How to modernise your program and manage change resistance from senior volunteers

Many organisations that benefit from volunteer programs are experiencing a clash between the need to modernise their program and managing the change resistance from senior volunteers.

How can you seamlessly implement contemporary enhancements like dashboards, portals, mobile check-in/check-out, volunteer profiles, and online onboarding to appeal to an aging demographic, including those who may be less familiar with technology, without causing undue worry or stress?

Not all elderly volunteers will be perturbed by the modern day volunteer systems such as Rosterfy. In fact there are a large number of aging volunteers who see these improvements as greatly enhancing their experience of the volunteer program. Smartphones, tablets, voice activated devices have all been adopted en masse by senior citizens.

In this article we will dive into one such program from Golf Australia who use Rosterfy to maximise the efficiency of their team but have also received outstanding feedback from their volunteers.

Before we uncover what’s been so successful in Golf Australia’s program we’ll highlight seven  ways you can manage change resistance from older volunteers when introducing new systems and modern volunteer management programs.

1. Clear and open lines of communication
   Address your intentions to modernise your volunteer program ahead of time. This will give your volunteers plenty of time to address any concerns they might have or considerations you may need to make for people with specific needs.Keep a simple and easy to follow format:
   – What is changing?
   – When is it happening?
   – What if anything do your volunteers need to do?
2. Education and Training
   Offer comprehensive training sessions to familiarise your volunteers with the changes and demonstrate how the changes will benefit them and the organization.When managing large numbers of volunteers, in person training isn’t always viable so you need an easy to access, online solution for delivering information and ensuring your program meets any compliance requirements expected.Use an online training provider to deliver the training or if you have Rosterfy you can build your own LMS program to ensure all training steps are complete, you have a record of the training and a real time status for each volunteer.
3. Give your volunteers a sense of empowerment
   Involve your volunteers in the decision making process as much as possible. Their input can provide valuable insights and increase their sense of belonging in the program. Rosterfy’s Volunteer Management Platform gives volunteers their own Volunteer Portal displaying their full volunteering history.
4. Take small steps
   Introduce changes gradually rather than all at once, allowing your volunteers to adjust incrementally and feel more comfortable with the process. Document the changes or create a regular blog update of them so your team or volunteers can catch up in their own time.
5. Create support networks
   Establish support networks among volunteers where they can share experiences, concerns, and tips for adapting to the changes. Many volunteer programs designate people as ‘Group Leaders’ within the volunteer base. This creates a point of contact within your teams so they can relay information.
6. Offer one to one assistance
   Try to offer individualised assistance and support to those who may struggle with the changes, whether it’s technological support or emotional reassurance.
7. Celebrate process
   Acknowledge and celebrate milestones achieved as a result of the changes, highlighting the positive outcomes and successes. When you use a Volunteer Management Software provider with Reward and Recognition features you can ensure your volunteers feel appreciated.
8. Patience and understanding
   Be patient and empathetic towards their concerns and resistance, recognising that change can be particularly challenging for older individuals.

We conducted a survey among hundreds volunteers within the Rosterfy Community to explore their motivations for volunteering, the frequency of their volunteer activities, and their inclination towards volunteering if the experience predominantly occurred online.

What would motivate your to volunteer?

Confirming the enthusiasm of individuals over 60 for embracing modernisation in volunteer programs, our findings reveal a strong inclination among this demographic to apply for volunteer positions online.

For a golf tournament to run smoothly it required a large number of highly valued and enthusiastic volunteers. They donate their time and share their passion to make sure the guest and athletics have an enjoyable experience.

 

Golf Australia understands the value of their volunteers, so much so they want to ensure they offer them the best possible experience when offering their time to the tournament or any number of roles related to their events.

 

The challenge they faced was catering for the needs of their volunteers while introducing systems and software to alleviate some of the pressure or burden that’s put upon the time when managing applications and shifts.

 

The experience of being a volunteer has to come first for their 200+ volunteers over 78 different clubs and an average age of 67. They knew they needed an initiative system that anyone can pick up but also one powerful enough behind the scenes to streamline the application process, training, onboarding and opportunity notifications.

 

Rosterfy allowed for volunteers to self-select shifts after being shortlisted into roles, as well as checking in the volunteers online.

Following the Vic Open, a survey was conducted and the results suggested the overall experience of using Rosterfy was extremely positive. 80% of volunteers either Strongly Agreed or Agreed that Rosterfy was easy to use.

Ramon Sho, Head of Enterprise Delivery, Rosterfy – Technology modernisation is changing the volunteer landscape with the use of AI and Volunteer Management Systems that help coordinate, communicate and schedule volunteers all while ensuring everyones data is safe.

One of our common challenges we hear is how to engage an elderly volunteer demographic while using technology. Working with our customers, we see the following approaches generating the most success:

Organisations with volunteer programs need to consider the overall experience of their program and future proof it by introducing modern systems. However, this can’t be at the expense of the wellbeing of their volunteers.

There are steps you can take to make sure that adding new processes and systems to your program won’t alienate your volunteers. Communicating your intention to make improvements is the first step.

Choose a system provider that has a history of delivering world class systems and has a platform that many people find intuitive, easy to use and still impactful such as Rosterfy.