1. A Volunteer Supervisor’s Guide to Volunteer Connection a modern, online volunteer management solution

2. Access Volunteer Connection Visit http://volunteerconnection.redcross.orghttp://volunteerconnection.redcross.org Enter your username and password. Forgot your username? Contact the volunteer resources department at your chapter or station 1

3. Access Volunteer Connection Need to get more familiar with the site in general? Check out these introductory materials: – Volunteer Video Volunteer Video – Volunteer Connection Overview Video for Staff Volunteer Connection Overview Video for Staff – GroupShare Overview Video for Staff GroupShare Overview Video for Staff – A Volunteer’s Guide to Volunteer Connection A Volunteer’s Guide to Volunteer Connection 2

4. Understand: Referral Process Volunteer supervisor identifies a volunteer need and submits a request to fill the position Volunteer Resources advertises the position and finds potential matches Interested volunteers complete the application that best matches their desired volunteer role Volunteer Resources refers potential volunteers to the Volunteer Supervisor Volunteer Supervisor accepts the referred volunteer, adding the volunteer to their team Volunteer begins within their selected role 3

5. Understand: Opportunities Want your opportunity to be open to volunteers? Work with Volunteer Resources to create a position description. 4

6. Understand: Referrals Manage your prospective volunteers -Open the system-generated email and follow the link within to take action for a specific volunteer -Click Manage Opportunity Queue to view or take action on all pending referrals 5

7. Understand: Referrals Click Update Status to track a prospective volunteer’s progress through the referral process 6

8. Understand: Referrals Refer to: Paid staff supervisor Assigned to: Feel free to delegate follow-up to a coworker or volunteer lead CC Email to: If you like, copy the department director, a volunteer lead, etc. 7

9. Understand: Referrals Save to keep the volunteer as a recruit Approve to add the volunteer to your roster 8

10. Understand: Referrals Approval: select the volunteer’s position and they will be added automatically to your GroupShare and roster. They are now considered an active volunteer. Recommended: Email them a “welcome to the team!” message. 9

11. Communicate efficiently and effectively. Use GroupShare sites to enhance communication with your volunteers and other volunteer supervisors. Understand: My Groups 10

12. Promote your activity! -Post upcoming events, classes and meetings -Share photos of your volunteers in action -Provide key documents for easy download -Easily communicate Post news Email the entire team at once or one volunteer at a time Download a current roster at any time See GroupShare training materials for more details. Understand: My Groups 11

13. Understand: My Groups – Events Need to manage RSVPs for an upcoming meeting or project? Click on “Add Event” Want to post an informational-only event, such as a conference call? Click on the date 12

14. Understand: My Groups – “Add Event” Successfully recruit volunteers for an event -Enter the details: name, date, start time, contact, location and description (include the event end time and a link to a Google Map) -Set a maximum number of attendees if needed -Indicate the type of event -Required: Automatically add the event to your volunteers’ schedules as “attending” -RSVP: Give your volunteers an opportunity to let you know if they’re available. This is the best option for managing sign- ups, especially when you have a limited number of spaces. -Information Only: Similar to just adding a quick informational-only event right on the calendar (see last slide), selecting this option gives you a chance to provide more details for such an event. -Do you need to send reminder emails for this particular event? Really think about this – do your volunteers need to receive an email reminder right to their inbox about a conference call? Probably not. Should they receive one about a quarterly meeting? Possibly. Recommended: at most, ONE reminder email, three days before the event. Leave the second box as “Don’t send reminder.” -Do you need to send an invitation to this particular event? Remember, the event will display automatically on the GroupShare calendar, and if the volunteer receives nightly updates, they’ll already know that you’ve added an event. Consider if you absolutely need to alert your volunteers that there is something new available. More often than not, you probably will not need to send an invite. 13

15. Understand: My Groups – “Add Event” Indicate type of event = RSVP Volunteers will click on the name of the event to view details, then submit an RSVP (Yes, No, Maybe). Often, they will add comments and questions here since it’s easy, so be sure to manage these (see next slide). Volunteer supervisors should click on Manage Event Details, Reservations and Attendance to see who has signed up. 14

16. Understand: My Groups – “Add Event” Indicate type of event = RSVP Use the Manage Reservations and Attendance page to contact those that have or have not RSVPed, view comments, download a sign in sheet, upload files related to the event, edit event details and more. Be sure to review all comments! Respond by simply emailing or calling the volunteer. 15

17. Understand: My Groups – Volunteer Supervisors Work with Volunteer Resources to create an access group and GroupShare site in Volunteer Connection for Volunteer Supervisors. The site could serve as a toolbox of resources that would allow you to do such things as: -Submit requests for new volunteers -Nominate Volunteers of the Month -Request the inactivation of a volunteer -Communicate with other supervisors through discussion or email -Learn how to use Volunteer Connection by downloading training documents 16

18. Shift Tools provide scheduling options that are not available at GroupShare events. -Make registration more widely available, even for your entire region or station -Quickly create recurring shifts and events -Copy an existing shift or event to create a new one See Shift Tool training materials for more details. Understand: Shift Tools 17

19. Tips Finding your volunteer’s contact information – Use your GroupShare “Directory” to find email and phone numbers, or simply click “email” next to the volunteer’s name to send a message directly – “Download XLS/PDF Roster” from GroupShare administrative actions to view a real-time group roster – Use “Search Directory” at the top of any page within the site; enter full or partial first name OR last name for successful results. Scheduling your volunteers – Likely items to include on GroupShare calendars include your activity’s meetings, shifts, events, and training (you can link to the Saba LMS) – Consider using shift tools for special event signup, non-Saba courses such as Red Cross Orientation, specific disaster services scheduling, and scheduling that involves recurring shifts or events 18

20. Thanks for all you do! Questions about Volunteer Connection: contact the volunteer resources department at your chapter or station