Mastering volunteer management can be a colossal task but it’s not impossible! A lot of people in the third sector encounter similar problems with each other.
Organising and communicating with volunteers, logging volunteer hours and consistently producing high-quality volunteer opportunities are all issues that volunteer teams face every day. We believe that this does not have to be the case.
A volunteer management system could be the key to unlocking your true potential as a volunteer manager and taking your programme to the next level.
TeamKinetic is an online platform that helps you recruit, manage and retain your volunteers. Making it easy for individuals to find the opportunities they want. Organisations can safely and effectively use volunteers across their business.
Our system allows your volunteers freedom and flexibility, using the very latest technology to give their time to the causes and activities that they love.
Volunteer Communication
In order to have an organised volunteer programme being in constant communication with your volunteers is a must. With TeamKinetic you will be able to give your volunteers reminders of events before so that they never forget and questions they have can be answered promptly. This can be done through email or if the volunteer provides you with a phone number you can also text them so that you can get hold of them whilst they’re on the go.
The system also offers you the ability to post on the news section. This is where you can keep your volunteers up to date with and important announcements.
Spreading The Word
TeamKinetic presents your organisation with the opportunity to share your opportunities with other systems to give you the maximum amount of people for your opportunities. Our system also speaks to Do-it.org which gives you access to 1000’s of volunteers all over the country.
How To Start Using TeamKinetic
If you are at all interested in making your volunteer programme the best it can possibly be with your own volunteer management software system please do not hesitate to get into contact with TeamKinetic. We are available weekdays from 9am – 5pm for any phone support or inquiries you may have on 0161 914 5757. Alternatively, you can email us: sales@teamkinetic.co.uk
TeamKinetic is an online platform that helps you recruit, onboard, manage, deploy, audit, recognise, reward and retain your volunteers.
Making it easy for individuals to find the opportunities they want and love. Organisations can safely and effectively use volunteers across their business.
TeamKinetic allows your volunteers freedom and flexibility, using the very latest technology to give their time to the causes and activities they love.
Why Do You Need Volunteer Management Software?
The days of using spreadsheets or that old access database to store volunteering information are well and truly numbered! Never has there been an easier more efficient way to manage your volunteers and track their progress.
Going for over 10 years, TeamKinetic has a host of clients who have left glowing testimonials about our service.
TeamKinetic software makes organising and searching for your opportunities, childs play, rich in data and insight about what exactly your volunteers are wanting to do and what they actually do!
We have made our system ‘Volunteer-centric’. What we mean by this is that we always put the volunteer at the heart of all our decisions. We never want a good volunteer to be sent to a bad opportunity or vice-versa. With built-in volunteer feedback and a range of features that offer insight to the volunteer experience we want you to be informed as volunteer managers.
We make it simple to identify your superstar volunteers and with a range of built-in reward and recognition fetaures, you can be confident those volunteers will feel appreciated.
Pricing!
We want every organisation, no matter what their size to benefit from TeamKinetic.
Start with our FREE to use TryVolunteering product. All the core features of TeamKinetic for small charities and clubs, For FREE.
TeamKinetic ADVANCED is designed for organisations that want more control of their volunteers, branding and support. Starting at £39 p/m for an advanced system.
TeamKinetic ENTERPRISE provides unparalleled levels of customisation, telephone support and access to our training and support team. Starting from £149 p/m.
If you would like to have a chat about how we can help you please call 0161 914 5757 or visit our web site https://teamkinetic.co.uk/
Who Can Benefit From Volunteer Management Software?
We work with a host of clients in numerous sectors and this is something that we are proud of. Here are examples of some of the sectors we operate in:
Universities/Education
NHS
National Governing Bodies and other Sporting Organisation
Major Events
Charities / Clubs
Parks/Museums
Local Authorities
Volunteer Centres
Hospice
Plus So Many More!
Request A Demo With Us
No matter what sector you are working in we would love to have a conversation with you. You can request a demo through our website or call us on the number below.
Many roles go unfilled… why is that?Do volunteer managers need to have a deeper understanding of volunteer demographics? Can we continue to assume that empty roles will fill up because they’re helping a good cause?
Unfilled volunteering roles
Having a good understanding of your volunteers and the roles you offer is key. Unfilled roles can have a negative impact on your volunteer management and make it difficult for tasks to be carried out.
Volunteers want to volunteer! Don’t make it difficult for them.
All volunteer managers need to prioritise roles that are crucial to the organisation because they involve tasks that drive long-term goals to be met. By prioritizing the most important roles it allows you to focus the energy and time on the areas that are most likely to have a greater impact on the organisation and its development.
Knowing your volunteer capacity and demographic
The one-size-fits-all is approach has long past its expiration date. Knowing who volunteers for you is crucial for developing relationships, providing opportunities and understanding who to target when recruiting volunteers. Volunteer trends are always changing and adapting, with volunteers being much more diverse. Here are some demographics to consider :
Age
The idea that only older people volunteer is diminishing. Today students in higher education regularly volunteer and are part of the most likely groups to volunteer. Different age groups will have a variety of skills they can utilise in their volunteer work.
Gender
The gender gap has become almost even with more men getting involved in volunteering than ever before. Women consistently volunteer in all areas, whereas men are typically more likely to volunteer in sport. It’s important to consider how your operations could be improved to create a more gender-inclusive environment for your volunteers.
Location
There are countless organisations offering ways to volunteer. This has created a great spread of opportunities contributing to better communities across the country. Within your organisation, you might consider mapping your volunteers to understand your key areas. Then you can ensure your opportunities are easily accessed by these areas.
Studies show higher levels of austerity among communities in the north of England and the local authority spending has fallen nationally by half since 2010. The lack of resources and inequalities mean many people are excluded from taking part in certain opportunities
Research conducted by our good friends at Jump highlight that a lower proportion of volunteers come from lower SEG (42%) compared to the representation of that group in the national population (50%).
Some of the barriers faced by lower SEG to volunteer include health barriers (illness or disability), caring responsibilities, and age constraints.
More information on Jump’s work and their report on “Why is volunteering biased towards higher socio-economic groups?” can be downloaded on their website.
So how can we help you fix these problems?
TeamKinetic is centralised around providing volunteer managers with resources to create accessible, easy-to-find opportunities for their volunteers.
Our volunteer management software works to eliminate issues such as filling roles and allows for a greater understanding of your volunteer base.
Advanced Search Functionality
Volunteers can search for opportunities with our search functionality which includes searching by location, opportunity name, and categories. This allows volunteers to find the nearest opportunities available to them without searching the whole internet.
Map Volunteers & Opportunities
Volunteer managers can view the number of opportunities and volunteers through a map format. This is useful in decision-making and creating opportunities according to your volunteer demographics.
Reports and Analysis
You can gain insight into the success of your volunteer programme by evaluating your volunteer sign-ups (including those who are active and repeating), the number of opportunities you have created and other demographic information.
These functions can help with providing suitable roles and ensure opportunities are filled.
For Universities across the UK, helping students develop an understanding of positive social action through volunteering is seen as a vital part of the student experience. Many universities are trying to find new ways to engage student volunteers and offer them an exciting variety of opportunities that appeal to an ever more diverse group.
Find out how TeamKinetic is fast becoming the fastest-growing volunteer software choice for universities in the UK and how it has helped manage large numbers of volunteers with simplicity and through technical innovation.
Volunteers walking
Students in numbers
When given the opportunity students can make a big difference and more importantly, want to make a difference to their university and the wider community. The benefits of volunteering for students are multi-faceted; opening doors to students via experience and improved networks, as well as being good for mental health and wellbeing.
Universities should be harnessing this potential and developing good volunteer programs. Higher education institutes are perfectly placed to take advantage of the thousands of new students that enrol each year.
There is still so much untapped potential for universities, students and the cities and towns they live in.
TeamKinetic’s volunteer software encourages volunteer managers to create high-quality opportunities that through social media and effective search technology, student volunteers can find, join, enjoy and get recognition for their efforts.
The figures above demonstrate the need for a volunteer management solution that is scalable. Managing a volunteer program IS achievable without volunteer software, however, using one can prove to be the difference between GOOD and GREAT.
Turning students into volunteers
Having a large number of students on campus does not equate to large numbers of engaged volunteers. Understanding your audience and developing a volunteer program that is suitable for them is key for engaging and retaining student volunteers.
So how do you turn students into volunteers?
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Understand what is already happening around universities and its surrounding areas. This knowledge can be gained from talking to your students, the students union, the athletics union, the local authority or local volunteer centre’s or other 3rd sector partners.
Everyone needs some encouragement. Providing positive support and supervision makes your student volunteers feel appreciated. Sometimes people just need help to get started!
People who sense they are making a difference and that think they contributing to something important tend to be much more motivated. Supporting volunteers takes time and resource, so it is critical to never underestimate this and provide them with the correct resources (induction policy, expenses policy, risk management etc).
Create clear roles and descriptions of opportunities. This makes it easier for students volunteers to identify opportunities that are best suited for them. Students often have secondary motivations as to why they volunteer, good role descriptions that take this into account help volunteers make informed decisions.
When recruiting student volunteers, it is essential to be fair and transparent. They are not employees or lackies, they want to help but not taken advantage of. We all like a surprise, but the good kind! Avoid setting volunteers any tasks that you’re not willing to do.
Empowering students to make a positive impact on their community can change lives. Many students run regular events or campaigns, raising awareness of charities and causes. Learning through real experience is invaluable.
Volunteering doesn’t always mean litter picking or bag packing. Some universities provide opportunities that are in the same field of work as students studies, giving them practical experience and developing a professional network.
Student volunteers can provide a different perspective to a member of staff. Student volunteers can bring different ideas to providers organisations and often bring a great energy and enthusiasm as well.
University provides many young people with the first opportunity to get involved in the things that matter to them. University provides a level of free time people tend not have at other times of their lives. This means voluntary organisations can benefit from a really high-level of commitment to their cause.
How TeamKinetic is helping universities
Universities have the potential for thousands of volunteers, and that can make it difficult to track and manage them all at the same time.
Often, in any one university, there are multiple programs that encompass an element of volunteering. Getting a joined up picture of volunteering, However, can be difficult.
TeamKinetic’s volunteer software allows managers to carry out key tasks through its simple interface. Onboarding, brokering, quality assurance and safeguarding are all builtin. The volunteer system can be personalised to match every universities brand colours, including a tailored web address. This allows for the website to be easily identifiable to students who are looking for volunteering opportunities.
Our POD system allows individual university departments to have their own opportunities and processes, but in one combined system so you can get data and better insight into all their volunteers.
The system is designed to make the experience easy for the volunteer, opportunity provider and admin user.
Volunteers can :
Create their own volunteer profiles
Join opportunities they are interested in
Join opportunity group chats to keep up-to-date on any news
Log their own volunteer hours upon completing an opportunity
Leave feedback, but also receive feedback from the opportunity provider
Work towards rewards and incentives which can aid in personal development
Volunteer providers can :
Monitor applicants
Leave and receive feedback to volunteers
Send out texts and emails to volunteers by a simple click of a button
Map volunteer locations to create opportunities in the most populated student volunteer areas
Review reports on progress in order to keep improving the opportunities on offer to students
Reward and set incentives for volunteers to help them achieve goals. (We have some exceptional examples of TeamKinetic customers that use the reward and incentives really well, which will be discussed later on in this article.)
What these features allow, is for the volunteer manager to focus their time on developing the volunteer program and generating more opportunities for students to take part in. Less time is spent on micromanaging and completing tedious tasks.
If this wasn’t enough, TeamKinetic volunteer system allows universities to link with external TeamKinetic applications, to provide opportunities. This allows charities, sports clubs and local authorities to become opportunity providers on the university system, further increasing students ability to take part in volunteering.
Students using the TeamKinetic volunteer software
TeamKinetic got the chance to speak to Daniel Roberts one of Manchester Metropolitan University students. We got to find out about his experience of being a volunteer on the universities volunteer software and how it has impacted him. Here is what he had to say.
” The university using a volunteer management system really encourages more students to get into volunteering. I wouldn’t have found opportunities or been able to receive feedback without the system. I think the volunteer software is the main reason I completed so many hours, and it makes it so much easier to continue volunteering.
Having a volunteer profile has been key to letting me track my progress and it has given me a chance to evaluate my experiences by looking at the hours I’ve logged and the opportunities that I’ve done. This has been good for CV writing and reflecting on in interviews.
The best thing about the Teamkinetic system for me is that you create your own profile and search for opportunities through the search bar. I could pick out events here and there, and plan my time around it.”
Hear from some of our customers that provide outstanding opportunities for their students
TeamKinetic work with a number of universities across the UK to provide them with their own bespoke and customised website for volunteers. Here are some of the universities that have been using the volunteer software to its potential and creating outstanding opportunities for students.
Manchester Metropolitan University has accumulated over 50,000 hours and counting since using the TeamKineitc volunteer software. This just goes to show the amount of hard work and giving back to the community that goes on within the institute. Additionally, there are 1592 registered volunteers and counting volunteering across the city in a number of diverse roles. MMU offers students a fantastic reward and recognition scheme using the system; 25 hours (Bronze) gains a volunteer T-shirt all the way up to 200 hours (platinum) Access to £100 training bursary, Linkedin and CV endorsements
The University of East London provides students with a variety of opportunities across the city, with 702 registered students on the system and 139 opportunities. Notably, UEL provides many opportunities outside of the university such as Dementia Advisor volunteer roles and Community Centre receptionists. Which is fantastic for getting students out into the community and making an impact through social action. The university also recognises volunteers for their hard work by offering a rewards and recognition scheme. Understanding the motivations of your volunteers is an essential part of incentivising the volunteer experience and making each individual feel valued within the university.
The IVR results showed that developing skills (88%) and gaining work experience (83%) were motivating factors for students that engaged in volunteering. The results also highlighted that 51% of recent graduates under the age of 30 in paid work found that volunteering helped them secure employment.
Additional research found that volunteering developed community awareness and allowed them to integrate into the local community outside the university. 39% of non-volunteers said they would be more determined to get involved in volunteering if it was linked to their academic subject. Creating more one-off opportunities is a good way of getting people into volunteering and allowing them to experience the benefits of it. The impact of volunteering on students is significant and can change an individuals perception of things they normally wouldn’t consider on a day-to-day
TeamKinetic helps to build better volunteer communities by providing great tools for volunteer managers that save time, increase impact and improve insight. Our goal is to make volunteering easy for everyone no matter what. But don’t take our word for it, why not check out our customer reviews.
For more information please don’t hesitate to get in touch and find out how we can help you achieve your goals.
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
Volunteer numbers are stagnating while the number of opportunities rises each year. It is easy for volunteer managers to want to “recruit”, without assessing and placing volunteers in the most suitable opportunities.
TeamKinetic contend that it’s important for all volunteer managers to understand how to recruit volunteers. Equally, it is important to understand how to effectively manage them. Perhaps more important still – how do you retain them?
Recruiting volunteers
Let’s start with some figures that are important to know from a volunteer managers point of view. As this always helps to understand the context we are working with.
In giving, how much do we receive? The social value of volunteering (Andrew G Haldane, Chief Economist, Bank of England, 2014).
Clearly, there is an appetite by people to help shape their communities and give their time freely to achieve their goals. How do you and your organisations make the best use of this amazing resource?
Advertising
How technology is redefining volunteer management…
Technology has been a powerful tool in allowing people to achieve things that once were not possible in the past. The developments have allowed billions of people to communicate, share stories and ideas from different locations and times. TeamKinetic uses technology to allow volunteer managers to complete tasks in a simple and quick manner. Technology is a tool that can create a number of benefits to organisations that is focused on providing volunteers with the best possible opportunities.
TeamKinetic work with a number of organisations such as; Do-it.org, volunteering-wales.net and VolunteerScotland to offer volunteers options across the UK. We believe that audience size matters and individuals looking for things they are interested in is made simple.
We believe it is possible to create an audience ecosystem for opportunities. every volunteer manager in the sector plays an important role in providing volunteers with access to a wide range of opportunities that will bring about benefits to the organisation and volunteer. TeamKinetic is assisting volunteer managers to carry out these tasks by providing a platform that allows them to create and advertise opportunities according to the organisation’s audience. The system also inputs all volunteers into one area after registering. This allows the selecting process of volunteers to be effective and time-saving.
Opportunities
Volunteer managers should always strive to create opportunities that are appealing and beneficial to the volunteer. Opportunities should allow the volunteer to gain positive and worthwhile experiences because at the end of the day they’re giving up their time to help you!
When advertising an opportunity it is important to consider the following:
Provide the volunteer with all the information regarding the opportunity.
Include some of the benefits of the volunteering opportunity
Highlight some of the key requirements of your opportunity
Here are some amazing opportunities that have been provided to volunteers by organisations using the TeamKinetic volunteer management software. When opportunities are well thought out and advertised they can have a big impact on the volunteer and their experience.
Respect 4 All is a great example of a simple and easy to sign up volunteer opportunity created by the foundation. The opportunity is a regular ongoing event that is held every week that brings in a variety of volunteers. The Respect 4 All event is well advertised through the website and the mission of the event is clearly outlined. The Respect 4 All event is for girls and boys with complex and additional needs ages 5+.
This opportunity is perfect for an individual that has no experience and wants to get involved, as they are not required to have specific skills or experience. Once signed up the volunteer is provided with a full induction that allows them to get to know the volunteer managers and highlights what is expected of them.
The volunteer is provided with their own LFC Foundation Kit which is a good way of making them feel part of the team. Respect 4 All is a successful event and volunteers always leave happy, which is reflected in some of the reviews that are left.
“Lovely to meet the staff who made me feel very welcome as a newcomer. Really well organised, and would love to help again”
England hockey is another organisation that has used the volunteer management software to its potential by creating some fantastic opportunities. A good example of one of England Hockey’s opportunities is their spectator service role for the #IndoorHockeyUK event that is being held on the 28th of December.
The volunteer role is well defined with a clear outline of what is required (16+ and a criminal check). Additionally, the role expectations are outlined for the volunteer applying so they are fully aware of the tasks at hand.
England hockey has also used the volunteer system features to include what would be provided to the volunteer e.g a volunteer pack (including a t-shirt and water bottle), refreshments and meals. As well as the map feature which gives the volunteer and exact location of the event.
A diverse group of volunteers
Selecting
Matching the right volunteer in the role best suited to them is the best way to ensure success for your voluntary programme. Finding volunteers who commit to opportunities over a longer period of time is vital for organisational and volunteer development. All organisations are different and will have different expectations of what they require from the volunteer.
When selecting volunteers it is necessary to consider how difficult you wish to make it for them to have a positive experience. The type of role volunteers apply for will impact their onboarding process. it is important to consider whether they can apply and turn up to their opportunities or if you require a face-to-face meeting with them.
For example, tasters may require little to no onboarding and are ideal for the volunteer to try out opportunities. Supporting the volunteer to see what skills they have and how they may fit into an organisation. Whereas roles with greater responsibility may require references, DBS, and relevant experience.
TeamKinetic allows managers to set these guidelines for each opportunity they provide. Volunteers are never expected to provide more than is asked of them in the application process.
Dawn Georgeson -Volunteer Lead at the Liverpool FC Foundation had this to say about some of the issues volunteer managers face when recruiting volunteers.
“Reliability is one of the key things! Not that volunteers are not reliable but its more about what is a ‘regular’ volunteer for me. For one person every week could be a regular volunteering opportunity that they will continue to do. However, for some people, it could be once a month or even once a year and that regular to them, and it’s managing that. Discussing with volunteers on what their expectations are and what ours are, and making sure they marry up. That is one of the biggest issues in making sure people are fulfilling their opportunities.”
TeamKinetic allows volunteer managers like Dawn to set the type of opportunity on offer. Allowing them to better understand and manage how regular the volunteer will be. On the volunteer management software, TeamKinetic gives 3 opportunity options, which are:
Repeating – (An opportunity that is regularly ongoing e.g coaching football every Tuesday)
Non-repeating – (A one-off opportunity or event e.g Commonwealth parade)
Flexible – (An opportunity that is irregular e.g befriending old people when you have free time)
These options help categories the opportunities and allow managers to have a greater understanding of what they would consider as a regular volunteer for their organisation. The TeamKinetic volunteer software makes selecting volunteers simple and easy for the managers. This allows more time to be spent on organisation goals and developments and less time spent on administrative tasks and micromanaging the whole recruitment process.
TeamKinetic believes that the internet has the potential for transformation in our world comparable to the Gutenberg’s printing press , but if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that the internet reflects both the very best and very worst of human nature. What do volunteer managers need to know about the internet to keep their volunteers safe?
I’ll provide some useful resources to give some context and understanding of the darker side of the internet and how we have used this to try and inform our policies and procedures as an organisation and what we think you should consider as an organisation as you become more reliant on digital platforms.
The internet provides almost limitless opportunity for grassroots social action, citizen journalism, voluntary engagement and so many other potentially positive outcomes, but we are naive if we do not recognise and consider the risks.
Jon Ronson, journalist and author recently wrote “So you’ve been publicly shamed” on how the networked effect of the internet can lead to individuals being ostracised. His entertaining and occasionally dark work examined some of the difficult issues around user-generated content and how people’s mistakes are amplified and stored for eternity in the memory of cyber-space. Ronson’s storytelling introduces the reader to the inherent risk for normal people to get caught up in exceptional events and how little control they have over these events once a post goes viral.
Sarah Jeong, now of the New York Times Editorial Board, Vice and The Verge has written extensively on the internet’s inherent problems and her book, “The Internet of Garbage” gives informed insights on the risks and unintended consequences of poor policy and practice and how that can impact organisations and their users. Jeong discusses at length some of the nuanced problems the modern internet has created for itself and how copyright law is being misused as a method of content suppression and removal, due in part to lack of other recourse to individuals who find themselves at the centre of a viral internet storm.
I mention these two texts as they are accessible and informed, and for those who are looking to understand the internet, they will help non-technology people appreciate the inherent risks of a highly networked world, the very real risks that can affect everyday users and voluntry organisations alike.
TeamKinetic is aware that our volunteer management platform has the potential to recruit volunteers in almost any situation. It is effective and easy to use and can be administered remotely with high efficiency to deploy individuals or teams of volunteers at short notice. These characteristics are great if you run a charity, an event or a university internship program, but they are equally great if you are recruiting individuals to partake in less positive endeavours. The creators of any platform which allows users to create content and communicate with each other must be aware of the risks as well as the benefits.
Recent legislation such as GDPR, goes some way to help individuals protect their privacy and increase their control over websites and platforms they engage with. It also gives businesses and organisations the chance to audit exactly what information they collect, why they collect it, and what they are going to do with it. This was a revealing process for us and was very worthwhile. All legislation, however well intentioned, runs the risk of “unintended consequence“. As responsible curators of TeamKinetic we have to embrace some basic values by which to manage our site.
What are our ideals and values?
As an organisation, we have put honesty at the centre of our company values. This is a type of statement that is easy to say, but much harder to live by. We aspire to offer honesty in our pricing, in our customer service and our product.
Our role in supporting the organisations that use TeamKinetic to manage their volunteers goes beyond the provision of software. We want to build a community of volunteers and volunteer managers that can share practice and policy, develop professional connections and work to strengthen the sector as a whole through the development of consistent standards in the wider information technology infrastructure of volunteering.
We want to be able to share expert knowledge and insight based on our user data and experience to help the sector become better at recruiting, deploying and recognising their volunteer’s hard work. We commit to making our data available to researchers, and the resulting insights and findings will be freely available to all who have a valid interest in the voluntary sector.
Finally, we want to create an amazing experience for all our users, that means the best technology, built in a way that is easy to use and importantly every user is protected by good policies and excellent support. Our volunteer-centric approach to development will remain the centre of our business operation.
We hope you will join us on our continued mission to be part of the ‘good’ internet and we look forward to your thoughts on how we can do this.
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/
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
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
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
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 Cardiffrecruits 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:
Volunteers’ Week is a great celebration of the effort and value volunteers provide. But let’s not let it end here! We need to keep on celebrating. Make sure you say “Thank you” to your volunteers, helpers, doers and anyone that makes it happen.
Volunteers Week 2018 – 1st to the 7th June
TeamKinetic shares 3 simple insights from its Volunteer Management Software on how to say those two important words “thank you”
Tell your Volunteers what impact they have made.
Saying ‘thanks’ is a good start, but if you want to supercharge the impact of your thank you, look at how you can convey the difference that volunteer has made.
Now it’s not always possible to send out personalised messages to every volunteer, but you can quickly summarise what volunteers mean to your service or organisations and what has been achieved collectively.
Using TeamKinetic, many of our customers are able to send personalised, impactful thank you messages directly to Volunteers immediately after they have finished their work. We have seen volunteers twice as likely to volunteer again when someone says thank you and takes the time to explain what a difference they made.
Put a little thought into your “Thank You”
Every volunteer manager knows they rely on superstar volunteers. The person who will turn up no matter what. Where you have someone special, let them know. It does not have to be expensive or time-consuming, you just have to get a little creative.
If you’re not the creative type, why not look at some of the great ideas suggested by the Scouts.
TeamKinetic’s real-time reporting makes it simple to know who your superstars are. It’s easy to see which individuals you simply could not live without from our Volunteer dashboards.
Be authentic, be consistent.
People can soon tell if the messages they receive are just automated messages. Don’t be a robot! Put some personality into it when you say “Thank you” to your volunteers.
Having said that, there are some really useful messages that you can set to run automatically and can make your volunteer offer more consistent. Wish your volunteers a Happy Birthday, tell them when they have been with you for a year, or when they pass a milestone such as 100 hours volunteered.
TeamKinetic has been busy developing its milestones function. This will make it even simpler to build up a range of fantastic, motivating and inspiring messages to keep your volunteers hooked on helping.
All that is left to say, is Thank You for reading, I hope it makes a difference to your volunteers and I look forward to hearing what works for you and your teams.
Happy Volunteers Week
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