Volunteer Management in Event Industry GIIAS SURABAYA AUTO

SHOW 2017

Afifah Rahmania

, Windijarto

and Indrianawati

Postgraduate School, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Airlangga no. 4-6, Surabaya, Indonesia

Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia

Keywords: volunteers; human resource planning; volunteer management; MICE industry; automotive exhibition

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of volunteer recruitment for GIIAS Surabaya Auto

Show as well as to find out whether the recruited volunteers’ competencies are suitable for their job

descriptions and they are the right people to achieve the event goals. This research started with a literature

review which became the basic knowledge for the topic. The primary data were gathered through several in-

depth interviews with the company’s head of human resource (HR) and some volunteers. The secondary

data were collected from event reports and publications. Results and collected data were sorted, reduced,

and displayed. A conclusion was drawn to answer the research question. Volunteers were not given the

opportunity to choose their desired stations during the event. This condition resulted in a low sense of

responsibility in making the event successful. The results of the research reveal that the HR department does

not have proper knowledge of HR planning, thus, affecting how the company manages its volunteers.

Volunteers with low work ethic are likely to put less effort into providing services to the event organizer,

exhibitors, and visitors. Interviews were conducted with the company’s HR department to find out about

the company’s HR planning, specifically in managing its volunteers. Follow-up interviews with the

volunteers of GIIAS Surabaya Auto Show provided insight for the event organizer that shed light on factors

that influence volunteers’ work ethics. The findings of this study suggest that the company’s HR

department should recruit volunteers based on their backgrounds and competencies, not merely based on

their availability. Then, volunteers can be assigned to jobs that match their passion which can enhance their

loyalty to the company and their potential efforts in achieving the event’s goals.

1. INTRODUCTION

Human resource management is much more than

recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers; it

is a wide-ranging activity involving a long-term

strategic development of the event organization. The

expected outcome of this activity is a positive

culture of commitment and co-operation developed

in the process of managing the workforce. In the

event business, diverse non-traditional employment

contracts and an extraordinarily complex workforce

need to be integrated into one cohesive body

working towards the same purpose and goals.

Due to the dynamics of the event industry,

Human Resource Management requires special

attention and consideration in the event context.

Firstly, events, as opposed to other more permanent

and stable business operations, can be classified as

projects (Bladen et al., 2012). Projects are defined as

unique, temporary endeavours (Schwalbe, 2009)

with specific objectives that are to be completed

within limited time and budget frame, requiring the

coordination of different functional areas

(Kloppenborg, 2012). Thus, every event is handled

and managed as a distinct and separate entity. This

definition also holds true for professional event

organizations which continuously plan and deliver

numerous events as part of their day-to-day business

process, as well as for events which are re-occurring

in timely intervals or in other locations. Even though

some events might share several similar features,

every event forms a unique project due to event-

specific requirements, different external

environments, and influences. This uniqueness and

distinctiveness of every event poses a special

challenge for Human Resource Management since

Rahmania, A., Windijarto, . and Indrianawati, .

Volunteer Management in Event Industry GIIAS SURABAYA AUTO SHOW 2017.

DOI: 10.5220/0007538200970100

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference Postgraduate School (ICPS 2018), pages 97-100

ISBN: 978-989-758-348-3

every individual event has different staffing

requirements regarding numbers and qualifications.

For the majority of events, volunteers are a very

important part of the workforce; Goldblatt (2011)

even calls them the lifeblood of many events without

which these events could not be delivered.

Volunteers commit their time, skills, and effort to

the benefit of an event without financial

compensation. In order to effectively recruit, reward,

and retain volunteers, it is thus crucial to know why

they are volunteering and what they expect from it

(Shone and Parry, 2004).

At its most basic level, volunteer management

can be described as the selection, supervision and

engagement of volunteers. However, it is much more

than that as volunteer management opens an

organization to the community and allows citizens to

get involved. Managers of volunteers ensure the

well-being and happiness of an organization’s

volunteers. They keep volunteer programs effective

and engaging (“Volunteer Management | Volunteer

Canada” n.d.)

This project concerns the volunteer management

of the infrastructure production in GIIAS Surabaya

Auto Show 2017. Human resource management is a

vital part of functional event productions. In this

study, the focus is set on the planning and

management of human resources, especially from

the aspects of the infrastructure production team and

volunteers. The aim of this project is to concentrate

on the problems and challenges faced by the

volunteers, identify development needs and provide

improvements that can be applied in future

production of GIIAS Surabaya Auto Show.

The author worked in the GIIAS Surabaya Auto

Show 2015 production team as a program

coordinator. The responsibilities of the work

consisted of supervising volunteers and planning the

job directly in order to keep to the predefined

production schedule.

The first automotive exhibition hosted by

GAIKINDO, Pameran Mobil GAIKINDO, was

established in 1986 and marks the beginning of

Indonesia’s largest automotive exhibition. In 2006,

the exhibition reached a new platform by becoming

an international-scale exhibition endorsed by OICA

(Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs

d’Automobiles) and changed its name to Indonesia

International Motor Show (IIMS). With more than

30 years of fantastic journey, in order to drive the

exhibition towards a brighter future, GAIKINDO

launched the show with a new brand: GAIKINDO

Indonesia International AUTO SHOW (GIIAS) in

2015.

As a part of the GIIAS series, GIIAS Makassar

Auto Show (South Sulawesi) and GIIAS Surabaya

Auto Show (East Java) held in 2015 recorded more

than 500,000 visitors. Both exhibitions contributed

up to IDR 6.3 trillion to the Indonesian automotive

industry. Those GIIAS series are still running

annually in each city.

2 METHODOLOGY

Both quantitative and qualitative research methods

are important in the fields of organization studies

and human resource management (Creswell 2009).

The two research directions differ from each other in

their basic epistemological assumptions.

Quantitative research assumes regularities in social

contexts that can be analysed objectively and

explained theoretically by data. In contrast,

qualitative research assumes that there are no

general regularities in social contexts. Such research

is therefore oriented more strongly to individual

cases and cannot claim to depict the research object

completely and in all its facets (Creswell, 2009).

However, the different individual interpretations

enable the researcher to gain a deeper understanding

of, and some initial information about, the research

object (Bluhm et al., 2011).

The author firstly conducted a literature review

of the current state of research. Secondly, several

volunteers who had worked at the event production

were interviewed. Those volunteers were stationed

at different parts of the event, namely: ticketing,

indoor and outdoor area, stage, multimedia, and test-

drive area. Beside volunteers, an interview was

conducted with one permanent employee, Human

Resource Development staff, of the event

organization who had organized GIIAS Surabaya

Auto Show 2017.

This research uses the concept of seven stages of

volunteer management to study the process of

volunteer planning and management in the event of

GIIAS Surabaya Auto Show 2017.

3 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH

PROBLEM

In order to achieve a successful event, human

resource planning and management are set on high

priority. Events have a timeline extending from

planning to conducting the actual event and post-

event period. As an event date approaches, the need

ICPS 2018 - 2nd International Conference Postgraduate School

for human resources increases and reaches its peak

during the implementation. This variety of processes

in event production sets a number of potential

challenges (Allen et al., 2008). In this study, the

question to be answered is: what was the volunteer

planning process in the production of GIIAS

Surabaya Auto Show 2017?

4 STAGES OF VOLUNTEER

MANAGEMENT

There is a volunteer management model which is

widely recognised as the best practice framework for

effective management of volunteers and volunteer

programs. That model includes seven stages of

volunteer management, namely: planning and

design, recruitment, screening and matching,

orientation and training, supervision and support,

recognition, and evaluation (“Volunteer

Management Essentials”, n.d.).

Effective planning and design lay the

foundations for successful volunteer programs. In

this stage, volunteer managers identify the goals of

the program, create a budget and identify the role

that volunteers will play within the organization.

During the stage of recruitment, volunteers are

sought and the application process takes place.

Volunteer managers choose a target audience and

launch a recruitment campaign in order to attract

volunteers.

The process of screening and matching

volunteers includes interviews, reference checks and

appropriate background checks. Volunteer managers

are responsible for the safe handling of information

and may need to manage unsuccessful candidates.

Orientation and training of volunteer

management are centred on enabling and

empowering volunteers to make a valuable

contribution to the organization. Volunteer managers

are responsible for ensuring that volunteers receive

ongoing opportunities for training and development.

Effective supervision and support motivate

volunteers and give them a sense of purpose.

Volunteer managers ensure that supervision and

support are provided as well as disputes and

grievances managed appropriately.

Steps taken to recognise the contribution made

by volunteers can enhance volunteer retention and

commitment. Volunteer managers identify

opportunities to reward and recognize volunteers.

Evaluation of volunteer programs allows

continuous improvements to be made. Volunteer

managers ensure that volunteer programs are

carefully evaluated using a variety of methods.

5 FINDINGS

The volunteer recruitment process of GIIAS

Surabaya Auto Show 2017 was based on the

availability instead of the competency of the

volunteers. Volunteers were not given the

opportunity to choose their desired stations during

the event. This condition resulted in a low sense of

responsibility in making the event successful. The

results of the research reveal that the HR department

does not have proper knowledge of HR planning,

thus, affecting how the company manages its

volunteers. Volunteers with low work ethic are

likely to put less effort into providing services to the

event organizer, exhibitors, and visitors. The EO

gave a one-day orientation and transferred basic

knowledge about each volunteer’s job description.

Volunteers felt more like being controlled than

supervized. They tended to be the ones to blame

when things did not go as expected during the event.

Evaluation was done every day for five days

(number of days event being held).

6 CONCLUSION

When the volunteer planning process is conducted

poorly, the volunteers will not reach their maximum

performances. Volunteers who feel less appreciated

by the supervisor will work carelessly and often

leave their stations. The services provided by

volunteers can be far from excellent which happens

because volunteers are not given the opportunity to

choose their positions in organizing the event.

REFERENCES

Allen, Johnny, William O’Toole, Robert Harris, and

Ian McDonnel. 2008. Festival & Special Event

Management. Fourth Edi. Milton: John Wiley &

Sons Australia Ltd.

Bladen, Charles, Emma Abson, James Kennell, and

Nick Wilde. 2012. Events Management: An

Introduction. Abingdon: Routledge.

Bluhm, Dustin, Wendy Harman, Thomas Lee, and

Terence Mitchell. 2011. “Qualitative Reserach in

Management: A Decade of Progress.” Journal of

Management Studies 48 (8):1866–91.

Volunteer Management in Event Industry GIIAS SURABAYA AUTO SHOW 2017

Creswell, John W. 2009. Reserach Design,

Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods

Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE

Publications.

Goldblatt, Joe. 2011. Special Events: A New

Generation and the Next Frontier. 6th editio.

Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Kloppenborg, Timothy J. 2012. Contemporary

Project Management. Second Edi. Mason

(Ohio): South-Western Cengage Learning.

Schwalbe, Kathy. 2009. Introduction to Project

Management. Second Edi. Boston: Course

Technology Cengage Learning.

Shone, Anton, and Bryn Parry. 2004. Successfull

Event Management: A Practical Handbook. 2nd

editio. London: Thomson.

“Volunteer Management | Volunteer Canada.” n.d.

Accessed December 29, 2017.

https://volunteer.ca/management.

“Volunteer Management Essentials.” n.d. Accessed

December 29, 2017. http://www.vtic.com.au/wp-

content/uploads/2015/04/WerribeeVIC-

StaffTraining-VolunteerManagementEssentials-

2012.pdf.

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