Are you a part of an organization that accepts volunteers on a regular basis? If you are, you probably realize how important volunteer management is.
From recruiting the right people to helping them gain information about the jobs they’ll be volunteering for, volunteer management is no doubt a critical part of running your organization well.
Salesforce provides organizations with a handy tool for volunteer management. It’s called Volunteers for Salesforce (V4S). This program takes out the daunting tasks associated with managing your volunteers so you can focus on other tasks as well as in engaging and forming a professional yet friendly relationship with your volunteers.
There is a dedicated module in Salesforce Trailhead that teaches users how to use Volunteers for Salesforce. Let’s take a look at the module.
Defining Volunteer Management Module
Volunteer Management is a 45-minute free online learning module from Salesforce. It is accessible via the trailhead and can be found under the Manage Volunteers for Nonprofits trail. This module is recommended for beginner organization admins.
Through this module, Salesforce introduces their Volunteers for Salesforce program and hopes to simplify management of the work of volunteers in a certain organization. The module explains how to use the program to help users:
- Find skilled volunteers
- Assign specific tasks to them
- Track the work they do
- Communicate effectively with volunteers through email
- Create and view volunteer dashboards and reports
The module consists of three units that can be completed in 15 minutes each. Challenge quizzes are given at the end of each unit to assess the learner’s acquired knowledge on the subject matters presented.
Learning Units Under Volunteer Management Module
Three short units are presented in this online learning package:
- Get Started with Volunteer Management – 15 minutes
This unit starts with an introduction to Salesforce’s Volunteer for Salesforce (V4S) program. It also teaches learners how to add volunteer information such as skills, status, and availability.
- Find the Right Volunteers – 15 minutes
The next unit tackles the basics of finding the right volunteers using the program. Learners discover how to search for volunteers, assign volunteers to respective tasks, and verify each volunteer’s sign-up processes.
- Manage Email and Report on Volunteer Participation – 15 minutes
The last unit stresses the importance of proper communication with the volunteers through emails. Automated and manual methods for emailing volunteers are discussed here. Learners will also familiarize themselves with creating volunteer dashboards and tracking work statuses through volunteer reports.
Summing it All Up
Nonprofit organizations have a constant need to recruit, train, and retain volunteers for specific tasks. Salesforce rescues them from the grueling task of volunteer management through its Volunteer for Salesforce (V4S) program.
The Volunteer Management Module is a short but value-packed learning package accessible from Salesforce trailhead. It covers the basics of the V4S program so that beginner admins of nonprofit organizations can easily grasp how it’s used for easier volunteer management.