By any kind of maths, the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England and Wales is a huge beast. Before even contemplating the avalanche of runs and wickets to come, the World Cup will see ten teams compete across 48 matches.
Hundreds of support and coaching staff, dozens of administrators, eleven venues and an estimated 800,000 attendees – just a fraction of the 2.5 million applications for the ticketing ballot – will combine for the biggest event in cricket’s global calendar.
A huge thank you to the 3,000 volunteers
And while it won’t appear on any scorecard, one of the most crucial numbers to underpin the event is 3,000 – the number of ‘Cricketeers’ volunteering at the tournament. Working across some 15,500 shifts, the volunteer taskforce will be the glue that holds the Cricket World Cup together, providing a myriad of key services across spectator services, broadcast & media, transport, rights protection, hospitality and accreditation.
The sheer scale of the World Cup means that the logistics of recruiting, interviewing and training such a number kicked off more than six months before the tournament’s start. Rosterfy co-founder Shannan Gove, says that the process of recruiting an initial group of volunteers is a complex one.
“Getting applications in is the first hurdle, then we screen and analyze those candidates and move them through the system based on the data we capture about their skills. We have the ability to create user groups and searches, enabling easy communication with candidates that match different criteria,” he says.
“It’s really a seven or eight-step process. From interviews, scheduling, role offers and specific training, both online and in-person. The World Cup did a great job with engaging international volunteers and keeping the volunteers engaged with venue-specific training and training based on volunteer skills and different functional areas.”
How to manage the huge numbers tournaments require
The months-long process of whittling more than 20,000 initial application down to 3,000 Cricketeers, training and filling the 15,000-plus shifts is a massive task in itself. But with the tournament underway, Rosterfy’s role pivots into delivery mode, adopting a new focus. Gove says these functions include an online check-in portal for all volunteers and a real-time tracker enabling the Cricket World Cup to see where all its volunteers are at all times and communicate with them appropriately.
This technology also logs information about how many shifts individuals have done, tracking what rewards and recognition the Cricketeers are due. Gove says this system effectively allows the World Cup to overcome a problem that has always troubled the organisers of major events – how to keep volunteers engaged throughout the event and beyond?
Engaging the workforce
“After a second shift a volunteer might get a certain reward, and after a third or fourth they might get an additional reward. We can also use the same system to send out certificates of recognition and personalized and bespoke communications,” says Gove.
With a core team of four organising committee staff overseeing volunteer services, the Cricket World Cup has adopted many of Rosterfy’s newest features, delivering an end-to-end platform for its volunteers.
“The Cricket World Cup has been an amazing client – they really take on board the functionalities that Rosterfy has and use them to a really high standard. They’ve really taken all the capabilities of Rosterfy and run with them,” says Gove.
Sign up to be a cricketeer here.
About Rosterfy
As well as powering the Cricket World Cup, Rosterfy is used my large scale sporting events around the world. Rosterfy’s industry leading volunteer management solution can handle scheduling, recruiting, training, communication, check in and check out, plus reporting and reward and recogntion.
Get in touch with us to book a demo today.