Tag: Teamkinetic volunteer management Page 7 of 14

Re-Engaging Volunteers After a Break

By

On 5th January 2023

In News & Views, Volunteer Management

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s not uncommon for volunteers to lose their enthusiasm and drive. As a result, it’s important to find ways to re-engage your volunteers and get them excited about volunteering again. So how can you start re-engaging volunteers after a break?

re-engaging volunteers

First of all, you should define the problem. Volunteer engagement isn’t always easy, especially if your organisation has had volunteers take breaks from their terms of service. But if you identify exactly what the problem is, it’s easier to come up with solutions tailored to you and your volunteers.

Secondly, you should set goals before you start. If your goal is to have more effective volunteers who stay longer than [x] months at a time, then that should be reflected in all aspects of their experience with your organisation. Starting with their onboarding process, through to training sessions and regular check-ins or evaluations.

Remind them of their impact

One way to reengage your volunteers is to focus on the impact that their work has on the organisation and the community. Remind them of the difference that they are making and the reasons why their contributions are so valuable. You can also highlight any recent successes or achievements that the organisation has made, and how your volunteers played a key role in making those achievements possible.

Feedback for a volunteer left via TeamKinetic’s volunteer management system.

Through TeamKinetic, you can reward volunteers through HourTrades, custom reward badges, or simple ‘Thank you’ communications.

Offer exciting new opportunities

Another way to reengage your volunteers is to offer them new and exciting opportunities to get involved. This could include working on a special project or event, taking on a leadership role, or learning a new skill. By providing your volunteers with fresh challenges and experiences, you can help them stay engaged and motivated.

You can also try to make the volunteering experience more enjoyable and rewarding for your volunteers. This could include providing regular recognition and appreciation for their hard work, offering flexible scheduling options, and creating a supportive and inclusive volunteer community. By creating a positive and engaging volunteer culture, you can help your volunteers feel valued and connected to the organisation.

With TeamKinetic, you can utilise our many opportunity creation options to create something that stands out to your volunteers and will help them feel excited about getting back into volunteering with you.

Reach out individually

Finally, consider reaching out to your volunteers individually to check in with them and see how they’re feeling. If you can put together a list of disengaged volunteers, you may want to consider asking them if there’s anything specific you could do in order for them to return. Perhaps they need more support than other volunteers with similar roles, or maybe they just need some time away from volunteering altogether.

This can be a great opportunity to listen to their feedback and address any concerns they may have. You can also offer support and guidance to help them overcome any challenges they may be facing. By showing that you care about your volunteers and their well-being, you can help them feel more engaged and motivated to continue volunteering.

TeamKinetic’s search filters allow you to find those volunteers who seem to be disengaged. Reaching out to them directly can help them feel valued and like their work for you makes a real difference.

In conclusion, re-engaging your volunteers after the holiday season is crucial for the success of your organisation. By focusing on the impact of their work, offering new opportunities, creating a positive volunteer culture, and providing individual support, you can help your volunteers regain their enthusiasm and continue making a difference.

See also: How To Retain And Engage Your Volunteers for tips on how to keep your volunteers engaged all year round!

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.

How To Retain And Engage Your Volunteers In 2023

By

On 21st December 2022

In News & Views, Volunteer Management

2023 could be a challenging year to engage and retain volunteers due to the cost of living crisis; people may not have as much time to volunteer as they did previously because now people may replace volunteering with paid work. Ensure you start the year off by providing a high level of support to your volunteers, when volunteers don’t feel supported it can lead them to feel unmotivated and unengaged in the organisation. Below are some ways you can help retain and engage volunteers in 2023. 

Recognition And Rewards 

Show your volunteers how they make a difference. In the previous blog post, we spoke about how to reward your volunteers at Christmas, but volunteers shouldn’t just be rewarded at Christmas time, they should be rewarded all year round too. Highlight your volunteers’ successes to show them how their hard work has helped your organisation. You could note down the things they have done to help make a difference and then let the volunteer know, this will make them feel seen within the organisation. Volunteers want to feel needed, appreciated, and that they’re making a difference.

Stay Connected

Keep in touch with your volunteers and communicate on a regular basis. Whether this is through emails, phone calls or text messages it would be a good idea to see how people are getting on and if they are enjoying volunteering for the organisation. Also, due to the cost of living crisis and the new year, people may be struggling with their mental health and could be facing money issues, you can support your volunteers by regularly contacting them so you are the first to know if they are feeling unmotivated or burnt out. It’s also important to be in contact with your volunteers so you can let them know if there are any last-minute changes to shifts. 

Ensure that how you are communicating with the volunteers is personalised, by acknowledging the volunteers’ names and what they do you are able to connect with them on a much deeper level and they will feel noticed. Listen to what feedback your volunteers have to say, they can give you valuable information and important questions and concerns that you need to address.

Develop A Community

Build a sense of community among your volunteers. This way they can feel connected to each other and become better connected to you which can help with volunteer retention. If the volunteers build friendships and get to know others in the organisation then it will encourage them to stay and continue volunteering for the organisation as they are surrounded by a friendly and welcoming environment. 

Online catch-ups with all of your volunteers or in-person social events can help them to feel comfortable around one another and develop relationships. Having fun catch-ups or socials with volunteers can also allow them to feel engaged and supported through their volunteering experience.

Training And Upskilling 

Understand the motivations of your volunteers, this way you can help them to accomplish what they want to achieve. You can talk to your volunteers to understand what they would like to learn from their volunteer experience. This can help you provide value to your volunteers which can keep them engaged. Motivations could be people wanting to gain different skills or improve current ones. By training volunteers they can feel supported and volunteers can feel valued. Improving their skills can also benefit the organisation too as fully trained staff can help make an effective difference to the organisation. If volunteers are fully trained they can complete the volunteering to the best standards and feel satisfied with the hard work and the support they have been given.

Key Takeaways

Overall 2023 could be a very challenging year to engage and retain your volunteers, a combination of strategies may work best to keep people volunteering for your organisation. Flexible opportunities may be more suitable as people might not have the time to volunteer as they are picking up extra paid work elsewhere to help them through the current cost of living crisis.

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 G2, we’d really appreciate it! We’ll even send you a little thank you.

How To Reward Your Volunteers This Christmas

By

On 14th December 2022

In Christmas, Community, Holidays, Volunteer Management

It’s important to reward your volunteers all year round and not just at Christmas time, but if your volunteers celebrate Christmas, then it would be nice to say thanks for all the help and support they’ve given to your organisation this year. Due to the cost of living crisis, it may be a struggle this year for charities to fork out gifts for all their volunteers however, most of the ideas listed below are affordable.

Personal Cards

Writing a letter or Christmas card that is personalised to each volunteer with a unique message shows that you have recognised the work of each individual volunteer and are thanking them for the difference they have made to the organisation.

An inexpensive way of doing this is sending personalised emails to your volunteers instead this way you can save on printing costs. Ensure you keep track of the types of things each volunteer does throughout the year to keep your organisation going, this shows you have appreciated their hard work and have noticed the small things they do. 

Certificates And Awards

Reward your volunteers with certificates to celebrate their hard work, you can be flexible to match the certificate to the volunteer. On the certificate, you can include things like how many hours have been completed by the volunteer this year to show how much they’ve helped the organisation and the difference they’ve made. These certificates could also be sent out via email to save printing costs. 

Handing out physical awards could be a more expensive way to reward your volunteers however, you could handmake the awards to make them more affordable for your organisation. An easy alternative instead of buying awards is printing out what you want the award to say and framing it. Award ideas could include “Most Enthusiastic Volunteer”, “Most Motivating Volunteer” or “Volunteer Of The Year” and other similar personality traits that carry your organisation. 

A Christmas Party

A Christmas party may be a struggle for most charities and organisations due to the cost of living crisis. Venue hire and catering may be out of budget so a cheap alternative is to have a virtual party over an online call involving a Christmas quiz with small prizes to be won.

Even though this is very lockdown-esque way to celebrate, it’s an affordable and easy alternative that doesn’t involve much planning to get all your volunteers in one place. There are many available Christmas quizzes online or you can have some fun and make up your own! 

Homemade Gifts 

Homemade baked goods or Christmas ornaments are an inexpensive way to reward your volunteers this Christmas. Who doesn’t like baked goods at this time of year, this is also a cheap option that anyone would be happy with. Some ideas for Christmas baked goods can be found here.

Making your own Christmas tree decorations or ornaments is a sustainable and affordable way to say thanks, this way volunteers can re-use the decoration each year and be reminded of the hard work they have achieved. There are plenty of ideas online for DIY Christmas decorations. Eight cheap and easy decoration ideas can be found here!

Give Volunteers Recognition On Your Blog

If your organisation has a blog, you could write a blog post thanking your volunteers. This means their work can also be recognised outside of the organisation. Similarly, you could create posts for social media with the volunteers’ names and a photo of their efforts. This is a free and easy way for volunteers to feel special and receive acknowledgement for their actions. 

Make sure your volunteers feel appreciated and recognised all year round for their hard work – not just at Christmas time.

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.

Where To Volunteer This Christmas

By

On 7th December 2022

In Christmas, Community, Holidays

Volunteering at Christmas time is one of the most popular times of year people choose to donate their time to help, therefore opportunities usually get filled up quickly. 

Many families and groups of people are struggling every day but with the most difficult time of year being just around the corner and due to the cost of living crisis, the help of volunteers is needed now more than ever. 

To everyone who celebrates Christmas, it is fulfilling to help make someone else’s Christmas the best it can be. Many charity appeals are organised in the run-up to Christmas to help those in need. Some examples of where to volunteer in the UK this Christmas can be found below, these include The Salvation Army, Crisis Christmas centres, Age UK and many more.

Homeless Shelters 

The festive season can be particularly hard and lonely for homeless people, and shelters are likely to be particularly full this year due to the cost-of-living crisis. Helping out during Christmas at homeless shelters usually involves sorting through donations, serving food and offering general support by communicating with people who may be lonely during this period. 

Centrepoint, the charity that supports homeless young people, warns that this could be the worst homelessness crisis in the charity’s 50-year history, as the pandemic has led to thousands of young people losing their jobs and their accommodation therefore extra help from volunteers and donations are needed now more than ever. Volunteer opportunities for Centrepoint can be found here. 

Crisis is a national charity for people experiencing homelessness. With the help of others, Crisis want to ensure as many people as possible can leave homelessness behind this festive season. They will be extending their services in London providing support and accommodation in hotels from the 20th of December to the 25th of January. You can find available volunteering opportunities for Crisis here. 

Women’s Shelters

The Christmas holiday period can often see more frequent incidences of domestic violence, due to factors such as more time spent at home with abusive partners, and additional financial pressures due to the cost of living crisis. You can contact a Women’s Aid domestic violence service or refuge in the area where you live to see if they have any volunteering opportunities available for you to offer your support this Christmas. Some available opportunities from The Pankhurst Trust can be found on their website.

Charity Shops

Charity shops are particularly busy during the run-up to Christmas so stores may need some extra support. The Salvation Army are currently looking for volunteer helpers to get involved with all kinds of activities for their many community charity shops. Their shops are suitable places for people of all ages and abilities to volunteer, tasks include operating the till and creating festive window displays. The Salvation Army has available opportunities here. 

Warm Banks

More than 3000 registered organisations have opened or are opening up free, warm, welcoming spaces for the public this winter across the UK with Warm Welcome. These warm spaces are usually in a heated building, which members of the public can use to help them save on their home energy bills. You can contact local charities involved with Warm Welcome to see if they need volunteers for their warm banks.  

Food Banks

Give someone the food they need this Christmas and dedicate your time to helping a food bank. You can find a local food bank with opportunities near you using The Trussell Trust website.

FareShare is another food bank charity that stops good food from going to waste and gives it to people who need it. Fareshare has plenty of opportunities which can be found on their website. 

Supporting People Feeling Lonely This Christmas 

Elderly people can feel isolated and lonely at this time of year especially when they are in a care home.  Through volunteering, you can support older people who may otherwise spend the holidays alone. According to Age UK, “Almost 1.5 million older people feel more lonely at Christmas than any other time of year.” You can volunteer for Age UK to do their telephone friendship service where you phone an elderly person weekly, last Christmas, Age UK supported 28,345 telephone friendship calls to older people. 

Remember that volunteers for are needed all year round for charities like these and not just at Christmas. If you need help organising volunteers during this busy festive period, check out our website.

 

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

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

The Best Ways To Volunteer During The Cost Of Living Crisis

By

On 30th November 2022

In Community, News & Views

The current cost of living crisis will affect us all, but the impact will be disproportionately felt by those who are already struggling. Charities and organisations that provide essential services such as food banks, warm banks, mental health services, and helping people facing homelessness are being largely affected. UK Fundraising reports, for example, that 9 out of 10 food bank charities fear they can’t meet the rise in demand. Charity Times also reports that some charities are now referring their own staff to food banks.

Volunteering in food or warm banks is crucial during these times. However, there are also other volunteering options such as befriending schemes for people feeling isolated. Some suggestions for where you can donate your time to help are listed below. 

Food Banks 

Nearly seven million people are said to be going hungry in the UK, including two million children and this is becoming a more significant struggle due to the cost of living crisis. 

The cost of living crisis is leading to increased need and rising costs for food banks which has also meant there is a need for more volunteers to donate their time. Staff and volunteers at food banks are working tirelessly to support people in their communities. Food banks in the Trussell Trust network provided more than 2.1 million parcels to people facing financial hardship.

Homeless Shelters 

For many people across the country, there is a big risk of being forced into homelessness because of the inability to keep up with increasing living costs. It is impossible to deal with the rising cost of living when you are already struggling to find a secure and stable place to live. Crisis research published in March 2022, showed that families on the breadline face an average £372 deficit between their Local Housing Allowance and the cost of the cheapest rents in their local areas.

The Crisis charity receives almost no government funding. The generosity of their supporters and corporate partners is what allows them to continue to be there for everyone that needs them. Support from volunteers allows them to deliver services to help people experiencing homelessness. 

Supporting The Well-being Of Others 

Well-being and mental health also play a big factor during this crisis. Money problems can cause high amounts of stress and people may be feeling down. With the run-up to Christmas fast approaching, people may not be able to afford to give gifts or celebrate it in the way that they usually do so volunteering to support the well-being of others is crucial.

Warm Banks 

As energy prices rise along with the cost of living, an increasing number of so-called warm banks have been popping up around the UK. These warm spaces are usually in a heated building like a community centre or village hall. Members of the public can use them to help save on their home energy bills. One story from the BBC is of two friends who have set up a warm bank offering homemade soup. People can stay as long as they want to keep warm, and it helps them to feel less isolated or lonely. This couldn’t be done without the help of volunteers, other stories of warm banks can be read here. 

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

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

How To Support The Wellbeing Of Your Volunteers

By

On 23rd November 2022

In News & Views, Volunteer Management

To support your volunteer’s mental health and wellbeing, it is important to ensure all your volunteers are happy and content and you are doing all you can to sustain their wellbeing and create a supportive environment for the volunteers. Showing the volunteers that their mental health matters to you can also help retain volunteers. Ensuring you have a well-maintained relationship with volunteers means they will feel more comfortable raising any concerns with you. 

Ways To Support Your Volunteer’s Wellbeing 

Provide your team with information about bettering your mental health and wellbeing and letting them know that support is available. Mind offers some information about this on its website which can be found here.

Strengthen The Relationships With Your Volunteers

Make sure you have strong relationships with your volunteers. Well-maintained relationships can reduce stress and increase happiness, engagement and overall health. According to NCVO research shows that a feeling of belonging is important to people and can help motivate them.

You can strengthen relationships with volunteers by encouraging team-building activities and creating opportunities for people to come together in person and online for example socials or regular informal meet-ups. You can also keep in contact with volunteers by using our new automated emails feature in our 2.2 update which allows you to send automated emails so volunteers will get a message wishing them all the best on their birthdays and thanking them for volunteering. You can read more about what else is included in our 2.2 update here. 

Create A Mental Health And Wellbeing Policy

Ensure you have a mental health and wellbeing policy. Having a policy shows what actions you’ll take to support staff and volunteers’ wellbeing. In the policy, you can include things like how you’ll respond to people who disclose a mental health problem. NCVO have suggested St John’s Ambulances policy as an example which you can gain ideas from for your own policy. 

Use The Wellness Action Plan (WAP) 

Volunteer Now suggests using the Wellness Action Plan (WAP) as a way for Volunteer Managers / Organisations to support the mental health of their volunteers.

WAPs are a personalised tool that can be used to help us identify what keeps us well at work and the support we would like to receive from our manager to boost our wellbeing. You are able to fill in a Wellness Action Plan template on the Mind website.

Connecting With Your Volunteers 

Get to know your volunteers, ask them questions and show interest by asking what their hobbies are or what their motivations are for volunteering. This can help build healthy relationships and allow you and the volunteers to be more comfortable around one another and volunteers are able to feel more freely about voicing their concerns. 

Have Regular Informal Catch-ups 

Have one-to-one informal meetings or check-ups with your volunteers if possible or just regular check-ins via email and make sure to actively listen to your volunteers, and seek out their thoughts, opinions and feedback. NCVO have a one-to-one meeting template that you can use for inspiration. 

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

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

TeamTalk: Season 2, Episode 4 – Emma Peat

By

On 16th November 2022

In Sport, TeamTalk Podcast

For TeamTalk Season 2, Episode 4, Emma Peat from Formula E joins hosts Chris Martin and Imogen Greatbatch.

Welcome back to season 2 of our TeamTalk podcast. This season, we are talking to thought leaders, customers and stakeholders from the world of sports and physical exercise. Join us as we dive deeper into sports volunteering and the volunteer managers who make it happen. 

In this episode, Chris and Imogen were joined by Emma Peat from Formula E. Emma talked us through her volunteer management journey and discussed her enthusiasm for sports and volunteering. 

Listen on Spotify below or on Youtube here.

The Peat Pathway 

Emma Peat is currently the Event Workforce Manager at Formula E, leading a global team of Support Staff and Volunteer Managers who deliver a vital temporary resourcing programme on the ground at Formula E events. 

Her volunteer management journey started at University where she got stuck in, playing many different sports. She even started a hockey team with her friends. After university, she moved to London and got a job at a clothing company doing customer service. She had experience before in the events world due to a placement year.

Emma’s passion for hockey landed her the Events Officer role at England Hockey. She has found that a passion-fueled environment is very energising and working with volunteers is her favourite thing and that’s where she fell in love with the job role.  

Emma expressed that she is always very keen to get involved and would do activities with the volunteers as well as manage them. She is now operating internationally working for Formula E. 

Formula E 

Formula E is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. Formula E’s founding mission was for its race through the streets of the most iconic cities in the world – with a grid full of the best racing drivers and teams around – to show just what sustainable mobility was capable of, driving electric vehicles to the fore in the race for a better, cleaner future.

After six seasons of racing on the streets of the world’s most progressive cities, Formula E gained World Championship status, a move granted by the FIA (motorsport’s governing body) in December 2019.

Useful Links: 

Emma Peat’s Email – emp@fiaformulae.com

Episode link – https://open.spotify.com/episode/5RxbLxGWOnSsSPVgRo83fR

Formula E’s Website – https://www.fiaformulae.com/en

TeamTalk Podcast – https://open.spotify.com/show/2qCaTamq77sAE9qmnCcQVe

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

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

A Guide To Our TeamTalk Podcast

By

On 16th November 2022

In News & Views, TeamTalk Podcast

What Is The TeamTalk Podcast?

TeamTalk is a podcast that takes a deeper dive into the world of volunteer management, hosted by Director of TeamKinetic, Chris Martin. Chris speaks to a variety of people across the third sector to get their thoughts on all things volunteering and volunteer management.

We launched our first episode in January 2022 and so far we are halfway through season 2 and our podcast is now available to listen to on a variety of platforms. This season, Chris has been talking to thought leaders, customers and stakeholders from the world of sport and physical exercise as he takes a deeper dive into volunteering and the volunteer managers who make it happen. We have been joined by a range of guests from the world of volunteering including Jenny Betteridge, Alaina Macgregor, Philippa Bass, Kristen Natale, Gethyn Williams, and James Allen and there are plenty more guests to come! 

In this series, Chris has been joined by co-host Imo Greatbatch. Imo is currently the Head of Volunteering at England Netball and is passionate about volunteering in sports brings her insightful knowledge to the podcast.

Why You Should Be Listening To The Podcast

Our weekly podcast covers various topics with fantastic guests giving their insight on the volunteer management world. The podcast allows you to listen to other like-minded people’s thoughts on the sector and their journey into the volunteer management industry.

Due to the knowledgeable guests who have years of experience in the industry you are able to learn more about the sector. It’s particularly intriguing to hear the journeys each of the guests have come down to enter the sector and what they initially started out doing compared to the amazing things they are involved in now.

So if you are a volunteer manager starting out or have years of experience in the industry, it would be useful to hear the tips and opinions of others who are already involved in the sector. We can guarantee you will feel inspired after listening to an episode due to the strong passion for the sector from each of the guests. 

Episode Guide

Season 1 

In Season 1 Chris spoke to a range of guests across the sector, each covering a variety of topics from the importance of great leadership as a Volunteer Manager, the challenges of the pandemic on the voluntary sector and more! 

Season 1 Episode 1: Starting off the season, Chris was joined by Nicola Ward and Ian Turnbull from Willowbrook Hospice. Chris, Ian, and Nicola discuss everything from Willowbrook to criminal checks, and how the TeamKinetic system has simplified their work.

Listen to S1 E1 here!

Season 1 Episode 2: Talking all things Manchester women’s aid with Abi Froud from the Pankhurst Trust. Learn more about the incredible work done by Manchester women’s aid. During this episode, Abi discusses her work within the Pankhurst Trust and continues to inspire us to challenge gender inequality.

Listen to S1 E2 here!

Season 1 Episode 3: If you want to know more about the importance of great leadership, this is the episode for you! Chris was joined by Ruth Lenoard, Ruth is the Chair of Association of Volunteer Managers and we are pleased to be AVMs first corporate partner. During this episode Ruth talks about her journey into where she is today and leadership skills.

Listen to S1 E3 here!

Season 1 Episode 4: Next up Chris spoke to Andy Broomhead, board member at AVM and Head of Volunteering at Diabetes UK. We hear Andy talking about his challenges he’s been through as a volunteer himself and a volunteer manager. 

Listen to S1 E4 here!

Season 1 Episode 5: In the final episode of the season, Claire Troupe talked us through how those working with volunteers are revitalising the volunteer movement post pandemic. Claire Troupe is the Project Manager at Manchester City Councils Volunteer Inspire Programme (MCRVIP). She shared with us that if you are not fully immersed in the volunteer world, the work may go unoticed.  

Listen to S1 E5 here!

Season 2 

In Season 2 Chris explores the world of sport and takes a deeper dive into volunteering and the volunteer managers who make it happen. In this season, Chris was joined by co-host Imo Greatbatch. Imo is Head of Volunteering at England Netball and shares her insightful knowledge with the guests. 

Season 2 Episode 1: Season 2 was started off by exploring the Vision For Volunteering. Chris and Imo were joined by three guests: Jenny Betteridge, James Allen and Gethyn Williams. Jenny is Stategic Lead for Volunteering at Sport England and Gethyn and James launched the market engagement that made the vision possible. In this episode we get stuck into what the vision is, what it means and how you can get involved as it evolves over the coming months and years. 

Listen to S2 E1 here! 

Season 2 Episode 2: In Episode 2, Chris was joined by Alaina MacGregor and Philippa Bass from British Blind Sport. In this episode Alaina and Philippa talk about their jounry with British Blind Sport and we learn all about their ‘Have a Go’ day programme which has introduced hundreds of visually impaired adults and children to new sports. 

Listen to S2 E2 here! 

Season 2 Episode 3: Next up Chris spoke to Kristen Natale who has over 10 years experience in volunteer development and is now the Head of Volunteering at Sport England. In this episode Kristen discusses her thoughts on the Vision for Volunteering and how she got to where she is today. 

Listen to S2 E3 here! 

Season 2 Episode 4: Episode 4 is coming very soon! Chris was joined by Emma Peat from Formula E, this is a very interesting listen if you interested in this side of the sports industry. 

Where You Can Listen To It: 

You can listen to our TeamTalk podcast on the following platforms: Spotify, Amazon music, Apple music, Acast and on our Youtube channel. 

Thank you to all our guests who have joined us so far on the podcast. If you have any topic or guest requests be sure to let us know, you can contact us on our socials using the hashtag #TeamTalk or drop us an email (isabella@teamkinetic.co.uk).

Keep your eyes peeled as Season 3 is coming soon! 

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

Twitter       Facebook       LinkedIn       YouTube       Instagram       Podcast

 

Volunteer-Friendly Language

By

On 9th November 2022

In News & Views, Volunteer Management

It is important to use volunteer-friendly language when addressing and discussing volunteers. As volunteers are not paid workers, subtle differences in vocabulary can make people think volunteers are unpaid employees, this would mean they can have the same legal rights as paid employees which isn’t the case as volunteers aren’t included in employment legislation.

Rethinking Your Vocabulary

Karen Knight, a Volunteer Management strategist and mentor, recently posted a blog post discussing the language of volunteering and made some interesting points. In the blog, Karen proposed some problematic words in the volunteer world. These included referring to volunteers as “yours” and also referring to “using” volunteers. Both of these words could be objectifying and imply ownership of the volunteers. 

Perhaps using words like “involving” and “engaging” may be more volunteer-friendly words. Karen suggests if you are unsure about if a word is problematic, have others in your organisation give their opinions on it. The more feedback you can get the better.

NCVO and Volunteering England put together a document with volunteer-friendly words. The document gives tips such as don’t borrow vocabulary from employment, human resources or work experience policies without making sure it applies to your volunteer programme and ensure you re-read what you have written from the perspective of your volunteers. Using volunteer-friendly vocabulary can give people a clearer idea of their legal rights or responsibilities.

Examples of volunteer-friendly words and phrases

Ensure you’re using volunteer-friendly language

To ensure you are using volunteer-friendly language, avoid using the word ‘contract’ when discussing the volunteer’s agreements. Referring to the agreement as a volunteer contract can mean the volunteer may be entitled to claim workers’ rights. When providing the volunteers with information about what they will be doing, it would be better to use the term “volunteer role” rather than “job description”. The definition of a job description is a “written description of the exact work and responsibilities of a job”. Volunteers may think that the role is formal employment.   

Try using the phrase “informal chat” instead of an interview during the recruitment process. “Informal chat” is a more suitable word than “interview”, which is used when applying for paid work. The phrase “informal chat” can also put the volunteer at ease. 

Share these tips with other volunteer managers and people in your organisation so that we can make a change in the world of volunteering. 

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.

Creating A Volunteer Strategy

By

On 2nd November 2022

In News & Views, Volunteer Management

A volunteering strategy sets out what you want to achieve with volunteering and how you want to do it. A strategy articulates what needs to be done to achieve the purpose of an organisation, group, programme, and so on. Creating a strategy is important as it explains how volunteers will contribute to the organisation’s aims. It can also include how it will find, recruit and support volunteers. The strategy helps everyone understand your vision for volunteers and why you’re involving them.

You may think being a busy Volunteer Manager that you may not have the time to write a strategy however a well-thought-out strategy may save you time in the long run and be beneficial to your organisation. 

Important Things To Consider When Writing A Strategy 

Important things to consider when writing your strategy are speaking to others in your organisation and taking a look at some important resources to help you. Engaging with everyone and having lots of collaboration and feedback is necessary when writing the strategy so use the opinions of others in your organisation. People to include could be paid staff within your organisation or existing volunteers as they may have valuable suggestions.

To ensure your strategy supports your organisation’s aims, you should think about the following questions NCVO have put together as useful advice when writing a strategy. 

Think about these questions when writing your strategy

After you have created your strategy it is essential to review it. Reviewing your strategy will help you respond to trends and changes in volunteering. You should do this annually with the people you consulted when you initially wrote it to see if it is still up to date with your organisation’s aims and if there are any other suggestions for it.

Useful Resources To Help You Write Your Volunteer Strategy

Volunteer Scotland runs a one-day course on, “Developing a Volunteer Strategy”. This includes learning an understanding of how to put together a strategy, having time to reflect on what is needed and preparatory work. Volunteer Scotland also has a list of suggested useful resources for developing an effective volunteer strategy which can be found here. 

NCVO have some useful resources including reports and research about volunteering and the voluntary sector to help you write your strategy. You can also bring in an external consultant to help develop your strategy. To find out how NCVO consultancy can help your organisation you can fill in their short online enquiry form.

There are also some examples of volunteer strategies available which may help guide you, however, strategies must be unique and tailored to the needs and ambitions of the organisation. Royal Parks have a volunteering strategy that may be useful which can be found here and a volunteering strategy agreed by the city’s public agencies and the third sector produced by Edinburgh Compact can be found here. 

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.

Page 7 of 14

← Previous

Next →

Search

Subscribe to our blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to the TeamKinetic blog and receive notifications of new posts and stories.

Join 1,712 other subscribers.

Contact Details

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén