How to work with virtual volunteers

Editor's Notes

• #2: Hello and welcome to this afternoon, or this morning’s webinar – depending where you’re from!
• #3: Satisfy our curiosity: we’d like to see what sort types of non profits are represented today.
• #4: The reason I’m asking is that most not for profits already have some element of virtual work or volunteering. For most organizations, the extent of virtual volunteering has been limited to conducting meetings.   The goal of this webinar is to help you see that virtual volunteering should help you go further. At its highest level, virtual volunteering can be used for full scale projects, working with people across the country, or even, the world!
• #5: 1. They want to be recognized for what they do, regardless of the reason for why they volunteered.   2. They want their time to be respected.   3. They want to know that they are making an impact.   4. They want to know that the not for profit is doing its part to help them give their best work… and this is where virtual volunteering comes in.
• #6: Before we start, here’s a little bit about me: I started TAGb Consulting, because I believe that there is a great need for effective use of technology in not for profits. TAGb Consulting believes that technology:   Empowers not for profits to communicate better with volunteers, donors, members, communities, and the public at large;   Improves not for profit operations in all fields: finances, governance, communications and even, volunteering itself.   That in spite of all its wonderful benefits – technology is just a tool. People come first!   Not for profits are important and deserve to have every advantage technology can give 
• #7: A little bit about my experience with volunteers. I’ve worked with volunteers for almost all of my professional life. I first started off at a charity focused on girls, whose operational stance was “volunteer-led, staff driven.” Its volunteers are completely dedicated to the cause of the organization and take a personal responsibility in funding, programming and operations. In that world, the volunteers are in complete charge of organization.   Contrast that with my next not for profit position, where volunteers provided general direction to staff and then, depended on staff expertise to run the organization. These volunteers, who were doctors, were very busy in their own professional lives and wanted the time they gave to the organization to be used efficiently.
• #8: So let’s get started. What in itself is virtual or remote volunteering? At its core: virtual volunteering is having volunteers participate by using online or web-based technology. Its chief benefit is about not needing to be physically present to volunteer. BUT it can be just as intensive as face to face, physical volunteering. It still requires a great time commitment, and involvement with the not for profit itself.
• #9: Can be conducted anywhere as long as the volunteer is connected to the Internet   Flexible: depending on the project, can work within the volunteer’s schedule Savings on operating costs: less paying for travel, accommodation, meals, which is great for a lot of non profits   Allows your organization to expand its operations beyond your geographical and financial borders   Allows for non-profits to access more specialized skill sets  Opens up positions for individuals who are not physically able to come into your office for reasons such as ability, cost or distance
• #10: Some other benefits are that Virtual volunteering can be geared towards the volunteer’s level of involvement – volunteers can be involved as much or as little as they want.   Volunteers don’t have to be tied to just one organization – they can donate their skill set to different projects across several organizations.    Is considerate of volunteers, taking into account their busy lives and their need for convenience. Access to newer ideas and perspectives and work with people of different backgrounds. Provides fresh blood. Too often, organizations fall into the trap of just recommending people they know to volunteer. Nothing new ever comes in, because organizations are recycling the same people and ideas. To thrive, an organization needs to constantly welcome new demographics, perspectives, and skill sets. Your not for profit should represent the community it is working for. Virtual volunteering provides an opportunity to reach those people.
• #11: So, here’s another poll. Each of these logos represents a company that you may or may not recognize, depending on your age and location. I’ll wait a few minutes for you to type in responses… Read some of the responses.
• #12: Answer: companies that were taken surprise by digital transformation, and have been replaced by such companies as: Amazon, Netflix, Uber, Air bnb, Facebook.   What this points to is that flexibility, mobility, convenience and ease of use are the order of the day. Each of these replacements has been able to move with the times, and even, anticipate demand before consumers were aware of it.   Not for profits do not exist in a bubble. We live in the larger society, and trends that have affected these businesses affect all of us, we cause them, they react on us. As a society, we are demanding more of the institutions that surround us – our banks, shops, government and even our not for profits.   So, how this applies to us is that not for profits need to catch up with society’s move towards digital technology. Volunteers are a huge part of how not for profits work, and most not for profits cannot survive without them. Combining technology with volunteering is one of the smartest and most efficient ways to expand a not for profit organization’s reach and its impact in society.  
• #13: Before you rush to start virtual volunteering, or to buy, hire and recruit, the following needs to be in place in your not for profit:   1. Don’t ignore the need to meet in person While virtual volunteering can extend a not for profits reach. However, an essential element of volunteering is meeting face to face, when possible. Virtual volunteering technology has not as yet been able mimic non-verbal communication, which is often key when assessing how well you work with other team members.   Ultimately, people’s motivations or reasons for volunteering differ. Some may volunteer for the love of being social, and going virtual removes that.   2. Don’t implement change for change’s sake Going virtual should not be done just because it is trendy, but because of the advantages to your organization and the problems it can solve.   Your organization needs to ensure that virtual volunteering is being put in as a good measure, not in reaction to negative occurrences, e.g., budget cuts, less staff, no real direction in leadership. Virtual volunteering should be willingly adopted by volunteers, not forced on them.   3. Do a culture check: Is there a commitment to change? What’s the culture of your organization? Is it willing to realize that virtual volunteering is a gradual process, and that there might be times when you might fail? Ask yourself if your leadership is willing to support you through the ups and downs or also ask if they waiting for you to fail so they can return to status quo. Other questions to ask are if your organization has a learning or punitive culture? If your organization like to take risks? Does it adapt well when things go wrong and learn from mistakes? 4. Do you have buy-in? Start virtual volunteering gradually, as a way to get leadership, staff and volunteers accustomed to the new process. No one likes to be rushed into change. More success is obtained when people know and approve of the reasons for why virtual volunteering is being adopted. 5. Is there support for technology? Your organization needs to make an investment in providing access to software and hardware for the volunteers. There also needs to be a commitment to upgrading technology, providing training, and support, over the long-term. It might be wise, before fully committing to virtual volunteering to also assess your organization’s level of technology awareness. As part of our resources, I’ve included an example of an technology assessment from TechSoup Canada – which measures your organization’s level of technology readiness.
• #14: Virtual volunteering starts by placing each of these elements in order: Projects | People | Technology First: make a list of the projects for which you need help. Such projects could either be too time intensive, need subject matter expertise, or would benefit from technical skills which are not available within your network. Once you know what the projects are, and what they require, you can then recruit volunteers. Technology comes last – it’s a tool that helps to achieve a purpose. As I’ve said before, it is NOT an end in itself. Remember, virtual volunteering is unique, in that the success of the project depends not only on the interaction between volunteers and other players, but also on how well the technology is used. In physical volunteering, the tools you use are not as important – e.g, pen, paper, desk. But in virtual volunteering, the tools you use can make or break your project. So, we’ll go through later, how to choose the right technology.
• #15: What I want to do here is to provide an example of how the People | Projects | Technology elements get put in place. Every year I work with an association to provide marketing and communications for their annual conference. I’ve found that planning a conference is a multi-faceted, multi-task project and each year the association has run a successful conference virtually. It’s a 6 month time commitment, and it involves different participants who do not all work within the association office – they come together from different parts of Ontario, and even, Europe. The team consists of volunteers, consultants, staff, and an external event management firm. In fact, for years, the project has been managed almost virtually, as most of the participants are rarely together in the same room. The tasks are split up between different parties, and each person is aware of their role, and reports on it at each meeting. For instance, the volunteers provide leadership and overall direction. They also serve as subject matter experts on what the members would like to learn at the conference. Staff implement such tasks as awards, research, programming, while external consultants work on logistics, marketing, communications and educational direction. The event management firm provides onsite management. In terms of how it works: virtual meetings occur once a month and twice a month closer to the start of the conference. Items in agenda are discussed by the person assigned to each task. The agenda is circulated ahead of the meeting, as well as notes from past meetings that outlines action items for each person. Meetings generally run to about 2 hours each.   After the meeting, communication continues, either via email or separate adhoc meetings.   Tools used: GoTo Meeting, teleconferencing, Excel spreadsheet for managing projects. If a special presentation needs to be made, everyone is advised to have GoTo Meeting ready on their computers.  
• #16: So, successful implementation of virtual projects tarts by creating an overall plan of how projects will be implemented successfully, with multiple locations, people and technology. And the way to do that is to use a project charter. This will outline: The expected outcomes How the project lines up with your organization’s goals Success metrics How to accomplish the project Key players Tools We’ll be providing an example of a project charter in our resources.
• #17: What I am going to do now, is to provide an example of how to implement a project virtually. I’m suggesting a website revamp – which is a project most not for profits often have to deal with. This project will involve tons of feedback, multiple skill sets, multiple tasks, and roles. So the project gets broken down into the following stages. First: Establish the parameters of the project Second: Appoint a project manager Third: Break the project down into tasks Fourth: Assign team members to each task Fifth: Use the SMART technique
• #18: The first stage The team as a whole determines the parameters of the project. This needs to be done as a team to ensure buy-in, and working to a common goal. You don’t want dissent or dissatisfaction. This could lead to delays, or a derailed project. It’s even more crucial in virtual volunteering to be on the same page, as you cannot see each other, and could be working on different tasks separately. For this example, the parameters of the project using the project charter, you would provide a general overview. Outline the purpose of the website revamp: for non profits, it could be getting more donations, raising more awareness, recruiting more members, or advocating for your organization’s cause. What are the hoped-for outcomes of the project How often will the team meet? What technology they need to work on the project alone and in a team?
• #19: Second stage: appoint a project manager. Depending on the organization, this person may or may not be a staff member. Having the person be a staff member ensures another level of accountability to ensuring the project gets completed. The project manager should have an awareness of how each stage of the project works. They do not need to be an expert, but general knowledge of each sphere helps. The project manager is responsible for gathering the information from each team, implementing deadlines, seeing that each task is completed, that all parties are working well together. It’s almost like keeping an eye of moving parts of a puzzle. The project manager should set regular meetings to review the work of each task team. Important: a note taker should be appointed for each meeting. It does not have to be formal minutes, just bullet point with who has been assigned to each task and by what deadline so you are all aware of expectations, and who is responsible.
• #20: The third stage is to break the entire website revamp project down into tasks. Such tasks could be: Analyzing member/stakeholder needs Usability Design Content Technology will be used to set up the website Analytics and metrics – how many people visit, or achieve the goals the not for profits Launch Part of this stage is to also determine Who will handle each task? How long will it take to accomplish each task? And to outline the skills needed for each task, so you can recruit later.
• #21: Assign team members to each task, and appoint a leader for each team. Each team should be a small, focused group. Some team members may overlap – but should be aware of their assigned roles and tasks in each team to which they belong.
• #22: The fifth stage is that, when working on the project, you use the SMART technique. Specific goal Measurable results Achievable results Relevant results Time bound   For instance, for the usability task, the SMART goal would be: By June 30, 2018, our team would have reviewed the website behavior of 10 members to determine how they will access content on our website.
• #23: This would be the smart goal for the usability team:  By June 30, 2018, our team would have reviewed the website behavior of 10 members to determine how they will access content on our website. Specific goal: studying member behavior on the website Measurable: 10 members we’re studying Achievable: Within 6 months - yes Relevant results: how they access content on website – broken down into specifics Time: by June 30
• #24: We now move into how to select a team for your virtual projects: Selecting a volunteer for virtual projects goes beyond just being able to use software or hardware. These are just tools that fulfill the end. Before considering adding a volunteer to your team, determine the following: Where are you going to look for them? The ultimate goal of virtual volunteering is to expand your borders, to get that fresh blood, so to speak. Consider job boards for volunteers, ads on social media, word of mouth, advertising in related publications. What do other volunteers say about this person’s work ethic? Is this person known as being easy to get along with? Has the person demonstrated expertise for the project you are considering? What is their attitude towards the cause the not for profit is promoting? Are they hopeful, willing to get the word out, cynical, or just in it for themselves? Are they known for being someone who gets work done, or leaves it for others to complete? What work have they done in the past, and how was it done?
• #25: Since they are often not paid, doing an excellent job as a volunteer comes down to being self-motivated, and an ability to see the work accomplished as a reward in itself. A virtual volunteer is usually working alone, and sometimes in teams. Because there is no way to check the volunteer’s work, the not for profit organization has to trust that the volunteer will do the best work they can.   Since one of the drawbacks of virtual volunteering is a lack of physical presence, the volunteer selected must demonstrate a mix of: Dedication to the cause promoted by the not for profit Willingness to learn Willingness to cooperate with team members Openness to change Willing to check in with the team on major decisions
• #26: Now we get to the third element of virtual volunteering, which is technology. In terms of the volunteer’s fit with technology: it’s more than being able to use technology – it’s more of an attitude towards it. In the end, like any position, selecting someone for a role comes down to fit. Ask What computer system do they use? Mac or PC? If they don’t even have a computer, dead giveaway!   Do they have internet access?   What is their comfort level/access to the Microsoft suite? [This is as basic as it gets software wise]. A lot of intuitive software is based on the MS Word platform. So once you’ve started there, it’s easy to adjust to other software.   How do their skills/expertise (gained on the job, in other volunteer positions) a fit for the role?   Can they self-train? If they do not know how to use some aspect of technology, are they willing to research it themselves?   Have they ever worked the same document with other people? Essential because when you are working on the same project with other people, you will have access to the same files, and need to learn how to save and set approvals.   What level is their operating system at? [this will be key to choosing software that is not internet based]   Can they use the track comments feature in MS Word?   Are they familiar with using spreadsheets in project work?  
• #27: There’s a myriad of software out there, here’s what you should look for before purchasing each. The type of software you will need depends on the project, and can range from simple teleconferencing to full scale collaboration software. I recommend using the simplest version to begin with, so you can test your needs, before going to a full scale solution. Look for software that supports not for profits. Software geared towards non-profit needs is more considerate of the way non-profits are structured, and will also fit their pricing accordingly.   Fits your budget.   Is easy to use. Software use should be intuitive, and if not intuitive, should be easily grasped during training. If software is difficult to use, it’s less likely to be adopted.   Has access to support and training. Of all the criteria, this item is very important. While some companies provide personal advisors to guide you through entire use of the product, others will provide a training period. Try to avoid purchasing software where the only support is via online forums, or where the support is limited to pay per use.   Has a trial period. Some software companies will allow for a 14 to one month trial period. Others will allow you to use a less featured version of the software until you need their more premium features.   Allows you to see a demo. The trial period can act as a demonstration where you get to use the software in its full configuration, or you can be allowed access to a demo version where you can play around with the features.
• #28: Note: No need to take notes, I can send this to you later. We’ll do a focus on collaboration and web conferencing software in the next two slides Teleconferencing: standard, should be able to record calls, multiple parties on line.   Collaboration/workspace software: Gives teams a centralized place in which to share, discuss and work on projects. Workplace software is like a virtual office which organizes your documents, tasks, allows users to obtain approvals, and keeps track of all emails. Should also include a project management feature so you don’t have to access separate software.   If you use collaboration software, you may not need to buy other software such as file sharing, or project management tools. For this software determine its: Ease of use Ability to assign and manage tasks Keep track of files Search and organize information Cloud based software – so all can have access Use of calendars Ability to share content Ability to track documents, and see approvals Ability to see different versions of documents, so you are all working on the same version Focus on software built for non profit collaboration   Examples: Google Docs, Huddle; Trello, Basecamp, Asana See: How to collaborate with Google Docs http://mashable.com/2016/03/18/collaborate-google-docs/#8qX3FBSaU5qY     Meeting schedulers: Helps you schedule meeting dates with multiple people over multiple dates. Examples: Doodle poll; Tungle.me,   File sharing/transfer: Examples: Dropbox, Box.com, We Transfer You can’t always send files with email. Dropbox provides 2GB of space, and gives users a box, where all parties are given access to files. WeTransfer, allows you to send files of up to 2GB and will store the files for about a week, allowing users to download when needed.     Online meeting software/web conferencing Examples: Google Hangout, Facebook Live, Join.me, Adobe Connect, GoTo Meeting, Webex   Provides teams with ability to have real time conversations by audio and video.   What to look out for: Secure access Ability to record Ability to turn video off and on Clear audio Ability to share screens Ability to change lead speakers Desktop and mobile versions Unlimited number of attendees (this can vary depending on your needs) Not locked into contract (can vary)
• #29: Note: No need to take notes, I can send this to you later. We’ve got this as a handout you can use as a checklist. I’ve divided the tools needed into Basic and Advanced options, and your use of this will vary depending on the project. Teleconferencing: No need to provide examples, Ensure that you are able to record calls, a personal room that multiple parties can be on the call. Suggest a paid option over free, to reduce advertisements and ensure accountability by the company. Check audio before committing to the software.    Meeting schedulers: Have you ever tried to schedule meetings with multiple people over multiple dates? Meeting schedulers are essential so that all participants can choose a meeting date by seeing the dates listed in a table, and seeing what dates others have picked. Examples: Doodle poll; Tungle.me,   File sharing/transfer: Examples: Dropbox, Box.com, We Transfer You can’t always send files with email. Dropbox provides 2GB of space, and gives users a box, where all parties are given access to files. WeTransfer, allows you to send files of up to 2GB and will store the files for about a week, allowing users to download when needed.  
• #30: Collaboration/workspace software: Gives teams a centralized place in which to share, discuss and work on projects. Workplace software is like a virtual office which organizes your documents, tasks, allows users to obtain approvals, and keeps track of all emails. Should also include a project management feature so you don’t have to buy separate software.   If you use collaboration software, you may not need to buy other software such as schedulers, file sharing, or project management tools. Focus on software built for non profit collaboration: it can provide you with tools that are set up for volunteers, Boards, and non profit staff. Before adopting use, first check for: Ease of use – some of these tools can be very complicated and very robust, when all you might need is a simple solution like Google Docs for instance. Ability to assign and manage tasks Keep track of files Search and organize information Cloud based software – so all can have access Use of calendars Ability to share content Ability to track documents, and see approvals Ability to see different versions of documents, so you are all working on the same version   See: How to collaborate with Google Docs http://mashable.com/2016/03/18/collaborate-google-docs/#8qX3FBSaU5qY  
• #31: Note: No need to take notes, I can send this to you later.    Online meeting software/web conferencing Examples: Google Hangout, Facebook Live, Join.me, Adobe Connect, GoTo Meeting, Webex As I’ve said before, one of the disadvantages of virtual volunteering can the lack of interpersonal contact. Web conferencing software is a way to simulate real time conversations, and facilitate non verbal communication - which is essential when working in teams.   Provides teams with ability to have real time conversations by audio and video.   What to look out for: Secure access Ability to record Ability to turn video off and on Clear audio Ability to share screens Ability to change lead speakers Desktop and mobile versions Unlimited number of attendees (this can vary depending on your needs) Not locked into contract (can vary)
• #32: In summary, what I have learned about virtual volunteering is that organizations need to: Recognize that going virtual will cause change - and change needs to be managed, not ignored. Take note of your organization’s culture and how it could stifle or embrace change Consider how volunteer and staff roles will change when projects are managed virtually. Create debriefing meetings to discuss feelings of displacement, loss of power, anger or resistance. Occasional surveys sent out to volunteers and staff to analyze how the group and project are working as a whole.
• #33: We can look at questions.