Tag: Volunteer management system Page 31 of 34

Technology and Volunteering

By

On 23rd January 2015

In News & Views

This article will be the first in a series where we look at the technologies available to volunteer managers. With more ways to communicate becoming available almost every day, we want to look at your options and try and advise which will provide the most bang for your buck.

A quick look at the technologies available to volunteer managers and your volunteers tells you there are more options available than any one person can reasonably manage, facebook, Blogging, twitter, SMS, Instagram, YouTube, Vine and the list goes on. So how do you select the technologies that suit your Volunteers and how do you use them to maximum effect?

Remove Barriers!

Providing an environment for Volunteers with as few barriers to entry as you can, is the best place to start. Technology can be used to simplify and improve the Volunteering experience whilst providing a platform for marketing, advocacy and an open marketplace of opportunity.  It must also be considered that at its worst, technology, can be the biggest barrier to entry due to poor design, ineffective use of data and creating an environment that does not allow Volunteers flexibility and room to grow and develop.

So what lessons have we learnt over the last 8 years of building Websites for Volunteer Organisations?

Can you remember what you did before Google?  How did people get anything done?  Websites are ubiquitous now and peoples expectations from websites are only being set higher and higher.  Expectation is that most tasks can be undertaken on the web when we need to do them, from On-line banking, paying your council tax or ordering a pizza.

From a volunteer’s point of view, what do they need from a website?

We have found through extensive Volunteer research over the last 6 years that the number 1 requirement for Volunteers is simplicity of use.  If the website is difficult to join, offers poor search results and prevents Volunteers from getting on to Volunteer opportunities with a single visit to the site, the chances are it will result in lost Volunteer Engagement.

Clean Web layout for Volunteers
Clean Web layout for Volunteers

You may not be in a position to use a system such as TeamKinetic, so our advice is to build a website with the Volunteer as your customer and always keep your customer in mind. Make sure it’s easy for your Volunteer to find opportunities that suit their interests and finally look at how the Volunteer goes from impulse to Volunteer to actually arriving at that first opportunity, examine that process and look at how you can remove and reduce the various barriers they will face. Don’t make your website an additional barrier.

Implementing a VMS?

If you are lucky enough to be able to look at Websites such as TeamKinetic or some of the other systems that are available on the market currently then bear in mind the following checklist:

Does your volunteer get clear advice and instruction at each stage of the process? (reminders and instructions via Text, e-mail and in their online profile.

Is there someone the Volunteer can contact if they have questions?

Does the system collect feedback on the Volunteer experience that can be used to further develop the opportunities on offer?

and most importantly: is the website easy to use for Volunteers?

If you can find a website solution that meets the criteria outlined above we think you will enjoy success with your Volunteer programme. Over the next few weeks, we will explore some of the other channels of communication, services and technologies that we think you can leverage to enhance and develop the experience for your Volunteers.

If you have any questions or suggestions about technologies available to volunteer managers and how they can make a difference please feel free to get in touch on the details below as we would love to hear what you think.

If you would like to find out more about TeamKinetic then please get in touch and arrange a demo.

I look forward to your suggestions.

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.

Opening the lid on TeamKinetic version 6 as it enters testing phase

By

On 19th January 2015

In Technical Updates

open-box

TeamKinetic version 6 has entered its testing phase and will be ready for release shortly. We’re very excited about this release and are thinking of naming it something other than a simple number increment as its a huge release and represents something of a milestone for TeamKinetic.

We’ve now got an ever-growing user base and engaged volunteers and the number of opportunities available has expanded rapidly. The software has also been used in more varied situations and types of organisations and we have got some fantastic feedback and ideas that has sparked quite a few innovations in the new TeamKinetic. I’ll be writing a series of posts talking about specific new features but here are a few quick facts about version 6.

Upcoming Features

  • We’ve committed 175 changes and bug fixes, ranging from tiny typos to entirely new features and workflows.
  • The CSS and styling has been rewritten to be more responsive and to accommodate the larger screens that are the norm.
  • A brand new media management page for looking after images and files that you can attach to emails.
  • New inline editable system emails for things like volunteer registrations and joining opportunities.
  • Approximately 5500 lines of code have been changed or added.
  • Simple binary thumbs up or down feedback
  • Integration with the Mandrill email service to help increase the success rate for email delivery and open rates.
  • New Google analytics service developed in house to track web views and visitors.
  • Custom URLs for your events

There are lots more features to tell you about but you can always take a sneaky peek on our Beta site.

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.

Launch of TeamKinetic Administrators Forum

By

On 14th October 2014

In News & Views, TeamKinetic Features, Volunteer Management

We are very excited to announce the release of our new online Administrators Forum aimed at helping our users get the most out of their system.

Administrators can access the forum anytime from within the system by going to HELP>COMMUNITY from the upper menu. Once you have entered your username and password (which is the same as your normal administrator login details) you will have access to a large library of information to assist you with all aspects of the system from how to use specific functions to tips and tricks from other administrators.

2014-10-08 14_32_34-Admin Community

Quick Start Guide

If you are a new user you can quickly get started on the system by working your way through the Quick Start Guide. The section takes you through the basic setup options to get you up and running, this is followed by a step-by-step guide to creating your first opportunity.

User Guide

Whether you are using the system for the first time or whether you are a Volunteer Kinetic guru, there is some great information within the user manual to help you get the most out of your system.

Knowledge Share

If you are an experienced user of VolunteerKinetic then we would really appreciate it if you could share your knowledge with other administrators via the Knowledge Share section of the forum.

Whether your tips are system-related or simply how to get more volunteers on your system, your experience will benefit other administrators with their volunteer programmes.

System Updates & Bug Fixes

A detailed description of what system changes have been applied with each update, including step-by-step guides to utilising new functionality.

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.

TeamKinetic Version 5.2 Update

By

On 9th October 2014

In TeamKinetic Features, Technical Updates

You will be glad to hear that the geek squad (developers) have managed to do it again by squeezing out a final TeamKinetic Version 5.2 release before the much-anticipated Version 6 release. 

TeamKinetic Version 5.2 offers a couple of very useful updates for administrators and volunteers in regards to custom fields and search functionality (see below).

The geeks have since been sent back down into the basement with a celebratory glass of diluted Vimto and a Sega Mega-drive with a simple instruction…..Complete version 6 and you will also get a game.

Version 6 Coming Soon…

Additional Custom Fields

1

For those of you who are now familiar with the custom fields, they allow administrators to add customised questions to the volunteer’s registration screen.  This was originally limited to questions which required a TEXT, NUMERIC or YES/NO answers.  This latest update allows you to also add questions that require the following types of answers: Drop down fields, Selection Fields.

Drop down fields allow the administrator to add questions which require the volunteer to select a single answer from a set list of answers.  And selection fields allow the volunteer to select none, one or multiple options from a set list of answers.

Administrators can add custom fields by going to SETTINGS > CUSTOM REGISTRATION FIELDS from the menu.

All questions are editable and viewable by both volunteers and administrators, but please try to keep your custom fields to a minimum as the more fields you add, the more likely volunteers will be put off by the length of the registration form.

Volunteer Search Function Update

When volunteers search for opportunities using a keyword the system now also searches provider names.

For example if a provider called Nottingham Netball Team create an opportunity called referee, and the volunteer searches for opportunities using the word ‘Netball’.  The updated function will now search opportunity name and also provider names for the word ‘Netball’.

The search function has also been optimised to speed up the return of your search results.

2

 
Version 6 Coming Soon…

That is all in terms of changes, but please let us know if you come across any issues with the functions mentioned above, and as always we will be delighted for any feedback.

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.

TeamKinetic Update 5.1

By

On 30th July 2014

In News & Views, TeamKinetic Features, Technical Updates

After locking our developers in the basement for a number of weeks, TeamKinetic Update 5.1 is ready to launch with some cracking updates to your system.

Flexible Opportunities

For those of you who are not familiar with ‘flexible opportunities’, they are one of the three types of opportunities you can create within VolunteerKinetic (regular, non-regular and flexible opportunities).  It is used for opportunities where you are not sure when the volunteer will be attending, and allows the volunteer and provider to log their hours as and when they do them.

Screen Shot 07-29-14 at 08.17 PM

Flexible opportunities do have a start and end date but they don’t have any set sessions, so the volunteer and provider are advised to agree between each other when the volunteer will attend.

Continual Logging

The new updated function allows volunteers and providers to log their hours multiple times during and after the opportunity has taken place, and VolunteerKinetic adds any logged hours onto their cumulative total for the opportunity.

Screen Shot 07-29-14 at 08.47 PM
Log Continuous Hours

Maximum Hours

The provider of the opportunity is still requested to enter a maximum number of hours for the opportunity when it is first created.  Although this is usually a guess it gives the provider the chance to put a ceiling on the number of hours that a volunteer can log, and if required it can always be changed by the provider via the EDIT OPPORTUNITY page.  The maximum number of hours can now be defined by the provider in either DAYS or HOURS, where each day is assumed to consist of 7 Hours.  For example; a flexible opportunity with a maximum length of 3 days would only allow the volunteer to log 21 hours.

Auto Suspend Date

When providers create an opportunity they have the option of suspending it before the opportunity starts.  This is usually used on large events to give time for the provider to organise the volunteers and send them relevant communications prior to the event taking place.  A small issue was identified where the system was suspending opportunities the day before the desired suspend date.  This has now been resolved meaning that if you set the Auto-Suspend date to 1st January, the opportunity will be available for volunteers to join until midnight on 1st January.

Registration Page Update

Screen Shot 07-29-14 at 10.04 PM
Select Country

The registration page now requires volunteers to enter their COUNTRY from a drop-down list.  This is defaulted to UK, but if they choose a different country it will make their POSTCODE and COUNTY field non-mandatory.

At present the country is not available to view or edit anywhere other than the volunteer’s registration screen, it is simply there to allow volunteers from other countries to be able to register. In our Version 6 release, we plan to fully integrate this field throughout the system, allowing all users (volunteers, providers and admins) to view and edit this information where applicable.  These volunteers will also show on the Map report, where they will appear in the centre of their country giving you an indication of your volunteers spread around the world, but more information on this will be available after version 6 is released.

Copying Opportunities

Administrators and providers have always had the ability to copy opportunities.  This is often used when a provider (or admin) needs to create a number of similar opportunities, where maybe the only difference is when the session takes place.  The updated ‘copy opportunity’ function automatically updates the START DATE and END DATE of the opportunity by checking the first and last session date within the opportunity, whereas this had to be changed manually after the session dates were changed.

That is all in terms of major changes, we have our Version 6 update to come out soon with some major changes and fantastic new functions for you to play with.  Please let us know if you come across any issues with the functions mentioned above, and as always we will be delighted for any feedback.

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.

Further Evidence That Gamification Works

By

On 15th July 2014

In News & Views

GamificationAs our current customers are aware, there is a number of functions within VolunteerKinetic which utilise gamification to incentivise volunteers to log their hours.  The main function for this is through digital badges which are clearly visible within the volunteers dashboard when they login.  The badges change as the volunteer records more hours within the system.

Recent research has shown that there is evidence that this approach can have a real impact on users actions:

http://www.inc.com/graham-winfrey/how-businesses-use-gamification.html

Join In and ITV use TeamKinetic to power their volunteer recruitment for World Cup event fever pitch.

By

On 11th July 2014

In News & Views, Press Releases

fever pitch

250 volunteers have contributed more than 5000 volunteering hours in 25 World Cup days.

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy charity Join In have been working with ITV to provide volunteer support for their major summer of sport.

‘Fever Pitch’ is ITV’s flagship World Cup community programme, using the power of their coverage from Brazil, alongside some of the world’s finest international beach soccer teams to inspire more than 2,000 kids and community members from around Manchester to be active this summer.

ITV have brought a flavour of Copacabana to the old Granada Studios with a 3,000 capacity arena, samba dancing and a real beach right in the middle of the city.

Join In are the home of the London 2012 ‘Games Makers’ and their volunteers have a reputation for making grassroots sports events extra special. Supporting local children and young people during the day get a taste of playing on the beach and then in the evening bringing the Brazil in spirit to life.

As the event is running for 25 days, it required lots of motivated volunteers. Join In approached Manchester City Council who already have a very successful Volunteer program – the Manchester VSB – which is powered by TeamKinetic.

TeamKinetic worked with Join In to build an area of the VSB that allowed them to recruit and manage their Volunteers, using social media and an SMS campaign to recruit over 250 individuals in less than one month.

Dom Streeter Head of Campaigns at Join In said:

“We’d like to extend a huge thanks to TeamKinetic. Chris and his team have been superb to work with on this project – reliable, helpful and on hand with valuable local insight. Most importantly, they have delivered, in what was a very short turnaround time.

The 250 volunteers recruited have helped us power ITV Fever Pitch and the many thousands who’ve attended this event have had a wonderful experience because of their enthusiasm, dedication and sense of fun.”

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.

Manchester City Council join the conference team and look to link the conference to the Sainsburys School Games

By

On 10th July 2014

In News & Views

city council logo

Manchester Sports Development have announced their support for the MMU Volunteer Conference – Turning potential into legacy. MMU and Manchester Sports Development have both run very successful volunteer programs and according to Snr Development Officer Phil Clarke “volunteers are integral to Manchester’s plans but we also recognise the monumental effort it takes to manage this program. Over the last 5 years we have seen over 5000 volunteers and delivered 35000 hours of delivery through the use of VolunteerKinetic. Partnering with MMU to look at how we manage that more effectively clearly made sense.”

“Linking up our work on the Sainsburys School Games which is a huge volunteer event and our wider volunteer program, we hope we can share some of our experience with a wider audience”

England Hockey deploy VolunteerKinetic as their volunteer Management System

By

On 3rd July 2014

In News & Views, Press Releases, Sport

We are glad to announce that England Hockey are now utilising TeamKinetic as their volunteer management system. 

It will be used to manage all of the up-and-coming England Hockey events, allowing their volunteers to sign up and log their volunteer hours at their convenience. They can also make use of our accreditation features, such as badge printing and event role management.

This is exciting news with some big international events on the horizon including:

  • European Championships
  • Investec London Cup
  • Champions Trophy
  • World League Semi-Finals
  • Womens World Cup

Along with these large events, England Hockey will also be running many domestic tournaments offering volunteers a variety of exciting opportunities on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Are you looking for a volunteer management system for your volunteers and events? Look no further than TeamKinetic. We’ll make volunteering easier for everyone within your organisation.

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.

The Birth of TeamKinetic

By

On 7th June 2014

In News & Views

I am often asked how TeamKinetic began, so I thought it was time I shared this thrilling story of necessity and innovation into TeamKinetic’s history. 

The story begins on a dark and stormy night (which is normal weather for Manchester). Back in the year 2008, when Manchester Sports Development team (who are part of Manchester City Council) would normally be faced with the annual ritual of producing and distributing their volunteering brochure to local sports clubs and leisure facilities.

The process used to be extremely time-consuming and costly, and was often out of date before it reached the recipients.  Government spending cutbacks meant they had to abandon the brochures and forced a rethink on how they communicated with the public. They were left with a conundrum; how to sustain their volunteer management programme and communicate with the public, with a smaller budget.

A review revealed what was needed was a One-Stop-Shop for sports volunteering, which not only connected volunteers with providers, but also allowed them to measure the success of the volunteer programme.  After an extensive search, they realised that the solution was not being offered by any existing software. They contacted TeamKinetic and the development of an internet-based volunteer management system that had multi-level functionality was born.

TeamKinetic was officially launched in 2009 with 100 volunteers taken from their original spreadsheets. The aim was to reach 500 volunteers within two years. Existing volunteers and sports clubs were informed of the new system via mail shots, phone calls and word of mouth.

TeamKinetic enabled them to reach 500 sport volunteers in less than six months, and 4,000 active volunteers registered on the system within the first 3 years.

Due to the efficiency of the system, the administrator only spends 1.5 days per week managing the volunteers, allowing them more time to get out of the office and promote their programme.

As a result of this success the VolunteerKinetic system will now be utilised by Community and Cultural Services and Manchester City Council plan to roll it out across all types of volunteering within Manchester

Craig Abel
Volunteer Development Officer – Manchester Sport Development

Craig and Paralympic Lantern

“The one-stop-shop approach has made my life much easier, its a more efficient service for volunteers and people who need volunteers. It gives me the ability to reach more people and get out of the office to promote volunteering rather than being bogged down with the logistics of running a volunteer programme.

We are very happy with the system, and the fact that it is now being rolled out across the community and cultural services highlights its success, and has allowed us to extend the approach from sports volunteering to all types of volunteering within Manchester.”

Graham Hurstel
Neighborhood Development Manager – Manchester Sport Development

“Volunteer Kinetic has revolutionised volunteering for us. It’s a more effective service for volunteers and providers and it allows us to reach far more people. The management features allow me to utilise my resources more efficiently which means great value for money.”

“The Social media (Facebook, Twitter and WordPress) functionality within the system is an effective marketing tool that allows for volunteer-led promotion, access to a much richer data set, a wider range of KPI reports and an understanding of the geographical spread of volunteers. The soon-to-be-released Smartphone app will only accelerate the growth of an already successful volunteer programme for us.”

Want to see how TeamKinetic can make volunteering easier for you? Contact us 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.

Page 31 of 34

← 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