Taakie

Technology and data as a way to recruit volunteers

Every week millions of people turn out to play their favourite sport with an association. The fact that these people are able to practise their sport is largely thanks to a huge army of volunteers in our country. Every weekend millions of volunteers turn up to keep their associations running. While many associations have a successful association policy, there are other associations who have struggled for years with a lack of volunteers. Team SportService, who support and assist associations to organise sports, realised that the role of volunteers is crucial for every association and set out to find a solution. They came very quickly to the realisation that the smart use of technology and data could play an important role here. With our knowledge of technology, data and its natural fit with the world of sport, they quickly beat a path to our door.

Solution

Research shows that many people are actually open to working as volunteers, but that associations often are not aware of this, or they do not approach this group in the right way. That is why Techonomy worked with Team SportService to develop the Taakie volunteer matching tool. With Taakie, associations get to know their supporters and it becomes easier to approach them to take on a job that matches their interests and abilities. This ensures that it is not only more fun to do volunteer work, but that members and the parents of young people feel more involved and committed to the club.

This is how it works

Taakie's design makes it simple for associations and volunteers to use, with a short learning curve. One or more administrators of the association need to upload the list of members into the application. After this, a personal email is sent out to the members with a questionnaire in order to get to know them better. The replies to these questions help to indicate which tasks might suit each member and the algorithm then makes sure that they are matched up to an open task or role. Publishing the tasks is done in WhatsApp, using easy access technology. This means that the volunteers are being approached by the association using a communication channel they already use and which they check regularly. For both the volunteer coordinator and the volunteers for the association this approach has resulted in a very positive experience. Volunteers feel they are being listened to, the coordinator saves a huge amount of time efficiently, and the association gets the benefit of the best match between volunteer and task.