Is Volunteer Use an Effective HRM Strategy for Event Organizations?

This essay explores the effectiveness of using volunteers as a Human Resource Management (HRM) strategy within event organizations across public, private, and third sectors. It delves into the concept of Strategic HRM and its various models, examining how volunteer involvement relates to achieving organizational goals such as flexibility, commitment, customer service, and cost reduction. The essay analyzes different HRM frameworks, including the Harvard and Warwick models, to assess the impact of volunteer management on organizational performance. It discusses the nature of volunteering, its benefits to both volunteers and organizations, and its alignment with organizational missions and strategic goals. Furthermore, it examines how event organizations leverage volunteers for mass participation events, fundraising, and skill enhancement, contributing to community relationships and overall organizational success.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human resource management
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Introduction
The essay is prepared to discuss about the management of human resources and its
relationship with the strategies to achieve better flexibility, commitment and deliver the best
quality customers’ services for building long term sustainability. The human resource
management is an effective strategies approach for managing the organization effectively and
ensuring that the staffs are handled and understand them about their roles and responsibilities
properly. It is designed for enhancing the performances of the employees and achieving the
desired goals and objectives set by the employer of the organization. The HR is concerned with
the handling and management of people within the organization by following the policies,
practices, rules and regulations furthermore create training and developmental sessions along
with recruitment, selection and performance appraisal processes to bring organizational change
(Armstrong and Taylor 2014). This will also include managing the industrial relations and
maintaining a balance between the organizational practices considering the requirements of
collective bargaining and governmental laws, rules and regulations.
Human resource management
The management of human resources is essential for the business organizations to
management of people working at the organization and managing changes to ensure successful
management of human capital along with proper focus on the implementation of policies and
procedures. The human resource management enables various processes including recruitment
and selection, training and development along with continuous development procedures. The
HRM approaches also include training programs arranged for the employees of the organization,
evaluation of performances, providing rewards to the staffs for ensuring improvement of their

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performances and keeping them motivated to perform efficiently (Brewster and Hegewisch
2017). The management of employee relations includes considering the needs and preferences of
employees, making sure that the policies and practices of the organization are followed properly
along with the prevention of discrimination and harassment within the workplace. There are
various compensation structures that are developed to provide the right wages to the employees
and even providing other benefits to the employees. The human resource management
professionals are assigned with the roles and responsibilities to manage the labor relations,
furthermore create unionization and coordination among employees to enhance the business
performance and efficiency in terms of profit level achieved and competitive advantage in
business (Budhwar and Debrah 2013).
Strategic HRM
The strategic human resource management is an effective procedure followed by the
events organizations to manage processes like attracting talents, development of skills and
knowledge, providing rewards to the employees, retaining the existing employees and even
improving the ability of the organization to manage the human resources properly. It will benefit
both the organization and the employees, thereby improve the performance of the organization
and ensure that the expected revenue is generated with ease and efficacy (Alfes et al. 2013). The
HR departments are responsible for managing the human resources and at the same time, make
the staffs understand the goals and objectives properly to support the legal compliance with the
legislations, laws and rules. The strategic human resource management is also responsible for
using the talents and opportunities within the human resource department and makes the HRM
strategies much more flexible and sustainable to reduce the cost of operations and provide the
best quality customers’ services. The strategic human resource department can also develop

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plans for recruitment, selection, training and compensation according to the goals and objectives
of the organization and ensure business success through the accomplishment of long term
business goals and objectives along with gaining competitive advantage in business
(Marchington et al. 2016).
Models and frameworks for human resource management
The Harvard framework consists of six major elements of the human resource
management and the various dimensions include the interests of the stakeholders, situational
factors, making the right choices of HRM policies, HRM outcomes, long term effects that may
be brought and the feedback loop, which can allow for measuring the progress of successful
HRM strategic implementation. The outcomes generated are transferred to the organization and
its stakeholders who are managed properly to ensure successful management of human resources
at the events organization (Purce 2014).

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Figure: Harvard model of HRM (Purce 2014)
The model proposed by David Guest enables development and implementation of various
strategies and creating positive outcomes in terms of employee behavioral management,
performances and financial rewards and benefits provided to the employees of the events
organizations. The model or framework introduced by Guest has helped in following a proper
sequence considering the major components including the HR strategy, HR practices, HR
outcomes, behavioral outcomes, performance results and financial consequences. The financial
outcomes are based upon the performances of the employees, who are action oriented and can
help in improving the business performance, furthermore ensure higher engagement of
employees within the organization, enhanced quality and flexibility (Jackson, Schuler and Jiang

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2014). The HR practices are integrated with the HR strategies to manage proper group dynamics,
furthermore ensure proper coordination among employees and the development of a good culture
within the events organizations.
The Warwick model was proposed by Hendry and Pettigrew of Warwick, which
considered the micro and macro environmental factors for managing effective business strategies
and maintaining a healthy workforce where employees can work together as an unit and at the
same time, enhance the business production level and revenue generation consistently. This
model is used to assess the micro and macro environmental factors that can contribute to the
successful management of human resource and at the same time, facilitate the management of
human resources to ensure successful development of a culture and foster teamwork and
coordination among work (Boella and Goss-Turner 2013). The business strategies are
implemented not only to manage the human resources, but also to bring changes and
improvements in the human resource management for ensuring maintenance of a stable culture
and improved workforce efficiency too (Brewster et al. 2016).
Engagement with the term volunteering
The volunteering is a philanthropic activity that allows for delivering the services without
expecting for any financial gains and social benefits. It is also considered as an effective
procedure of obtaining relevant skills, knowledge and expertise for improving the quality of lives
of human beings, furthermore serve the community and its people with dedication and
commitment. The volunteering helps in managing contacts with individuals for providing
employment scopes and opportunities as well as trains the individuals in the field of health,
education and emergency rescues (Minbaeva 2013). The volunteering activities are also

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beneficial for responding to natural disasters and improving the livelihood of people and make
the safer and convenient to live in. The interests of stakeholders include the shareholders,
management, employee groups, Government and community while the situational factors include
the characteristics of workforce, business strategies implemented, management philosophy, labor
market conditions along with the law and societal values and beliefs (Schalk, Timmerman and
van den Heuvel 2013). The interests of stakeholders and situational factors contribute to the
management of HRM policies, which can influence the engagement of employees, manage
proper flow of human resources and reward systems for the staffs to keep them motivated and
encouraged to perform better. The volunteers are also offered the role of managing the financial
accountability and enabling transparency in the funding management for targeting the right
people and even manage policy reforms related to social, economic, environmental and financial
factors (Sparrow 2013).
The volunteering activities bring more effectiveness when it is supported properly
through high level of commitment from the top and strategic leadership. It is important to
involve the volunteers by aligning them with the mission and strategic goals of the organization.
It can assist in evaluating the contribution level and value delivered, furthermore influence other
individuals to become a part of the volunteering ream and retain the existing ones too (Kaufman
2015). The volunteering strategy is considered as a major aspect of the organizational strategy
that articulates the vision of the organization and volunteering activities and even can establish
good relationships between the various stakeholders and partners of the organizations. The
volunteering managers play major roles in managing the volunteering activities and ensure that
the individuals who are part of the volunteering team have been assigned with the right roles and
responsibilities. They know about how the volunteering can benefit the organization and at the

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same time, bring a vast amount of knowledge, skills and experience from various networks
established (Jenkinson et al. 2013). The Association of Volunteer managers is an important
network, which facilitates the development of strategies inclined with the volunteering mission
and vision. This allows for considering the major changes within the organization, improve the
operational roles and responsibilities of the volunteers and achieve the strategic goals and
objectives efficiently. The term volunteering is often confused with the work experience, which
is basically done for the purpose of payments and token reimbursements of the cost of time
provided (Kahana et al. 2013).
Few of the principles of volunteering are associated with the wide range of stakeholders and
are as follows:
 The volunteering activities benefit both the volunteers associated and the community
 The volunteering work is done for improving the wellbeing of the community and not for
any financial benefits and thus it is unpaid
 The volunteering does not necessarily need Government allowances and permissions
 It is a legitimate way for involving a large number of individuals to improve the lives of
people within the community
 The volunteering activity enables considering the social, environmental and human needs
 It is not considered as a replacement or substitute for the paid work
 The paid workers are not replaced and is not any kind of threat to the job security
 The volunteering activities ensure successful management of dignity, rights and
respecting the culture of people within the community

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 It also promotes human rights and equality among people without any forms of
discrimination
The different kinds of resources are available for successful achievement of the volunteering
objectives with the help of proper financial planning; it will be easy to implement the right
volunteering strategies. The different kinds of agencies where people work as volunteers include
sports or physical creation, community welfare, religious groups and educational institutions.
The volunteering strategies should be reviewed properly on an annual basis for keeping updated
with the latest trends and is relevant to the strategic direction of the organization. This would
allow for dealing with the societal challenges as well as maximize the scopes and opportunities
to create a positive impact on the volunteering development and management within the event
company (Rodell 2013).
How events organizations use volunteers
The event organizations use the volunteers to enable mass participation charity events
and ensure that the budget is properly utilized. While managing a proper event within the
allocated time and budget, it is always necessary for the volunteers to fill the various roles and
responsibilities, furthermore create fundraising programs for collecting money and serve the
social purposes properly too. The involvement of volunteers add great value as well as supports
the achievement of mission, which further facilitates the accomplishment of strategic goals and
objectives. The events organizations use the volunteers not only to become more skilled,
knowledgeable and experienced, but also for reaching most of the beneficiaries (Salamon et al.
2013). It could raise high level of awareness and at the same time, develop positive relationships
with the community where the organization would be working and support them to build a long

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lasting relationship along with the enhancement in quality of life. The volunteering scopes and
opportunities could also facilitate the inclusion of more individuals and their diversified range of
skills, knowledge and experience to create better scopes for employment. The volunteering
activities also improve the health and wellbeing as well as help in managing the development,
production and delivery of business activities and undertake projects through creation of new
ideas and opinions with much more convenience (Binder and Freytag 2013). It could also allow
for adapting to the changes and fulfill the needs and requirements of the company so that more
opportunities should be created and the delivery of project on which the volunteering team had
been working for is successful. The organizations though need to make investments for
supporting the volunteering activities to manage proper teamwork and at the same time, deliver
the collected money to national and international charities, NHS groups and other public sector
organizations (Auger 2013).
The major volunteering activities by the event organizations are fundraising, teaching or
providing information to raise awareness among people, serve food to people and improve their
wellbeing and lastly administration. It is done for the purpose of helping and supporting others
and the community. Often the sole purpose of carrying out such activities is to manage social
contact, to do something worthwhile and remain active with the use of various skills, knowledge
and expertise. The volunteers are managed by the events organizations through the development
of an effective strategy with the consultation of the volunteers and managers of the volunteering
(Jalbert, Kinchy and Perry 2014). A particular avenue is selected then based upon the feedbacks
provided by the volunteers, volunteer managers and wider community group related to the
resources to be utilized and ideas for improving the sector. The consultation process supports the
thorough understanding of the present environment of volunteering and assesses the factors that

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can go well and create opportunities to move forward. Surveys are conducted along with
interviews to obtain the responses of the volunteers and then develop plans for the improvements
in the future (Welty Peachey et al. 2014).
One of the major examples could be the volunteering strategy is the best practices
managed by the volunteers of Greater Shepparton. An action plan is prepared to provide an
appropriate strategic direction considering the major activities such as the promotion, celebrating
or recognition, recruitment, selection and supporting. The Greater Shepparton Volunteer Strategy
implementation was monitored and reviewed on an annual basis for understanding the roles of
volunteer managers and coordinators to improve the momentum and at the same time, keep the
strategies updated for benefiting the society and people living there as a whole (Hughes and
Tapia 2015). The budgetary implications must be assessed ring the preparation of action plan not
only for implementing the right actions, but also for acknowledging the valued contributions of
volunteering. Another example is the volunteering strategy at Sacro, which has created a strong
and dedicated group of individuals for delivering the best possible outcomes to people who avail
the services. The volunteers have committed themselves fully to serve the community through
management of initiatives. The volunteers have even worked with the Volunteer Development
Group for supporting the opportunities of development and improved the wellbeing of people
(Reuter, Heger and Pipek 2013). The mission is to carry out various activities nationally and
deliver locally as a community based organization, thereby result in the formation of a safer and
healthier community.
Often the service learning programs allow for adopting various approaches of learning in
higher education and at the same time, enable the workers of the company to improve the lives of

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people within the community. The staffs should be trained for becoming knowledgeable and
skilled to become more caring and responsible citizens to maintain a healthy environment and
community where people could live in properly. Skills based volunteering allows for leveraging
the skills and knowledge of the employees for strengthening the infrastructure of the
organizations and allowing the workers to develop their capacity and ability to achieve the
mission quite effectively (Horita et al. 2013). The volunteering activities further help in
managing the talents of workers and making them enough capable of handling the activities that
have been assigned to them, furthermore focus on providing the participants with important
skills, knowledge and in addition benefit both the organization and the community. There are
multiple benefits associated with the volunteerism within the community such as making people
aware of the right things to be done along with partnership working with the Government
agencies to benefit the community (Güntert, Neufeind and Wehner 2015).
Ways in which volunteer workforce is affected and responded to
There are various ways by which the volunteer workforce is affected such as the sense of
togetherness, onboard processes, training provided to the volunteers, progress of data,
information and processes along with the existing volunteer programs. There are multiple
volunteer programs that need proper teamwork and coordination to create a positive impact. The
personal impact of volunteerism is necessary to communicate for fostering higher level of
togetherness and achieve the mission for creating fellowship (Alfes et al. 2013). The
development of community and broadcasting further allows for the creation of additional value
and keeping the staff members motivated to work towards the goal properly.