Let Volunteer Data Demonstrate Your Leadership
Speakers: Sam Bennett (Rosterfy) & Rachel Stewart (Leadership Coach)
Intro
Sam Bennett:
Hello everyone, and welcome to another Rosterfy webinar. Today’s session is all about how volunteer data can demonstrate your leadership. We’ll be keeping it interactive with polls and Q\&A, and I’m delighted to be joined by Rachel Stewart. Many of you may know Rachel already—she’s an experienced leader in the volunteering sector, having worked with organisations like Dorothy House Hospice, Spurgeons, and Barnardo’s. She now works as a career and leadership coach.
Rachel is going to share her expertise on how data can fuel leadership decisions and strengthen volunteering programmes. Rachel, would you like to say hello?
Rachel Stewart:
Hi everyone, it’s really nice to be here today.
Sam:
Thanks, Rachel. We’ll spend about 25 minutes on content, with interactive questions throughout and time for Q\&A at the end.
Before we dive in, a quick introduction to Rosterfy. We started out connecting young people with volunteering opportunities to help them build skills and experience. Over time, this grew into a database of thousands of volunteers and, eventually, a technology platform that helps organisations manage and engage volunteers more effectively. Today, Rosterfy supports programmes in over 35 countries, powering more than 150 million volunteering hours.
We’re proud to work with a wide range of charities—from national organisations to small community programmes—and we’re continually developing our platform to improve accessibility, data analytics, and volunteer engagement.
Now, let’s hand over to Rachel to lead today’s discussion.
Using Data to Demonstrate Leadership
Rachel:
Thank you, Sam. And thank you all for joining. I’ve spent nearly 20 years in leadership roles in the voluntary sector, and now I work as a coach helping people grow their influence and shine a spotlight on their achievements. Today, we’ll focus on how you can use volunteer data to demonstrate leadership.
When we say “data,” we don’t just mean numbers and statistics. Data includes text, images, audio, stories—any information that can be collected, analysed, and presented in a meaningful way. The key is how we interpret and communicate it so others can see its value.
Common Challenges
In my conversations with volunteer managers, some recurring challenges often come up:
Limited tools and resources: Many teams don’t have access to the systems they need.
Lack of recognition: Volunteer managers’ contributions can be overshadowed by frontline teams.
Invisible work: Time spent nurturing and supporting volunteers isn’t always visible to senior leaders.
Competing priorities: It can be hard to choose where to focus when resources are stretched.
These challenges highlight the importance of being strategic—aligning our work with organisational goals, communicating clearly, and evidencing the impact of volunteering.
Data as a Leadership Language
We can use data to demonstrate leadership in three key ways:
- Strategic Leadership
Show how volunteering aligns with your organisation’s mission. For example:
"Our volunteers contributed 1,200 hours to the literacy programme, helping increase student reading levels by 25%, directly supporting our strategic goal of improving education outcomes.”
- Inclusive Leadership
Use data to highlight diversity, equity, and community engagement. For example, if only 3% of your volunteers identify as from a minority background but 8% of your service users do, you can use that insight to justify outreach strategies and partnerships.
Financial Leadership
Evidence cost savings and added value. Volunteers may provide essential contributions—such as admin support—that would otherwise require paid staff. Demonstrating financial impact is a powerful way to secure resources and investment.
Communicating with Stakeholders
A recurring theme is communication. Volunteer managers wear many hats—HR, marketing, data analysis—and sometimes others don’t realise the breadth of the role. By regularly sharing data, insights, and stories, you can raise awareness and influence decision-makers.
That might include:
* Quarterly reports for trustees
* Newsletters with volunteer stories
* Presenting at management meetings
* Dashboards with key data points
Blending statistics with human stories is especially effective. Numbers show impact, but stories make the data memorable and relatable.
Final Thoughts
Rachel:
Using data isn’t just about reporting—it’s a leadership toolkit. It helps you:
- Align volunteer programmes with organisational strategy
- Improve operations and services
- Advocate for diversity and inclusion
- Demonstrate financial value
- Tell compelling stories that influence decision-makers
I encourage you to reflect on how you currently use data, the barriers you face, and what support or tools you might need to strengthen your leadership impact.
.png)
