Event Day Volunteer Needs
When planning for event volunteers, keep in mind that one person can often do more than one job. For example, item pick-up does not usually open until long after registration closes. When planning your volunteer needs, keep in mind that the same volunteers can work on both of these tasks.

Transportation
The greatest single move of items is between storage and your venue on event day. If you plan to borrow or rent a large truck, don’t forget that you will also need someone to drive it. You may also want a few individuals with their own cars for transporting delicate items or items from locations other than your main storage.
 
Don’t forget the likelihood that there will be items left over after the event that did not get picked up or sold. You’ll need to be able to get these items back to storage after the event is over. Plan for the worst case, where your largest item doesn’t sell. You might need that large truck and some muscle after everyone else has gone home.

Event Setup
This is the start of the big day! All of the items to be sold must be brought to the venue and arranged. All the decorations must be put up. The registration and checkout areas will need their computers, credit card machines, phones, paperwork, and software set up. The venue manager and caterer will want to coordinate last minute details with the auction staff. The emcee and the auctioneer will want time to go over notes and instructions as well. The slideshow and other entertainment will have to be setup. Carefully consider all these tasks, and make certain that enough people are going to be on hand to help. You can’t have too many helpers for setup.

Registration Staff
These people are the first stop for your event guests. Here, your guests are checked in and given their bidder packets. These include a catalog (if not already distributed), a catalog addendum, their numbered bidder paddle, coupons for drinks of games, and any other materials they need. If they are selling tickets at the door, they must be able to access your auction management software and assign bidder numbers. They will also be expected by your guests to be able to answer any and all general questions about the event.

Game Sales
If there are games or raffles being done at the event, plan for volunteers to "work the crowd," promoting the games and selling tickets. Note that these volunteers must also periodically report their sales to data entry, so cash sales and charges to bidder numbers can be recorded. How many people you’ll need depends on the number and variety of games you provide.

Data Entry
As each silent auction table closes, and each live auction item sells, someone must record the information. Game and raffle sales, and any other cash or bid number charged sale must also be recorded. If your group is using modern auction management software, this can be done at any one of the networked computers at your event. It is imperative that the information be added both quickly and accurately so that data entry doesn’t get behind. If more than one person is doing data entry, they should be in close communication so efforts don’t get confused. After data entry is complete for each sale, bid sheets and other reporting paperwork should be filed carefully for reference by volunteers at checkout.

Silent Bid Sheet Runners
As the various silent auction tables close, some number of volunteers must politely "shoo" people away from them, collect the top copy of the bidding sheets, and take them to data entry. If your group chooses to maintain a bulletin board showing the winning bids for various items, these volunteers can also keep it up to date.

Live Auction Recorder & Runners
During the live auction, someone other than the auctioneer and emcee must watch the bidding and report the results. When the bidding for an item completes, the auctioneer should call out the winning bidder and amount. The recorder must write this information on a reporting sheet.
 
The reporting sheet must then be taken to to data entry. Many groups want the winning bidder’s signature, as well. If your group wants this, the runner should collect it on the way to data entry. Note that while one reporting sheet is being run, the next item’s auction will have already started, and may even finish. For this reason, you should be sure to have at least 2 or 3 runners available.

Checkout
The checkout people are your clerks for the event. They look up guests’ purchases, take payments, and direct them to item pick-up. Checkout is the most common place for long, unhappy lines to form. We’ll address ways to make this run smoothly in a later section.
 
For now, consider that having too few volunteers on hand is the one guaranteed way to bog down the process, and make your guests wait. Plan for one volunteer to work at each receipt and payment station. At least two others should be on hand to help sort out situations where your guests and their receipts don’t agree. Of course, the lead person should also be on hand to help out. Finally, all of the volunteers at checkout should know how to use your auction management software’s checkout facilities, or your on-paper system. The time for training is before the event!

Item Pick-up
The item pick-up volunteers must be familiar with the layout of items at your event, so that they can be collected together quickly when a guest presents their paid receipt. Getting a guest’s items together can be time consuming, even at the most organized events. You need to have enough volunteers working to keep long lines from forming. Plan to have up to half again to twice as many volunteers here as at checkout.

Clean-up
Unless you have your own venue, you will probably be expected to clean up after your event as soon as it ends. Any unclaimed or unsold items must be transported back to storage. Decorations must be collected and taken from the venue. Auction management software must be backed up, and the computers taken away. Credit card machines must be packed away. Any fixtures brought in by the auction staff must be taken back. The event’s ending does not nearly mark the end of the work! Be sure to have plenty of volunteers on hand to help with this effort.

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