BACKGROUND
Established in the early 20th century as an integral part of community outreach facilitated through local congregations, UnitingCare has a steadfast commitment to fostering a community where individuals can "live life in all its fullness." At the heart of their organisation, the Volunteer Experience Team is dedicated to assisting their volunteers and supervisors in adhering to best practices, harnessing the capabilities of Better Impact, operating within their volunteer framework, and supporting recruitment efforts. They offer a diverse range of services, including Lifeline Retail shops, the Lifeline Crisis Support hotline, Lifeline Bookfest, four hospitals, Blue Care Aged Care Facility and Community Support, Mission support through Chaplaincy, and Family and Disability Services, with over 8,000 volunteers throughout Queensland, Australia.
UnitingCare is a pivotal part of the UnitingCare Australia network, one of the nation's largest providers of social services, impacting 1.4 million people annually with a dedicated staff of over 50,000. They've maintained this commitment for over a century, striving for a better world and advocating for social justice across party lines, drawing on insights from their network and the people they serve. This mission-driven environment positions UnitingCare Australia as a leading advocate for social justice, committed to a brighter, more equitable future for all Australians.
Victoria Bansey, Better Impact Volunteer Experience Lead at UnitingCare, became a member of the team in November 2019. Her professional background encompasses IT and Multimedia Design, with prior experience successfully implementing Better Impact for a Refugee Program in South-East Queensland. Victoria was particularly enthusiastic about taking on the task of introducing Better Impact within a sizeable, values-driven organisation.
Before making the transition to Better Impact, the organisation primarily relied on an antiquated Access database which was continually at risk of being phased out and a multitude of spreadsheets for volunteer management.
CHALLENGES
The organisation faced several challenges prior to transitioning to Better Impact. “There were a lot of spreadsheets!” recalls Victoria. Their use led to considerable data duplication across various services, which resulted in a skewed perception of their volunteer count. Due to the lack of a maintained VMS the organisation estimated it had volunteer numbers over 9,000. With the introduction of Better Impact we embarked on a data cleanse which told us that we have fewer than 5,000 volunteers.
In 2019, after DJ Cronin became manager of the Volunteer Experience Team, he noticed that there were three areas that needed particular attention in the organisation. First was the volunteer management system. The other two were a Volunteer Framework for the Organisation as well as a Recruitment Plan.
🔑 Key Pain Points:
- Struggle to oversee diverse operations such as hospitals, Op Shops, large events, Crisis Hotline, and Family and Disability Services due to the extensive geographical dispersion across Queensland and the Northern Territory.
- Event coordination for the semi-annual Lifeline Bookfest in Brisbane became labourintensive, with communication challenges for 1,500 shifts involving 700 volunteers relying on postal letters. Staff managed responses via phone or return mail, and shift assignments were tracked manually on a spreadsheet, significantly impacting staff productivity in the three months leading up to the event.
- The reliance on paperwork contributed to frequent outdated information, leading to supervisors working with incorrect details and volunteers experiencing difficulties.
