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Feel Good Friday – Volunteer Praise

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On 6th July 2018

In News & Views

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

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

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

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

Call 0161 914 5757

Email james@teamkinetic.co.uk

 

6 Reasons to Attend a Volunteering Conference

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On 25th June 2018

In Events and Conferences, News & Views

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

You owe it to your volunteers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who said work should be boring ….have fun

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

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

Network, Network, Network

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

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

Industry Insight

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

Lunch, Lunch, Lunch

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

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

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

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

You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Have you enjoyed using TeamKinetic? If you could leave us a review on Capterra, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

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

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On 19th June 2018

In Case Study, Community, Sport, Volunteer Management

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

Volunteers in Action

Volunteers in Action

Cardiff a Sporting city of Success

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

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

Volvo Ocean Race – Tell me more

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

Recruiting Volunteers and Managing Volunteers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Call 0161 914 5757

Email james@teamkinetic.co.uk

A Volunteers Experience: Volvo Ocean Race

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On 18th June 2018

In Events and Conferences, News & Views

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

Volvo Ocean Race

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

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

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

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

James' Attempting the Grinding Challenge

James’ Attempting the Grinding Challenge

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

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

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

3 Simple things you can do to say “Thank you” to your volunteers more effectively

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On 8th June 2018

In Volunteer Management

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

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.

Liverpool FC Foundation are bringing volunteering into the digital age to support their work in Merseyside and beyond

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On 7th June 2018

In News & Views, Sport

LFC Foundation

Liverpool FC Foundation is the first professional football club’s community programme in the world to launch a digital volunteer portal for their outreach programme.

The club’s Foundation has joined a host of other sport and voluntary organisations already supported by TeamKinetic, which aims to make it easier for volunteers to make a difference in people’s lives and communities. The portal will improve the recruitment and deployment of volunteers across all of Liverpool FC Foundation’s activities.

For 20 years LFC Foundation’s outreach programme has benefitted many of the communities in Merseyside and beyond. Through various initiatives and programmes, the foundation has embedded itself within the community. This includes supporting young and old, military veterans, those in need of some emotional support or even those just looking for something to do in the holidays. These programmes all share a focus on one or more of three fundamentals of community, skill and wellbeing.

Coach and Players working together

LFC are using TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software, which has already logged nearly one million voluntary hours of various organisations. These hours are making a difference in people’s lives and communities and LFC Foundation’s involvement will only increase the impact this makes.

Dawn Georgeson, Volunteer Project Lead at Liverpool Football Club, said:

“The new online volunteering portal provides volunteers with increased access to the opportunities available and enables them to sign up at their own leisure. This makes the process of volunteering more convenient and the process of tracking the opportunities is much clearer for them. The software will also support LFC Foundation by reducing the time spent on administrative tasks and paperwork. This will then be complemented by the intelligent reports the system makes available. All round the software is supporting the role of volunteer managers.”

Chris Martin, Founding Director at TeamKinetic, said: “TeamKinetic has a long history in sports volunteering, so it is really exciting when we can work with a partner such as Liverpool FC and look to make a real difference to those at the community level and enable them to do more. Liverpool FC is world renowned and we’re delighted to welcome them on board and keen to see how we can we can help them use their brand to do even more good work. We look forward to supporting Dawn and her team, who have been doing a great job and we are confident that TeamKinetic will only add to their success.”

£10K Give Away – Celebrate Volunteers Week and TeamKinetic’s 10th Birthday with #TK10GIV

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On 31st May 2018

In News & Views

TeamKinetic Ten Year £10,000 Give Away

This year TeamKinetic is celebrating our tenth year helping to build volunteer communities! We thought to celebrate this alongside Volunteers Week 2018 and do something special.

Celebrating 10 Years of TeamKinetic

In ten years of business, we have grown to become a trusted partner for many organisations that help volunteers. Our flagship Volunteer Management Software is one of the most advanced and complete volunteer management systems available, and each day we continue to plan its development to meet the needs of our customers and the sector. We now serve hundreds of happy organisations across the globe and have logged nearly a million volunteer hours.

To celebrate we wanted to do something special. Of course, we considered the obvious choices for a tenth birthday, such as a trip to the zoo or a bouncy castle party. All of which were very tempting, but, we realised that spaces might be a tad limited. Instead, we made the decision to do something that everyone would appreciate, enjoy and access: A £10,000 give away*.

That’s right a £10K give away.

 

What’s included in the 10K give away?

1 x TeamKinetic Enterprise Edition Volunteer Management Software (worth over £3000). For one lucky winner’s organisation, a one year license for our bespoke volunteer management system.

2 x tickets for TeamKinetic’s annual volunteer conference. On the 12th September 2018 TeamKinetic welcomes a host of industry and thought leaders to Manchester to join us for the annual conference. This year’s event is our best to date, with speakers including Kristen Stephenson (Head of Volunteering at Sports England), Fiona Liddel (Volunteering Development Manager at WCVA), and many more.

£10,000 worth of Free upgrades from TeamKinetic FREE to TeamKinetic COMMUNITY. This version of volunteer management software is hosted on our national volunteer website, TryVolunteering.com.

 

So how do you get involved with the #TKGIV?

To enter you just need to follow these simple steps;

On Friday 1st June 2018, Volunteer Week will start. At 9:00am TeamKinetic will be tweeting:

“ VOLUNTEER MANAGERS IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE #Volunteersweek

@TeamKineticUK are throwing a £10,000 Give Away of Volunteer Management Software & More

Simply retweet, tag two other volunteer managers and include these 2 hashtags #TK10GIV #Volunteersweek”

And you will automatically be entered. 

 

The Small Print:

This competition will run from 9:00 am on 1st June 2019 until 11:59 pm the 7th June 2018. The winners and how to access the free upgrade to TeamKinetic Community will be announced on TeamKinetic’s Twitter Channel (@TeamKineticUK) at 12:00 pm on Friday 8th June 2018.

Full terms and conditions can be found at teamkinetic.co.uk/10k-giveaway

TeamKinetic is excited to be giving away these prizes, we hope you will be able to support us and many other organisations by spreading the word across your own social media channels.

TeamKinetic Academy

TeamKinetic 4th Annual Volunteering Conference

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On 31st May 2018

In Events and Conferences, News & Views

TeamKinetic’s Annual Volunteering Conference 12th September 2018

Every year TeamKinetic runs an Annual Volunteering Conference at Manchester Metropolitan University. This year, the event is being run in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University’s Business, Sports Policy and Law Department and GreaterSport. Collectively, we aim to host an insightful and inspiring event for all those in attendance through a series of talks and break out workshops focused on volunteer management.

Previous events have drawn a crowd of over a hundred and this year we are hoping to host our largest to date. With an incredible list of speakers and attendance from a variety of roles in including volunteer managers, events coordinators, community engagement officers, sports development, HR and Operation staff, and more, this is not one to be missed.

To purchase your ticket please visit one of the followiing:

TeamKinetic Customer Tickets (You will need the password available on your dashboard to access this page):

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/teamkinetic-customer-conference-tickets-46520590338

Non-Customer:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/teamkinetic-4th-annual-sports-volunteering-conference-2018-tickets-46610728945

TeamKinetic Customer Exclusive Pre – Conference Day

Tuesday 11th September

10:00 – 17:00

TeamKinetic will be offering a free event on 11th September 2018 specifically for all of our customers to attend. The exclusive event provides the perfect opportunity to discuss TeamKinetic’s future software development, talk about how other similar sectors professional use the software and attend workshops master classes.

TeamKinetic 4th Annual Volunteer Management Conference

Wednesday 12th September

9:00-17:00

Speakers confirmed for the event include:

Denise Larrad – BBC Sports Personality 2017 Unsung Hero award winner

Volunteer Denise Larrad has been named the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero award winner at the Sports Personality of the Year 2017 ceremony.

A mother of two, 56-year-old Denise Larrad was selected to be a torchbearer for the Olympic Torch Relay at the 2012 Games. She was selected for her outstanding contribution to fundraising work by Asda, her employer. After being chosen to carry the Torch for the Games Denise had one sole aim – to get the people of Hinckley, Leicestershire, active.

Despite working night shifts in a warehouse, she finds time to help lead walking, orienteering, running and general fitness classes for children, families and the elderly. With a host of different activities and exercises sessions, Denise motivates and nurtures participants to be more active.

She is a trained walk leader, putting on weekly sessions for the elderly on behalf of the charity Age UK and also organises orienteering courses across the borough in town parks, woodlands and schools.

Title: Understanding what motivates volunteers?

In this talk, Denise is going to share her experiences and motivators which led to her becoming such an inspirational volunteer, with an emphasis on how you can emulate the same in your own volunteers.

 

Kristen Stephenson – Head of Volunteering at Sport England

Kristen has recently joined Sport England as Head of Volunteering and leads on managing the 32 projects across their Volunteering Funds and supporting the delivery of the strategy ‘Volunteering in an Active Nation’. These funded projects are focused on getting young people involved in making a difference through social action, sport and physical activity and creating opportunities to get people from economically disadvantaged areas involved in volunteering.

Kristen’s previous role was with the National Council of Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) where she led the work on volunteering ranging from policy work to influence decision making in government and writing practical resources on volunteer management.

She has experience of working with a diverse range of organisations to develop their approach to volunteering including charities big and small, the police, museums, galleries and the NHS.

Title: Volunteering in an Active Nation: How cross-sector collaboration can unlock the potential of volunteering in sport and physical activity

Kristen’s presentation will look at the important role cross-sector partnerships and collaboration will be to delivering Sport England’s volunteering strategy. She will draw on her experience in volunteering development in the voluntary sector and her current work at Sport England to explore what opportunities there are for volunteer managers in sport to learn from the voluntary sector and provide some interesting examples of how the two sectors are already working together to develop volunteering at a national and local level.

 

Mike Howlett – Volunteer & Citizenship Lead at Sefton Volunteer Center

Mike has been involved with the Voluntary, Community & Faith Sector on Merseyside for over 20 years, 11 of those in a paid capacity. His experience of volunteering includes fundraising, service development, training and stints as trustee and chair.

He joined Sefton CVS during Volunteers Week in 2007 and as a Development Worker before taking on a variety of roles involving the management of volunteering services and the strategic development of volunteering throughout the borough. The common theme throughout his work has been the support of local VCF Sector organisations in developing their volunteering programmes through the provision of information, advice and training.

Title: Widening the Net

Are you making the most of the resources available to you from outside the Sports Sector? This session will explore how diversifying your volunteering roles and engaging the wider community can help you to develop your organisation, and provide hints and tips regarding organisations and tools that might help.

 

Claire Jones – Head of Volunteering at Halton and St Helens Volunteer Centre

Claire has a passion for the Voluntary Sector, dedicating her career to supporting organisations and individuals to make a difference to their chosen communities through developing their systems and approaches to their people. Engaging in volunteering has been a part of her life from an early age, raising money for various causes, volunteering with women, girls, young carers and ex-offenders through to strategic decision making on trustee boards.

She joined VCA in April 2001, holding a variety of development and management roles and has a specialist knowledge in the strategic development of volunteering. This has been shared through a variety of mediums, including training, workshops, group and individual support. Key achievements include supporting the redevelopment of the National Volunteer Centre Quality Accreditation system and process; leading the success of local accreditation of our Volunteer Centres for 4 consecutive waves and securing new and innovative services for volunteering development.

Title: Supporting and Supervising Volunteers

Involving volunteers can be increasingly more complicated as our roles change and the time we have available shrinks. In such a busy world it can be difficult to implement effectively. This session will help you explore the benefits of good support and supervision for your volunteers and look at ways you can put it into practice.

 

Chris Martin – Founding Director at TeamKinetic

Chris had many years of experience working in the leisure industry, sport and at Manchester City Council before becoming one of the founding directors of TeamKinetic. For the last ten years, he has actively operated within the third sector, helping organisations to evolve their volunteer management.

Title: The use of rewards and incentives for volunteers

TeamKinetic has extensive data on how the use of gamification, incentives and rewards can impact your volunteers both in a positive and negative manner. In this session, we will explore how rewards and incentives can be used to keep your volunteers engaged and motivated.

 

Will Watt – Director of Product at Jump Projects

Will has a diverse resume, with experience working in publishing (Viz), digital publishing (BBC), music (NME) and the Sports Sector.

His voluntary experience includes founding the King’s College Old Boys FC; and set up ‘The Swimmer’, a community cold water swim run across London and also runs his son’s U9s Old Alleynians RFC team.

Title: The behavioural science of volunteering and how it varies for different groups in society – with a focus on ethnic diversity and low socioeconomic groups

At Join In, a charity set up to continue the legacy of 2012, Will carried out research into the economic and well-being value of sports volunteering, presenting the findings in a case study for Lord Gus O’Donnell’s ‘What Works Centre for Wellbeing’. Will has continued this work and founded Jump. Jump measure the well-being impacts of physical activity and volunteering whilst understanding the motivations for more people to do both.

Will was also responsible for the development of the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year #bigthankyou campaign and helped to organise the UK’s biggest sports day in 2016.

 

Chantel Scherer – Director of Marketing, Communications and Member Engagement at Sport & Recreation Alliance

Chantel Scherer is a senior communications professional with over 20 years’ experience implementing successful, integrated, strategic communications across large, complex organisations – working with volunteers for the last 15.

The Sport and Recreation Alliance is the voice of the sport and recreation sector and works to get the nation active. Chantel is Director of Marketing, Communications and Member Engagement and she looks after the Join In brand, which was set up after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to capitalise on the power of major sporting events to benefit grassroots clubs. Sport has the power to change lives and bring communities together and nurturing and growing volunteers is an important aspect to this.

Title: Using behavioural science to recruit and retain volunteers more effectively

This session will uncover the latest research on recruiting, retaining and rewarding volunteers. Chantel will share some of the GIVERS research and how the Sport and Recreation Alliance is supporting the sector to get more grassroots volunteers into sport.

 

Crewenna Dymond – Head of Volunteering and Youth Impact at YHA England and Wales

Crewenna Dymond has been Head of Volunteering (and more recently also of Youth Impact) at YHA for 12 years and has worked with volunteers all her working life, holding earlier positions at BTCV (as it was then), Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and as a youth worker. Tasked with putting the young people back into volunteering with the Youth Hostel Association the number of active young volunteers has grown from a handful to a quarter of all active volunteers in 10 years. A Geographer by background with a PhD in biodiversity and wilderness quality, she helps YHA run its small remote hostels as a Volunteer Manager and also supports some children’s and aid charities.

Title: The benefits of focusing on the volunteer journey to aid recruitment and retention of volunteers

Ten years ago YHA benefitted from the support of around 500 volunteers annually. Now there are around 3,000 people giving their time to our charity in a wide range of flexible as well as committed roles. During that time we focused on establishing a consistent and comprehensive volunteer journey, that treats volunteers as customers as well as colleagues, and by 2014 we were pleased to achieve the Investing in Volunteers Award. Last year YHA transformed volunteer management by moving to an entirely online volunteer management system (TeamKinetic) which is changing how we plan for, recruit, organise and engage with volunteers. In this workshop, we will explore what a great volunteer journey looks like and how the online tools can help us engage more young volunteers and modernise our ways of working.

 

Fiona Liddell – Volunteering Development Manager at Welsh Council Voluntary Action (WCVA)

Fiona Liddell has worked within the volunteering team at WCVA, in several different roles, since 2003. Currently, she is Volunteering Development Manager with responsibilities for the strategic development of volunteering and volunteering services in Wales.

Recent projects include Volunteering Spirit Wales, a two-year project which aims to improve the quality of event volunteering in Wales and the development of online learning modules on volunteer management, to support the Welsh Government Fusion programme.

Fiona set up the Wales Volunteer of the Year Award scheme in 2004. She is the author of the WCVA publication Recruiting volunteers – a manual of good practice and has developed and delivered training in volunteer management.

Previously she has worked in International Development, Health Promotion and has, jointly with her husband, run a training and retreat centre in mid-Wales. Voluntary roles have included school governor, helping at a community cafe in the Rhondda and at conversation drop-in sessions for asylum seekers, stewarding at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff and mentoring a young person through the I million mentors scheme.

 

Laura Hamilton – Seven steps to successful volunteer engagement

In a rapidly changing world, how can we ensure that our volunteer programmes stay attractive, relevant and rewarding?

This workshop will explore:

  • The latest trends in volunteering
  • New approaches and perspectives on volunteer engagement
  • Working with volunteers of different ages
  • How to build great relationships with your volunteers

Laura is a consultant specialising in volunteer involvement and volunteer management, with over 17 years’ experience in the field. She has worked in both volunteer infrastructure and volunteer-involving organisations and is passionate about growing and developing successful volunteer programmes.

Will you be there?

TeamKinetic are looking forward to welcoming many faces both new and old to the conference. We hope you are able to join us.

If you require more information or have any question, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

james@teamkinetic.co.uk

Free and Paid Volunteer Management Software: What is the difference?

By

On 30th May 2018

In Application Features and Tutorials, News & Views

TeamKinetic has been providing volunteer management software to third-sector organisations for over ten years. As part of our service, we also provide free volunteer management software to organisations through our national brokerage website tryvolunteering.com providing TeamKinetic FREE.

This is the perfect opportunity for organisations to test the benefits of advertising opportunities nationally, understand the benefits of volunteer management software’s reporting functionality and test the responsiveness of volunteers to join opportunities through an online portal. TeamKinetic FREE lets you manage an unlimited number of volunteers on one opportunity.

To help understand the benefits of volunteer management software, TeamKinetic have put together this short guide:

What is volunteer management software?

‘Volunteer Management Software’ is a term coined to describe a built-for-purpose computer system which can be used by voluntary organisations to recruit and manage volunteers.  It creates an online portal for volunteers to access advertised opportunities, which in turn makes volunteering more accessible. There are various systems available on the market. Each provider of volunteer management software takes a different approach to delivering their software system and this is reflected in the functionality, features and design.

Who uses volunteer management software?

Volunteer management software is used by many voluntary, non-government, education, health and sport organisations. The staff that use the systems often include volunteer managers, community engagement officers, events coordinators, sports development officers, volunteer coordinators, HR and operation staff, and many more.

What does volunteer management software do?

Volunteer management software helps organisations to reduce the amount of time spent on administrative tasks. The software also helps to recruit and deploy volunteers. Depending on the software provider, additional functionality may be available, such as reporting features, social media sharing, communication tools and much more.

What is the difference between free and paid versions of volunteer management software?

Free volunteer management software often has limitations or simplified functionality. As more functionality, reports and functionality increase, so does the price of the software.

TeamKinetic provides several volunteer management software options to match the needs of different organisations. We have one free version and three paid versions of volunteer management software.

TeamKinetic FREE is a free volunteer management software system that is hosted on tryvolunteering.com. You can’t control the look at feel of the site, but you can advertise opportunities and invite volunteers.

TeamKinetic ADVANCED and TeamKinetic ENTERPRISE are both bespoke systems that are hosted on their own domain and include higher functionality features. You can find out more about this on our website.

What features and functionality does TeamKinetic FREE include?

TeamKinetic FREE is a national volunteer brokerage system with advanced volunteer management functionality; it acts as a virtual portal for volunteers to find voluntary opportunities. Removing the restrictions of traditional volunteering sign-up, your organisation will be bought into the digital age and will save valuable time, previously spent on administration tasks.

In all versions of TeamKinetic’s volunteer management software volunteers can access all of the same features. These features include:

  • the ability to join opportunities,
  • Create a profile
  • track achievements
  • add CPD and qualifications
  • track opportunities attended
  • log hours

Search for opportunities, events and training by:

  • keywords
  • categories
  • activities
  • distance and date
  • leave opportunity feedback
  • share opportunities on social media

As an opportunity provider you can:

  • Create a profile for your organisation
  • Create opportunities
  • Manage unlimited volunteers
  • Group volunteers
  • Check DBS
  • Request references
  • Access automated emails
  • Upload documents
  • Restrict opportunities
  • Share the opportunity onto Do-It

Using TeamKinetic enables you to report on essential KPIs and Data, including:

  • Gender of Volunteers
  • Volunteer Ethnicity
  • Volunteer Age Groups
  • Volunteer Group Membership
  • Hours Logged by Category
  • Opportunity numbers by category
  • Monthly cumulative logged hours
  • Unique Active Opportunity Sessions
  • Available Opportunity Sessions

All of this data is available for download in a CVS file.

What if my organisation needs its own system?

As mentioned, TeamKinetic also provides bespoke volunteer management software systems which can be integrated into your organisation’s current website. We are more than happy to discuss the pricing of the system, the specification required and which version would best meet your organisation’s needs.

Where can I find out more / Can I discuss this further with you?

TeamKinetic is always happy to help and support voluntary organisations and we will happily discuss which option of our software would be best suited to your organisation’s needs. Speak with one of our specialist Team today.

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.

GDPR Frequently Asked Questions for TeamKinetic

By

On 18th May 2018

In Policy and Operations, Security and GDPR, Technical Updates, Whitepaper

This document will continue to develop over time as we respond to more questions from our customer and users.  Please feel free to subscribe to stay up to date.

1. Do we need to get renewed consent from every volunteer and provider?

We will be asking all volunteers and providers to review their consent settings for communications and the sharing of their data with volunteer opportunities. You can see this email here 

Renewed consent and acceptance of the new EULA will be required when logging in.

We think the consent we have already obtained from volunteers and providers provides us sufficient cover under the ‘legitimate use’ to ensure we do not need to delete users accounts.

2. How long do you keep data after someone has unsubscribed or withdrawn consent?

Unsubscribed relates to email/SMS correspondence, and users are removed immediately from all mass communication and newsletter emails. They will still receive transactional emails specifically related to them and their volunteering. If a user withdraws consent or asks to be removed their volunteer data is immediately anonymised and their personal data is moved to a table only accessible by a system administrator. This moved data is stored for a further 7 days before being permanently removed. We do this to enable us to restore a volunteer profile deleted in error. Data in backups will disappear after our 30 day retention period. Data from backups is restorable but an hourly charge is levied.

3. What is your process if anyone exercises their right to be forgotten.

We will immediately start the removal process for any volunteer requesting to be forgotten or who asks to be removed. The data removal follows the same pattern as above in point 2.

4. How long would it take to delete their data entirely?

Volunteer data is made anonymous immediately. Personal data is immediately unavailable to volunteer administrators and providers. Data in backups will be removed after our 30 day retention period.

Data in backups is only accessible by our network administrators and not by any users at any level of our applications.

5. Do you have an archive of all the data we hold in the database?

All data is transactionally backed up daily and stored encrypted. Backups are maintained for 30 days.

6. Is the data anonymised at any point?

If a request for removal is received then volunteer data is immediately anonymised.

7. Is your data encrypted?

Password data is stored using a one-way hash using a randomised SALT with a length sufficient to prevent practical brute force or collision attacks.

All data at rest in backup or in transit is encrypted using a minimum 30 character length password.

8. Can the TeamKinetic privacy policy be found on the database by volunteers?

Yes. Our full terms and conditions and specifically our privacy policy can be found at https://teamkinetic.co.uk/vk/shared_includes/termsandconditions.htm#privacy.

9. When were your terms and conditions and privacy policy last updated?

Attached to this post are links to:

I have also included the new Schedule that I will be sending as an addendum to all customers to outline our responsibilities to you under GDPR.

10. Is the website hosted on UK based servers?

All our hosting servers are UK based.

11. Do you have an ICO certification number?

You can find our details at https://ico.org.uk/ESDWebPages/Entry/ZA036104

Registration number: ZA036104
Date registered: 14 January 2014
Registration expires: 13 January 2021
Data controller: TeamKinetic Ltd
Address:
Office 14 Parkway 2
Parkway Business Centre
Princess Road
Manchester
M14 7HR

12. Where do you explain to the volunteer that data is shared with other parties

Our email to all volunteers will reiterate that data is shared with providers and potentially external administrators where a volunteer opts to volunteer on an opportunity outside their application.

For all new volunteers, this consent is explicitly captured during the initial sign up process.

13. What fields can a provider see on a volunteer

Providers can see (but not edit);
Age
Contact phone number
Email address
Gender
Special requirements and disabilities (if the volunteer has chosen to share)
Criminal record check status
Unlocked custom registration fields

14. Can “Admin” users set some “Custom Fields” to be visible to “Providers” or not visible?

Our next release in June 2018 has enabled custom fields to be locked to admins only.

15. Can you make custom registration fields compulsory?

Yes, custom fields can be made compulsory.

16. How long do we store data on volunteer and providers?

TeamKinetic believe volunteering is a lifetime pursuit and as such see no reason to remove a volunteer profile on behalf of a volunteer due to inactivity.

We do believe it is important for a volunteer or provider to have the ability to remove themselves as and when they see fit

We appreciate that some organisations will not share our view, so we will provide a tool that will allow Admin users to search the database for inactive users based on Admin set criteria of time. This will provide a list of inactive volunteers the admin user will be able to remove from the system on mass.

17. Is there any further information of TeamKinetic and GDPR

You can read my last blog on this subject at https://teamkinetic.co.uk/blog/tag/gdpr/

And you can download our whitepaper on this subject at https://teamkinetic.co.uk/vk/shared_includes/are-you-ready-for-gdpr.pdf

18. Do we maintain Data Processing Records

Yes. We have a record of all Data Processors details and access to the data is maintain under strict regulation. We have detail records for the purpose of processing, descriptions of categories, detail data flow diagrams and full documentation of all third party data processors we work with. This is complemented by our policies on security, continuity and privacy.

19. Does TeamKinetic have a Sub-processor or level 2 processor change request process?

TeamKinetic shares very limited data with sub-processors and that data is anonymised. All sub-processes are legally bound by TeamKinetic to meet our data standard as outlined in schedule 6.

All customers are asked to review the schedule below. This will be sent in a separate email to all existing customers as an addendum to our current agreement and will require signing as soon as possible.

Schedule 6 Data Protection
1. Data Protection

1.1 For the purposes of this clause, the following definitions apply;
(i) ‘Data Controller’, ‘Data Processor’ and ‘process’ have the meanings given to them in the Data Protection Act 1998 and from May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679;
(ii) Service Users shall mean those who sign up to use the Services.
(iii) ‘Personal data breach’ has the meaning given to it in article 4(12) of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679;
(iv) ‘ Personal Data’ shall mean the personal data of the Service Users including their name, contact details, email, address, disability information, gender and employment or education experience.
(v) ‘Privacy Laws’ means the Data Protection Act 1998, Directive 95/46/EC, the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 qne the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003; and
(vi) ‘Privacy notice’ means a notice providing individuals with information about the purpose for which and manner in which their personal data will be processed and the organisations that will be undertaking that processing.

1.2 With respect to the parties’ rights and obligations under this Contract, it is acknowledged and agreed that the Customer is the Data Controller and the Supplier is the Data Processor in relation to the Personal Data.

1.3 Where processing Personal Data on behalf of the Customer the Supplier agrees to;
(i) provide the Services in compliance with all relevant Privacy Laws;

(ii) not do anything (or permit anything to be done) which would put the Customer in breach of its obligations under Privacy Laws;

(iii) only process the Personal Data in accordance with the Customer’s instructions and only for the purpose of delivering the Services and not for any other purpose;

(iv) only process the Personal Data in such manner as is described in the Contract and, in any event, only process the Personal Data to the extent that is necessary to deliver the Services;

(v) implement and maintain the technological and organisational measures to protect the Personal Data against accidental or unlawful loss, alteration, destruction, or unauthorised disclosure, dissemination or access, or alteration;

(vi) not disclose or transfer the Personal Data to any third party (save where disclosure has been specifically authorised by the Customer under this Contract) and only provide access to the Personal Data to your personnel where such access is necessary for the provision of the Services

(vii) take reasonable steps to ensure the reliability of any of your personnel who have access to the Personal Data, ensure that those personnel are aware of their obligations set out in this clause 1 and have undergone adequate training in the care, use and protection of personal data in compliance with the Privacy Laws.

1.4 Upon the Customer’s request, the Supplier agrees to permit the Customer or its authorised agents to inspect the Supplier’s premises, data processing activities and systems, and/or have access to, and be provided with copies of any information (including without limitation the Personal Data) to enable the Customer to be satisfied the Supplier are complying with the obligations under this Schedule 6.

1.5 The Supplier must not sub-contract or assign any of its right or obligations under this Contract without the Customer’s prior written consent.

1.6 Where the Customer provides written consent to sub-contracting of the Services under clause 1.6, then the Supplier agrees to impose a binding legal obligation on their sub-contractor to comply with the obligations in this Schedule 6 where that subcontractor has access to, or will be otherwise processing, the Personal Data. For the avoidance of doubt, any such subcontract shall not relieve the Supplier of its obligation to comply fully with this Schedule 6 and the Supplier shall remain fully responsible and liable for ensuring full compliance with this Schedule 6 in all respects.

1.7 The Supplier will not transfer any Personal Data processed under or pursuant to this Agreement outside of the European Union without the Customer’s prior written authorisation. Where the Customer authorises the transfer of Personal Data outside of the European Union, the Supplier agrees to comply with any instructions the Customer may issue which are necessary to achieve compliance with the Privacy Laws.

1.8 The Supplier agrees to notify the Customer as soon as practical, and in any event within five working days, if the Supplier receives;

i. a request from an individual to access their Personal Data or to exercise the rights of individuals under Privacy Laws including the rights of rectification, restriction, blocking, data portability and/or erasure;
ii. a complaint relating to the processing of Personal Data under this Agreement;
iii. notification that an individual wishes to withdraw their consent, or otherwise objects, to the processing of their Personal Data under this Agreement; or
iv. any communication from the Information Commissioner or any regulatory authority in connection with the Personal Data.

1.9 The Supplier agrees to comply with our instruction regarding the response to and handling of a complaint, request, notification or communication described in clause 1.9 and provide such reasonable assistance to the Customer as is required to ensure that the Customer can comply with its obligations under the Privacy Laws.

1.10 The Supplier agrees to notify the Customer promptly, and within 24 hours, in the event of an actual or suspected personal data breach involving the Personal Data processed under this Agreement. The Supplier agrees to co-operate with the Customer fully to investigate such a breach by furnishing the Customer with information as may be reasonably required about the breach and the Supplier’s processing activities. The Supplier also agrees to comply with the Customer’s reasonable instructions regarding the management of and response to the breach and any steps necessary to prevent an equivalent breach in the future.

1.11 The Supplier agrees to comply with the Customer’s instructions as to the period for which the Personal Data shall be retained and regarding secure destruction or return of the data to the Customer following expiry of the Term.

1.12 The Supplier agree to indemnify and keep indemnified the Customer against all claims, demands, actions, proceedings, charges, costs and expenses (including legal costs and expenses) which may be brought against us in respect of or in any way arising out of or in connection with;
i. your breach of the obligations in this Schedule 6; or
ii. a claim that we are in breach of our obligations under the Privacy Laws as a result of any of your actions.

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