Volunteers make a beer festival go—and they are likely to be a resource you will want to employ for your beer festival.

But staffing your festival with volunteers isn’t as easy as placing a clipboard in your tasting room and collecting names. Here Beall Brewery Insurance spotlights some of the issues you will need to consider for enlisting and utilizing festival volunteers.

Scheduling and communication

You probably hope to enlist a large group of volunteers, to make sure your festival isn’t understaffed. And you are likely to get a large group of people signing up to volunteer! But that big group will require a great deal of organization. Create your staffing schedule with care. Be sure each volunteer understands their responsibilities and the timing of their shift. Provide necessary safety information well in advance. A volunteer coordinator can provide a verbal overview before each volunteer shift starts.

Training

Do you have a volunteer handbook that you can share with your volunteers? They will need to understand issues like liquor liability and safety procedures, among other things. It’s a great idea to invite confirmed festival volunteers to the brewery prior to the festival for an in-person training session. And on the day of the festival, your volunteer coordinator can emphasize the most important points to make sure they are fresh in volunteers’ minds.

Supervision

Volunteers are just that. They are not your employees, and the odds are very good that they are not professionals in the craft beer industry. Make sure you have staff available to oversee volunteer activities during the festival, and that volunteers know how to reach supervisors if they have questions or issues.

Insurance

It is vital that you speak with your craft brewery insurance agent about the right insurance for your festival. Don’t forget to mention the number of volunteers you anticipate working the event. Their assistance is a big help to your event—and also a liability exposure. You need to protect them, the festival, and your brewery with the right coverage.

For more than 25 years, Beall Financial and Insurance Services, Inc., has been helping corporations and individuals protect their most important assets. The agency’s client base covers a spectrum of niche businesses, such as craft breweries, that require specialized insurance packages and knowledge. With California offices in Redlands and Newport Beach, Beall Financial and Insurance Services serves clients nationwide.