How Can Technology Improve Volunteer Management?
- Nonprofit Learning Lab
- Oct 7
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 8
This is a guest blog by Eric Burger with BetterGood.
Eric Burger is the Director of Marketing at BetterGood, the company behind VolunteerHub, a leading volunteer management solution that helps nonprofits expand their reach and deepen their community impact. With more than 8 years providing resources to the nonprofit industry, Eric brings a wealth of expertise in helping organizations leverage technology to drive meaningful change.
Technology is a part of our day-to-day lives, from phones to watches to household appliances, so why wouldn’t you incorporate it into your volunteer program? In our modern era, there are so many ways that you can leverage technology to streamline and optimize your volunteer management strategies. However, too many volunteer coordinators are reluctant to abandon the outdated processes that have served their organization for decades.
In this article, we’ll provide a full overview of how technology can improve volunteer management, from onboarding to retention—dramatically boosting satisfaction and maximizing efficiency.
What is Volunteer Management Technology?
Volunteer management technology is a broad term that refers to any tool that can improve your volunteer management processes. However, when we talk about volunteer management technology, we are primarily referring to software solutions that can assist with common administrative tasks, such as database maintenance, scheduling, check-in, and collecting liability waivers.
Incorporating technology into your volunteer management processes can transform your program, leading to:
Increased efficiency
Improved return on investment
Higher volunteer satisfaction levels
Lower turnover rates
Increased volunteer-to-donor conversion
Broader organizational impact
Better results for your beneficiaries and community
Scalable processes that can grow alongside your organization
While it may be tempting to continue relying on tried-and-true processes, when you start really evaluating your volunteer program, you will likely discover that the manual volunteer management solutions that worked twenty years ago just aren’t suited to modern challenges.
When you invest in volunteer management technology, you can unlock whole new levels of efficiency, satisfaction, and impact! Let’s take a step-by-step look at how you can apply volunteer management software to improve your program.
How Technology Improves Volunteer Onboarding
Onboarding marks the start of a volunteer’s formal involvement with your organization, and you can leverage technology to make the most of this critical moment—ensuring that volunteers don’t fall off before they have a chance to make an impact.
Here are some ways that volunteer management software can streamline the onboarding process:
Landing pages. Use customized landing pages directed at recruiting, onboarding, and training to help potential volunteers learn about your organization and start getting involved.
Online applications. Online applications make it easy for individuals to get started with your organization. Plus, they give you the chance to screen for the best candidates.
Forms and liability waivers. Onboarding involves a lot of forms, but with volunteer management software, you can make sure that neither you nor your volunteers miss a single detail.
Education portals. Use online volunteer portals to give new recruits easy access to important training materials, like the volunteer handbook, training videos, and practice quizzes.
Onboarding surveys. Online onboarding surveys help you gather important information about your new recruits that you can use to match them with the right roles and improve their experience.
With volunteer management software, you can ensure a smooth, straightforward onboarding experience.
How Technology Simplifies Volunteer Scheduling
Once you’ve got your volunteers on board, you need them to actually sign up for and complete shifts. Volunteer technology streamlines the scheduling process so that you always have the volunteers you need!
Try these techniques for using software to simplify volunteer scheduling:
Self-service. Give volunteers ownership over the scheduling process by using a platform that allows for self-scheduling and online registration. The easier you make it for your volunteers to sign up, the more engaged they will be!
Automated reminders and updates. Automated texts and emails eliminate no-shows and day-of confusion. Keep volunteers in the loop with last-minute updates and ensure that everyone makes their shift with regular reminders.
Check-in kiosks. Check-in kiosks allow volunteers to check-in for shifts with a simple click, and they can even do so from their own devices.
Virtual volunteering. Your volunteers have busy lives, and sometimes committing to an in-person shift isn’t feasible. Use technology to offer virtual volunteering and micro-volunteering opportunities, allowing individuals to keep supporting your mission, on their own schedule.
Volunteer scheduling is more than just an administrative task; it is the key to your program’s impact. So, it’s important to invest in scheduling technology instead of relying on pen-and-paper, phone trees, or spreadsheets.
How Technology Improves Volunteer Tracking
Volunteer tracking and data is critical to every aspect of your volunteer management operations, from ensuring compliance and winning grants to articulating impact and boosting retention levels.
Volunteer management software can transform your hour tracking and data analysis practices through:
Automated hour tracking. Volunteer management software and check-in kiosks can automatically track volunteer hours, ensuring that all your records are accurate and up-to-date.
Advanced databases. Use refined databases to securely store all of your volunteer data and segment your volunteers using personalized user groups.
Report generation. Volunteer management software generates customizable reports with actionable insights that you can use to demonstrate impact and compliance, improve your program, and drive donations.
Impact sharing. Volunteer impact data is a compelling part of your nonprofit’s story for volunteers, donors, and supports. Leverage volunteer management software to show your volunteers how they are making a difference.
With advanced data tracking and analysis, you can get a whole new perspective on your volunteer program.
How Technology Enhances Volunteer Engagement
While engagement relies heavily on interpersonal interactions, that doesn’t mean that technology can’t enhance your approach to volunteer engagement!
Volunteer management software improves engagement through:
Targeted communication. Communication is key to keeping volunteers engaged, but if you over- or under-communicate, you will actually see diminishing returns. Volunteer technology helps you effectively target your communication so that the right volunteers get the right message, at the right time.
Recognition features. Technology can incorporate automated thank you messages, awards, and certificates to make volunteers feel appreciated.
Gamification. Points-based reward systems, badges, and milestones “gamify” the experience for volunteers, encouraging continued participation.
Impact sharing. Your volunteers want to make a difference, so let them know how important their work is! Volunteer management software makes it easy to demonstrate impact to your volunteers, generating meaningful reports that you can turn into compelling narratives.
Volunteer management software makes it easier for you to foster the meaningful, long-term relationships that keep volunteers engaged.
How Technology Guides Your Long-Term Volunteer Management Strategy
Technology isn’t just important for your day-to-day activities; it plays a critical role in your long-term volunteer management strategies:
Volunteer surveys. Use technology to create, distribute, and analyze surveys, gathering valuable feedback from your volunteers to help improve their experience.
Analytics. Analytics highlight trends in your volunteer activities, revealing inefficiencies, redundancies, and pain points.
Volunteer-to-donor conversion. Volunteer management software boosts volunteer-to-donor conversion rates, resulting in better, more effective fundraising campaigns. With customized landing pages, automated donation prompts, and secure payment processing, technology makes giving easy.
Program optimization. Volunteer management software saves you time, energy, and money so that you can focus on providing a stellar experience for your volunteers, donors, and beneficiaries.
When used effectively, technology becomes a trusted tool to serve your people-first mission.
How to Choose a Volunteer Management Software Solution
Now that you’ve seen how technology can improve your volunteer program, it’s time to find the right volunteer management software for your needs. You have a variety of platforms to choose from, so there’s a lot to consider.
Follow these steps for how to choose a volunteer management software solution:
Identify your volunteer management pain points. Audit your organization to discover inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and pain points. Consider your volunteer program’s unique challenges and what problems you would like technology to solve.
Look for key features. Select a software solution that has the features you need to save time, money, and energy. Look for a comprehensive platform with self-service options, customization, user-friendly interfaces, automated communication, event management tools, advanced reporting options, and integration capabilities.
Find a proven software solution. Prioritize volunteer management software that has a proven track record of success, including case studies and decades of experience.
Consider customer service.
Your volunteer management software provider should be a partner, not a salesperson who disappears as soon as your payment gets processed. Look for solutions that offer new user demos, extensive training, and consistent, helpful customer service.