... worried.

Sally Porteous: And, and- And to be greeted by someone like you would be a delight.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Aw, thank you. It would be an absolute delight. But it's, it's also the people who come to courts aren't necessarily always the defendants. It's the person who might be the family member of the defendant. Yeah. It might be a, a victim, a witness, Mm

whoever it might be. We even help police, police who come in who are need to know where they've got to go. So there's- Yeah ... a whole range of people who come in. We, we don't know why they're there unless they choose to share it with us. Yeah ... but, yeah, it's everyone is on that equal playing field.

Sally Porteous: Yeah, fascinating. Equal

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: footing.

Sally Porteous: Fascinating. Equal

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: standing.

Sally Porteous: I love it. [01:01:00] All right, let's just jump back to events for a minute.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: What is ... What, what has, what is your favorite ro- volunteer role? What's the one thing, like whenever this particular role comes up you're, you're in, you want to do it? What's your favorite task, like role, I guess, at an event to do as a volunteer?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I don't, I don't have one. Do you, you asked me to select my favorite child before. I couldn't. I couldn't. Because e- each one is fun and different. Y- there are instances where I'm directing people where to go because they're on a, a walk or a run, and I'm cheering with my streamers or whatever.

"Great work. Good work. Keep on going." Yeah. And there are other instances, like at the courts where I'm welcoming people. The mood is a bit more somber. There are other times where it might be, like, at a pub choir where we're raising money, and so the vibe is good. The, it's can be hard to hear, so y- as a someone [01:02:00] who loves music, that can be fun to be at.

I, I really just love helping in whatever way that might look like. Yeah. I do have a natural affinity for all things justice, social justice related. So I do tend to go for events that fall into helping women and children, animals in particular. And yeah, anything to do with justice I'm there.

Sally Porteous: Yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Sally Porteous: Would you say, would you say the customer experience is one of your, the things that you love to do? Making sure the customer experience is good?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes, I think so. But there's a limit to what I can control as a volunteer. Of course. Because I'm not, managing the, the whole thing.

But yeah, it, I am innately, keen to ensure that somebody has a good experience. I don't want anyone to have a bad experience. I would like to [01:03:00] be able- Yeah ... to help people and make their day better or the experience better or whatever it might be. But that's just how I'm made. Yeah, yeah. And, and I apply the same in my professional life as well.

Yes. How can I help you? How can I make your day better? What can I do that is going to help you? 'Cause that makes me feel good.

Sally Porteous: Yeah. I think that's really clearly evident, Emma, is that, that you work how you live and you live how you work. Mm. Mm. You're the same person where- wherever you are.

Wherever you are. Okay, I've got, I've got a couple of last questions for you.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, yeah. Fire.

Sally Porteous: If you, if you could have every event organiser in Australia change one thing about the way they work with volunteers, what would you want them to do? What do you want them to know?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I've got a few things.

Sally Porteous: Go ahead.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Would that be all right? Okay. I-

Sally Porteous: Yeah

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: So I think perhaps the most important thing would be share the why. Why are they there? Why are they needed? Why [01:04:00] do they need to make it a good customer, client, patron experience? It might be that they want the people to come back again. It might be that they want them to donate some money or donate more money.

It, it might be that they want them to take some o- other kind of action. But share the why. Why are they there? And I think as a good example, The Forgotten Women, before we all slept in our cars, they ran a series of videos to... we- where we were able to hear why and how some women over the age of 55 either ended up homeless or were at risk of homelessness.

Wow. Wow. That really was-

Sally Porteous: Makes you work harder.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Makes you work harder. Makes you- us work harder Yeah And, and we were so committed to continuing that great work and sleeping in our cars and sharing the word on socials, [01:05:00] whatever it might be, and raising more money. ... Because it was so powerful. So hearing statistics or whatever it might be, but hearing...

It's not always possible to have, a child who's been sexually abused or a woman who's homeless, for example, to share their stories in person. But to have things from them in writing or images of, faces blurred or whatever it might be, to hear from them firsthand-

Sally Porteous: yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ... can, can make it more impactful.

Secondly, prepare your volunteers. Don't expect that people know what to do or where to go or how it all works. Don't expect that other volunteers will tell them. That's, that's not the job of the other volunteers. It's your job as the event manager or volunteer manager to prepare your volunteers.

So doing those things like the Q&As at the very least, sharing the information. Whatever, of course, is going to [01:06:00] make it easy for you. Whether it is having the website or, or the podcast or well, sending an email or whatever. But have the information there for people to be able to, to read. Prepare yourself.

So get your seating plans organised. Get your information, sorted. H- what is your wet weather plan? What, what do you do if people, guests arrive early? Think about these things. Prepare yourself.

Sally Porteous: I have a whole podcast on that.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. Good, good self.

Sally Porteous: I have, I have a whole podcast on what to do-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes ... when

Sally Porteous: you're, when you're when you're dealing with early arrivals.

Yeah. And it's about understanding your audience and knowing-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes ...

Sally Porteous: knowing them and whether they are going to come early or not. Yeah. Because often it's not- There's always

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: someone.

Sally Porteous: Yeah. Well, but it's also, you've gotta have somewhere for them to go.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, exactly. So

Sally Porteous: you need to pre-think that. Yeah. Like, where, when the person turns up half an hour early, where am I going to send them?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: Yeah, it's so misleading.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Because it will happen. It will happen, won't it? It

Sally Porteous: always happens.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Always. [01:07:00] Always. Always. It's never been me. I will never arrive early, but there's always someone.

Sally Porteous: Yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think the other thing the other little tip, respect the volunteer's time. So like we said earlier don't call your volunteers to come in for a briefing if you've already sent them that information on email.

Or, or it could've been done on a webinar or whatever it might be. Also, think strategically about how much time you need your volunteers there in advance of the event. So, don't have them there two hours early if they only need to be there one hour early, because that is another way to get people pissed off.

If they're sitting around waiting that's not cool. So be respectful- ... of their time. Ask for feedback. That is a, it's a no-brainer to me. Like, why wouldn't you ask people who volunteered, who've done the engagement, who've had that first-hand experience of how [01:08:00] it all worked what was good?

What, what worked well? What, what could be improved? What are the things that we missed? I think that's so important to ask for that feedback. Yeah. Yeah. Acknowledge your volunteers, and be genuine and heartfelt about it. Thank you so much, we r- we couldn't have done this without you, and really mean it.

And, the CEO not walking through tables without acknowledging. Everybody needs to say thank you, at the very least.

Sally Porteous: Yes ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: and with all of the volunteering that I do, there was only one organisation that acknowledged us during National Volunteers Week. One. One. The rest posted about it on social media, but they didn't send any personal message.

Like, how hard- Yeah ... could that be? And I think the other critical- thing to do for event organisers, and again, as a comms person I can't help but, but say this, is close the loop. [01:09:00] So what I mean by that is if you've been making sandwiches, tell people, "We've just made 2,000 sandwiches. That is going to impact X number of children."

Or, "We have just raised, thanks to your effort, $5 million here today," or whatever it might be. Like, that would be a great day, a great venue, but a great event if that were the case. But tell people, and then they can share that in their- Yeah ... socials or on their emails or whatever it might be. And, and they feel good about being part of an event that raised this much money or made this many sandwiches or s- saved this many women or whatever it might be.

It's important to, to close that loop. And if you can, let them know about other opportunities that might be coming up to volunteer with your organisation.

Sally Porteous: Again, okay. Yeah, that's good to know. Good to [01:10:00] know. I think to encapsulate all of that, Emma, it's- ... people have to make time. It has to be part of the event plan-

To schedule in that post-event activity. Mm. Often that's why I asked you the off-boarding question.

Mm.

Because people don't off-board volunteers. No. They leave the event, and that's it. You never hear from them again.

Yeah.

I've had experiences, I had one particular experience where I did something last-minute for somebody, and they needed two people.

Mm. And I knew someone who was wanting to get experience, so I said, "Look, I can get this other person to come and do it with me." Because I won't, I won't ask anyone to do anything for free if I'm getting paid. Yeah. Mm. I, I have to do it for free if they're doing it for free. It's just something that...

Anyway, I'll get over it one day, but, so I'd said, "But she's trying to get in the industry," and she, this person was going for a job at Disney World in America.

Oh, wow.

So I said, "A letter from you," 'cause this person was a very [01:11:00] high-profile person, "this letter from you would be amazing for her to take."

So, and she was an incredible, Mm ... event assistant. She was really amazing. Anyway post-event I asked for the letter.

Mm.

And the response was, "Oh, you just write it for me and I'll sign it." And I was like, "No, that wasn't the deal." Like- It needs to come from you

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, I don't like that. Yeah, yeah.

Sally Porteous: It needs to be- Heartfelt

a heartfelt thank you- Mm ... from you.

And they just never made the time. And so I think as organisers, we need to build in the time. Mm. We need to build in, that is a task that needs to be added to the task list- Mm,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: mm ...

Sally Porteous: to off-board people that have helped us- Yeah ... supported us, all of those things.

And we need to make sure we have time after the end of the event to send the email thank yous, to do the posts on social media and do the tagging. Yeah. And you can set all that up. Like you can- Yes ... pre-write the majority of it-

Mm, mm ...

and leave space for, you know- [01:12:00] Tailoring ... the, the extra personal things.

Mm. So I think you're absolutely right. So, one last question for you. Oh, yeah. After all the volunteering you've done, what keeps you saying yes? Which I think we know the answer to, but you may have a different answer.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I can't help myself. It's-

Sally Porteous: Yes ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: to be honest, it's, I'm my own worst enemy. It ha- people needing help is my kryptonite, and it, I'm just, even if I'm already at capacity and I start to write, "Oh, I'm so sorry I can't help you," I'm like I could help you in a month's time."

Yeah. Right. That's probably what keeps me going back, but yeah, just being able to help people, and I feel good about helping people or animals. Well,

Sally Porteous: we love having you in the world, Emma.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Aw. Thank you, Sal. Thank you so much

Sally Porteous: for this chat.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think we're going to have- Thank you for having me ...

Sally Porteous: we're going to give much better volunteering experiences as a [01:13:00] result.

Aw. So, for all those event organisers out there I think I'll try and put this into a little checklist. I think I do have a volunteer checklist. Hmm. Maybe I will- We could work on one

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: together, Sal.

Sally Porteous: Yes. And I think we should share it. So, yeah, let's do that. Let's work on a volunteer checklist that we can give away- Yes, yes

to whoever wants it-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ...

Sally Porteous: to give everyone a much better experience. So thank you- That sounds great ... for being with us. I really appreciate your time.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: No

Sally Porteous: worries. And is there anything else you want to share?

How can people find you? Where do you want us to come looking for you?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Well, I guess it depends on what platform people like to use, but I'm on LinkedIn Emma Boddington-Stubbs.

I also have I have a few Instagram pages.

Sally Porteous: I noticed a new one I hadn't... Here we go, Eb's Creative Corner. I found that one today.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh, yes. Well, actually, Sal- Is it new? ... I'm, I'm shutting that down because I have too many. I have too many, and I just decided I need to [01:14:00] consolidate. But I foster dogs from time to time.

So our dog, foster dog, he has his own Insta page. And then I manage various client pages. So it's every day, who am I? What am- what- where can you contact me? I have so many channels. What hat will I

Sally Porteous: wear today?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah, exactly. Who am I? But yeah, generally Instagram and LinkedIn. And I think one other tip, if I may.

Please. This perhaps goes back to the war stories. I think that event managers need to have a plan for if things go awry with the volunteers. If there is one volunteer where they may be upsetting the apple cart, upsetting the other volunteers, and the other volunteers are like, "Hey, we can't work with that person anymore," what is the plan to [01:15:00] quietly, discreetly exit that person?

I think people need to be prepared for that. Or if that volunteer has been consuming the charity drinks or whatever it might be, and suddenly they are intoxicated and wearing, the organisational T-shirt or whatever it might be, what is the plan to safely and discreetly exit them from the event?

So I think need to think about those things as part of the risk mitigation.

Sally Porteous: Yes, absolutely. That needs- Mm ... to go into the risk management plan. Yes, very good. Yeah. Very good. Yeah. You've just reminded me of an experience. It wasn't- Ooh ... other volunteers, but it was someone on site. Yeah. All my volunteers quit.

What? Every single one of them said, "We're not dealing with that. We're out."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Holy cow.

Sally Porteous: The person- Oh ... the person who owned this building that- Yeah ... this event was in didn't agree with this event being held there. Oh. [01:16:00] And it was a, it was a very, very huge- Yeah ... statewide event.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm.

Sally Porteous: And they came in and basically shirt-fronted me, trying to get me out of the venue.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh.

Sally Porteous: It was really scary. It was really, really scary. Gosh. And the volunteers were behind me, and I only had five-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh ...

Sally Porteous: over a 10-day period, so you can imagine-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh, so ...

Sally Porteous: the event that I'm talking about. And they all quit. They all said that, "We didn't sign up for this."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah,

Sally Porteous: that's right. "We don't need to be abused by someone."

Yeah. Wow. And I had to beg and plead them. I bought them gifts. Oh. "Please, this will never happen again." Oh. I've gone to the ... I've, I, I went to the lead event manager and said, "You need to get that person off site. We need to never see them again." Oh. And they, to their credit, they did. They dealt with it and, and got rid of them.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Gosh.

Sally Porteous: I had to beg and plead this, 'cause I couldn't, there's no way I could have done this without- Oh, stop ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: gosh ...

Sally Porteous: yeah, it's, as you say, th- there needs to be, Mm ... you need support.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: Number one, you need support- Yeah ... as well. So-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm ...

Sally Porteous: if someone does go a bit [01:17:00] rogue-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah

Sally Porteous: you need to know that if you're the event manager, if you're the volunteer manager-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm ...

Sally Porteous: that your event manager supports you and your CEO supports you. And so if, if you're- Mm ... the volunteer manager and you've decided someone needs to be removed, that that's just going to be an automatic yes up the chain.

Yeah. You don't, you don't need anyone going, "Well, hang on. Let's hear the whole story first." Like-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ...

Sally Porteous: that would, yeah.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Wow.

Sally Porteous: Gosh. You have to have all that sorted. So no, I totally agree with you.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: But on that note, let's share that volunteering is a wonderful experience. I've done it plenty myself.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: It can be. It can be wonderful.

Sally Porteous: Yes, and so I have three ru- my rules are I need to make friends. Yes. Learn something new, or it needs to lead to more business- Yeah ... somewhere else.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: So I might take a chance and do that event over there because it's an opportunity to profile my skills- Mm ... for this event over here that I might get paid for.

Yeah ... so they're my three rules.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: [01:18:00] Yes. Yes.

Sally Porteous: And unlike you, I, I only, I only offer it three times a year. 'Cause I have to limit myself. Yeah. That's how I limit myself.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah. '

Sally Porteous: Cause otherwise I wouldn't have time to do the paid work. So I'm like, I work on three events for free only once I've chose- Yeah

and it also helps me choose.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: So it helps me be very strategic about my choices. Because once I've chosen those three-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes,

Sally Porteous: you're out ... if the best one ever comes along- Mm ... I can't, I have to say no. Mm. Yeah. So, that's my criteria anyway.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: It's very strategic, Sal. Yeah. Very strategic. Well, it is- I'm led by my heart.

Sally Porteous: Well, yeah. And I mean, gosh, I don't know how you manage to fit it all in, but-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ...

Sally Porteous: you do, and we appreciate you for that. So-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Ah ...

Sally Porteous: I'm going to let us sign off there. Emma, it's been a delight.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Thanks. Thanks for

Sally Porteous: having

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: me.

Sally Porteous: We will, we will create our little volunteer checklist for people. And, I think we could do

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: more than

Sally Porteous: that,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Sal.

We'll share- We could do more [01:19:00]

Sally Porteous: We could do more. And what are you suggesting the more is?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Well, well we could it could be part of your program. Like we could have a, a session or podcast or whatever it is just on volunteering. Like obviously we have just scratched the surface. There's so much more that we can share to make it a-

Sally Porteous: Yes

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: more robust.

Sally Porteous: Well, I think we can add to it, 'cause I do have the little, I do have a, a little bonus in there on volunteering. Yes. And I have-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Beautiful ...

Sally Porteous: I have job descriptions. Yes. And I have EOIs and- Yeah ... all of that kind of thing in there. So, I, 'cause I think one of the most important things is, which is why I kind of asked you about role- Mm

is I think it's important to be distinct about what roles are available. Yeah, yeah. And let people choose the role that they want to choose.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: Rather than someone coming along and you go, "Oh good, [01:20:00] I'll put you on front of house."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: Yeah. "Oh, okay." Yeah. "I hate talking to people." I, like- Exactly ... "I want to be back of house," yeah. So I think it's really important to, A, know what roles need to be filled, just like any company.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: And, and let people say, "Hey, I'd like to do that over there."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: I also think that we need to give people the opportunity to learn new skills if they want to. Mm. So one of the things I try and do is I try to use the skills that the person already has that they're really good in to teach someone else- Yeah

in the organisation as well. Mm. Mm. Particularly with events. 'Cause you often get marketing people might volunteer. Mm. They might put their hand up and say, "Look, I'll do your marketing for you."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah.

Sally Porteous: But then someone in, who's doing the logistics might really want to learn about marketing, and vice versa.

Yeah. Yeah. The marketing person might really want to learn about vendor relations and contract negotiation and all that kind of thing.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes.

Sally Porteous: So I try and cross-pollinate [01:21:00] using the skills someone has and then, like you for example, if you volunteered on one of my events, I'd be like, "Please, please, please be the comms person."

But I would also say, "What do you want to learn? What kind of experience- Yeah ... are you looking to expand on?" Yes. And then I would find that person to pair you up with.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes. Sal- And- I just remembered one more, this is hilarious war, war story if you like. But it was- Yeah ... at an event, and we were selling raffle tickets.

One can never assume that people know how raffle tickets work. So I unfortunately discovered it- a little bit too late that the fellow volunteer that I was working with, because I was taking the payment for the for the raffle tickets, and this other person was giving out the raffle tickets. And I think it was the second customer that we'd had that I discovered that she was not only giving out the raffle tickets, but the [01:22:00] butts as well-

Sally Porteous: Oh,

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: no

to the person. Which effectively meant that those people weren't going to be in the raffle. They weren't going to win. So I managed to track down the second person. I could not find the first person. Oh, no. But I said, "Oh, please, come back and we'll reissue those raffle tickets." But I was like, "Oh my gosh, what the heck?"

So never assume- Never you

Sally Porteous: assume, hey ...

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: that people know how those things work. You have to tell them.

Sally Porteous: Well, my little, my little tip about raffles, one of the things that gets under my skin all the time is people don't realise that they are legally obliged to draw the best prize first.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes, right.

Okay. Not

Sally Porteous: last.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm.

Sally Porteous: It's against the law.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh.

Sally Porteous: Because I've bought a ticket in the best prize, not the worst prize.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah. No,

Sally Porteous: that's right. I bought a ticket in the best prize. Yes. So unless, unless you're putting all the tickets back in.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm.

Sally Porteous: So you're allowed to do it that [01:23:00] way. If I win the book instead of the trip to Paris-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm.

Sally Porteous: Not happy ... and you put my ticket back in-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yeah ...

Sally Porteous: then you can draw the worst prize first. But when you think it logically, of course Yes ... I'm buying a ticket- Makes sense ... for a trip to Paris. Yeah. You can't draw me the book and then take me out of the running, 'cause that's not what I bought a ticket for.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: That's so interesting.

Sally Porteous: So if you're ever at anything- That's

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: good intel ...

Sally Porteous: yes. And it's, it's detailed on the gaming, Queensland- Mm ... Gaming website as well, how to run raffles.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Okay.

Sally Porteous: So if you're- Thanks, Sal ... at anything and they want to draw the bunch of flowers before they draw the trip to Paris.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yep. Mm-mm.

Sally Porteous: No, no.

Not allowed. Hope not. Unless they put the ticket back in the mix.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Very interesting. Thank you. Yes. Thank you for that. I appreciate

Sally Porteous: it. And I don't know why they don't put the ticket back in the mix. So what?

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm. I don't know.

Sally Porteous: You should put the ticket back in.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Mm. '

Sally Porteous: Cause I bought a ticket in the trip to Paris.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Yes, exactly.

Sally Porteous: [01:24:00] Anyway.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I'll pass that on.

Sally Porteous: That's my lesson for today. Emma, I've loved- Yes ... hanging out with you. Thank you.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh, I loved hanging out with you.

Sally Porteous: How did that feel? That's your first podcast done.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Gosh.

Sally Porteous: You should do more, because you've got-

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Oh ...

Sally Porteous: such an amazing background.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: Aw.

Sally Porteous: Thank you. You should be reaching out to people going, "Hey, pick me on your podcast."

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: I think, well, we'll just see how this one all eventuates. But baby steps. But because, because, yeah, that imposter syndrome. I'm like, "Oh, I don't have anything to share." But it's... I do. I do. I think it's just the confidence.

Volunteers make the world go round.

Sally Porteous: Love it. Good job. That's a good finisher.

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: All right. All

Sally Porteous: right. Thanks, then. I'll talk

Emma Boddington-Stubbs: to you soon. Okay, bye.

Sally Porteous: See you. Bye.

Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to this episode. You will find all the links to the organizations that Emma mentioned in the transcript below. [01:25:00] And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast if you like what you're hearing. These podcast episodes are launched on a regular basis and cover a wide range of topics in relation to planning of events.

I also host a lot of events. I have a membership program and lots of interesting resources for you to check out. So be sure to check the links in all the information below, and we'll see you in the next episode

26. Why volunteers don't come back to your event (and how to fix it)

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