In February, Sport NZ commissioned research firm, Angus and Associates to survey paid workers in sport and recreation organisations. We had a fantastic response, with more than 100 organisations involved and well over 1,000 people completing the survey.
The survey report provides interesting insights into the needs, attitudes, motivations and behaviours of people working in sport and recreation organisations. It highlights a number of opportunities, as well as some serious employment and retention risks. While the workforce is well qualified, highly motivated and has an inherent passion for the work of the sector, there is also evidence of frustration and dissatisfaction – particularly about workloads, long working-hours, resourcing, recognition and leadership.
The report suggests our sector would benefit from better workforce planning and management practices, as well as more effective HR processes. Effective workforce planning is as much about creating a great working environment as it is about understanding the people and skill-sets you need now and in the future.
Participating organisations with ten or more people completing the survey have received their own, confidential report showing their organisation’s results in key areas and how these compare with other similar-type organisations, as well as the wider sport and recreation sector.
Purpose
The current research was commissioned to support activities in Sport NZ’s WFP Programme, including the identification of skills and qualifications needed to work in the sector, suitable recruitment strategies and effective approaches to workforce development and promotion.
To this end, the research was designed to:
- enhance understanding of the needs, attitudes, motivations and behaviours of the sector’s paid workforce;
- inform the development of recruitment, retention, succession and development activities;
- drive other workforce planning activities (such as the mapping of career development opportunities and pathways, and the design of a promotional strategy through which to effectively target current and future employees and key influencers); and
- create a set of benchmarks against which to measure trends over time and to evaluate the impact of WFP Programme activities.