Studying Business Studies and Graphic communications at A-Level sparked my interest in marketing, I enjoyed both aspects of the subjects which then triggered my initial passion for marketing as I believed it was the perfect combination of the two. I thought marketing was the best-suited course for me to study at university and after just completing my second year at Manchester Metropolitan University I can confidently say it was the right choice. The course has included many modules, however, a favourite of mine included digital marketing as I loved getting stuck into creating mockup social media content on Canva for different brands.
This particular module inspired me to create content for smaller businesses. In my home town, I knew of several small businesses that had been started in lockdown from home. I got in contact with some and asked if I could design material for them. This then led me to produce logos, digital menus, giveaway posts and more for a takeaway food business and an eyelash technician business. This experience allowed me to fall in love with producing marketing content and allowed me to explore my creativity skills.
Marketing material for small business
Marketing material for small business
Volunteering Experience
I completed my first volunteering role during my bronze Duke of Edinburgh. For 6 months I helped out in a care home by serving food and drinks to the residents and cleaning around the home. I enjoyed listening to all the interesting stories the elderly had from different moments in their lives. Although my short volunteering experience mostly involved pouring tea, I did find my time overall there to be very rewarding. I felt valued by the residents and it was inspiring to see all the volunteers who had taken time out of their lives to help others.
Knowing TeamKinetic can make other volunteers feel just as motivated as I did, made this particular placement role stand out to me. TeamKinetic can help volunteers to find opportunities which can benefit them and enable them to have a rewarding feeling and sense of achievement.
Hobbies
During the summer of 2021 I had a lot of spare time before starting my second year of university so I decided to create my own Jewellery. It started off as a hobby for myself as a bit of fun but then I got creative with it and produced some images of the pieces I had made. Once university started again in September I found myself busy with other activities which didn’t leave much time for me to continue making pieces. However, I do try to make time to design some Jewellery every so often as it’s very therapeutic and allows me to use my creative flair.
Image of handmade Jewellery
Image of handmade Jewellery
In The Future
I am looking forward to completing a year in industry working at TeamKinetic which will help me get the most out of my marketing course. On-the-job training that TeamKinetic offer will also provide me with new skills and gain confidence in areas I am not yet familiar with. TeamKinetic are a motivated team which I am excited to be a part of as they help make life easier for people who want to do good in the volunteering community.
Managing event volunteers is no easy task, but they’re an essential piece of the puzzle that is creating a successful event. It helps that nowadays, we have a range of digital solutions that can speed up processes and cut down on stress.
With the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 coming up – less than a month away – we’d like to take a look into large-scale events and what it takes to keep them running smoothly.
EURO 2022
Yes, we are officially less than one month away from the start of the EUROs! This year it’s taking place in England – something I am personally very excited about.
I’ve seen first-hand the impact these competitions have on the local area and country as a whole. Attending the 2017 EURO in The Netherlands and 2019 World Cup in France are experiences I won’t forget in a hurry!
The hosts won it in 2017… Can England repeat the achievement?
Aside from what happens on the pitch, it’s also clear how much hard work goes into each tournament. This year is no different. It is estimated that around 1500 event volunteers will help out across the host cities. These cities range from up north in Manchester and Sheffield, to down south in Brighton and Southampton. So how did volunteers get involved?
How are event volunteers recruited?
From recruitment to rewarding, digital makes everything easier. EURO 2022 is no different. Their entire volunteer recruitment process was online. Running from September 2021 to April 2022, prospective volunteers applied online and were then interviewed via video chat. All successful applicants could then use the official volunteering portal to find out more about their roles.
A group of EURO 2022 volunteers at Wembley Stadium – the venue for the final.
Each host city’s team of volunteers will aid the influx of football fans. This is likely to include guiding them around the city centre, stadiums, Fan Zones, and transport hubs.
Around 50% of the volunteer roles will be focused on spectator services. This includes building the crowd atmosphere, helping people find their way around the stadiums, and answering any questions visitors might have.
Getting your event volunteers ready
I think we’ve established that volunteers are vital to the smooth running of any and every event. The level of training they receive is also vital. Volunteers could be meeting people who have never visited the local area before. Seeing a friendly face is likely to make all the difference to their experience.
This is why it’s important to provide suitable training to all volunteers. While some training requires face-to-face delivery, it doesn’t mean digital can’t be involved. Being able to track whether volunteers have completed training and what steps they have to take next saves time and effort.
For instance, EURO 2022 began training their volunteers in April. Their training includes material specific to the role they signed up for as well as the stadium or host city they will be working in.
Accreditation
Alongside training, accreditation passes are another key thing to prepare. Volunteers that have completed all the necessary requirements and are authorised to be at the venue(s) will be given passes.
With TeamKinetic, you can automatically create Accreditation Badges for specific events or single opportunities. We also have a version specifically created for events – AccessKinetic.
Keeping them updated
Communication is the foundation of good volunteer management. Whether you’re building relationships with your volunteers or keeping them up-to-date on what’s going on in the run up to an event.
Nowadays, all good volunteer management systems will allow you to send emails, SMS text messages, notifications, and share to social media.
Furthermore, the ability to use chat rooms (like in TeamKinetic!) is an added bonus. WhatsApp is a popular medium for instant communications, yet it has its risks. Aside from the big issues like data protection, instant messaging services open the door for unfiltered communications and the potential sharing of misinformation.
With opportunity-specific chat rooms, volunteers can communicate with one another and the opportunity provider. This means they can post questions, build relationships with the people they’ll be working alongside, and offer their peers support. All this is possible before, during and after the event.
An example of an opportunity chat room within TeamKinetic
Rewarding all that hard work
While volunteering at such a prestigious event is a reward all on its own, the people giving their time still deserve appreciation.
For example, all EURO 2022 event volunteers will receive a uniform to keep as a momento after the tournament is over. They’ll also undoubtedly receive post-event communications thanking them for their contributions.
Providing these momentos and setting up automated communications after the event is a great way to show your appreciation and possibly convince your volunteers to apply for your future events. Other ways you can show appreciation are through paying expenses and sending them a thank you card. However, the possibilities are endless, just check out this blog on how else you can reward your volunteers.
Adopting your own system
Interested in speeding up your volunteer registrations and reducing administrative burden? Look into adopting a volunteer management system. You can start with TeamKinetic. We’d be happy to take you through a demo of our system, just reach out via the live chat on our website or email me at alex@teamkinetic.co.uk.
Today is the day! The beginning of Volunteers’ Week is here (in the UK). Are you ready to celebrate your volunteers and the impact they’ve made?
We know how important volunteers are to organisations across the UK – Volunteers’ Week is a time to show your gratitude. This year Volunteers’ Week crosses over with the #MonthofCommunity, have you thought about the ways you can incorporate your community in your celebrations?
Celebrate the achievements.
The main focus is to celebrate your volunteers and their hard work, but it can be a time to raise awareness of the benefits. This goes for those volunteering and those whose volunteering efforts have helped.
Benefits for volunteers include connecting with others, increasing a volunteer’s social skills and making new friends. Volunteering can also help a volunteer’s mind – mental health is important and becoming a volunteer can help this. For those looking to advance their career, volunteering is a brilliant way to gain develop skills to help with this.
There are a plethora of benefits to volunteering; Volunteers’ Week can show those on the fence that volunteering really is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
Celebrate your volunteers’ impact.
Show your volunteers just how much they have helped your organisation- show them the numbers (so to speak!) People are much more likely to start volunteering, or get up and volunteer again if they’re able to see first-hand the impact they can/are making.
Letting a volunteer know what they’re impact is can be the greatest way that volunteers are celebrated this week. While there are many ways you can measure the impact a volunteer has made, just by simply letting them know about the difference they’ve made can raise spirits.
We know for many organisations they rely solely on volunteers to run- without them, what are organisations supposed to do? Keeping volunteers onboard is crucial, and Volunteers’ Week can help you keep them closer than ever.
What are you waiting for?
Why don’t you combine Volunteers’ Week, the #MonthofCommunity and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee? Celebrate all three at the Big Jubilee lunch tomorrow – a day of milestones for many. Whichever way you decide to thank your volunteers over the next week- let us know! Tweet us over at @TeamKineticUK or find us on Facebook and Instagram under the same name- we want to hear from you!
We don’t normally like to toot our own horn, but over the past few years we’ve been involved in some exciting projects and we’ve won some awards too! Much like with volunteers, we have to celebrate our hard work and give ourselves a little bit of a round of applause…
iNetwork Awards
The iNetwork Awards celebrate and share innovation across the local public sector and its partner organisations.
In 2021 we won two awards:
The COVID-19 Response Recognition Award. A brand new category, which recognises the response and recovery to the unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Partner Excellence Award. This celebrates innovation, collaboration, efficiency and going the extra mile in partnership working.
Both awards were won alongside Halton and St Helens Voluntary and Community Action (HSHVCA) for our combined work on their Volunteer Portal. The programme had a significant impact on supporting local residents through the pandemic. Over 32,000 people were supported by volunteers who registered on the portal to support others. The portal and the app, displayed how volunteers and community tasks can be managed more efficiently through a collaborative, digital approach.
In August 2020, NHSx (in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) asked the Health Innovation Network (HIN) to undertake an evaluation to better understand digitally supported micro-volunteering models operating in the field of health and social care. This report presents learning from the evaluation and is aimed at an audience of commissioners and policymakers to inform their strategies around micro-volunteering.
TeamKinetic was selected to be one of the products evaluated after being commissioned through Techforce 19 in direct response to the COVID crisis. The lessons from the last 2 years as identified in this evaluation are digitally supported voluntary action that is delivered right in the heart of local communities is essential to resilience and should be considered an essential part of commissioners and policymakers thinking when looking at developing stronger neighbourhoods and communities and social care support.
TeamKinetic is proud to be part of this work. We have seen micro-volunteering as one strand in a wide range of potential interventions that broaden accessibility and inclusion in volunteering as well as the wider voluntary sector. Meanwhile, they also provide a lower-cost solution to community-based social care. Local digital solutions like ours allow local stakeholders to take direct ownership and control, empowering communities to become more resilient with much greater levels of trust and agency.
The LGC Awards exist to identify, celebrate and help spread the finest example of innovation and quality delivered by councils on a daily basis. Winning an LGC Award has become the most sought-after accolade in local government.
In 2021 we made the shortlist for two LGC Awards:
Campaign of the Year. For our #StHelensTogether community response to COVID-19 in collaboration with St Helens Borough Council.
Technology. For our work with Halton & St Helens Voluntary and Community Action (HSHVCA) on their volunteering portal at the start of the pandemic.
Kindocoin SBRI Challenge
This was a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition funded by The Can Do Fund and hosted by Health Innovation South East Scotland Innovation. HISES is the East Region Test Bed in NHS Scotland. The aim was to develop a prototype solution to increase volunteering in the community to support delayed discharges.
We were awarded a contract to work with five test beds across Scotland in 2020. Our task was to develop a feasible solution that will enable people awaiting discharge from hospital to be connected with a volunteer who, with their approval, will be available to support them in safely getting settled back in their home.
Being inclusive and accessible are integral to modern society – particularly so in the third sector. Allowing as many people as possible to get involved is great for everyone. This is something that we aspire to at TeamKinetic – we’re constantly striving to be as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Inclusive vs Accessible – What’s the difference?
Accessibility focuses on designing a user experience that meets the needs of everyone in your audience. Ensuring something is accessible is likely to be the difference between a user being able to do something or not.
Accessibility involves a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. Everyone deserves the same levels of access and no one should feel excluded.
Inclusivity, on the other hand, involves creating an experience with a wide range and variety of users in mind. This includes thinking about their various abilities, environments, situations, and contexts.
While inclusivity doesn’t address a specific user need, it does ensure that there are a range of tools and features that help all users feel comfortable. Inclusive measures (or lack of), are likely to be the difference between someone wanting to do something or not.
What are TeamKinetic doing?
With regular system updates, we’re continually looking for ways to improve the inclusive and accessible nature of our features. In the past, we have integrated several key accessibility measures into our system.
Now, our system has in-built adaptive technologies to help open the door for everyone to volunteer, from screen-readers to WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
Our inclusive design looks at how we broaden our appeal so all users have an equal opportunity. We have done this via:
Dual language interface for our work in Wales.
Introducing blind recruitment processes.
Add-ons such as Recite-Me provide tools such as multilingual screen reading.
Site size and colour contrast adjust.
Other site translation (integrating Google Translate).
How can my organisation be more inclusive and accessible?
Do you face problems with attracting volunteers from diverse backgrounds?
Does the thought of creating a fully inclusive and accessible onboarding process overwhelm you?
Have you experienced barriers to making changes?
If you find that your organisation is struggling with any of the things mentioned above, the Association of Volunteer Managers (AVM) hosted a great session on this.
Event: Making an inclusive and accessible recruitment and onboarding experience
During the event, we heard from Amy McGarvey (Research Manager) from NCVO who shed light on the effect of the pandemic on volunteering. The key findings were:
Volunteer numbers in general decreased from pre-pandemic numbers. It is estimated that there is around 1/5 fewer people volunteering now in comparison to figures from 2019.
The number of volunteers with a disability has decreased.
Digital solutions are seen as a barrier and an enabler. Some felt excluded by the move to digital methods, whereas it may have opened the door for a more inclusive pool of volunteers.
We also learned that organisations have various barriers to inclusion. These are:
Lack of resources, time, and capacity.
Recognising everyone is different and being unaware of how to cater to every individual need.
Volunteers not being honest about extra support they may need.
EDI not being valued as much as it should be and facing resistance from others in the organisation when trying to make changes.
We learned that the volunteer experience can be made more inclusive by seeing volunteer well-being as a the focus. Cost-effective actions that celebrate volunteers and their differences are seen to be effective, e.g. celebrating a variety of cultural events, using diverse imagery in promotional materials, and ensuring all language is inclusive. Overall, making sure volunteers feel supported is a foundational aspect of improving your inclusivity.
The majority of work we refer to in Willowbrook Hospice’s case study is based on figures and interviews from the year 2020. This data has then influenced the extra research conducted in the hospice sector.
It is also worth noting that these figures are taken from the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic and with fewer people volunteering, the activity on the system we’ve recorded has been limited.
Before TeamKinetic
We’ve previously spoke to Willowbrook Hospice’s volunteer manager, Bev, about how they managed volunteers before TeamKinetic and what it was that made Willowbrook decide to look into a volunteer management system. Before TeamKinetic, they were managing volunteers through an access database described by Bev as an “archaic system”- with no way of contacting volunteers. With the access database, they’re was no opportunity for interaction and Bev realised that they needed something that would better manage their volunteers.
They realised they needed something web-based that can be accessed from anywhere. The system previously in use was linked to the NHS SHK system, it couldn’t be accessed at any time or place. Willowbrook decided they needed something shop managers could also use; this when they decided to start looking for a volunteer management system and came across TeamKinetic.
Moving to TeamKinetic and Implementation
Willowbrook Hospice chose TeamKinetic after seeing how local we are, watching a number of videos on our YouTube channel and speaking with our Director of Sales, Chris.
At TeamKinetic, we are constantly changing and adapting to suit our customers needs. This was another factor that “sold” us to Willowbrook – they knew if they ever suggest anything, we will take it on board and look into adapting the system to include this.
Regarding implementation, Bev openly mentioned that they needed “lots of planning”, but Steve, our Implementation Consultant, helped with all their planning needs. Willowbrook has numerous shops and with the way they manage their volunteers, it helped them to have a staged way of implementing the system.
They started with one shop first, and shop by shop they managed to get all their volunteers on board. Bev even mention that COVID-19 helped them in some ways; having shops closed gave them the time to fully roll out the system to the volunteers. Joining TeamKinetic also allowed them to have a “data cleanse” – speaking to volunteers who didn’t want to volunteer anymore. With a new system, Willowbrook now know that the volunteers they have registered are the ones who are active and want to volunteer.
COVID-19
COVID-19 affected everyone, including Willowbrook Hospice. While we’ve has multiple lockdowns, the Hospice’s nine shops have been closed during those times . The pandemic also meant that the fundraising team at Willowbrook had to come up with ways to ensure they came up with COVID-19 safe fundraising events. So, having TeamKinetic really helped them with managing their volunteers during COVID-19 safe events. This is what Bev had to say about using TeamKinetic for one of these events:
We had an event that came up where we could sell things in a local Garden Centre. It’s something we had to implement quite quickly because it was over Christmas and the garden centre had told us that if we wanted a stall to sell our Christmas cards and other things then we could. So within half an hour, I had created it on TeamKinetic and had it emailed out to all the volunteers. I would say within the hour, we filled up all the slots for two weeks worth of people volunteering for it. I think that raised over £2,000; without TeamKinetic that would never have happened.
Bev Neilson, volunteer manager at willowbrook hospice
As well as events, from a communication point they were able to stay in contact with volunteers throughout every stage of the pandemic; something that was very important to them. Before TeamKinetic, staying in touch with volunteers was “virtually impossible” and would have involved bulk emails which never worked because the NHS system was too slow for them. Now, they can email and text volunteers from one system with a click of a button.
In addition to this, having the TeamKinetic system available to them during the pandemic allowed them to set up a ‘befriending system’ between the volunteers. From this, they have been able to keep volunteers in touch with each other, solely from the private notes function on the TeamKinetic system.
Willowbrook’s Volunteering by Index of Mulitple Deprivation Rank (IMDR) For All Volunteers Registered Since 2020
This graph shows the number of Willowbrook Hospice volunteers by decile. That is the number of volunteers with a home postcode that is ranked using IMDR.
1 = bottom-ranked postcode area in bottom 10% ranked area of England
10 = top-ranked postcode area in the top 10% ranked area of England
These figures are interesting to see as volunteering is typically viewed as a traditionally middle-class activity. A report by NCVO supports this, as their statistics show 48 per cent of those who volunteered in the last 12 months have a degree compared to 20 per cent who have no qualifications. Some 42 per cent of unemployed people have never volunteered, compared to 21 per cent of those who work part-time.
This is of course also impacted by the fact that Greater Manchester has more postcode areas that fall into the bottom 50% according to the IMDR rank. Despite this factor, I believe it is captivating that despite these statistics, Manchester shows that poverty is not a defining factor in their willingness to volunteer.
When looking at this graph, it shows that Willowbrook has been able to recruit and retain volunteers from all different postcode ranks in England. Showing their inclusivity in welcoming all volunteers into their volunteering programme.
Age
As evidence shows, volunteering is often found to be a pursuit of older individuals. This typically comes from them having more spare time to volunteer than others. Although Willowbrook’s figures around age profiles accurately represents this statement, their figures also show the rising ability to recruit younger volunteers. This comes from the use of TeamKinetic as their volunteer management system. We are able reduce barriers into volunteering, especially for younger volunteers who are digitally engaged through TeamKinetic. We also allow for a quicker and easier recruitment process, something that is favoured in young people volunteering.
Gender
Stereotypically, data from the voluntary sector normally suggests a divide of 60% female volunteers and 40% male volunteers. Linking to this, evidence and research online also suggests a gender split in hospice volunteering with far more female volunteers over male volunteers is common.
Therefore, these figures from Willowbrook are not surprising with over 3/4 of volunteers being female. Despite this, Willowbrook Hospice does demonstrate inclusivity in volunteers with a range of female, male, transgender, and non-binary volunteers getting involved in hospice volunteering. This shows the TeamKinetic system is successful in ensuring anybody can register to be a volunteer as however they identify, allowing further inclusivity in the voluntary sector.
Opportunity Data
Volunteers recorded 16,007 hours of volunteering in the system from 2020. These hours took place over 49 opportunities.
The top 8 most popular opportunities regarding the number of hours undertaken by volunteers are:
1
Retail
2
Admin
3
Fundraising Events
4
Teaching Roles
5
Reception
6
Gardening
7
Catering
8
Driver
As you can see above, the top 8 most popular opportunities is a very diverse range. This shows that since Willowbrook has been using TeamKinetic they have been able to recuit volunteers onto a wide variety of volunteering opportunities. Since Willowbrook Hospice rasies a lot of their funds from their charity shops, it is not a shock to see retail at the most popoular choice. Alongside this, one off fundrasing events are always popular amongst the volunteering community.
Support
To conclude, when on our Enterprise Plan you get telephone support from 9:00 am-5:30 pm, online chat support, support tickets you can raise in the system, YouTube ‘How To’ videos, and Facebook groups and livestreams. From this, we asked Bev from Willowbrook Hospice, who is on the Enterprise Plan, how she found the support she has received from TeamKinetic. Here’s what she had to say:
So from the beginning, and I will say, the support has been absolutely fantastic. If I ever send an email or put a support ticket because I need something, the efficiency is fantastic and I think that it’s that personal touch we get from TeamKinetic. I think if we’d have gone to one of the bigger companies, we wouldn’t have got that.
With TeamKinetic, you never feel like any questions stupid, because I have asked some really silly questions in the past, but actually they’ve come back and easily explained everything to me.
I also think the help videos have been really good. We’ve sent those through to shop managers for them to watch. And I think that’s helped them train them, so I would definitely say support has been absolutely fantastic and I can’t fault that at all.
BEV NEILSON, VOLUNTEER MANAGER AT WILLOWBROOK HOSPICE
Find Out More…
TeamKinetic helps to build better volunteer communities by providing great tools for volunteer managers that save time, increase impact and improve insight. Our goal is to make volunteering easy for everyone no matter what. But don’t take our word for it, why not check out our customer reviews.
For more information on how we can assist with your volunteer management and getting the best out of all your volunteers visit our website or contact us on – 0161 914 5757
Now we’re heading back to ‘normal’, should you still be working with online volunteers? YES! By recruiting online volunteers from quite literally anywhere you’re expanding your reach. When it comes to volunteering: the bigger your reach, the better! Virtual volunteering slots here perfectly.
In today’s blog post, we’re outlining the ways you can make sure your virtual opportunities stand out from the rest.
Making Your Opportunity Stand Out
Your Opportunity Title. When creating your opportunity, make sure your title is compelling and attractive. A volunteer is more likely to join an opportunity that instantly excites them, so having a strong title is key. It’s also worth mentioning somewhere in the title that the opportunity is remote.
Opportunity Description. Simply, don’t post the full list of details. Searching volunteers are likely to be leading with emotion – and a long description of there duties isn’t going to entice them. We suggest giving snippets of their duties but focus on explaining the impact they’ll be making.
Jargon. For a number of volunteers, this is their first time volunteering. Any specific language or acronyms should be left out. It’s most likely going to confuse potential volunteers, so keeping it as simple as possible will get more interest from new volunteers.
Calls To Action. Give potential volunteers the ‘next steps’ for joining an opportunity. Your opportunity should always have contact details too, for any other questions or support they might require.
Image Use. The use of imagery taps into volunteers’ emotions. Using the right image can trigger mirror neurons in the brain, so the volunteer feels the emotions portrayed in an image. Your images can also show that your organisation is inclusive to all. It’s important that your imagery is right, and sends the right signals to those browsing.
Checking Your Posting. Once your post is complete, make sure to double check it. Go through and check that all the information is correct as well as looking out for any spelling/grammatical errors. It’s also worth, once posted, looking at the opportunity through a potential volunteer’s eyes – do they have everything they need to join?
Are You Screening Your Volunteers?
Now that you’ve perfected your opportunity listing, and you have a set of virtual volunteers, the screening process can begin! What should you be considering when it comes to your volunteering screening process?
At the outset, you need to find out where your volunteer will be working. Are they going to be in a pace that’s quiet and private, or will they be in a busy environment? The key thing is that they are able to volunteer effectively in the place they’ve set up.
To ensure your volunteer is working effectively, are their any supplies or training required? Ensure that your volunteer has completed their training steps, and can access everything they need to start volunteering; this check makes sure there can be a smooth process into the opportunity, because there’s no stop/starting as a volunteer doesn’t have access to something important.
Volunteers will be interacting with a number of different people – let them know the basic information on how they should interact. This can help build up a volunteer’s confidence, so they interact with the organisation and those it helps more.
Make sure that you’re frequently staying in touch with those who virtually volunteer, over email, chat or video call. You can touch base weekly or monthly, building up a relationship that keeps them returning to volunteer. Establishing this relationship is important, volunteers want to feel seen and heard, like they aren’t just on the outskirts of the organisation.
Volunteer Motivations
You can also match volunteers with other opportunities you think they might be interested in. One way you can do this is through understanding your volunteers motives. VolunteerPro teaches a lot about a set of motivations a volunteer is likely to have, and how they can be applied by volunteer managers. Their motivations are:
Values: Where in which volunteers take something meaningful from the hours they spend volunteering.
Careers: Opportunities open doors for volunteers to advance in their careers or network with likeminded people from their industry.
Social: Volunteers can find themselves in emotional and supportive environments which they can also benefit from.
Enhancement: Volunteering gives leadership development to volunteers and changes their perception of power to some extent.
Volunteers that are open and motivated are most likely to have more than one goal in mind, rather than running on one single purpose. For some, they might not yet realise what those goals or motivations are, but they want to help in any capacity.
Think it’s time to invest in volunteer management software?
You can start a free trial of TeamKinetic on our website. This will let you check out all our features for 30 days. If you like what you see, contact us to book a demo and see how we can help your organisation manage your volunteers!
The HistoricScot Youth Forum was established to understand how to get young people volunteering and involved in the heritage sector. Historic Environment Scotland (HES) have been involved with Young Scot, in a 24 month partnership to help expand the engagement, participation and involvement of younger generations from different backgrounds to influence their activity and decision-making processes.
In previous conversations, there has been a multi-generational issue, especially regarding younger generations. Over the past 18 months, Young Scot have been tackling this problem of the lack of young generation involvement. Their results are presented in this report and contribute towards the Historic Environment Scotland 2019-22 corporate plan.
The report is spilt into three key themes: Community and Schools, Volunteering and Work, and HES sites all with a focus on future engagement of young people within the heritage sector. These recommendations are based off results from surveys.
Community and Schools Responses
For many, school is the first time people will engage with the historic environment. It’s highly likely that those who engage with historic environments as an adult have had experiences as a child, so ensuring sites are engaged with schools is crucial.
The majority of young people nowadays find their information through online social media platforms, so if they aren’t connected to HES platforms, they aren’t going to be engaged with it. For 32% of respondents, they didn’t have a connection to historical places around Scotland, despite 47% expressing interest.
Through their research, Young Scot have created these recommendations for the future:
Start discussions with marginalised communities about how their heritage can be represented.
Create history resources that are widely accessible for young people to learn and connect with.
Develop relationships with schools and spread awareness of HES in classroom settings.
Facilitate and engage with schools who have decided to visit sites and keep them engaged afterwards.
Volunteering and Work Responses
Volunteering can be an important factor for individuals entering employment into the sector. Survey results show that 3/4 of respondents hadn’t considered a career in the historic environment but 60% of people wanted to know the ways work opportunities can engage them. Currently, the heritage sector attracts volunteers that are male around the age of 35 (according to Young Scot research).
Lack of awareness towards employment, partnered with minimal advertisements are just two of the barriers which stopped people volunteering. If no one can see the opportunities, your pool of volunteers are significantly reduced.
In regards to young people, offering roles in areas they’re passionate about provides them with purpose and will help younger generations gain interpersonal skills they need. It’s especially vital now that these generations have lost time for social encounters due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For Volunteering and Work, Young Scot had the following recommendations:
Create an online space for young people to showcase who they are and their skills for quicker sign up or applying opportunities.
It’s imperative that those with or without the internet have equal access to opportunities.
Start promoting your volunteering opportunities on the platforms where young people are, such as Instagram and Twitter.
For new volunteering roles, tailor the opportunity’s advertisement to a diverse group of young people through language, tone and imagery.
HES Site Responses
Currently, heritage sites host a number of opportunities for specific demographics and it’s mainly families. Due to this, there is still work to be done in engaging young people. For many heritage sites, this age range is forgotten, when they should be included.
In Young Scots’ survey, they found that if sites became more technology based, or held more events, then visits would be more enjoyable for younger generations. In a separate matter, over a quarter of respondents cannot access all parts of heritage sites due to the lack of accessibility provided.
Based on the information from the survey, Young Scot highlighted gamification as a way to engage young people within heritage sites. Gamification is applying elements of games to other activities, normally completed as an online technique to keep people engaged. Heritage sites can use this as a technique to interest young people into engaging with their content.
The report created a number of recommendations for heritage sites:
Make sure that all facilities are accessible to everyone, without this, there is a barrier against those with disabilities from accessing the heritage environment.
Design new events, exhibitions and educate young people of the cultural changes within society.
Host events to celebrate minority groups and their heritage in Scotland’s history.
Make improvements to the website and the types of content it provides: specifically where people can go to learn more. One way to do this is to create hubs for different age groups. This, along with the introduction of gamification, creates an online community where young people can meet other, like-minded people.
Conclusions…
From Young Scot’s experience with engaging in the sector, there is a disproportionate underrepresentation of those from a variety of backgrounds. Heritage sites don’t reflect the diversity of the sector, the organisation, or Scotland as a whole. This barrier in particular needs to be overcome to make HES as accessible as possible for all young people.
The introduction of the latest technology can engage audiences at a younger age; paired with a strong relationship with schools, the historic environment can recharge younger generations of their love for Scotland’s culture, past and present.
Young Scot is hoping the recommendations made throughout the report can start conversations within HES on the future of younger generations in the sector. They encourage HES to continue involving young people in future plans to make a real impact.
Want to start engaging with your volunteers more?
Calling all heritage sites! We’ve worked with Volunteer Organisers Network and Historic Environment Scotland to create the Make Your Mark Portal, which can promote your heritage opportunities to new audiences and helps you with your volunteer management. You can find out more about Make Your Mark here.
If you’d like to know more about us here at TeamKinetic, and how we can help you manage your volunteers, you can access our website here.
A message from our Sales Director, Chris Martin, on what it means to be partnering with AVM.
This month has seen the culmination of a conversation that started 5 years ago, and I’m absolutely delighted to finally announce that TeamKinetic will be the very first corporate partner of the Association of Volunteer Managers.
Since starting TeamKinetic, I have been working away sharing the gospel of digital volunteer management. Having come from a sports and events background I was unaware of the richness and diversity of the wider volunteering world. I knew it existed, but I didn’t really appreciate the depth and breadth of it.
As I became more enlightened about volunteering outside of my comfort zone, I was lucky enough to stumble upon the work of the Association of Volunteer Managers and their learning and development days.
The first thing I felt when attending this event was the warmth of the welcome, and despite some of the volunteers and staff having changed over the years, the openness and welcoming atmosphere hasn’t changed one bit. It was a revelation to see this organisation run by volunteers doing what they were for the greater good of the sector. I think as early as that first session back in 2015 I was already thinking about how I could get involved.
It goes without saying that there is so much more than a warm welcome and a lovely group of people, the AVM’s work is essential and over the following 5 years we at TeamKinetic have been really proud to support their events where we could, but I always felt there was potential to do more.
Being the first at anything comes with its own set of challenges and this was no different. As an organisation, the board at AVM needed to develop its own understanding of how a partnership might work and what it might like to offer a potential partner. They also wanted to make sure that any organisation they worked with share their values and beliefs about volunteer management. Over the last 5 years it’s been a real pleasure getting to know some of the people who make AVM what it is, working on the occasional project and talking about how we might support each other’s work. So although we are now announcing our official partnership, it feels like we have been unofficial partners for quite a while.
So, here we are, the very first corporate partner and we are so excited to get started.
It’s my hope that as TeamKinetic we can bring some real value to the AVM. TeamKinetic’s mission is to make volunteering easier and we want to share with you our experience and knowledge about digital transformation and how to use digital tools to manage your volunteers.
We also believe that every organisation, no matter how big or small can access and afford these digital tools without any fear of cost or growth. We appreciate not everyone will want to use TeamKinetic but I think what we have to say will have the potential to positively impact your work.
Over the next 12 months, we will be working with the team at AVM to develop some accessible resources and materials that you might find useful if you are thinking about how you might use digital. We will be exploring what type of member offers and benefits you might like from us to make it easy and affordable for you to look at digital volunteer management and most importantly we hope to get to know you all a little bit better.
We are sure this is just the start of a long and mutually beneficial partnership with the fantastic team at AVM and if you have any questions or suggestions of the type of content we can create for you then please do get in touch with me and let me know.
I really look forward to seeing you all at the conference this year, please do say hello if you spot me.
Chris Martin. Sales Director. Chris@teamkinetic.co.uk
TeamKinetic are excited to announce that they will be the first official corporate partner of the Association of Volunteer Managers (AVM.) Since discovering their work 5 years ago, they have been a passionate advocate for the importance of the AVM. TeamKinetic welcomes this formal partnership.
Both organisations share the same passion and desire to progress the professionalism of those who involve volunteers. AVM’s goal as an independent membership body is one that supports, represents and champions people in volunteer management in the UK regardless of field, discipline or sector. As an organisation primarily run by volunteers TeamKinetic is proud to be able to directly support their work as a partner as they offer training, campaign on key issues and provide peer to peer support to volunteer managers.
The partnership is hoping to offer the membership added value and over the next few months will be looking to announce a number of special offers only available to AVM members and supporters. TeamKinetic have spent the last 13 years on the edge of customer-led innovation surrounding digital volunteering and will be continuing to support the campaigns undertaken by AVM. They are looking forward to sharing their experience and knowledge with the AVM members.
Sales Director, Chris Martin has expressed his gratitude towards Jo Gibney and Ruth Leonard “for all their hard work in helping to make this a reality and I sincerely hope we can continue to support the wonderful work and development of AVM for a long time to come.”
Chair of AVM, Ruth Leonard says “this is a really exciting next step for the organisation and will enable us to think about how we can offer more to volunteer managers. AVM is proud of our heritage of being run by and for our members and want to be able to remain relevant into the future. TeamKinetic’s enthusiasm and support for AVM has been clear throughout our shared working and I’m looking forward to develop this further.”
For any organisations or individuals who work with Volunteers, that are not already aware of the AVM and their work, you can visit their site to learn more on becoming a member.
Get in Touch…
If you’d like to know more about AVM, you can access their website here.
You can contact the team here at TeamKinetic through our website, or call on 0161 914 5757.
Chair of AVM, Ruth Leonard says “this is a really exciting next step for the organisation and will enable us to think about how we can offer more to volunteer managers. AVM is proud of our heritage of being run by and for our members and want to be able to remain relevant into the future. TeamKinetic’s enthusiasm and support for AVM has been clear throughout our shared working and I’m looking forward to develop this further.”