The last time the country mobilised thousands of volunteers was for London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

The weather wasn’t so good yesterday so I went back to the cupboard in the spare room that I am gradually clearing and I came across a bag full of Gamesmaker kit. It brought back some wonderful memories.

I was in Event Services for the Paralympics, based in the Excel Centre  – so I am fully aware of how unbelievably vast that building is and why they could set up 4000 hospital beds inside.

My task was essentially Front of House, which meant I was greeting people as they arrived at the venue, answering questions, showing them to their seats and guarding pass doors, though not all at the same time.  I was a Team Leader, so I was allocated a new team of about 12 volunteers each day, and I then scheduled them for the shift, rotating people between the tasks and making sure they got mealbreaks.

Of course, preparations started years before and the Gamesmakers were recruited around two years before the event. We were issued with everything we needed, including a watch and umbrella, and were put through some excellent training (organised by McDonalds).

After it was all over I wrote a post for Lib Dem Voice in which I thought about what we, as Lib Dems, could learn and implement when managing our own volunteers.

So how did LOCOG persuade me and 70,000 other people to travel to London from all over the country on six separate occasions for training and collecting uniforms, then to stay for anything between eight and thirty days with friends, in hotels or at campsites in London, all the time working exhaustingly long days (in my case starting work at 5.45am), and all at our own expense?

So here are some of the techniques that were used by the managers of the volunteer Games Makers:

• We were told frequently how essential we were to the success of the Games, but at the same time made to feel that we were privileged to have been selected.
• We were given good background information on the Games, so that we felt we were an integral part of the organisation.
• The vision for the Games was communicated effectively;  the key messages of inspiring a generation, being inclusive and ensuring sustainability were promoted and demonstrated at every opportunity.
• We were kept regularly informed and updated by friendly emails.
• We were thanked at every opportunity – even given chocolate.
• We were given high quality training, some generic and some specific to our roles.
• We were challenged with difficult tasks in a dynamic environment and encouraged to use our initiative.
• We were supplied with good quality tools for the job: excellent trainers with a uniform that worked well and even included a watch and a water bottle.
• When on duty we were rewarded with token goodies, such as exclusive badges.
• We were invited to exciting events such as the dress rehearsal of the Opening Ceremony.
• We had fun and we met lots of like-minded people.
• No-one ever asked us for money.

Can the Liberal Democrats learn anything from that?

I would add, can the country learn anything from that during this crisis?

One thing I didn’t mention in that list was Eddie Izzard. He was used as the voice for volunteers, so he would turn up at large training events and act as the face of the Organising Committee in videos and briefings. We could do with him now …

Please note

We have been in full self-isolation since 16th March to protect my husband whose immune system is compromised.

If you are in self-isolation then join the Lib Dems in self-isolation Facebook group.

You can find my previous Isolation diaries here.

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.