The current world is obsessed about innovation, development and becoming the next thought leader. Yet, many of us are happy in the comfort of routine and familiarity, and rarely expose ourselves to new challenges or experiences. We simultaneously crave new technology whilst holding on to tradition and conformity, and have become experts at managing and maintaining such cognitive dissonances.

The organisations we work for often openly encourage innovation and creativity, whilst prioritising regular duties done in the regular way at the regular times. There is little time allocated to focus solely on collaborating with innovation as the desired outcome.

As volunteer managers operate mainly within the third sector, there are numerous barriers to encouraging creativity: lack of resource, inspiration, nurturing of talent, autonomy and responsibility. These barriers are often heightened with increasing legislation, regulation and concerns for safeguarding which restrains volunteer managers further.

So, how do you unshackle creativity and innovation?

You challenge, you invite and you drive a change in attitudes, moving from being failure adverse towards learning and growth through failure.

Easier said than done, right?

There is a strong consensus by successful thought leaders that it is the small changes that result in the larger positive outcomes we achieve, often referred to as the compound effect or butterfly effect. These are the micro-changes that are easy to make but harder to sustain, but if successful will lead to much grander achievements.

From conception, TeamKinetic has been striving to do just this, overcoming the issue of recruiting a large number of volunteers in a relatively disengaged community. TeamKinetic recognised the volunteer management process had become stagnant in moving with the new technological age.
By identifying the challenges of volunteering, identifying recruitment, recognition, rewarding and reporting, each aspect needed a reformed approach.

By challenging the status quo, exploring new avenues and including a different approach, TeamKinetic were able to redefine volunteer management.

Our software development is driven by an end user approach and before we start any new development we ask: “how will this improve the volunteer experience?”. This approach results in software with a humanistic touch, encouraging self selection and exploration, and promoting self-growth for volunteers. By altering the focus from what we do that can benefit you to what is it that would benefit you most TeamKinetic is able to understand the needs of its sector in an honest, open and insightful way. TeamKinetic continues the process by testing improvements and listening to the response of industry leaders, specialists and those operating in the Third Sector.

How can you drive innovation in your volunteer management?

As a volunteer manager, you have great opportunities to influence the experience of volunteers. This will impact directly on the productivity, retention and relationship between your organisation and your volunteers. To start to improve volunteer experience take a moment to consider what problems you are currently experiencing with your volunteer management and what aspects could be improved.

Once you have identified problems consider the barriers to resolving them. Listen to stakeholders and to those that problems impact most, as these are the people who understand the problems. Then consider alternative ways of solving the problem and how other sources of inspiration can be used to achieve a solution. Obvious small changes can be implemented immediately and solutions for larger issues can be implemented via a long term plan.

TeamKinetic wants to help and share our insights in volunteer management. We also love listening to your thoughts and ideas and contricutions to our blog are welcome and encouraged. Please feel free to get in touch with us:

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Have you ever wondered how wonder woman would be as a marketer?

Well, that’s me. The newest addition to TeamKinetic’s team. Here is my story and the reasons I chose Marketing as my “day” job.

Finding the job you want to do, is not always the easiest scenario. In many cases, students attend university and realise that what they had chosen is no longer what they really like. ‘Like’, seems to be the MAGIC WORD! Let me explain what I mean.

When I finished my studies in political science I realised that I gained a valuable set of skills, but no longer favoured the area of knowledge I had acquired. I had learnt to research, report, critique and build balanced arguments. I had gained valuable insight into the political world, understanding its systems, institutions and behaviours, but none of this left me feeling fulfilled. I was hungry for more energy, creativity and a bigger challenge in my everyday life. For this reason, I began exploring new career pathways.

I decided to attend several career guidance days. I learned things about different sectors and industries where I could apply my skills and passion too.  I then visited several companies to meet executives in various sectors and job positions. I had many discussions on the nature of their work and how their skills, knowledge and experience helped them in each role. This was the time when I learned about Marketing.

Marketing is about communication and psychology. You learn how companies target their consumers and build relationships. It’s about presenting services or goods using different tools. It’s about building brand awareness and increasing sales. I realise this is what gets me excited; business development through digital and social media marketing.

Just as Wonder Woman had journeyed from her exotic home, Themyscira, I left my exotic homeland Greece to begin a new adventure.  Arriving in the UK little over a year ago, I began studying for a Marketing Msc at the University of Salford. It was during my time studying, I noticed the number of third sector organisations including the non-profit’s, charities and NGOs.

It was during my time studying that I began volunteering for the “Green Impact Project”.  I took responsibility for the creation of marketing material designed to improve the environmental performance of the University. Volunteering was a great opportunity for me to make friends, practices my skills and help make my university more “green”.

Later in the year, keen to continue building my experience, I volunteered in a marketing role for a hotel in Southport.  I created a new website and increased brand awareness. The participation in volunteering has been greatly beneficial and has provided me with a great sense of satisfaction and achievement. For me, it was a unique opportunity to help other people, something I will certainly do again.

Upon graduating from my Masters, I was eager to search for a role where I could apply my previous working experience, my volunteer involvement and also developed the skills I had gained.

When the opportunity to join TeamKinetic arose, I was interested in how I could help them. I was attracted by the values of the company, the idea of helping to build communities and volunteers, and the opportunity to put my Masters into practice. I believe that I can bring my skills in communication, digital skills, research, analytical skills, initiative and creativity to TeamKinetic.

Learning about Volunteer Management will be a new challenge and opportunity, but gaining an understanding of the sector’s needs will be mutually beneficial as I develop my skills and help the team to develop their understanding of the voluntary sector.

I am excited to begin working with the best team I could have hoped for.

Feel free to get in touch elena@teamkinetic.co.uk

Here at TeamKinetic we often enjoy reading and sharing with one another articles that challenge and explore our values, opinions and actions. This week I received an article on appreciation. Having read the article, I felt that others should also be able to appreciate its message.

Just before you read this article, I encourage a moment of reflection.
Ask yourself: when was the last time I really said thank you? I don’t mean as you rush away from the cafe with your morning coffee or as you pass someone holding the door. When was the last time you went out of the way to show your gratification to another person?

Similarly, when was the last time someone went out of their way to appreciate what you did?

It doesn’t take long to realise how satisfying it is to be appreciated and to appreciate. For me the last time was at the end of my summer job, before I returned back to university.My manager, who I had only known for a couple of months at the time, gave me a handwritten thank you card and a gift voucher. The gift voucher was for our favourite coffee shop chain so that I could get my favourite coffee after stressful times, just as we would do after completing a hectic day at work. The unexpected appreciation and thoughtful gesture had taken me by surprise and has stuck with me.

I now welcome you to click through here:

http://jkglei.com/appreciation/

TeamKinetic is a company whose staff often demonstrate their appreciation for one another and I hope that appreciation flows on forward to our clients.
Kind Regards,

James

National obesity awareness week

We are well into January and already my new year’s resolutions are being tested beyond my willpower limit already, this year’s ambition, to do more and eat less, is already looking shaky.  That’s why National Obesity Awareness Week could not come at a better time.

Here at TeamKinetic, we work with a wide range of organisations that provide sport, wellbeing, health and fitness opportunities, so I wanted to take a few minutes to discuss the importance of volunteers and voluntary organisations when we talk about weight management.

Behaviour change is difficult; we as human beings, are not good at making daily decisions that are good for our long-term health with the many temptations that provide short-term satisfaction so easily available.  When we think about it, it’s easy not to go to the gym or to eat that cake as often that is in the short term the easiest or most pleasurable path forward.

When we think about getting more active, its difficult to remain motivated by the thought that in 12 months I may be slightly lighter and fitter. With this in mind, we need to think about other forms of motivation, how we can make the road to the goal more “sticky” and easier to stay on.

What the research seems to suggest is that developing friends and having a strong social setting around your physical activity makes you much more likely to stick with it.  Having people who understand what you are going through and are there to offer support and a friendly face mean your motivations are not just based on fitness, but on a desire to spend time with your friends and peers.

Whether you’re a participant, a volunteer, a coach or just someone who supports the group and helps out at the start and end of sessions, you are part of that team or group; you provide that peer network and you play an essential role in making that group “sticky”.

As we recognise national obesity awareness week, I say thank you to all of you who make all these activities take place, whether you’re a helper, a coach or just making sure people feel welcome when they decide to come along.

Keep up your essential work people.

Manchester based TeamKinetic has been working alongside some of sport and leisure’s biggest names. As part of a larger consortium, led by Sport and Recreation Alliance, TeamKinetic, Volunteering Matters, Jump and Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) have grouped together to explore how volunteering can be grown within communities and enable people to live healthier and happier lives.  Katie Ellis, GLL’s National Community Engagement Manager, explains the shared vested interest:

 “Volunteering is relevant to all spheres of life and volunteers are making a positive impact on economic, social, cultural and environmental issues. Volunteering can empower people and communities to fulfil their potential and contribute to social change. It can also engender a greater sense of ownership of ‘bettering’ their community. Volunteering supports the delivery of council outcomes, local well-being, public health, social cohesion and economic growth”

Many Local Authorities have identified a need to support and manage volunteers as part of their community work, but realise that the lack of internal resource and support to be able to do this. This has resulted in many local leisure contracts now including volunteer management as a requirement and it is expected future tender documents will also have KPI’s related to volunteer recruitment and management. TeamKinetic has already been successful in providing volunteer management software to many of these bids, including Glasgow Life, Cardiff County Council and Manchester Council.

As part of their work, TeamKinetic and GLL have decided to explore the role leisure can play in achieving this goal. TeamKinetic is one of the leading providers of volunteer management software and believes teaming up with GLL, who already run community engagement projects supported by local authorities and sport clubs, will create the perfect opportunity to do this.

The two organisations are planning to launch a pilot programme that will tap into the unused volunteering opportunities within leisure, from those that are involved with the facility, to the potential use of community space that leisure centres could offer, thereby embedding volunteers within the community. As the leading leisure operator in the UK, GLL is capable of extending the piloted programme across the nation.

This project will produce the findings used to evaluate and showcase how the investment of time and resource in developing volunteers within the leisure sector can provide a big return on investment, which will be produced in collaboration with Join In and Sport England.

The project which is proposed to kick off early in the New Year will see one local authority pilot the project before being scaled up across the GLL estate.

Steve Hall, one of the Directors at TeamKinetic: “To play a fundamental part in research that showcases the value of volunteers is something that excites TeamKinetic greatly. It is something we have always believed; we hope the evidence will reflect it”

For further information on TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software please explore our website or email james@teamkinetic.co.uk or call 0161 914 5757.