When a sports team is built, each player has a skill that is used to decide their role in the team. And when these players come on the field, they use their skills in alignment with the needs of the team to give their best. Just like a sports team, non-profit organizations have a team of volunteers in which every individual plays a unique role, and when they come together in harmony to drive change. Another major similarity and requirement between the two is the need for management and guidance without which either won’t reach its full potential.
In this digitally-led world, for organizations to rely on manually tending to every little thing can lead to forgetfulness, missed opportunities, inefficiencies, and frustration for both staff and volunteers. Therefore, to gain a lead in the digital age, non-profits can consider using a modern volunteer management platform to provide an organized system for managing all aspects of volunteer coordination. From recruitment, scheduling, tracking performance, and suggesting volunteer appreciation ideas such platforms enable organizations to make the most of volunteers’ time and talent. This article will explore how adopting a modern volunteer management platform can elevate an organization’s impact.
Benefits of Adopting a Modern Volunteer Management System
1. Simplified Volunteer Recruitment
The building blocks of a better society and non-profit organizations are the volunteers. This makes recruiting volunteers one of the biggest challenges organizations face. A modern volunteer platform has features that automate much of the work associated with volunteer onboarding. It automatically collects applications, stores and organizes volunteer information, and matches them to the opportunities that align with their skills and availability, eliminating the workload of manually tracking. With the recruitment process simplified, the staff can focus on other things and always have a pool of potential participants from a wide range of communities available.
2. Alleviated Scheduling Conflicts and Miscommunication
An organization big or small, working on one or across multiple projects, faces the challenge of scheduling shifts and assigning work. Adopting a volunteer management platform can streamline this process by simply centralizing all the scheduling activities. By doing so, it allows the coordinators to assign shifts, send reminders with real-time updates, and let them communicate via text or mail about any last-minute changes. Volunteers can access the schedule on their personal dashboard, reducing the possibility of miscommunication or missed assignments.
3. Automated Time Tracking and Reporting
An organization needs to track volunteer hours and impact not only for their future campaigns or grant applications but also for recognizing volunteering efforts and measuring overall organization impact. This process can be exhausting and inaccurate when done manually; therefore, using a volunteer management platform should be beneficial. It automates the time tracking to ensure every hour spent in driving change is logged in and accounted for. It does so by allowing the volunteers to clock in and out of the system to generate an accurate report on the number of hours spent on a project. The collected data then becomes the future capital for the organization to present the community impact being made when asking for funding
4. Improved Volunteer Retention
Apart from driving change and creating a positive impact, one of the major goals of an organization is to retain the volunteers who have joined to donate their time and effort. Organizations can do that when they keep their volunteers engaged by offering them personalized opportunities. A volunteer management platform has features that can recommend tasks based on the volunteers’ skills or interests, making it easy for them to participate. It also helps the organization to recognize their contributions with automated thank-you messages or uplift their morale by honoring them with achievement badges. By these practices, volunteers feel valued and appreciated, in turn increasing their chances of staying with the organization for the long term.
5. Seamlessly Adapt to the Growth of the Organization
When an organization’s cause or work resonates with people, it grows as it invites more people to join it. Here comes the key benefit of a volunteer management platform: scalability. Its features like being able to accommodate an increasing number of volunteers, projects, and events without additional help make it an adaptable growth platform. By automating most of the management using this platform, organizations can use their time effectively to focus on their mission. It is a platform that helps your organization grow and expand while doing the same alongside you.
End Note
Adopting a modern volunteer management platform enables nonprofit organizations to optimize their coordination efforts. These platforms have the necessary structure and tools to improve the communication between the staff and its volunteers, in turn allowing the organization to achieve a greater impact. Additionally, incorporating this platform has also proven to be a smart investment for organizations that are eager to grow, as these features ensure long-term growth.
