Rosterfy catches up with Lee Hendrickson, Head of Volunteers at The Super Bowl LIII to learn more about their end to end volunteer management.
With the goal of a successful Super Bowl LIII hosted by the city of Atlanta, the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee works as a liaison between local entities and the National Football League (NFL). One of the committee's many roles in the time leading up to Super Bowl LIII, which will be held on February 3, 2019, was the creation of a volunteer program.
Press play to watch the Rosterfy case study of the Atlanta Super Bowl LIII.
From the start, the volunteer program was a big undertaking. The committee had more than 10,000 roles to fill with volunteers that would be placed in more than 200 locations across Atlanta during Super Bowl week - interacting with visitors from the moment they arrived and all the way up to the Big Game.
As they started the process of forming the Super Bowl volunteer workforce, the host committee, who had just finished hosting the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship in Atlanta, went back to the drawing board to find a volunteer management platform that would be the perfect fit in the lead up to Super Bowl LIII.
"We wanted to make sure we stayed open minded even though we were just coming off hosting a major event," Lee Hendrickson, Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee Vice President of Community Engagement and Volunteer Programs, said. "We wanted to really evaluate the needs of the Super Bowl as its own entity and as we went through the National Championship experience we continued to vet some companies that we thought might be a good fit."
"Rosterfy really set themselves apart in terms of their track record in [the 2017 and 2018 Super Bowls in] Houston and Minnesota and also the partnership we were able to build with them over the months of vetting to learn more about their capabilities."
Read more: The five things we learnt from Super Bowl LI.
When applications to participate in the Super Bowl LIII volunteer program opened there were more than 5,000 applications within the first 24 hours - setting the tone early for the scale of the volunteer program that would need to be managed. When the application period closed, the committee had received 32,500 applications.
"[As the program kicked off, Rosterfy] was able to provide custom adjustments for us to best suit our needs and to continue to refine the system," Hendrickson said. "We were really pleased with their ability to adapt - something that's so critical from a technology standpoint; having the confidence that the platform could support adjustments that could be made in real time."
Receiving the applications was just the start. The 32,500 applications that had been received represented potential volunteers that needed to be screened, called for interviews and, if a member of the 10,000 volunteers selected, communicated with about schedules, training and more over the course of nearly six months.
"For us, it's really important that we think about the security of the data and also the public safety component of our [volunteer] background checks," Hendrickson said. "Rosterfy put us in the position to both seamlessly integrate with our background check vendor, but also have a way to securely store the personal data of our volunteers."
As Super Bowl LIII moves closer and the volunteers move from the interview and screening process towards training and, in the end, welcoming football fans from across the world to Atlanta, Rosterfy has not only been put to the test, but continues to exceed expectations.
"The [Rosterfy] platform is really great for helping to really engage with volunteers and not just provide information," Hendrickson said. "We've enjoyed features like being able to post photos and have a notice board - the all-together smooth mass communication process has been really essential for us."
On top of helping the committee communicate with the volunteers, Rosterfy has also helped the committee get to know the people who are representing them.
"The data that's available [through Rosterfy] is a huge advantage for us," Hendrickson said. "It's important to us that we try and get to know the volunteer population and how our volunteers are reflecting the broader Atlanta population."
The final 10,000 volunteers selected reflect and represent Atlanta's diversity - spanning four generations and speaking 22 languages.
"[Rosterfy] helps us to tell the story."
"In our experience, [Rosterfy] has been an incredible fit," Hendrickson said. "The partnership, the flexibility, the level of attention-to-detail… It's graphically appealing and easy to navigate. We have volunteers who run the full gamete of ages 18 and up - and to be able to connect with that entire audience is really important to us and something that Rosterfy has been able to provide."
Well before the actual Super Bowl occurs, Rosterfy has helped the committee track thousands of volunteer service hours that have been logged through the interview process and other community events.
"We wouldn't be able to seamlessly manage that without the Rosterfy platform." And with the prep work for Super Bowl LIII just kicking into high gear as game day approaches, they won't have to.
If you’d like to learn more about how Rosterfy can help you better engage with your volunteers through a volunteer management solution, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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