For the past year or so I’ve been working with an organization to help them launch their first volunteer role, as applications are rolling in and we’re planning for our first orientation next month. I've been thinking about nonprofit management tools in general and volunteer management technology specifically.As we’ve been talking about what we need to do and the different options available I went back and revisited the 2021 Technology Evolution in Volunteer Administration (TEVA) study. Some of you may remember hearing about the survey, or listened to the episode of the Time + Talent Podcast Tobi and I did with Dr. Mark Hager.
When Mark first shared his research - which was accelerated by all of the technology adoption during the early days of the pandemic - one big thing stood out to me: Leaders of volunteers need our technology tools to work, but we’re willing to put in an above average amount of time and effort to ensure success!
He compared leaders of volunteers - specifically those with CVAs - to decades of research on everyday technology adoption and technology adoption in the workplace and found that our expectations for how technology can help us do our work are high, but we don’t expect adoption and implementation of technology to be easy.
There are some interesting takeaways for leaders of volunteers, and for the volunteer engagement space:
- Most of us are open to using new tools and technology.
- We believe we have the skills, or can learn the skills, needed to use technology effectively, and don’t have much anxiety about using it.
- Most survey respondents rely heavily on the technology and tools they use - with most survey respondents using their systems at least once a week. (The survey didn’t ask about daily use, but I know many of you are using it every day!)
(If you want to learn more about the TEVA research the report has valuable insights and some very cool charts and graphs.)
In Mark’s research, he also found that most leaders of volunteers don’t have the final say on which tools are purchased and implemented. They often have to find workarounds or juggle multiple systems to get their work done.
This is where tools like Asana can make a difference. Asana for Nonprofits was designed to help organizations streamline processes, maximize resources, and make workflows crystal clear—so we can spend less time on back-and-forth and more time making an impact. If you’re looking for project management help, I highly recommend checking out Asana.
So, what technology tools are you using? How are they working for you?
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