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Press Release: 12/02/2020 The Student Room

TeamKinetic and The Student Room work to make student life better

TeamKinetic becomes the new supplier to The Student Room

The Student Room (TSR) is the UK’s largest online student community.  It exists to provide every student from GCSE to the world of work with peer-led online support. The Student Room community allows students to support each other,  as they fully believe that the people best placed to offer support are those who are going through or have recently come out the other side of the student experience. 

Mhairi Underwood, Head of Community at The Student Room, has been working with TeamKinetic over the last year. Testing the TeamKinetic volunteer management application, to see if a digital platform would improve the support of volunteers in the organisation, and improve workflows for staff.

Since February 2019, TeamKinetic has been supplying its volunteer management application to TSR as part of a pilot, to explore how a digital volunteer management application might provide added value to TSR’s volunteers and staff. TSR has a dedicated team of volunteers across the UK and around the world, providing peer-based support via its online forums.  We are proud to announce that based on the success of this pilot project, TeamKinetic will be continuing to work with TSR, developing their volunteer workforce and supporting their development as a student-first organisation.

Mhairi said ​“We’ve found that by adopting TeamKinetic as our in-house volunteer management platform, we’re able to completely streamline our volunteer administration in a way that provides both us and the volunteers with control and trust. Once it was embedded, we were able to focus much more fully on the things that really made a difference for our volunteers and our community, knowing the administration was taken care of.”

Chris Martin, Director of TeamKinetic, said “​The​ ​Student Room​ is a unique organisation, which provides a wealth of services to young people, they know their audience and the importance of digital in engaging that audience and we love that! Working with them during the initial pilot stage to enhance their volunteer program and support the amazing work they do has been a real pleasure. I look forward to seeing how the offer develops over the next 12 months.​” 

TeamKinetic hopes to continue to build better volunteering communities throughout many different organisations, no matter how big or small.  

Ends

Contact details: 

For more information, please contact TeamKinetic on 0161 914 5757. Or email chris@teamkinetic.co.uk

Cause of Death: Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets

Phil and his co-workers wanted to manage their volunteers, however, things took a turn for the worst & now Phil and his co-workers are here…

Probably the most annoying platform to manage anything – never mind volunteers. My deepest sympathies are with those who have fallen down the bottomless rabbit hole of endless Excel Spreadsheets, which are over-occupied with volunteers.  

Does anyone truly understand Excel?

Few people truly understand all the functionalities of spreadsheets – because there are way too many! Therefore the job is left to one person, who quickly becomes very demotivated and almost consumed by the spreadsheet itself. 

Just keep scrolling…  

Scroll, after scroll. This is often associated with your current method of managing your volunteers. Finding the volunteer Jack Jones who wants to volunteer at the annual 10K run, couldn’t get any more complicated. However, by having a volunteer management system in place, your job could be a lot easier. Volunteer profiles can be easily searched for across the whole system. 

Worry less 

When it comes to your volunteers there are a few things that they are guaranteed to ask. Where, when and what. Volunteer management systems worry about all this for you, by giving your volunteers their own profile and portal where they can access all this information and even more. 

The nightmare of event planning 

You may have noticed Excel isn’t exactly the best for building your events, making the process highly laborious. No template on Excel can simplify all of that! But it doesn’t have to be this way. Volunteer management systems provide a simplified solution to what once seemed a strenuous task. Save your own time and leave your explicit language along with Excel. 

Manage volunteers with more confidence 

You may be able to encrypt and password-protect the data stored on your Excel Spreadsheets. However, what happens when someone cracks your spreadsheet’s ‘safe password’? Every piece of data is then stolen, this won’t be just your budgets and accounts, this will be the personal data of your volunteers. But you don’t need to take this kind of risk with your volunteer’s data. Volunteer management systems are fully protected and encrypted with the most up-to-date security encryptions and they follow all new GDPR data regulations.  

What a volunteer management system should look like:

  • Simplistic layout  
  • Safe and secure 
  • Easy to navigate around
  • Reliable
  • Time-saving, not time-wasting!
  • An open-ended platform for everyone to access easily.

Consider the simple life and save on the sheets, one personalised and customisable system is all you need. Consider TeamKinetic, we might just be able to help.

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.

Student Volunteering Over The Years

Student volunteering week aims to celebrate the positive impact of student volunteers and engage with the students who do not currently volunteer, to actively encourage them to give volunteering a try.

Student volunteering in the UK has come from a long history line. Previously, there was a lack of formal citizenship education in colleges and universities. This led to students forming a range of voluntary groups to serve the local communities and help the students learn about social issues.

Today the contributions that student volunteers give to local communities is greater than it ever has been before.

A popular part in student culture, particularly in England and Scotland, was to raise money for local hospitals through what they used to call Rag Collections. University Rag societies were student-run charitable fundraising organisations. Early Rag Collectors were said to have ragged passers-by until they made a charitable donation; we advise you don’t do this now… While in the Victorian era students would take time out of there studies to clothe those in need. 

The 1930s 

Students tackled the problems of high unemployment head-on, by setting up camps for men and women who were unemployed. These camps were aimed towards getting people back in employment. Assuring that those who were unemployed were fit and had the correct mindset for a working environment. 

The 1940s 

At the very height of the Blitz, students volunteered in the air raid and rest centres. Students believed it was crucial to play a part in their societies and provide help by all means possible. 

The 1950s 

Students began campaigning and fundraising for nuclear disarmament, Oxfam and the anti-apartheid movement. With a real sense of pride and direction to make a difference to the world, they were living in! 

The 1960s 

Students and graduates seized the opportunity to serve in developing countries. A few years later volunteering groups began to drift from traditional fundraising to more effective involvement with community issues, by getting more hands-on in communities and political issues affecting communities. 

One other very important development of post-war was the formation of student social service groups and associations in many universities. Including London, Manchester and Birmingham to name a few. These social groups involved a small number of volunteers which would undergo activities such as. Gardening, decorating, hospital visiting, working with older people and children, the mentally ill. As well as, supporting charities like Shelter and Amnesty International

The 1970s-1990s 

By the 1970s there was a gradual shift from service to community action groups, which swept across many universities and colleges across the UK. Many student action groups transformed into registered charities with employed workers. What these groups did ranged from volunteering to service orientated work, like decorating, teaching immigrants and mental health projects. 

In Short 

The history of student volunteering is very much relevant to the student volunteers of today. Campaigning and fundraising have been essential to the student experience over the last century. And still, thousands of peoples lives have been and are being transformed by the campaigning and fundraising conducted by student volunteers.

Only students of today can decide how the movement will continue to grow over the next century.


Ensure you follow us on our social media pages to receive regular updates about the voluntary sector and learn more about the TeamKinetic system. You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

TeamKinetic: 5 Reasons Why Students Should Volunteer

Student volunteering is increasing with popularity, with more and more students across the UK beginning to volunteer. 57% of students indicated they have volunteered to some extent – and rightly so. Students who volunteered described themselves as being driven, reliable and easy-going, which are all positive attributes to have. However, the other 43% of the students who didn’t volunteer would be more inclined if they didn’t have barriers in their way. Barriers included paid work commitments, the pressure to studying or other curriculum activities. 

But could you set these barriers aside by knowing what volunteering could do for you?

Make a change

The reason for any volunteering is to make an improvement to something or give someone else or a group of people additional support. So why not make a small change to your university schedule to make an even bigger change to someone else?

Broaden your horizon

Are you new to the city and the local surrounding areas? Well, volunteering provides the opportunity for you to explore your local area and get out and see places you will have never seen before. When settled in at university, it can become quite easy to get wrapped up in your own smaller surrounding. The local tavern, the students union, and your living accommodation. Making it very easy for you to forget that other people and places exist outside of your university bubble.

Make use of your spare time

Everyone needs downtime but how productive are your downtimes? Most of us have more than enough free time, we just spend it badly! On average a student has about six hours free time a day, depending on your course, which is an awful lot of time. The problem is we’re not thoughtful enough of what we do in our free time. Making more active and intentional use of our hours would make them count for more. Perhaps volunteering could help you fill one or two hours, out of the six you have free.

Boost your mental well-bing

The giant leap from college to university can prove mentally challenging for the many. The anxieties of being in a new city or country with not knowing anyone or knowing what to expect can be very daunting. Volunteering can help with these anxieties and place you in a better headspace.

The feeling of knowing you’re doing something valuable to release the burden from others doesn’t only show that you care. But should also make you feel pretty good about yourself too! Positive actions make a sound mind.

Raise your online presence

If you’re a student you should be very aware of how important online presence is. Online is now everything in these modern times. Volunteering can help develop your online presence hugely, I would highly recommend building your online presence as soon as possible! LinkedIn is the perfect platform to do this and by volunteering your connections online will only grow.

Remember don’t be shy to share your experiences with the outside world. Transparency is the key to employability, by showing off how amazing you are. You don’t always need to be modest.

TeamKinetic Volunteer Management System

Read more student and university-related blogs below.

If you want more information about how TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software can help you and your organistaion, feel free to visit our website.

Find us on social media: TwitterFacebookLinkedIn, and YouTube.

Call us on 0161 914 5757, we’re always happy to chat!

The Volunteers Behind Every University Sports Club

Before I arrived at university, I had no idea just how much effort it takes to keep a university team running smoothly. From taking care of players’ wellbeing to ensuring the club is financially stable. It’s clear to see how much effort these students put into the clubs they’re a part of.

To keep playing their favourite sports, a select group of students from each sports team have to step up and take on a vital senior role within the club. I’d like to take a look at one club in particular.

The Manchester Metropolitan University Women’s Football team have been my favourite group of people since I started university. Now I’m on placement, I thought it’d be great to bring attention to the work they do day in, day out.

From managing club funds to organising social events, every member of a sports team’s committee is important.

But first… What does it mean to take on one of these roles?

The different roles that students on the team can volunteer for include: – Social Secretary: ensure that the club has plenty of social activities that appeal to all members and allow everyone to get to know each other in a welcoming and friendly environment.
– Treasurer: oversees financial aspects of the club. They will work with other members of the committee to plan which events and activities the club can afford to carry out.
– Publicity Secretary: ensure that the club has a strong social media presence and content to keep current members engaged and attract new members.
– Vice Chair/Chair: the chair is responsible for overseeing the committee and club activity/direction. They provide support and guidance to other committee and club members. The vice chair will assist them in all matters (see our interview with Charley below for more).

These roles may vary between teams/universities but are vital to keep the clubs running smoothly. Taking on one of these roles requires some work. Despite this, it can make for a great addition to any CV and the skills you learn along the way are invaluable!

I spoke to Charley Parkin, the Vice Chair of MMU Women’s Football and Captain of the 1st Team…

What kind of work do you do for the MMU Women’s Football Team?

“I mainly just oversee things on the admin side and help Crystal (The Chair) with anything she needs. Basically making sure things go smoothly. As first team captain I have to organise teams, transport to fixtures, etc. and make sure everyone is having a good time.”

Why did you want to volunteer to be on the committee?

“I wanted to volunteer to be on the committee because I did it last year as Social Sec and really enjoyed it. Plus, having been at uni three years I feel like I am in a good position to help and advise first years with any issues they have and almost act as a role model.”

Do you enjoy your role?

“I enjoy being involved with decisions made about the club and the fact we can influence things for the better and make not just people’s women’s football experience but university experience better as a whole.”

So how do I get involved?

MMU Women’s Football isn’t the only team out there that relies on volunteers! Chances are every sports club at any given university does. This may seem like hard work for anyone who takes up one of these senior roles, but the rewards are great. You’ll have leadership experience and a range of skills that you can’t find anywhere else – who wouldn’t want that on their CV?!

There are a few different ways you can get involved: 

  • Check your university’s volunteering page,
  • Get in contact with your student union,
  • Just go and talk to the current chair of the club you want to volunteer for!

Tip: It’s usually best to go for these roles after the current sporting season has finished and before the next one starts.

 

You can find TeamKinetic on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. We share and create content suitable for anyone interested in volunteering!

Check out our other blogs on student volunteering here and here.

What is Single Sign-On (SSO)?

SSO is a way of leveraging existing accounts from trusted sources to make logging in more secure, quicker and easier. It mostly utilises Oauth 2 to create a connection between us and the trusted source we are trying to authenticate with.

We have added Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn (admin and providers only) to our login on TeamKinetic.

Why?

As we interact online we are frequently asked to create accounts, along with a password and most usually our email address. We can forget passwords for sites we don’t use often or can get irritated having to login time and again.

Using SSO we can ask a trusted source, such as Facebook, to authenticate your email address. If you are already logged into Facebook with a matching email address you’ll get logged in immediately simply by clicking the login with Facebook button. You won’t need to enter your email address or password at all! You don’t need to remember another password and you don’t need to type in your email address and password over and over.

Do I share my personal data?

When we connect with Oauth we have to tell the source we are using what information we want back. In the case of SSO its just your email address. When you first sign in using Oauth you will notice that you have to say yes to sharing that information. That is the only information that we will be able to obtain.

What will it look like on the TeamKinetic?

We are starting to roll out this feature to all users and it will look like this. Keep an eye out for it appearing for you before Friday 7th February.

Login

TeamKinetic 1.4.1 Release Notes

We have been slowly pushing out our 2020 Q1 interim changes for v1.4.1 and this will be complete by 7th February 2020.

You’ll have noticed a few differences already but these are the highlights, along with many bug fixes.

Improved Accessible Universal Search

The universal search is super useful but we know some customers are having trouble with the time delay used before searching and focusing the mouse on the results box.

This was done to improve its accessibility because without that switch of focus to the results window users of assistive technology and keyboard only users, would find it difficult to access the results.

We have listened to the feedback and have completely redesigned the universal search so that it is now even more accessible without annoying mouse users by switching focus.

The same results panel will appear but it now captures keyboard inputs so that using up and down, escape and return will enable keyboard users to navigate the list without ever switching the focus from the search box.

In addition all the correct ARIA attributes have been added and an additional assertive announcement for screen readers that will let the user know how many results have been returned and how to navigate them.

Login With Social Media (Single Sign On)

You’ll see a change to all login pages shortly; admin, provider, and volunteer login pages will have additional buttons for logging in with Google, Facebook, and for providers and admins, LinkedIn.

Your registered emails will have to match of course but if they do and you are already logged in with Google, Facebook or LinkedIn, you’ll get bumped straight to your dashboard just by clicking one of the social media sign in buttons. The first time you do this you may be asked to give TeamKinetic permission to receive your email address, we have to get that in order to match your account.

New Search Behaviours

We have adjusted the way the search filters are added to make them more accessible. Previously when you selected the type of filter it would be added automatically to the search. This renders it unusable for keyboard only users as they are not able to skip through the available filters without triggering their addition. So we have added a physical button you use to add the filter and some other improvements to make the search accessible.

New Search Filters

We have added some new filters to opportunity, provider, and volunteer searches, and also rearranged some others.

The new TYPE filter now contains multiple types of opportunity you can filter by, sessional, flexible, applying, and requiring references. We will be adding more as we test them.

For volunteer search we have added date FIRST and date LAST joined an opportunity along with a LINKED TO filter for finding which volunteers are linked to which providers.

Improved Reporting Text

We have updated the help tool tips on the reporting page to better explain what data is being shown. In particular around what is meant be converted, new, active, etc.

Universal Search Updates

The ordering of results has been changed so that older, less active volunteers, opportunities, and providers are less likely to appear in the top 5 results that are shown if there are many matches.

Dashboard Updates

We’ve altered the open opportunities display to remove the open/closed status (because of course they are all open!) and switched in a text category status which is also an accessibility improvement as the category is not communicated solely with colour.

 

There are lots of other smaller improvements, like adding more notifications to the top left notification area when actions are taking place, standardising button behaviour, harmonising more user interface elements and generally cleaning up!

Enjoy. 

Retaining Student Volunteers

TeamKinetic Volunteer Management

Students are continuing to volunteer more and more as the years go on. But how can you continue to support the retention of your student volunteers during their time at university? 

Get the opportunities right 

Providing the right opportunities to present to your students, is of course, rule number one. Research shows that 95% of student volunteers are motivated by a desire to improve things or help people. This should be taken into account when providing opportunities for your students.

Try to remember that students have many different needs therefore a wide spectrum of opportunities will help recruit and retain them. It should also be noted that many students have other commitments running alongside their degrees. Commitments restrict the time students can volunteer, but by creating one of the opportunities, students have more flexibility and don’t have to commit to a specific time frame each week, making participation higher.

Engage 

Engage students by promoting upcoming opportunities. Take advantage and use the connections in your university network as a platform to promote. For example, the student union, sports centre, and careers centre. This will then attract a wider range of students to your opportunities. Student union officer and also previous volunteers will also be able to spread the word of volunteering opportunities amongst students. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to get students volunteering.

Support and report 

Consistent support and feedback will be essential to retaining your volunteers. Volunteers want to feel valued for their efforts. 

Volunteers should be aware of who their first point of contact is and how to connect with them. Students first point of contact may be ambassadors, volunteer managers or the coordinators.

Besides members of staff and ambassadors, students should be given the option to join drop-in sessions with other student volunteers. This then allows students to meet and interact with new people who have similar interests.  

But most importantly, just say thank you by any mean possible. You’d be amazed by the number of people who just forget those two magic words. 

Keep students in the loop

Stay alert! Make sure to be in touch with interested volunteers within 24 hours of them making initial contact. To say thank you for showing interest in volunteering, and to let them know of any upcoming important dates which they could be apart of. 

Don’t get beside yourself on no shows or last-minute drop-outs. Students are very busy, so continue to keep them in the loop for future volunteering opportunities. 

Be meaningful and impactful, but you don’t need to be deadly serious all the time, loosen up a little. Create space for having a laugh and a banter. 

 

If you want more information about how TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software can help you and your organisation, feel free to visit our website.

Find us on social media: TwitterFacebookLinkedIn, and YouTube.

Or call us on 0161 914 5757 we’re always happy to help. 

 

Why TeamKinetic volunteer management?

UEL on TeamKinetic

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Aisha Labefo-Audo from The University of East London. She has given TeamKinetic some amazing feedback relating to how they use TeamKinetic volunteer management over at UEL and why they continue to enjoy our service to this day. 

Let the interview begin… 

What is your role at UEL? 

“Civic Engagement and Volunteering Coordinator.”

Why did you start looking for volunteer management software? 

“We began looking for volunteer management software because we wanted students to be able to apply for volunteering opportunities and allow organisations (providers) to be able to upload their volunteering opportunities as well. Also, we wanted a volunteer management system where students could log their volunteering hours.”

How did you come across TeamKinetic? 

“We found TeamKinetc volunteer management software online almost five years ago.”

What benefits has TeamKinetic volunteer management provided for UEL? 

“A lot to say the least. One of the key benefits of the system to our university is allowing students to browse through opportunities, apply/join and log in their volunteering hours.”

How was the implementation process of TeamKinetic?

“It was okay. We had a school visit from Steve, who talked about the benefits of the system and we were more than happy to proceed.”

Does TeamKinetic meet the needs of the universities volunteering department and why? 

“Yes it does, although most things are done manually and we have to encourage students to log in their volunteering hours and open and reopen opportunities. But it is a nice platform to capture students volunteering.”

How do students find using the software? 

“Most students find using the software easy enough. Some students just need a little hand in logging their volunteering hours, but once they’ve been shown they seem to grasp using the system.”

On average how many opportunities do you advertise for students?

“Over 60 sometimes more opportunities. This varies as opportunities open and close all the time. We advertise different kinds of roles that will support students to gain the skills and experiences they need for the real world of work.”

Are you satisfied with the training support from TeamKinetic?

“So far so good. I am hugely happy and satisfied with the online support from TeamKinetic.”

Would you recommend other universities to get in touch with the TeamKinetic volunteer management?

“Definitely, I did so last term. Someone wanted to decide if they should go for TeamKinetics and I gave them the pros and cons of the system. The pros were far more than the cons.”

Any other comments?

“We have been using the platform for almost 5 years now and we have really enjoyed using it. Sometimes I feel somethings could be improved a little. However, one thing I have come to realise from looking at all kinds of different systems, is that there is no perfect volunteer management platform out there. I look forward to what TeamKinetic has to offer in the future.”

Again thank you soo much Aisha for honest and detailed feedback. 

If you want more information about how TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software can help you and your organisation, feel free to visit our website

Find us on social media: TwitterFacebookLinkedIn, and YouTube. call us on 0161 914 5757, we’re always happy to chat!

Volunteering at Uni: Not Just a CV Builder

By now, students will be settled into their year at university. Whether you’re in your first or final year, you’ll have already completed seemingly endless amounts of assignments. Now, of course, university isn’t for everyone. However, as someone who has spent two years at university (so far), I can say that it is hard. It’s hard to balance all these new aspects of your life – self-motivated study, meeting new people, house-hunting, food shopping, finding a club that your random mix of mates can all enjoy, cooking, and actually finding the time and summoning the effort to clean your house. Despite this, I’m about to tell you to add volunteering to the mix.

university students, volunteering, student volunteers, volunteer management software, volunteer management system, volunteer management

Now, I’m not going to pretend like the majority of students don’t see volunteering as a CV booster. But these same students then realise that volunteering can offer so much more than a bullet point on a piece of paper. It can offer you essential life skills that you can’t develop anywhere else. The issue is that these benefits aren’t often highlighted by universities. As a result, students may not be getting into volunteering in the first place.

The Benefits of Student Volunteering

Meeting new people

Whether you’ve been at uni for a few years already or you’ve just started this year, it’s never a bad time to meet new people. These people could become your friends, best friends, or even future partners. Even if you never talk to them again at least you’ve met someone you can give an awkward wave to when you pass them in public.

Aside from gaining some mates, volunteering could also be a good opportunity for networking. Sounds strange but you never know who you might meet through volunteer work. Also, in a recent catch-up with El Afzal, she noted that people have contacted her through LinkedIn about her vast volunteer work and offered her potential future work.

Giving back to the community

Let’s face it – the vast majority of us have had a few embarrassing nights as a result of the student lifestyle. What better way to say sorry to our local community for all the drunken shouting and traffic cone theft (yes, it’s a big thing) than to volunteer for a local cause. Whether it’s the classic charity shop work or a local park clean-up, you can give back to the community you’ll be calling home for the next few years.

student volunteer, student volunteering, university volunteers, university volunteering, volunteers, volunteering, volunteer management, reasons to volunteer, volunteer management software, volunteer management system, TeamKinetic, volunteering at uni,

Relieving all that student stress

I don’t mean to scare any prospective students, but university is stressful. It’s all fun and games during fresher’s week but suddenly you’ve been there for two months and are already drowning in assignments and lecture notes you should have somehow organised. Volunteering can be a great way to distance yourself from all the hustle and bustle of university life for a couple of hours a week (or more!) You may be wondering how you’ll fit volunteering into such a busy schedule, but you’re lying if you say you don’t procrastinate for at least a couple hours a day – whether you’re scrolling through social media or binge-watching that new TV show.

Also, research shows that if you volunteer during your student years, you’re likely to continue throughout your life. Wouldn’t it be nice to live a life full of voluntary work? I think it would.

How can TeamKinetic help?

Are you a student looking to get into volunteering? Check with your university’s student union or sports department for any active opportunities. You could also give this blog by The Student Room a read – it includes some helpful information about student volunteering!

Perhaps you work for a university wanting to commit more to student volunteering? This blog might be better for you! Find out how TeamKinetic can work with you to recruit, manage, and retain your student volunteers by visiting our website or calling us on 0161 914 5757.

Whether you’re student or staff, you can find us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. We share and create content suitable for anyone interested in volunteering!

You can also read our other blogs on student volunteering here and here.

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