Join Steve in this TeamKinetic Masterclass on managing volunteer expenses.
Allowing your volunteers to claim back expenses is a great way to diversify your volunteer base. Find out where all the features you need are, and also about our in-app payments system so you can pay volunteers directly.
Who is this TeamKinetic masterclass for?
This is an advanced topic and attendees should be familiar with how to create opportunities already.
You can check the latest training dates from within your system. Just go to ‘Help & Support’ → ‘Extra Training’.
If you’d like to suggest a future TeamKinetic Masterclass, please let us know. We’d be happy to develop one on any topic! You can get in touch via our website, email, phone, or social media. See all the important links below.
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
If you’re going to be managing volunteer references with TeamKinetic, this is the masterclass for you.
References are very useful, but it is a fairly new feature to TeamKinetic so might not have been covered in your initial training. In this masterclass, Steve will get you up to speed quickly on references and how to add them to your opportunities.
Who needs to know about managing volunteer references?
This is a more advanced topic. Therefore it is suitable for TeamKinetic admin users who are already familiar with opportunity creation and the onboarding and restriction model for opportunities.
You can check the latest training dates from within your system. Just go to ‘Help & Support’ → ‘Extra Training’.
If you’d like to suggest a masterclass on a TeamKinetic feature, please let us know. We’d be happy to develop one on any topic! You can get in touch via our website, email, phone, or social media. See all the important links below.
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
A masterclass in how to leverage the extensive functions and features in TeamKinetic when it comes to communicating with users.
In this TeamKinetic Masterclass, Steve covers the different communication tools available, what contexts to use them in, and how to use them most effectively when communicating with users.
Communication tools available within TeamKinetic include emails (singular/bulk), SMS text messaging, chat rooms, notifications, and newsletters.
Watch the session on communicating with users below, or click here
You can check the latest training dates from within your system. Just go to ‘Help & Support’ → ‘Extra Training’.
If you’d like to suggest a masterclass on a TeamKinetic feature, please let us know. We’d be happy to develop one on any topic! You can get in touch via our website, email, phone, or social media. See all the important links below.
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
Studying Business Studies and Graphic communications at A-Level sparked my interest in marketing, I enjoyed both aspects of the subjects which then triggered my initial passion for marketing as I believed it was the perfect combination of the two. I thought marketing was the best-suited course for me to study at university and after just completing my second year at Manchester Metropolitan University I can confidently say it was the right choice. The course has included many modules, however, a favourite of mine included digital marketing as I loved getting stuck into creating mockup social media content on Canva for different brands.
This particular module inspired me to create content for smaller businesses. In my home town, I knew of several small businesses that had been started in lockdown from home. I got in contact with some and asked if I could design material for them. This then led me to produce logos, digital menus, giveaway posts and more for a takeaway food business and an eyelash technician business. This experience allowed me to fall in love with producing marketing content and allowed me to explore my creativity skills.
Marketing material for small business
Marketing material for small business
Volunteering Experience
I completed my first volunteering role during my bronze Duke of Edinburgh. For 6 months I helped out in a care home by serving food and drinks to the residents and cleaning around the home. I enjoyed listening to all the interesting stories the elderly had from different moments in their lives. Although my short volunteering experience mostly involved pouring tea, I did find my time overall there to be very rewarding. I felt valued by the residents and it was inspiring to see all the volunteers who had taken time out of their lives to help others.
Knowing TeamKinetic can make other volunteers feel just as motivated as I did, made this particular placement role stand out to me. TeamKinetic can help volunteers to find opportunities which can benefit them and enable them to have a rewarding feeling and sense of achievement.
Hobbies
During the summer of 2021 I had a lot of spare time before starting my second year of university so I decided to create my own Jewellery. It started off as a hobby for myself as a bit of fun but then I got creative with it and produced some images of the pieces I had made. Once university started again in September I found myself busy with other activities which didn’t leave much time for me to continue making pieces. However, I do try to make time to design some Jewellery every so often as it’s very therapeutic and allows me to use my creative flair.
Image of handmade Jewellery
Image of handmade Jewellery
In The Future
I am looking forward to completing a year in industry working at TeamKinetic which will help me get the most out of my marketing course. On-the-job training that TeamKinetic offer will also provide me with new skills and gain confidence in areas I am not yet familiar with. TeamKinetic are a motivated team which I am excited to be a part of as they help make life easier for people who want to do good in the volunteering community.
Claire Troup has been Project Manager at Manchester City Council’s Volunteer Inspire Programme (MCRVIP) for just a short period of time; but that time has been used to inspire a whole city to get up and volunteer. In this week’s podcast, we’re joined by our first and longest client, Manchester City Council…
The Manchester Volunteer Inspire Programme focuses on helping volunteers find the opportunities that best fit them. It’s simple to get involved – register, create your own volunteer profile, and access a range of opportunities available to you – anyone can take part! If you’re in the Manchester area, and you’re interested in learning more, email: MCRVIP@manchester.gov.uk.
TeamTalk! The TeamKinetic Podcast…
Our podcast this week covers a range of topics. It opened our eyes to how those working with volunteers are revitalising the volunteer movement after the pandemic.
Claire noted that in her previous roles at Manchester City Council, she never noticed just how much volunteers do. If you’re not fully immersed in the volunteering world, it may go unnoticed. Volunteers do a massive amount of work and make a big impact in every organisation. For those like us, we see day to day the amount of hours volunteers put in; it never ceases to amaze us just what volunteers can do together- and the same goes for those managing them!
It’s those volunteer managers (or for Claire, project managers) that are starting to see an uptake in the amount of opportunities popping up for those willing to volunteer. The pandemic saw volunteering in areas halt, and thrive in others. It’s only over the past few months Claire has found opportunities are on the rise.
Our podcast takeaways
It’s great to hear (and see!) that volunteering is getting back to where it should be. Those millions who volunteered for the first time during the pandemic have stuck around, we hope, and are continuing to see results from their time and effort. It’s been a tough number of years, but it seems we’re on the up!
Claire dished out some great advice on this podcast episode. But we’d like to highlight one that we think will be crucial for volunteering moving forward: developing a network of Volunteer Managers. For a number of months, Claire has been developing a network of volunteer managers across Manchester and it’s been really helpful. Being able to learn from others in the same boat as you, hear new ideas, and share stories on what you’ve been doing to motivate and reward your volunteers is something we’ve always strived for at TeamKinetic. It’s one of the many reasons why we partnered with the Association of Volunteer Managers.
Thanks to Claire for joining us!
It was great to catch up with Claire and hear how she’s been adapting into her new (or not so new) role at Manchester VIP. We can’t wait to see the progression the Volunteer Inspire Programme can make to the city we reside in! You can find TeamTalk, and our latest episode with Claire on all your usual podcast sites.
Managing event volunteers is no easy task, but they’re an essential piece of the puzzle that is creating a successful event. It helps that nowadays, we have a range of digital solutions that can speed up processes and cut down on stress.
With the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 coming up – less than a month away – we’d like to take a look into large-scale events and what it takes to keep them running smoothly.
EURO 2022
Yes, we are officially less than one month away from the start of the EUROs! This year it’s taking place in England – something I am personally very excited about.
I’ve seen first-hand the impact these competitions have on the local area and country as a whole. Attending the 2017 EURO in The Netherlands and 2019 World Cup in France are experiences I won’t forget in a hurry!
The hosts won it in 2017… Can England repeat the achievement?
Aside from what happens on the pitch, it’s also clear how much hard work goes into each tournament. This year is no different. It is estimated that around 1500 event volunteers will help out across the host cities. These cities range from up north in Manchester and Sheffield, to down south in Brighton and Southampton. So how did volunteers get involved?
How are event volunteers recruited?
From recruitment to rewarding, digital makes everything easier. EURO 2022 is no different. Their entire volunteer recruitment process was online. Running from September 2021 to April 2022, prospective volunteers applied online and were then interviewed via video chat. All successful applicants could then use the official volunteering portal to find out more about their roles.
A group of EURO 2022 volunteers at Wembley Stadium – the venue for the final.
Each host city’s team of volunteers will aid the influx of football fans. This is likely to include guiding them around the city centre, stadiums, Fan Zones, and transport hubs.
Around 50% of the volunteer roles will be focused on spectator services. This includes building the crowd atmosphere, helping people find their way around the stadiums, and answering any questions visitors might have.
Getting your event volunteers ready
I think we’ve established that volunteers are vital to the smooth running of any and every event. The level of training they receive is also vital. Volunteers could be meeting people who have never visited the local area before. Seeing a friendly face is likely to make all the difference to their experience.
This is why it’s important to provide suitable training to all volunteers. While some training requires face-to-face delivery, it doesn’t mean digital can’t be involved. Being able to track whether volunteers have completed training and what steps they have to take next saves time and effort.
For instance, EURO 2022 began training their volunteers in April. Their training includes material specific to the role they signed up for as well as the stadium or host city they will be working in.
Accreditation
Alongside training, accreditation passes are another key thing to prepare. Volunteers that have completed all the necessary requirements and are authorised to be at the venue(s) will be given passes.
With TeamKinetic, you can automatically create Accreditation Badges for specific events or single opportunities. We also have a version specifically created for events – AccessKinetic.
Keeping them updated
Communication is the foundation of good volunteer management. Whether you’re building relationships with your volunteers or keeping them up-to-date on what’s going on in the run up to an event.
Nowadays, all good volunteer management systems will allow you to send emails, SMS text messages, notifications, and share to social media.
Furthermore, the ability to use chat rooms (like in TeamKinetic!) is an added bonus. WhatsApp is a popular medium for instant communications, yet it has its risks. Aside from the big issues like data protection, instant messaging services open the door for unfiltered communications and the potential sharing of misinformation.
With opportunity-specific chat rooms, volunteers can communicate with one another and the opportunity provider. This means they can post questions, build relationships with the people they’ll be working alongside, and offer their peers support. All this is possible before, during and after the event.
An example of an opportunity chat room within TeamKinetic
Rewarding all that hard work
While volunteering at such a prestigious event is a reward all on its own, the people giving their time still deserve appreciation.
For example, all EURO 2022 event volunteers will receive a uniform to keep as a momento after the tournament is over. They’ll also undoubtedly receive post-event communications thanking them for their contributions.
Providing these momentos and setting up automated communications after the event is a great way to show your appreciation and possibly convince your volunteers to apply for your future events. Other ways you can show appreciation are through paying expenses and sending them a thank you card. However, the possibilities are endless, just check out this blog on how else you can reward your volunteers.
Adopting your own system
Interested in speeding up your volunteer registrations and reducing administrative burden? Look into adopting a volunteer management system. You can start with TeamKinetic. We’d be happy to take you through a demo of our system, just reach out via the live chat on our website or email me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk.
Today is the day! The beginning of Volunteers’ Week is here (in the UK). Are you ready to celebrate your volunteers and the impact they’ve made?
We know how important volunteers are to organisations across the UK – Volunteers’ Week is a time to show your gratitude. This year Volunteers’ Week crosses over with the #MonthofCommunity, have you thought about the ways you can incorporate your community in your celebrations?
Celebrate the achievements.
The main focus is to celebrate your volunteers and their hard work, but it can be a time to raise awareness of the benefits. This goes for those volunteering and those whose volunteering efforts have helped.
Benefits for volunteers include connecting with others, increasing a volunteer’s social skills and making new friends. Volunteering can also help a volunteer’s mind – mental health is important and becoming a volunteer can help this. For those looking to advance their career, volunteering is a brilliant way to gain develop skills to help with this.
There are a plethora of benefits to volunteering; Volunteers’ Week can show those on the fence that volunteering really is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
Celebrate your volunteers’ impact.
Show your volunteers just how much they have helped your organisation- show them the numbers (so to speak!) People are much more likely to start volunteering, or get up and volunteer again if they’re able to see first-hand the impact they can/are making.
Letting a volunteer know what they’re impact is can be the greatest way that volunteers are celebrated this week. While there are many ways you can measure the impact a volunteer has made, just by simply letting them know about the difference they’ve made can raise spirits.
We know for many organisations they rely solely on volunteers to run- without them, what are organisations supposed to do? Keeping volunteers onboard is crucial, and Volunteers’ Week can help you keep them closer than ever.
What are you waiting for?
Why don’t you combine Volunteers’ Week, the #MonthofCommunity and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee? Celebrate all three at the Big Jubilee lunch tomorrow – a day of milestones for many. Whichever way you decide to thank your volunteers over the next week- let us know! Tweet us over at @TeamKineticUK or find us on Facebook and Instagram under the same name- we want to hear from you!
There’s just oneweek to go until Volunteers’ Week 2022! How are you planning to recognise the hard work and effort of your volunteers? We all know the value volunteers bring to organisations, but more often than not, many volunteers go unnoticed.
With Volunteers’ Week right around the corner, it couldn’t be a more appropriate time to thank your volunteers for everything they do. Struggling for ideas? We might be able to help….
Why is it important?
Spending time rewarding your volunteers throughout the year is so important for retention. Whatever their reason for volunteering, volunteers want to feel valued. For many it may be the reason why they volunteer with you… They’re given an incentive to volunteer as much as they can.
Even just a simple ‘thank you’ after an opportunity can boost a volunteer for the rest of the day. It’s that feeling of being wanted- being valued- that you can really tap into during Volunteers’ Week. Your volunteers deserve it, and not just between 1-7th of June.
Focus on the impact!
Your volunteers spend so much time helping organisations without ever realising the impact they’ve made. While they will know who they’re volunteering for and the values that each organisation has, they might not think so much about their own impact. Shouting from the rooftops the exact impact they’ve made will help them feel valued like never before.
There are a number of ways you can celebrate your volunteers during Volunteers’ Week, no matter the budget you might have. Why don’t you set up a social event? It can even be online or a hybrid event to reach as many volunteers as possible. You could highlight the work completed over the year, or even show them how their skills have helped others.
The power of social media..
Use the hashtag #VolunteersWeek and show off your volunteers’ hard work and efforts to the rest of the world – they deserve it! Your organisation may also get some organic exposure. In the weeks after Volunteers’ Week, you may have a bunch of new volunteers signing up.
Not only can you promote your volunteer efforts, you can also use social media to thank them. There’s no doubt organisations have a group chat with volunteers to keep them informed. Why not use that to your advantage. Jump into the group chat and let your volunteers know how valued they are. Start conversations with volunteers about their motivations behind volunteering and what they’re thankful for.
Social media is a strong tool that everyone uses. We’re constantly connected, for organisations with a small budget, social media may be the best tool to use this Volunteers’ Week!
Finding gifts at a low cost…
Whether your budget only covers something ‘low-cost’, or you’re just looking to try something new, there are a number of low-cost options you can go for to celebrate your volunteers…
It could be a card, or even a postcard commemorating a volunteer’s hard work and effort. We’ve found that sometimes, volunteers love a good badge. Despite the low cost, volunteers will feel appreciated and let everyone else know about the difference they make.
Even small things, such a tea bag, or a packet of coffee – so your volunteers can have a cuppa on you. It’s often the small things that volunteers appreciate the most, little can sometimes mean a lot.
We don’t normally like to toot our own horn, but over the past few years we’ve been involved in some exciting projects and we’ve won some awards too! Much like with volunteers, we have to celebrate our hard work and give ourselves a little bit of a round of applause…
iNetwork Awards
The iNetwork Awards celebrate and share innovation across the local public sector and its partner organisations.
In 2021 we won two awards:
The COVID-19 Response Recognition Award. A brand new category, which recognises the response and recovery to the unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Partner Excellence Award. This celebrates innovation, collaboration, efficiency and going the extra mile in partnership working.
Both awards were won alongside Halton and St Helens Voluntary and Community Action (HSHVCA) for our combined work on their Volunteer Portal. The programme had a significant impact on supporting local residents through the pandemic. Over 32,000 people were supported by volunteers who registered on the portal to support others. The portal and the app, displayed how volunteers and community tasks can be managed more efficiently through a collaborative, digital approach.
In August 2020, NHSx (in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) asked the Health Innovation Network (HIN) to undertake an evaluation to better understand digitally supported micro-volunteering models operating in the field of health and social care. This report presents learning from the evaluation and is aimed at an audience of commissioners and policymakers to inform their strategies around micro-volunteering.
TeamKinetic was selected to be one of the products evaluated after being commissioned through Techforce 19 in direct response to the COVID crisis. The lessons from the last 2 years as identified in this evaluation are digitally supported voluntary action that is delivered right in the heart of local communities is essential to resilience and should be considered an essential part of commissioners and policymakers thinking when looking at developing stronger neighbourhoods and communities and social care support.
TeamKinetic is proud to be part of this work. We have seen micro-volunteering as one strand in a wide range of potential interventions that broaden accessibility and inclusion in volunteering as well as the wider voluntary sector. Meanwhile, they also provide a lower-cost solution to community-based social care. Local digital solutions like ours allow local stakeholders to take direct ownership and control, empowering communities to become more resilient with much greater levels of trust and agency.
The LGC Awards exist to identify, celebrate and help spread the finest example of innovation and quality delivered by councils on a daily basis. Winning an LGC Award has become the most sought-after accolade in local government.
In 2021 we made the shortlist for two LGC Awards:
Campaign of the Year. For our #StHelensTogether community response to COVID-19 in collaboration with St Helens Borough Council.
Technology. For our work with Halton & St Helens Voluntary and Community Action (HSHVCA) on their volunteering portal at the start of the pandemic.
Kindocoin SBRI Challenge
This was a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by The Can Do Fund and hosted by Health Innovation South East Scotland Innovation. HISES is the East Region Test Bed in NHS Scotland. The aim was to develop a prototype solution to increase volunteering in the community to support delayed discharges.
We were awarded a contract to work with five test beds across Scotland in 2020. Our task was to develop a feasible solution that will enable people awaiting discharge from hospital to be connected with a volunteer who, with their approval, will be available to support them in safely getting settled back in their home.
