At TeamKinetic, we are committed to ensuring our software platform is accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. We strive to follow best practices and standards to provide an inclusive user experience that caters to diverse needs.
Accessibility Features
We have implemented several features on our website to enhance accessibility, including but not limited to:
Keyboard Navigation: Users can navigate through the website using a keyboard, without the need for a mouse.
Screen Reader Compatibility: Our content is designed to be compatible with screen reading software, enabling visually impaired users to access information.
Text Alternatives: We provide text alternatives for non-text content to ensure that all users can understand the information presented.
Consistent Layout: Our website follows a consistent layout and design to facilitate ease of use and navigation.
Limitations and Areas for Improvement
Despite our best efforts, there may be instances where certain aspects of the website are not fully accessible. This may occur due to:
Third-Party Integrations: Some sections of our website may include third-party tools or plugins that we do not have full control over. These may not meet our accessibility standards.
Technological Constraints: Rapid technological changes may sometimes present challenges that affect our ability to provide fully accessible experiences.
Design Trade-offs: Balancing aesthetic design and functionality can occasionally impact the accessibility of certain elements.
Feedback and Assistance
We value feedback from our users and continually seek to improve the accessibility of our website. If you encounter any accessibility barriers or have suggestions for improvement, contact us at info@teamkinetic.co.uk.
Contact Us
For any assistance or to report an accessibility issue, please reach out to our support team:
Email: info@teamkinetic.co.uk
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to improve the accessibility of our platform. Thank you for helping us create a more inclusive environment for all users.
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Google Analytics is a service that allows you to track and report on your website traffic. By linking your TeamKinetic system to Google Analytics, you can gain a deeper understanding of your audience and how they interact with your content.
So how do you link TeamKinetic to Google Analytics?
We’ve created this handy guide on how to link your TK site to Google Analytics. The key steps:
Create a Google Analytics account (if you don’t have one already)
Set up a new property
Add your website (data stream)
Grab the tracking code
Open a support ticket with the code and we’ll do the rest!
Once you’re all set up, there are a load of things you may want to start tracking. We’ve outlined some key metrics to track.
Site Visitors
Site visitors, or users, are the individuals who visit your website. Monitoring the number of visitors helps you understand the reach of your site and track growth over time.
Where to Find It
In your GA4 dashboard, go to the Reports → Life cycle → Acquisition → Overview. Here, you can view metrics such as the total number of users, new users, and active number of users in the past 30 minutes.
Why It’s Important
Knowing how many people visit your site can help you gauge the effectiveness of your outreach efforts and identify trends in your traffic.
Traffic Sources
Traffic sources tell you where your visitors are coming from. This could be through search engines, direct visits, social media, or referral links from other websites.
Where to Find It
Navigate to the Reports → Life cycle → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition. Here, you’ll see a breakdown of traffic sources, including organic search, direct, social, and referral.
Why It’s Important
Understanding where your traffic comes from helps you identify which channels are most effective in driving visitors to your site. This can inform your marketing strategies and help you allocate resources more effectively.
Engagement Rates
Engagement rates provide insights into how users interact with your site. Key engagement metrics include bounce rate, average session duration, and pages per session.
Where to Find It
In the Reports → Life cycle → Engagement → Overview. Look at metrics like the engagement rate, average engagement time per session, and the number of engaged sessions per user.
Why It’s Important
High engagement rates indicate that visitors find your content valuable and are spending more time on your site. This can lead to increased volunteer sign-ups and better retention.
You can even see which pages are most popular on your site by going to Reports → Life cycle → Engagement → Pages and screens
Go forth and track!
By tracking these key metrics in Google Analytics, you can gain valuable insights into your website’s performance and make data-driven decisions to enhance your volunteer management efforts.
We hope this guide helps you get started with Google Analytics and empowers you to take your volunteer management programme to the next level.
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
Welcome back to Season 3 of our TeamTalk Podcast! This season, we are talking to thought leaders, customers and stakeholders from the world of volunteer management as we dive deeper into the world of volunteering.
In this TeamTalk episode, we were joined by Rosie Wylie. Rosie serves as the National Volunteering and Community Development Manager at Historic Environment Scotland and is a Trustee for Volunteer Scotland. She is also an independent assessor for the UK-wide Investing in Volunteers quality assurance award and Vice Chair of the Make Your Mark in Volunteering Campaign Group.
At Historic Environment Scotland, Rosie oversees the national volunteer programme and provides volunteer development support for the heritage sector. Her expertise includes community engagement and development, national engagement programme design, collaborative project delivery, and the organisation of digital and hybrid events and conferences.
Rosie’s Journey
In this episode, Rosie Wylie shares her journey into volunteering, which began at 18 when a six-month trip to Australia turned into a five-year stay. This period of her life boosted her confidence and helped her discover the importance of volunteering.
Returning to Scotland, Rosie continued exploring various career paths through volunteering, highlighting the importance of supportive volunteer coordinators in shaping volunteer experiences and career guidance.
Chris, Imo and Rosie discuss the many challenges faced by volunteer coordinators. The episode also focuses on the “Make Your Mark” campaign, aimed at increasing volunteer diversity in Scotland’s heritage sector. The campaign’s goals include upskilling volunteer managers, developing inclusion tools, and fostering community engagement.
Looking ahead, Rosie highlights the growing demand for workshops and the need for cross-sector knowledge sharing and alignment with the Volunteer Scotland action plan. Key challenges include connecting with volunteers, understanding their expectations, and addressing participation barriers. Collaboration and relationship-building are essential for providing excellent volunteer experiences and adapting to post-pandemic expectations, with ongoing efforts to sustain and grow the “Make Your Mark” initiative and achieve accreditation through Investing in Volunteers.
We are very excited (and exhausted) to bring you the new TeamKinetic integration for The Big Help Out with DoIt, the platform supporting the 2024 campaign.
It starts from your super admin menu; find the SETUP page and then the API & Integrations section. You’ll find a section titled DoIt (The Big Help Out).
Here you will find the registration link. This link will allow you to register with DoIt and also join the Big Help Out application. If you already have a DoIt account you should still follow this link as it will check to make sure you already have the Big Help Out app and if not ask you for permission to add it.
Once you have completed the registration process you’ll end up at your DoIt dashboard. On the left hand side hit the Org Settings menu and then look for the Integrations section. In that section you’ll find the API key bit you need.
Hit the generate new key and a new key will be created and displayed on the screen. There is a COPY KEY button you can use to copy the key to your clipboard. Once you have it copied return to your TeamKinetic app and paste the API key into the box ‘Your API Key’ and hit SAVE.
TeamKinetic will scurry off and check that we can connect to your DoIt account and confirm this by displaying your current list of DoIt apps as above. If you see an error message check your key and try again.
That’s it for the setup, from now on when you create an opportunity, on the Promoting and Sharing tab, you ‘ll be asked if you want to share to DoIt and to select the app you want to share to (The Big Help Out in this case).
When managing the opportunity you’ll see in the sharing tab that the oop is shared along with a link to view the opportunity on DoIt and also a button to remove the opportunity from DoIt.
When potential volunteers find your opportunities on The Big Help Out, there is an external apply link that they follow which leads them back to your TeamKinetic website where they can register and join your opportunity. Even if they have a DoIt account they will still get returned to your website.
Providers can also link their own DoIt account in the same way, and share their opportunities to their own DoIt account. This is preferable if you can encourage your providers to do this as it keeps everything nice and tidy and aligned without the potential for duplicating opportunities between one of your partners and yourself. Providers can enter their API key from the Account > Details & Setup page on the integrations tab.
It doesn’t matter whether the opportunity has been uploaded to your DoIt account, or directly to a provider’s DoIt account, the resulting opportunity on DoIt will be the same and the potential volunteer will end up back at your website.
Once you’ve managed to create your account and paste in your DoIt API key it’s super simple from that point on and you’ll soon be sharing your opps to The Big Help Out 2024!
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
Heritage and culture organisations do vital work, preserving the legacies of our past for future generations. They rely on dedicated individuals and effective organisation. This is where volunteer management can be a great tool!
The Role of Volunteers in Heritage Preservation
Volunteers generously offer their time and expertise to nurture and protect our cultural heritage. Whether they’re cataloguing artefacts or leading tours through historic sites, volunteers foster a deeper connection between communities and their heritage.
Challenges in Volunteer Management for Heritage Preservation
While their contributions are incredibly valuable, managing heritage volunteers still comes with its own set of challenges. These include recruitment struggles, providing adequate training, coordinating schedules, and retaining engagement. It’s no doubt that heritage organisations face a fair few hurdles when optimising their volunteer programs.
Volunteer diversity can be a big issue for organisations in the sector. A 2019 report from the Heritage Volunteering Group raised questions about the lack of diversity and the roles volunteers play. Is this still the case in 2024?
Over the years, some great resources have been developed to address this issue. For example, take a look at this Make Your Mark webinar on how you can remove class barriers to heritage volunteering. This is just one of the factors which might be limiting your volunteer diversity.
Digital resources and tools can help you mobilise a wider range of volunteers as you can recruit outside of your usual ‘bubble’ in a quick and easy way.
The Importance of Effective Volunteer Management
Effective volunteer management is the cornerstone in overcoming these obstacles and maximising impact. By implementing streamlined recruitment processes, offering comprehensive training modules, and fostering open communication channels, heritage organisations can fulfil the true potential of their volunteer base.
Best Practice Volunteer Management for Heritage
To ensure the success of a volunteer programme, organisations must prioritise best practices. This may include establishing clear roles and expectations, providing ongoing support and recognition, and embracing technology to streamline administrative tasks. For example, a volunteer management system. A VMS can save you countless admin hours and help you cultivate a great community of volunteers.
Within TeamKinetic, volunteers are allowed to self-serve – meaning they have an active role in filling out their profile, choosing which opportunities to join, and following opportunity types that interest them.
Overall, volunteer management stands as a powerful tool in heritage preservation. By recognising the invaluable contributions of volunteers and implementing effective management strategies, we can safeguard our cultural legacy for generations to come.
How are we involved with the heritage & culture sector?
We recently announced our partnership with the Heritage Volunteering Group. This collaboration marks a commitment to the preservation of heritage sites and their volunteers.
Our shared aim is to foster community engagement and amplify the impact of volunteer efforts within heritage and culture organisations. In line with this, we are supporting all HVG events as well as their 2024 conference.
HVG’s annual conference is taking place on the 26th and 27th of November. Make sure you get the date in the diary by clicking on this link.
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
The latest major release is now complete! Say hello to TeamKinetic 2.5.
Here are the great new features you can look forward to.
Watch our masterclass on all the key new features now:
Save your favourite searches and set a default
Create your personalised smart search and save to your profile to retrieve anytime. You can set any search as your default for the volunteer, opportunity and provider search pages. So as soon as you open one of those pages you’ll get the results you need immediately.
You can set your defaults across all the search pages in one go from your profile area. (The person icon at the right of the top menu.)
New Search Filters
We’ve added some new filters to the volunteer and opportunity search pages;
Date volunteer last logged hours
Volunteers waiting for parental consent (in the type sub-filter)
Opportunity ID check required
Is opportunity accessible
Opportunity applicant statuses
Providers with open applications
It’s always worth checking the search filters as they get added and improved constantly.
Watch it in action:
Full WYSIWYG rich text editing everywhere
Anywhere you can email a volunteer or a group of volunteers, you’ll now have access to the full rich text editing features and can include images, links and files.
This includes the volunteer search page, opportunity pages, volunteer profile pages. Basically anywhere you can email, expect to see the rich text editor.
Watch it in action:
Volunteer self-reported extra volunteering
We are very excited to reveal that volunteers will now be able to create their own complete record of volunteering and capture all their opportunities and hours.
Volunteers can add a description, the organisation and any hours donated. These will be included in their own record of achievements and hour totals.
Admins are notified when a volunteer adds their own extracurricular volunteering. If they wish, they can certify it and include it as approved hours. Those certified extra volunteering activities will be converted into the regular owed hours (now all termed ‘Extra Volunteering’) type opportunities. These will be included in reports and act as regular logged hours throughout the application.
Watch it in action:
Email send reports
We all know how frustrating it is to send emails to lots of volunteers. Some of them just don’t make it for various reasons.
Now, when you view the email log for any volunteer you will notice a little link next to the subject ‘check delivery’. This small little link will reveal what happened to the email, if it was sent, if it was received, and if opened.
Perfect if you need to know if a volunteer is receiving the emails you are sending.
Watch it in action:
Mark a volunteer as finished on any opportunity type
For long-running opportunities, you can end up with lots of inactive volunteers (those with no future sessions left) clogging up the volunteer list and email lists. Previously you have only been able to remove the volunteers completely from the opportunity which has the undesired side effect of also removing their contribution to the opportunity… not ideal.
We have re-engineered the ‘finished on this opp’ feature. It was previously available on flexible opportunities only, but it has been expanded to all opportunity types.
When selecting volunteers on an opportunity you’ll have an extra function ‘Mark as Finished’ which gives you a few extra options as well as just marking as finished. You can hide the volunteer from the provider completely on the opportunity page and you can also prevent the volunteer from joining any new sessions if you wish.
Watch it in action:
Merging volunteer accounts
It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally a volunteer has unexpectedly registered twice with different email addresses.
This works similarly to the merge provider feature and will copy all the sessions and hours from the volunteer you are viewing to the selected volunteer.
Watch it in action:
Sharing private notes
The private note area has been super useful for lots of our users, and the provider equivalent lets the provider also store private notes for their use against a volunteer.
Admins can now choose to share their private note(s) with providers if they feel it would be useful. And vice-versa: providers can share their private notes with system admins.
Additionally when a provider shares a private note to the admins a notification is sent, in case its important.
Watch it in action:
There are of course many other fixes and improvements;
Impersonate a volunteer directly from the opportunity management page,
Update expense claims status in bulk,
New customisable emails,
Tooltips won’t get lost over the edge of small screens.
TeamKinetic 2.5 is scheduled to go live on May 6th. But before we go live we need your feedback! Test all this out right now on https://beta.teamkinetic.co.uk/vk/admin using your regular admin login.
You can find TeamKinetic on social media and listen to our podcast:
