1. Nature of the sport operations to be delivered
1.1 Type of organisation
Wild Run is a new series under Run NSW that aims to bring the running initiative to regional areas. The runs vary in distance from five to twelve kilometres with each event giving the option of a shorter and longer run. This series offers a different type of running experience as participants will be running on cross country courses; through dirt, sand, mud and rocks. Yet the plan is to introduce the new locations however there may be endurance style 8 hour relays developed in the future. As an incentive for participants to challenge themselves there will be a Wild Run ‘Passport’ that will get marked off at each event and individuals can set a goal to get all five stamps. The event will need a team of staff to work the event. Like many sporting events there needs to be a small number of paid staff working for Athletics NSW and a large volunteer base.
1.2 Likely Strategic goals
The likely strategic goals of Wild Run would be very like those of Run NSW and will also be generated by Athletics NSW. The strategic priorities of Athletics NSW are “More people participating in Athletics, Enabling our people and High levels of participation” (“Athletics NSW”, 2019). Additionally, the event will aim to generate enough money to ensure that they break even. Wild Run is a non-profit however they need to ensure they have a minimal surplus. Wild Run also seeks to bring people to rural areas and to aid the tourism in smaller less populated regions (“Athletics NSW”, 2019). Another objective is to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of volunteers. Finally, as stated by Athletics NSW it is the participation in each race that ultimately measure the success of the event and the efforts of the organisation (“Athletics NSW”, 2019).
1.3 ‘Core Business’
The core business of the organisation is the planning of the running series and the co-ordination of event staff and volunteers. Each event requires careful planning to make sure the day is as enjoyable and as successful as possible. Additionally, a major aspect of this business is the management of volunteers.
1.4 How will it operate
The business operates by selling tickets to participate in the races. The money raised goes toward the paying of staff and buying products such as water, snacks and shirts goodie bags for the participants. The track for each race will be planned well in advance to the day and will be organised in collaboration with the local government of each area. The races also heavily rely on sponsorship where business will pay for the various expenses and in exchange they will get their brands displayed around the marque. On the day, the participants will go to a table where they will give their names and receive their ‘pack’ for the day.
2. Provide strategic advice about the human resources required to facilitate this delivery.
2.1 Key theories, models, arguments about human resource planning for sports management.
Human resource management is about ensuring and effective and satisfied workforce. Within this organisation category there is almost always a mixture of both paid and volunteer staff. Effective human resource strategy is described in terms of its close alignment with an organisation’s corporate and business strategy (Bird & Beechler, 1995). Various studies have shown that Human Resource Management strategy has a significant influence on the organisation’s human resource in practice. Studies have shown that there is a negative relationship between competition and training. In this industry, it is known that employees are more likely to poach experienced staff from competitors than train their own. It is believed that investment into training can be translated into employee’s personal asset rather than the organisations long term asset (Bird & Beechler, 1995). The sports industry must compete for market share and human resources, both paid and volunteer. However, the Australian Sports Commission found that sporting organisations were unlikely to have human resource management, recruitment or training policies for volunteers. There are three main strategies for human management; The Utilizer Strategy, the Accumulator strategy and the Facilitator Strategy (Bird & Beechler, 1995). The Utilizer Strategy is based on a minimal commitment and high skill utilization. It seeks to utilize the human resources of a firm as efficiently as possible through acquiring and releasing staff of a firm on short term basis. It also seeks to match employee skill to specific tasks requirements within the workplace. The Accumulator Strategy is based on maximum involvement and skilled execution (Bird & Beechler, 1995). It seeks to build up the human resources through the recruitment of staff with large, inherent potential. Additionally, through the development of that inherent potential over time to ensure that it best fits the needs and goals of the organisation. The Facilitator Strategy is based on generating new knowledge and new knowledge creation. It aims to develop the human resources of the firm as effectively as possible through the acquisition of self-motivated personnel and the encouragement of and the support of personnel to develop, on their own, the skills and knowledge in which they, the employees believe to be important (Bird & Beechler, 1995).
2.2 Key aspects of staffing to meet the scope of the operations
2.2.1 Paid Staff and their duties
There will need to be one full time staff member who oversees the planning and organising of the event. An event such as Run Wild will require a great deal of work to be done prior to the day. The track needs to be drawn and staff need to discuss with the council where the event will be held exactly. This will need to be done with each council for the five races.
Sponsors for each race need to be organised and in this industry, it is sometimes the job of the organisation to approach businesses who may be interested in working together (Torres, 2019). Additionally, Budgets need to be drawn and this needs to be done with the financial team of athletics NSW. The team needs to delegate an amount of money they are willing to put towards each of the races. It is important that there is a marketing plan set into place to make the public aware of the event and to encourage individuals to sign up (Torres, 2019). A Facebook event should be created as well as other social media advertising. This will not only create awareness but also allow individuals to sign up through the Facebook page and give their email address for further information (Torres, 2019). Emails need to be sent to the participants to get them excited and ensure that they are still wanting to participate on the day. Staff members will also need to answer any emails where participants have any questions regarding the event. The casual staff members will be hired to work within the month leading up to each race to assist the full-time staff in ensuring everything gets done efficiently and effectively (Torres, 2019).
2.2.2 Volunteers roles and duties
Volunteers form the main ‘staff’ for this event. They will be the most hands on and crucial in the operations of the day to ensure the event is run as smoothly as possible. There will be various roles to be filled by the volunteer groups that will ultimately make up the ‘crew’ for each event. The first being workforce support. Workforce support are required to perform volunteer crew check in/out and assist the Workforce manager where required. They will be required to call all other volunteers to ensure they are available before the event and ask of any last-minute questions they may have (“Venue Roles & Responsibilities”, 2019). There also needs to be team leaders. The role of the team leader is to coordinate and instruct the volunteer crew to successfully operate their assigned role in their assigned area. Team