Author: Alex Evans Page 3 of 22

Tobi Johnson, Volunteer Engagement Extraordinaire

Earlier this month, we helped facilitate an event that brought Tobi Johnson to the UK. 

Now, if you don’t know who Tobi Johnson is, you should get to know. Especially if you work with volunteers. 

Tobi is an internationally sought-after expert, consultant, and master trainer in volunteer management and engagement. She is known for her modern thought leadership, highly practical evidence-based strategies, and innovative, “big hat” thinking around engaging, supporting, and acknowledging the work of volunteers. 

Tobi’s work has resulted in the development of Tobi Johnson & Associates, a consulting firm, and VolunteerPro, an online training and networking community for volunteer managers. They can offer some amazing resources to anyone working with volunteers so be sure to check them out!

The Event

‘Beyond The Big Help Out: How to Recruit Your Volunteer Dream Team with a Solid Plan for Action’

We were so excited to sponsor this event, hosted by AVM. We were even happier when it turned out that Manchester Metropolitan University were supporting it, meaning we didn’t have to travel very far! 


During the workshop, Tobi challenged pre-existing ideas of what a good volunteer strategy looks like. Building an environment that gives volunteers a sense of connection and community while providing clarity, respite and equity is vital. If someone can find trust, meaning and purpose in the work they’re doing, they are likely to stay engaged and volunteer for longer.


Thanks to Tobi, all attendees were able to create volunteer personas to help reshape the way they create and advertise volunteering opportunities. These personas were based on psychographic information rather than demographics.


Of course, the demographics matter, but volunteering is all about emotional motivations. Finding out why your volunteers do it helps you create opportunities that will be fulfilling for them – you’re giving them a sense of trust, meaning and purpose.

Based on this, Tobi helped everyone build better core messaging, focusing on what’s in it for the volunteers and what the effect of their actions will be. This involved building a 6-step formula to build messaging that engages and compels audiences to take action.


Need help with your volunteer management?

Now, we can’t give away all of Tobi’s tips! But we hope this taster is enough for you to go and find out more about what Tobi can offer to help you boost your volunteer management. However, we also have a few tips of our own to offer, see our blogs below for more:

Review and Refresh your Volunteer Management

A Fresh Look at Digital in Volunteer Management

Inclusivity is a Necessity: Enabling Volunteers with Disabilities

How You Can Measure Volunteer Impact

Prioritising Volunteer Feedback

And where can I find Tobi?

If you’re looking to modernise and transform your approach to volunteer engagement, Tobi can help.

All the important links:

Website: Tobi Johnson & Associates

The Volunteer Nation Podcast

LinkedIn | Twitter

Email: wecare@volpro.net

2024 Volunteer Management Progress Report

This event was Tobi’s first visit to the UK, but judging by the feedback we got at the event, we’re all hoping it won’t be her last!

TeamTalk June: Roundup

Hello and welcome to TeamKinetic’s TeamTalk June newsletter in blog form!

This roundup is designed to keep you up-to-date with what’s going on at TeamKinetic, our partners, and across the third sector in general.

If you’d like to subscribe to the TeamTalk newsletter, please send an email over to me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk and we’ll get you on the list!

To read our roundup of stories we think you need to know about, click to go to the next page below, or choose a story from the list:

How to Utilise The Big Help Out as a Sporting Organisation

We all know the value of The Big Help Out at this point. It was a huge event last year, with an estimated 7.2 million people taking part. Organisations offering all types of opportunities will be involved this year, but we want to focus on sport in this blog. With Volunteers’ Week and The Big Help Out around the corner, it’s natural to want to get involved. Sport volunteering at The Big Help Out might seem like a good fit, but there are a few factors that might make it tricky.

Want to advertise sport volunteering at The Big Help Out?

Picture this. You’re a grassroots club with a dedicated cohort of volunteers. You want to get involved with The Big Help Out, but where do you start? The campaign is all about getting new people involved in volunteering in easy, short-term ways. But your club needs stability and you can’t just throw someone new into the volunteer roles you have.

So where do you start?

One method could be to host some kind of event that is separate to the core activity of your club. For example, a community day can give volunteers a great entry point into your club. Putting on fun activities for people in your local community to get to know what you’re all about can also open the door for short-term easy volunteering opportunities.

sport volunteering at The Big Help Out with a community sports day

Once they have that entry point, they’ll be more likely to want to jump through the hoops you need them to jump through in order to become a long-term volunteer. Whether this is completing training, undergoing a DBS check, or getting references from past roles, these barriers often stand in the way of short-term volunteering.

Ultimately, it’s about creating opportunities that are adjacent to something you want a volunteer to do in the long term. And it’s important to establish these before The Big Help Out. You don’t want to attract a load of new volunteers who are hungry to help, only to have nothing to offer them afterwards.

So for example, if you’re hosting a community sports day, you could ask volunteers to set up the activities and explain the rules. While this is a small task, it could be a gateway to a coaching position.
Alternatively, you could invite someone to come and take pictures of your community sports day, this could be a great entry point to becoming the club photographer when the season starts back up again.

sport volunteering at The Big Help Out through photography

How do we turn sport volunteering at The Big Help Out into something sustainable?

Sport volunteering at The Big Help Out is all about creating short-term tasters that can become sustainable long-term opportunities. It’s important to have a plan in place that outlines what opportunities you plan to make available at The Big Help Out and how these develop into longer-term opportunities for new volunteers to get involved with.


Find out more about The Big Help Out

The Big Help Out is taking place across the weekend of 7th – 9th of June. This coincides with Volunteers Week and The Great Get Together. Find out everything you need to know about The Big Help Out over on their website.

TeamKinetic will also be providing our users with DoIt integration. This means any TeamKinetic users can share their TK opportunities directly to the DoIt platform. Check out the full process below or read our blog here.


You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

TeamTalk May: Roundup

Hello and welcome to TeamKinetic’s TeamTalk May newsletter in blog form!

This roundup is designed to keep you up-to-date with what’s going on at TeamKinetic, our partners, and across the third sector in general.

If you’d like to subscribe to the TeamTalk newsletter, please send an email over to me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk and we’ll get you on the list!

To read our roundup of stories we think you need to know about, click to go to the next page below, or choose a story from the list:

Empowering Heritage Preservation through Volunteer Management

Heritage and culture organisations do vital work, preserving the legacies of our past for future generations. They rely on dedicated individuals and effective organisation. This is where volunteer management can be a great tool!

The Role of Volunteers in Heritage Preservation

Volunteers generously offer their time and expertise to nurture and protect our cultural heritage. Whether they’re cataloguing artefacts or leading tours through historic sites, volunteers foster a deeper connection between communities and their heritage.

Challenges in Volunteer Management for Heritage Preservation

While their contributions are incredibly valuable, managing heritage volunteers still comes with its own set of challenges. These include recruitment struggles, providing adequate training, coordinating schedules, and retaining engagement. It’s no doubt that heritage organisations face a fair few hurdles when optimising their volunteer programs.

Volunteer diversity can be a big issue for organisations in the sector. A 2019 report from the Heritage Volunteering Group raised questions about the lack of diversity and the roles volunteers play. Is this still the case in 2024?

Over the years, some great resources have been developed to address this issue. For example, take a look at this Make Your Mark webinar on how you can remove class barriers to heritage volunteering. This is just one of the factors which might be limiting your volunteer diversity.

Make Your Mark have also developed an Inclusive Volunteering Toolkit which is well worth a look at.

Digital resources and tools can help you mobilise a wider range of volunteers as you can recruit outside of your usual ‘bubble’ in a quick and easy way.

The Importance of Effective Volunteer Management

Effective volunteer management is the cornerstone in overcoming these obstacles and maximising impact. By implementing streamlined recruitment processes, offering comprehensive training modules, and fostering open communication channels, heritage organisations can fulfil the true potential of their volunteer base.

Best Practice Volunteer Management for Heritage

To ensure the success of a volunteer programme, organisations must prioritise best practices. This may include establishing clear roles and expectations, providing ongoing support and recognition, and embracing technology to streamline administrative tasks. For example, a volunteer management system. A VMS can save you countless admin hours and help you cultivate a great community of volunteers.

Within TeamKinetic, volunteers are allowed to self-serve – meaning they have an active role in filling out their profile, choosing which opportunities to join, and following opportunity types that interest them.

Overall, volunteer management stands as a powerful tool in heritage preservation. By recognising the invaluable contributions of volunteers and implementing effective management strategies, we can safeguard our cultural legacy for generations to come.


How are we involved with the heritage & culture sector?

We recently announced our partnership with the Heritage Volunteering Group. This collaboration marks a commitment to the preservation of heritage sites and their volunteers.

Our shared aim is to foster community engagement and amplify the impact of volunteer efforts within heritage and culture organisations. In line with this, we are supporting all HVG events as well as their 2024 conference.

HVG’s annual conference is taking place on the 26th and 27th of November. Make sure you get the date in the diary by clicking on this link.


You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

Terms and Conditions: TeamKinetic Offer to HVG Members

25% off your next Volunteer Management Solution. Get in touch now, via our website at teamkinetic.co.uk or by email at info@teamkinetic.co.uk.

These terms and conditions govern the use of the promotional offer provided by TeamKinetic to members of The Heritage Volunteering Group. By taking advantage of this offer, you agree to comply with these terms and conditions.

1. Offer Details:
1.1. TeamKinetic offers members of the Heritage Volunteering Group (HVG) a discount of 25% off the standard rate for the TeamKinetic volunteer management system. This offer is valid from 23/04/2024 – 30/09/2024.

1.2. The discount applies only to the first year of subscription for any version of the TeamKinetic volunteer management system.

1.3. Organisations can take advantage of this offer by reaching out directly to TeamKinetic, either by starting a free trial, or emailing info@teamkinetic.co.uk with notice of their intent to redeem this offer.

2. Eligibility:
2.1. To be eligible for this offer, users must be members of The Heritage Volunteering Group at the time of purchase.

3. Discount Application:
3.1. The 25% discount will be applied automatically during the checkout process for the TeamKinetic volunteer management system.

3.2. The discount applies to the first year of subscription only. Subsequent renewals will be charged at the standard rate.

3.3. The discount will only be given to organisations that can prove their membership to the HVG. TeamKinetic reserves the right to refuse the discount to any organisation that cannot prove their membership.

4. Payment:
4.1. Users agree to pay the discounted subscription fee for the first year of their TeamKinetic subscription upon purchase.

4.2. Subsequent renewals will be charged at the standard rate unless otherwise stated by TeamKinetic.

5. Modification and Termination:
5.1. TeamKinetic reserves the right to modify, suspend, or terminate this offer at any time without prior notice.

5.2. In the event of termination, users who have already availed of the offer will continue to receive the discount for the duration of their current subscription term.

6. Limitation of Liability:
6.1. TeamKinetic shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of or in any way connected with the use of this offer.

7. Acceptance:
7.1. By taking advantage of this offer, users acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agree to these terms and conditions.

8. Contact Information:
8.1. For any inquiries or assistance regarding this offer, users may contact TeamKinetic by email at info@teamkinetic.co.uk or by telephone at 0161 914 5757.


You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

TeamKinetic and the Heritage Volunteering Group Join Forces

We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between TeamKinetic and the Heritage Volunteering Group (HVG). This collaboration marks a great step forward in our mission to make volunteering easier for everyone.

Who are the Heritage Volunteering Group?

The Heritage Volunteering Group is dedicated to helping volunteer managers unlock the power of volunteering through collaboration and sharing best practice. They have a fantastic community of passionate individuals committed to driving positive change in the sector.

HVG is open to any organisation that works within the Heritage and Culture sector. This includes volunteer-led organisations, national museums, trusts and groups. They hold an annual conference as well as two networking forums a year. Find out more about HVG here.

Their mission aligns perfectly with ours, making this partnership a natural fit for both organisations.

We are thrilled to be partnering with an organistion who shares our vision for volunteering in the heritage sector. TeamKinetic’s sponsorship of our events programme and our flagship conference, Heritage Volunteering ’24, provides an incredible opportunity for us to enhance our support to heritage volunteer managers across the UK, enabling them to create volunteer programmes that transform organisations, lives, and communities.

Matthew Hick
Chair of the Heritage Volunteering Group

How do they fit with TeamKinetic?

At TeamKinetic, our passion is developing volunteer management software that simplifies volunteer management. We want to empower organisations with the tools they need to mobilise, manage, and motivate their volunteers, all while measuring the amazing impact they’re making.

Overall, we just want to help organisations mobilise volunteers and maximise the potential of those volunteers – aligning perfectly with HVG’s mission.

Together, TeamKinetic and the Heritage Volunteering Group will work to produce resources and events for all volunteer managers. Including an upcoming event on April 23rd (read on for more info)…

The Heritage Volunteer Group is one of the most established specialist volunteer manager groups, and we have admired their work for some time. We attended a meeting of the North West HVG group just before Christmas, and it was a pleasure to see the professionalism and support that HVG provided to its members.

When we were offered the opportunity, we were only too happy to support this wonderful network of volunteer management professionals. TeamKinetic is well-established across the heritage sector, so we hope this partnership will provide new and exciting opportunities for collaboration, support and innovation.

Chris martin
Co-founder of TeamKinetic

To kick off the partnership, we hosted an event with HVG where we discussed what TeamKinetic can do for heritage organisations everywhere of any size. We’ll also be sponsoring their upcoming future events, including their 2024 conference in November.

TeamKinetic is also excited to offer all members of the Heritage Volunteering Group 25% off any TeamKinetic subscription! Not only this, but we’ll also offer free data migration for anyone switching from another volunteer management platform. 

How do you take advantage of this offer? Start a free trial today over on teamkinetic.co.uk or contact info@teamkinetic.co.uk to get started.

See T&Cs here.


If you’re thinking of refreshing your approach to volunteer management, please do get in touch.

Stay tuned for more updates and announcements in the coming months.

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

TeamTalk April: Roundup

Hello and welcome to TeamKinetic’s TeamTalk April newsletter in blog form!

This roundup is designed to keep you up-to-date with what’s going on at TeamKinetic, our partners, and across the third sector in general.

If you’d like to subscribe to the TeamTalk newsletter, please send an email over to me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk and we’ll get you on the list!

To read our roundup of stories we think you need to know about, click to go to the next page below, or choose a story from the list:

TeamTalk: Season 3, Episode 2 – Ian Braid

Welcome back to Season 3 of our TeamTalk Podcast! This season, we are talking to thought leaders, customers and stakeholders from the world of volunteer management as we dive deeper into the world of volunteering.

In this TeamTalk episode, we were joined by Ian Braid. Ian is an exciting guest with plenty of stories to tell from his time in the industry. We could have probably done a whole season with him!

Chris Martin, Imo Greatbatch, and Ian Braid on TeamTalk


He is currently the founder of DOCIAsport – an award-winning business that supports ‘the people who look after the people’. DOCIA stands for ‘Duty Of Care In Action’ and it’s something that may have been overlooked in the past, but Ian and his team are doing incredible work across the sport sector now.

Listen Now

Join Chris, Imo and Ian as they discuss Ian’s volunteer work and his career. He also discusses his mental health journey, an incredibly important and insightful conversation. One that could have gone on for much longer. We appreciate Ian being so open with us and highlighting this issue in the sector.

Listen now on Spotify and all other podcast streaming platforms:

More about Ian

Ian consistently tackles the stigma of mental health in sport through his work at DOCIAsport.

He is a member of Mental Health First Aid England, Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, Professional Body of Sports Leadership and UK Coaching, a member of the UK Coaching – as Coaching Advisory Panel, and Chair UK Coaching Duty to Care Committee.

His past work includes roles as Major Events Director of the British Triathlon Federation and CEO of the British Athletes Commission (BAC) – the union for Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Read Ian’s blog on this episode here: Volunteering in sport – the essential but diminishing ingredient


Enjoyed this episode? Why not listen to more TeamTalk? You can find more episodes including chats with Rob Jackson, AVM and Sport England wherever you get your podcasts.

If you have any topic or guest requests let us know!

You can find TeamKinetic on social media:

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Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

Becoming a Friend of AIF

At TeamKinetic, we understand the importance of appreciating art and culture – and of course, we love a good festival! That’s why we are proud to announce our recent addition as Friends of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).

What is the AIF?

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) stands as a cornerstone for independent festivals across the UK. AIF are recognised as the leading representative body for festivals. They advocate for their members, fostering collaboration, and driving the growth and sustainability of independent festivals nationwide.

At TeamKinetic, we firmly believe that volunteers play an invaluable role in events worldwide. Their dedication, enthusiasm, and hard work are fundamental to any festival’s success. That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with the AIF to enhance the volunteer experience within the events sector.

What does this partnership mean?

Through our collaboration with AIF, we are committed to delivering top-notch volunteer management and engagement services to their members. Our goal is to ensure that volunteers feel genuinely valued, adequately supported, and empowered to make significant contributions to the festivals they serve.

Recognising that the volunteer journey extends beyond the event day, we understand the importance of offering comprehensive support. From recruitment and training to on-site coordination and acknowledgement. By closely collaborating with AIF and its members, we aim to implement industry best practices, streamline processes, and elevate the overall volunteer experience.

Furthermore, our partnership with AIF presents a great opportunity to gain deeper insights into the volunteer landscape within the events sector. By collecting feedback, sharing insights, and fostering open dialogue, we can collaboratively identify areas for improvement. Allowing us to implement solutions that benefit volunteers, event organisers, and attendees alike.

Together with AIF, we are committed to fostering a culture of appreciation, inclusivity, and excellence within the events industry. We look forward to utilising this partnership to support the incredible work of event volunteers.


You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

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