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How Digital Tools for Team Management and Communication Can Optimize the Work of Volunteers and Charities

Volunteers play a critical role in the success of many non-profit organizations and charities. These organizations often rely on the contributions of volunteers to achieve their goals, and their hard work and dedication can be the difference between success and failure. However, managing volunteers can be a complex and challenging task, especially for organizations with limited resources.

Thankfully, digital tools for team management and communication are available that can help streamline the work of volunteers and improve the efficiency of non-profit organizations. These tools can help organizations better manage volunteer schedules, coordinate team tasks, and communicate effectively with volunteers. In this post, we will discuss the benefits of using digital tools for team management and communication in non-profit organizations.

Optimizing Volunteer Scheduling

One of the biggest challenges for non-profit organizations is managing volunteer schedules. Coordinating the schedules of many volunteers can be time-consuming and complicated, especially when considering factors such as shift preferences, availability, and location. Digital tools for team management can help optimize the scheduling process by providing real-time updates, allowing for easy shift swaps, and providing managers with an overview of volunteer schedules.

For example, a platform like Teemie can provide a full rostering system that integrates with payroll and clocking in, making it easier to manage the schedules of volunteers and ensuring that they are paid accurately and on time. This system can also provide alerts when a volunteer is running late or if a shift needs to be covered, helping managers respond quickly and efficiently to any scheduling issues.

Improving Communication and Collaboration

Effective communication and collaboration are key to the success of non-profit organizations, and digital tools for team management can help organizations communicate more effectively with their volunteers. With tools such as announcements, team and individual messaging, and task management, organizations can keep volunteers informed and up-to-date on important information and initiatives.

For example, with the help of a task management system, managers can assign tasks to volunteers, track their progress, and provide feedback on their work. This type of system can also help managers prioritize tasks and allocate resources more effectively, ensuring that volunteer efforts are being used to maximum effect.

Streamlining Onboarding and Training

The onboarding and training process for new volunteers can be a time-consuming and challenging task for non-profit organizations. Digital tools for team management can help streamline this process by providing access to important information and resources and helping new volunteers get up to speed quickly and easily.

For example, with the help of a comprehensive platform like Teemie, managers can create an onboarding program that is customized to the needs of their organization. This can include providing access to relevant training materials, setting up a task list for new volunteers, and tracking their progress over time. By streamlining the onboarding process, organizations can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their volunteer programs.

Improving Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Finally, digital tools for team management can help improve the satisfaction and retention of volunteers by providing them with the tools and resources they need to be successful in their roles. By optimizing schedules, improving communication and collaboration, and streamlining onboarding and training, organizations can create a more positive work environment for their volunteers.

For example, with the help of a team management platform that includes features such as mobile apps and real-time announcements, volunteers can access important information and resources on the go, making it easier for them to stay informed and connected with their team. This type of platform can also provide volunteers with a sense of engagement and ownership, helping them feel valued and supported in their roles.

Taken Under Google’s Wing

We have been blown away by the support and messages we have received since being selected as one of Google’s Adopt a Start-up companies.

The belief that a brand like Google has in us, has really fuelled the Teemie team which will propel us even further into the next stage of development.

You can read one of the articles from the Limerick Post below by Bernie English.

LIMERICK MAN’S COMPANY TAKEN UNDER GOOGLE’S WING

By Bernie English

A company established by Limerick entrepreneur which has developed a team management app for shops voluntary bodies and the hospitality sector has been adopted by information technology giant Google.

Teemie is just 18 months old and is already breaking ground for service and none profit groups, with desktop and mobile apps for management to be more efficient and for staff to be more productive.

From organising schedules and Payroll to assigning tasks the company has built the product especially for these industries.

“Teemie was born when I was studying in UL for my Masters, the focus on my study was how technology was used in retail” said company founder, Gary Whelan.

“It became clear after visiting a number of coffee shops and newsagents in Limerick that they still very much use traditional methods for organising stuff such as paper for rosters and tasks or a range of methods of communication so I set about creating something that would make this process quicker, easier and within one location” he explained

The company now employees two full-time and three part-time staff in Dublin and is in the process of setting up in a new location in Limerick city. As a result of been taking on by Google’s ‘Adopt A Start-Up programme, Teemie and 14 other early-stage companies will undertake an intensive training program over the next eight weeks. This will include exclusive lectures and workshops, one-on-one onsite support and the networking opportunities at Google’s EMEA headquarters.

Participants will benefit from expertise and support in topics such as analytics and UX, pitching and networking, automation and machine learning, and how best to plan for global growth.

Following the completion of the programme each start-up will have the chance to pitch their own unique growth plan to a panel of select judges.

The prices up for grabs include €10,000 in Google Ads Credit and the eligibility for the Google Cloud Programme which includes $100,000 in Google Cloud Credit. Said Gary “It is really an honour to have a global brand such as Google choose our start-up for their prestigious program. We have worked very hard while building Teemie so this recognition is going to fuel the team as we enter the next stage of our development.

“They will be providing us with some amazing resources and experience to help us scale our company not just nationally in Ireland but also in other countries like US and UK” the Limerick entrepreneur explained.

WE ARE UP IN TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK!

For many companies, especially startup companies, having the universe help you in anyway to move closer towards your objectives can be more than welcome but few and far between occurring.

Funding is especially difficult in the early stages as you look to build a company from the ground up. You need to get your company name out there to get investment and traction, but you need money to get that recognition, with digital marketing and advertising costs adding up very quickly.

So when an opportunity presents itself to advertise your company, completely free, on a billboard in none other than Times Square, New York you can imagine that our early stage start up was ecstatic.

So just some context on how we got there. We designed our own business cards with Vistaprint a few weeks back ready for meeting and events over the coming months. They turned out pretty nice but we do have a biased opinion!

Anyway, a few days later, Vistaprint contacted us to ask our permission to use the cards on some of their marketing channels. Of course we replied, we were chuffed that they would ask this and thought it would be pretty cool if they were on their website, many people would see it and it could get some traffic to our website. Little did we know what they had planned.

Two days later we received another message from Vistaprint, which went like this, “Thanks, @teemieapp! We have exciting news – we’re using our billboard in Times Square in New York to spotlight small business owners this month, and your photo has been selected to be featured.”

For a minute or two admittedly we did think this was a prank. I mean, a Times Square billboard is probably one of if not the most expensive advertising spaces in the world! So after some overly suspicious investigation, the Vistaprint team that contacted us was very real and yes, we would be going up there on the billboard.

Up to 390,000 pedestrians walk past this billboard everyday so in terms of the value to our company, let’s just say that we would probably not have the resources right now to afford the cost per impression of this billboard. That does not even calculate the amount of cars that pass through there and even more importantly, the visual of the spot and ability to use that visual on our own website and social media channels. Just invaluable to a start up company.

As a sidenote, being based in Ireland it was difficult to get a good photo of the billboard. We had a live webcam but that had horrible resolution. We needed to get resourceful and began asking friends and family if they knew anybody in New York on the day. We even ended up going onto Instagram, looking at people who had tagged #TimesSquare the most recently and actually messaged a few to see if they would help us out! Could be interpreted as a creepy message but we gave it a shot!

Luckily for us, a friend works for a US company with a base in Ireland called Kemp Technologies and the stars aligned for us as their main office is around the corner from Times Square! So all credit and thanks goes to them for getting us a couple of good images of our 15 mins!

One of our objectives from the very beginning with this company was to set-up in New York, it is the ideal location for Teemie and we were there 6 months ago scouting at potential places where Teemie US would be based. So for this to happen out of nowhere, in our favourite place is, as we interpret it, destiny telling us to get there as soon as possible!