Category: News & Views Page 29 of 42

Top 5 Ways to conquer volunteer management

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On 28th August 2018

In News & Views, Volunteer Management

One of the hardest things many people encounter when running events of a large scale is volunteer management. How many people do you need? What time will they have to be there? What will they all be doing? These are all questions that will stress the mind of both event organisers and volunteer managers. By having efficient volunteer management this can mean that other jobs that are involved in everyday work can be focused on rather than worrying about what people will be doing on the day. Whether you’re a volunteer manager, event organiser or even a volunteer there is most certainly something in this blog that could be of interest to you.

BE IMFORMATIVE

It is vitally important that as a volunteer manager you make it your utmost priority to ensure that all volunteers are fully aware of what they are doing and when they have to be doing it. This will minimize the number of times you’re asked questions such as the ones seen above, it will also mean that the volunteers will be more knowledgeable about what they’re doing meaning they will be more likely to do a better job which in turn will make your event better! From a personal perspective of the volunteer managers, they will now be able to focus on other key aspects of their jobs because they will have less to worry about, meaning less stress! Which, of course, is an aim of any job.

MOTIVATE THEM

In most cases, the volunteers are the first thing that people will see. If these people are smiling and happy this will give out positive energy across the day and will lead to those vital positive reviews that will make future events more successful which overall is what you want from in the volunteer management industry. In reference to volunteer motivation, there is a host of ways that this can be achieved, for example, although many volunteers are happy to give up their time for nothing a way to even further motivate them would be to offer some form of incentive e.g: free lunch. Furthermore, in the lead up to an event you could maybe send them messages like “can’t wait to see you” or “hope you’re looking forward to it”.

MAKE THEM FEEL IMPORTANT

Again, from a reputation standpoint, volunteers are the people that can massively help with word of mouth marketing (which is very cost effective because it’s totally free!) The way to make them feel important will heavily vary depending on what type of event you’re running, the amount of volunteers you have and also demographics of the volunteers. The reason for this being is that different people are interested in different things and respond to being spoken to in different ways. For example, if a team of volunteers were to be older people (50+) they are way more likely to feel important about having their name mentioned in a speech rather than a LinkedIn endorsement which would be more appealing to younger adults.

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

In today’s world, almost everything can be made more simple with the help of technology. Volunteer management is no exception. A volunteer management system can help you work out who is volunteering for you as well as what they did at what time and how long for. By using volunteer management systems you will be better equipt to work out who you can match to particular opportunities with the use of the database as by using this you will be able to see what certain volunteers enjoy. By using volunteer management software this should alleviate stress for you as a volunteer manager because of how much more efficient it will make your work. In relation to where to get a volunteer management system look no further than TeamKinetic who provide a software that WORKS.

MASTER THE ART OF RECRUITMENT

There is one thing that is a simply must have for volunteer managers and this is volunteers! Often what volunteer managers have trouble with is how to get these volunteers to sign up for opportunities, however, this issue is not the volunteer’s willingness to participate but it is reaching out to volunteers and recruiting new ones. The potential way around this is possibly to look for volunteers in areas that the opportunity is centred around. For example, if an event is associated with a charity then you are most likely to find quality volunteers in places such as hospices as they will already have some sort of emotional attachment to the cause.

From this article, we hope that you have been informed about volunteer management and how to be successful in doing so. If you do wish to find an easier way of managing your volunteers by using software, please visit https://teamkinetic.co.uk/

Why Liverpool FC Foundation are using TeamKinetic volunteer software

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On 28th August 2018

In Case Study, Sport, Volunteer Management

We get to understand the Liverpool FC Foundation and what they do for the community and how TeamKinetic Volunteer software is allowing them to make a bigger impact around the city, through our interview with Katie Ellis and Dawn Georgeson

LFC Foundation

LFC Foundation

About the Liverpool FC Foundation

Liverpool Football Club has long served its local community and it has been a part of their history to support the people of Liverpool. More recently, in 2010 this commitment was furthered with the launch of the Liverpool FC Foundation, developed as a financially independent organisation.

The Liverpool FC Foundation’s mission!

“is to bring together the LFC family to create life-changing opportunities for children and young people.”

The Foundation is all about providing opportunities for children and young people. They run a number of projects throughout the week for different groups :

  • Girls and Women.
  • People with disabilities.
  • Disadvantaged communities.
  • Children and families.

It is a goal of the Foundation to provide activities that are fully inclusive. The Liverpool FC Foundation is also in partnership with a number of other organisations, like Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and many others.

They work with partners to raise awareness and to tackle issues around the city. Volunteering for the Foundation allowed me to see first hand how inclusive and welcoming they are, as well as the impact they have had on younger people of Liverpool and beyond.

The Foundation has a strong team of community coaches and project leaders that deliver sessions to young people in the community working directly with schools, sports venues and youth organisations. Their six-step plan shows how they achieve these goals.

The impact Liverpool FC Foundation has made to the community

The foundation has made a significant impact on the community, aiming to offer all young people in Liverpool access to sport. Liverpool FC Foundation run over 100 tournaments each year, working with over 5,000 children. The charity also runs a number of projects such as Kicks, Primary stars, and Open Goals. Open goals is a new project which is aimed at engaging young people and families to take part in the regular physical activity.

Liverpool FC Foundation focuses on more than just sport. The organisation also run an employability program which aims at young people aged between 18-25. The project helps young people with CV building and interview skills to prepare them for the future. The impact of the project has helped people with their confidence, interaction skills, and preparation for work.

Fundraising is another way the foundation has made a difference to the community. Liverpool FC Foundation works to help those in need around the community, including their partnership programmes. The Foundation runs a variety of fundraising events such as:

  • VIP Gala Dinner with Jürgen Klopp.
  • LFC Supporters Club Fundraising Challenge.
  • Newly launched LFC Foundation lottery.

The Foundation looks at improving the life of the community and helping each other. The Foundation engages with over 21,000 people a year, which shows their impact as a foundation.

How Liverpool FC Foundation has benefited from using the TeamKinetic volunteer software

Having spoken to Dawn (Volunteer lead) and Katie (Project lead) it was important to get an understanding of what difficulties they previously had in terms of recruiting volunteers. As the Volunteer lead, Dawn has the responsibility of recruiting volunteers for the opportunities on their volunteer software website which is powered by TeamKinetic.

Katie, Dawn and I discussed how they have adjusted to using the TeamKinetic volunteer management software, and the benefits it has provided them and the Liverpool FC Foundation.

This is what they had to say…

Dawn: “We have gone from using a paper trail to now having something that is digitally quite far ahead of the game. It simplifies everything. From the minute someone registers, I get informed via email and they also get notified with immediate contact. Which I think is really important to volunteers as its making them feel valued”

Katie: ” I think the thing that is good, is when we discussed at the start how we were going to place the website, where people were going to find out about how to volunteer. We were able to share the foundation URL so that it was really easy to find. With a button on the Foundation website were volunteers could find it.”

Dawn: ” I think as well, even for someone who isn’t particularly good at IT, the volunteer software is very simple to follow. The forms are really easy to fill out and are pretty self-explanatory”

Katie: “Volunteers like to feel valued, so the incentive program and how we can track that on the TeamKinetic system is something we will be looking to do next. I think that will be very powerful, especially in a football club. To have incentives that link back to the reasons people volunteer and one of them is for the fans to feel closer to the club”

Dawn: “Yeah, also it isn’t just closed off to fans of the club, its people who just want to help the local community. That is quite clear in the opportunities we provide, showing that it’s not just about the club but the community in general”

Volunteer experience of using TeamKinetic’s volunteer software

I wanted to find out what the volunteers thought of the volunteer system as they are also an integral part of the Foundation’s development. I spoke with Rinchen who had gained a paid role as a digital analyst from his volunteering efforts. This is what he had to say about the volunteer software.

” Using the TeamKinetic volunteer system has been pretty easy. I have signed up to a few opportunities already using the website. It’s user-friendly and you’ve got all the options there. You’ve got all the opportunities allowing you to sign up to what you want and has a lovely map of where it is making it very easy to find. ”

Understanding our customers want and needs are at the heart of TeamKinetic. This allows the team to develop innovative ways to make our customers lives easier.  To find out more about TeamKinetic and our work and how we can help you recruit, deploy and retain more volunteers, please get in touch with our team.

Reminder! 

Tickets are still available for our annual volunteer conference. The link for the ticket can be found HERE

 

How Volunteering Has Made Great Sporting Events

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On 22nd August 2018

In News & Views, Sport

Over the years there has been a host of the world’s greatest sporting events that have only been made possible by the volunteers who give up their time to make the events what they are. Volunteering at sports events is extra special because, more often than not, events that require volunteers are of a mass scale, this adds atmosphere to the whole volunteering experience.

The first event this blog will go into is the London 2012 Olympics which involved a massive cohort of events which in total required 70,000 volunteers. There was no shortage of thanks from the stars of the games for the volunteers that helped organise the events and you could tell that they were genuinely appreciative of them and the efforts they put in. Not only the Olympians but others also were massive fans of the way the nation had volunteered. For example, the Prime Minister at the time, David Cameron stated: “To see tens of thousands of people giving up their time to support London 2012 has been truly inspiring.” Others such as Tom Daley and Sir Chris Hoy have said the sheer number of people that came to the event made it what it was.

Furthermore, the 2018 World Cup in Russia was also heavily successful not only because of the stars of the show but the number of people who were willing to give up their time to make sure the tournament ran smoothly. There were an estimated 17,000 volunteers at the tournament with roles such as car park marshall and media assistant. “The volunteers’ faces are the first thing the fans see when they arrive,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino, hailing the significance of the Volunteer Programme. “Their smiles are what visitors pick up on”. Statements like this from such powerful people really give significance to volunteering and makes everyone aware of just how important they are.

A further event that was made successful by the volunteers of the sport was the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The tournament had a total of around 6,000 volunteers with roles that varied from meeting and greeting to transport. The Rugby World Cup staff members collectively called their volunteers ‘The Pack’ this was presumably to make them feel as though they were more a part of the games and also important.

As shown by the prestigiousness of the events above volunteers and volunteering are both vital parts of what makes these occasions successful and enjoyable to watch. This is recognised by many which include the stars of the sports to the business minded individuals who run the events.

With the 2019 Rugby world cup fast approaching they’re looking for volunteers to help make that event great once again! If you’re interested please click the link below:

https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/volunteers

Events these days require mass volunteers and a need for precise volunteer management. Here’s how TeamKinetic have helped these events run smoothly in the past with the use of our software.

Introducing TeamKinetic: Jerome Pannell – Ready for the challenge!

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On 27th July 2018

In News & Views

Over the past few years, I have found myself volunteering for a number of things for lots of different reasons. Whether it be for my own professional development in my future career, for my passions outside of my academic life or even just for a new challenge I am always prepared to embark on new experiences.

The first time I volunteered was in 2013 for my local golf club as a youth golf coach. With golf being my main passion and playing to county level myself I always felt that I would never have got to the standard I did without my own youth golf coach. Over the years I saw youth participation in golf go downhill with only a fraction of juniors wanting to play due to the game being ‘boring’. From this, I decided to more than just coach the game but also give talks and tours around my local golf club to people of all ages in order show them that there’s much more to golf than just the sport itself.

 

Two years later I took on another voluntary role, becoming junior captain of South beds golf club. In this role, I regularly took part in committee meetings where discussions took place as to how it was best to create awareness for the club. I came up with a host of ideas such as; presenting at assembly’s, regular deals for new members and traditional word of mouth marketing.

Moreover, in 2015, I joined the organisation original volunteers. From this I went out to Morocco to help underprivileged children in orphanages across the capital or Marrakech, this was a very fulfilling experience that I would recommend to anyone who is looking to do something good for the world in a less conventional way.

In relation to my professional career over the last two years have consisted of two main voluntary projects/jobs that I have been working on. For instance, in the summer of 2017, I took on an unpaid role in a television production company where I was a TV researcher.  I worked alongside the paid TV researchers and operations manager to help find new leads for the business which would have the aim of making them into a profit after successful meetings. I came along way personally from this experience as I was able to develop my telephone skills as well as my e-mail literacy which I view to be vital for a role in marketing and in many other professions.

Lastly, I realised very quickly from learning on my degree that marketing never stands still and trends are always changing. One form of marketing that I saw to be growing rapidly was that of social media. Therefore, I decided to set up my own Instagram page (@witb_golf) which is now closing in on 1,000 followers. I was able to learn about the tools of Instagram and what is vital in order to attract engagement.

In order to take my professional skills to the next level I decided to undertake a work placement in my penultimate year of university to enhance my employability. The opportunity arose to join TeamKinetic after a successful interview with Chris, Steve and James. I believe that from joining TeamKinetic my skills can only be enhanced as I strive to do the best possible job I can for the business which will, in turn, allow them to continue in growth. I am very eagar and excited to get started as a member of TeamKinetic as I work with their large catalogue of clients to provide them with a service that will benefit myself as much as them.

Thank you for reading.

Jerome Pannell – Marketing Co-ordinator

Jerome@teamkinetic.co.uk

 

The Integrated Communities Innovation Fund: A New Funding Opportunity and What You Need to Know

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On 24th July 2018

In News & Views

For those managing volunteers, community engagement or sports development, there was good news to be found this week. A £7 million fund to support building more integrated communities was announced by the Secretary of State for Communities Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP. TeamKinetic has identified a shared interest between the sectors we serve, ICIF’s purpose, and the potential role of our volunteer management software could have.

What is the ICIF?

The Integrated Communities Strategy Fund (ICIF) green paper, was launched in early 2018 and invited views on the government’s vision for building strong integrated communities. The new fund was announced on the 9th July, and aims to stimulate new thinking, build new partnerships and test innovative approaches to bringing integrating communities. A press release, available on Gov.uk, summarises the ICIF:

“We are inviting applications to support approaches which help build integrated communities. This includes projects that use sport and physical activity to encourage integration. The government will be working in partnership with Sport England, which is contributing to the new Integrated Communities Innovation Fund, to support projects of this type.”

ICIF logo

Read the full article here

The fund aims to support projects which meet the following criteria:

  • Offer sound reasoning as to why they will be likely to achieve positive integration outcomes and, where available, have a clear evidence base to support this.
  • Have a clear understanding of how outcomes will be measured and how the success of the project can be evaluated.
  • Demonstrate how they have, or will secure, buy-in to the proposal from delivery partners and from the local communities in which they will be tested.
  • Show potential for growth, both in terms of the number of people reached and effectiveness in different local contexts.
  • Demonstrate clear deliverability, good value for money and are financially sustainable
  • Are led by organisations that are willing to share their experiences and learning, both honestly and widely.

How could this funding be used to support your voluntary organisation?

From our research, we believe voluntary organisations could successfully apply to the fund to support the costs of a volunteer management system. TeamKinetic believes our experience and market-leading volunteer management software would help to position the application with the support, integration and potential to scale, desired by ICIF.

r volunteer management software could be a  perfect fit for such funding.

  • With ten years of experience supporting the development of volunteer programmes, TeamKinetic’s software is designed specifically to encourage frequent and meaningful interactions resulting in volunteering
  • Working alongside hundreds of organisations in the UK and around the world we can provide evidence for the positive impact our software has had on communities
  • Our software enables organisations or project leaders to track and measure the impact of their work. The reporting features capture the level of engagement, which can be analysed based upon ethnicity, age, sexes, location, socioeconomics, and more.
  • As a delivery partner to the project, we can offer our full support and experience through our advice and suggestions to help you to use the funding in an efficient way
  • We can also use our extensive network to introduce new delivery partners who can support your cause
  • We have an extensive portfolio of clients who have seen an incremental change to the size and scalability of their operations due to our software
  • We already work in partnership with a selection of sector groups, including the Join-in Consortium and the Sport Volunteer Research Network
  • Each year we invite hundreds of organisation to join us at our annual volunteering conference, held in Manchester, to discuss the latest trends and topics of volunteer and community development

If you would like to read a case study on how TeamKinetic has helped to build a community for Seashell Trust please take a moment to read this:

https://teamkinetic.co.uk/blog/2018/05/08/teamkinetic-case-study-seashell-trust-find-a-functional-solution/

To discuss this funding opportunity further, please get in touch:

0161 914 5757

james@teamkinetic.co.uk

 

TeamKinetic Go Mobile: TeamKinetic Volunteering App

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On 9th July 2018

In Application Features and Tutorials, News & Views, Technical Updates

Please note: This post is outdated, you can take a look at our new and improved mobile app here.

TeamKinetic are proud to announce we are now mobile! With the release of an iOS and Android App, volunteering has never been more accessible and easier.

Following our last annual volunteering conference, the demand to create a mobile app for volunteers has been high and at the forefront of our road map for development. Following some careful consideration TeamKinetic have developed the App and we are pleased to announce it is now available in the iTunes Store and Google Play.

To use the app, volunteers need to have previously registered online with an organisation’s volunteer website portal before being able to sign on. Registered volunteers are then able to search for opportunities from all providers that advertise on or use a TeamKinetic System via the app.

In a simple four step process volunteers can search for opportunities, log hours, leave feedback and edit personal details and much more:

  1. Register online via provider website (i.e MCRVIP)
  2. Download TeamKinetic App
  3. Sign In using login credentials
  4. Search and join volunteer opportunities

For those of you interested, we continue to explain the process and factors considered for designing the app below.

Why is the app not specific to an organisation?

It is technically very difficult to brand an application. It is not possible for us to upload a variant of the native application for every organisation. We have settled for a system wide app that will include branding details of the volunteers home organisation once they have logged in.

What is the best feature/s on the app?

Both the Android and iOS apps contain super convenient notification systems that alert a volunteer to any upcoming sessions right in their phones notification panel. These work whether the device as internet connectivity or not.

TeamKinetic App

Why do volunteers need to have previously registered online before using the system?

Our existing customers were nervous that users that find the app before registering with their local volunteering organisation would never realise the full potential of their local volunteer network, only being exposed to shared opportunities. For this reason, we decided that the application would be a companion app for existing users.

TeamKinetic App Screenshot

Any additional questions and answers you think may be relevant?

The app will be advertised to all users logging in through their home organisation when using a mobile device. In addition, we will be using regular notifications to let users know there is a mobile app available and adding a footnote to the weekly emails with download links.

We think that volunteers will find more opportunities and log more hours when they can search for opportunities whenever and wherever they are.

If you have any further questions or would like to find our more on TeamKinetic’s app or volunteer management software, please get in touch with one of our team.

 

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.

Feel Good Friday – Volunteer Praise

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On 6th July 2018

In News & Views

This week TeamKinetic received a message recognising the effort of volunteers and staff at the Manchester Big Bike Ride. We wanted to share the message and it positive praise of Volunteers for their efforts:

“I was working at the Manchester Big Bike Ride today on a Bike Doctor stand and I witnessed the work of the British Cycling staff and the volunteers. I have to say that, without exception, they were enthusiastic, cheerful, helpful encouraging and friendly. I can’t praise them enough. I have a confession to make. I saw the (unnecessary, in the end) waterproof jackets being distributed to the volunteers when I first arrived on site and coveted one. At the end of the day I sweet talked one of the staff into giving me a spare. I did not get their name as I wouldn’t want to get anyone into trouble. I am very pleased with my new jacket and I intend to carry it on my upcoming 750 km ride along the Camino Frances in July. I hope I won’t need to wear it but, if I do, it will be with but, if I do I will feel privileged to publicise such an enjoyable and well-run event.”

The Manchester Big Bike Ride is part of a larger series of events in Manchester. You can find out more on their website: http://www.tourdemanc.co.uk/services/the-rides/

If you have a story about volunteering, volunteer management or social action, and you would like us to share or if you’d like to learn more about TeamKinetic volunteer management software, please get in touch with one of our team:

Call 0161 914 5757

Email james@teamkinetic.co.uk

 

6 Reasons to Attend a Volunteering Conference

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On 25th June 2018

In Events and Conferences, News & Views

In a digital age where it seems that everything relating to training, development and even networking can all be accessed online it can sometimes prove challenging to convince or justify time away from the office. We wanted to provide you with 6 reasons to get out of the office and hopefully, convince you to attend a volunteering conference in the future!

You owe it to your volunteers

Countless volunteers travel, give up their time and go out of their way for various volunteering roles. Whether it’s staying an extra couple of minutes to tidy up or responding to an urgent last-minute call to cover a shift, volunteers always have a knack for giving more than expected.

Yet, as volunteer managers, we sometimes forget to prioritise operational and strategic tasks which will provide a greater long-term benefit, becoming immersed by working in our volunteer programme instead of on it.

Sometimes we need to take a step away from our organisation’s day-to-day running to learn, exchange best practice and hard-learned lessons with your peers, or just simply reiterate the steps we need to ensure long-term value in our volunteering programmes. A focused conference can do just that.

If you stop learning, you stop growing (and so does your volunteer programme)

This nugget of wisdom often echoes through any informative or educational events marketing material. Yet, despite its excessive use, it remains true and is one of the most important factors for ensuring you prioritise your personal and professional development.

Without developing your skills and knowledge of the latest trends, technology and discoveries, you put yourself at a disadvantage. Ensuring that you spend sufficient time developing an awareness of new developments will ensure that you protect your volunteer programme and safeguard preparation for future changes.

Who said work should be boring ….have fun

We have all been guilty of slipping into a routine where we repeat activities daily, trying to reduce any distractions and focus on what matters. In doing so, we inadvertently remove the sources of entertainment, creativity and inspiration we previously amused ourselves with and used to fuel our work with the necessary passion it deserves.

Attending a conference provides an opportunity to find new inspirations in an environment that is fun, welcoming and different. Simply by removing ourselves from the confines of our office, we open our minds to new stimuli that can inspire a change in our approach. The opportunity to meet new people, learn new ways and experience new places, genuinely excites (most) of us.

Network, Network, Network

Meeting someone in person provides a real chance to connect. You notice their body language, facial response and their voice. Collectively these interactions have a much greater value which is longer lasting and valued.

The importance of building your network is beneficial to both yourself and your organisation. It could be as simple as identifying new suppliers or sharing approaches to a shared challenge. The value and potential of collaboration, open discussion and mutual interest make networking very worthwhile.

Industry Insight

The opportunity to listen to industry-leading figures can provide a chance to learn valuable information and insight that you may not have been aware of or had access to. As speakers want to be recognised for their experience and expertise they will supply their audience with an arsenal of practical and easy-to-implement takeaways; from bite-size easy wins to long-term strategic considerations.

Lunch, Lunch, Lunch

As every volunteer manager knows, it is important to keep your workforce focused and fed. So make sure you don’t miss out on the top lunch provided and enjoy a freshly prepared, wholesome and tasty lunch with refreshments.

So what are you waiting for, you owe it to your volunteers!

So there you go, 6 compelling reasons for you to give up your desk for one day, go on an adventure to discover, network and learn.

If you would like to find out more about TeamKinetic’s Annual Conference or Volunteer Management Software, please get in touch.

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.

Managing Major Sports Events: How Sports Cardiff recruits and manages its volunteers

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On 19th June 2018

In Case Study, Community, Sport, Volunteer Management

Cardiff welcomes yet another major event to the city. Eager to join some of the excitement, TeamKinetic visited Cardiff and the front line volunteers of the event. Take a read of how volunteers at major events in Cardiff are managed by Sport Cardiff and the experience one of our team whilst at the event.  

Volunteers in Action

Volunteers in Action

Cardiff a Sporting city of Success

In the last few years, Cardiff has successfully hosted several major sporting events. From the Champions League final, a Heavyweight Boxing unification fight,  and most recently the Volvo Ocean Race. Cardiff is quickly becoming a popular choice to host world-level sporting events.

Responsibility for organising some of these events has fallen to Sport Cardiff, the city’s sport development team a partnership between Cardiff Council and Cardiff Metropolitan University. Using TeamKinetic volunteer management software, Sport Cardiff recruits volunteers for sports events and opportunities across the city. TeamKinetic wanted to take the opportunity to visit such a prestigious event and to experience some of the thrills of front-line volunteering.

Volvo Ocean Race – Tell me more

The Volvo Ocean Race sees seven teams compete against each other across eleven legs around the world’s oceans. The ninth leg brings the competitors to Cardiff, in which they spend fifteen days in the port, included in this time are several port challenges which contribute points to the leaderboard. Amongst the excitement is an entourage of pop up stands and stools from partners, sponsors and charitable organisations which provide visitors with entertainment and education.  The volunteers assist with the running of the event and the various stands through their enthusiasm, knowledge and approachable smiles.

Recruiting Volunteers and Managing Volunteers

The responsibility of recruiting volunteers from the local area fell on Gareth Power, Sport Development Co-ordinator at Sport Cardiff. As Sport Cardiff uses TeamKinetic volunteer management software to power the volunteer website Gareth was eager to ensure opportunities were shared across the portal.

In a brief interview, Gareth reflected on how the recruitment and management of volunteer had benefited from the use of TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software.

“It’s been a really positive experience and a great event so far. We have needed hundreds of volunteers who collectively have worked over 8 thousand hours for this fourteen consecutive day event. It has been quite intense and full on, but the volunteers have just been great.

They really have embraced the event. They come from all walks of life with different interests, backgrounds and motivations for volunteering. Whether it’s their first time volunteering or their hundredth it’s great to find a cause that brings them all together. The fact that everyone has decided to be here really helps to create a different dynamic and a positive vibe for the event.

For us at Sport Cardiff, it is important that we don’t just look at a singular event but also think about how we can keep the engagement of these volunteers in the future. This is just one of the reasons TeamKinetic volunteer management software is so valuable to us because it enables to promote future events to the volunteers who have previously signed up. This helps us to create a legacy,  grow the pool of volunteers and increase the number of returning volunteers in the future.

For events which last so long, it can be challenging to manage such a high number of volunteers and their availability. The TeamKinetic software has helped us to overcome this challenge by allowing volunteers the flexibility to swap shifts on the volunteer portal without the need of going through the administrator.

Another aspect that makes the software so valuable is its automated and customisable communication features. Using TeamKinetic we know that all of the volunteers who sign up through the portal will receive the necessary information. It also is the perfect platform for us to collect feedback from volunteers following the event. This is made possible through the events survey functionality. “

If you would like to read James’ experience volunteering at the event check out his blog here.

Or if you’d like to learn more about TeamKinetic volunteer management software, please get in touch with one of our team:

Call 0161 914 5757

Email james@teamkinetic.co.uk

A Volunteers Experience: Volvo Ocean Race

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On 18th June 2018

In Events and Conferences, News & Views

TeamKinetic’s James volunteered at the Volvo Ocean Race in Cardiff last week. The major international sports event visited Cardiff for fourteen days and nicely coincided with national Volunteers Week 2018. Take a read of James’ experience and how the event catered for volunteers welfare.

Volvo Ocean Race

Arriving at the event ready for the start of shift briefing, I was unsure what to expect from my volunteering. I had no past encounters with  Yachts and had only been sailing a couple of times. However, my previous experience volunteering had provided me with the reassurance that management is usually one of the nicest and most welcoming around.  Sport Cardiff was no different. Arriving to the volunteer hub I was welcomed by Gareth Power, Volunteer Coordinator for Sport Cardiff . He welcomed me to the event, thanked me for travelling there and supplied me with a ‘port crew’ polo, poncho, cap and even a reusable plastic bottle. I was then showed  a seat ready for the briefing.

One thing I noticed was how friendly, welcoming and understanding everyone was at the event. Whether it was your first day or tenth, everyone was smiling and eager to help one another out. Following a light-hearted brief, we were given the opportunity to put ourselves forward for the different positions at the various stands available. During the brief we were told about the running order of the day, the time of lunches and shown were we could make hot drinks, and find the toilet. There were also various watering stations and sun cream dispensers across the event, an additional touch which was greatly welcomed in the days heat.

At my station, I was greeted by several volunteers who explained my role and helped me find my feet in the role. Before we knew it, we were welcoming people into the stand and showing them through the various aspects.  At various points in the day, we were checked on by the event staff both from  Sport Cardiff and Volvo Ocean Race, making sure we were okay and all comfortable. Halfway through the shift, we received our tasty lunch and given the opportunity to take a comfort break as other volunteers minded the stand.  Once our shift was completed we were free to spend a little longer socialising and invited to a local pub to enjoy a socialise.

The following day I returned to the volunteer hub and the briefing process was repeated, with a different joke but just as much enthusiasm. This time around I went to a different stand for my shift. The  Grinding Challenge was a competition stand where entrants had to raise of the mast as quickly as possible. As part of a four-person team, we were responsible for encouraging attendees to participate, demonstrating their technique and capturing an action picture using the stations ipads, which could be sent to them via email. The stand brought out everyone’s competitive side and was amusing to watch…of course I had to have a go!

James' Attempting the Grinding Challenge

James’ Attempting the Grinding Challenge

During my time at the event, I took the opportunity to speak with several volunteers and ask why they decided to give up their time. The answers varied greatly, from enjoying sports, to be being a yacht enthusiast, gaining work experience, previous experience volunteering with  Sport Cardiff and even just to say ‘I was there’. It was clear that everyone had their own reasons for being there, but in doing so the gained a sense of gratification and provided others with their time and efforts.

A few days after the event, I received an email from Gareth titled: VOR – Thank You / Diolch. The email was a perfect example the simple things you can do to say ‘Thank you’ and really helped to make me feel a valued member of the volunteer team at the event.

Despite only spending a short time at the event, I had a truly great experience and learnt much more than I had expected. Whilst at the event I developed my people skills and adapted to new environments, operating in a team and learning about yachts, volunteering at the Volvo Ocean Race had provided me with an opportunity to do something completely different to my regular day and connected me with so many people whose path I may never have crossed.  Volunteering at the such a large sport event was a truly enjoyable experience and one I would happily repeat in the future.

Page 29 of 42

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