Featured Leader: Shannan Gove on revolutionising volunteer and workforce management

Few individuals stand out as actual change agents in the ever-changing world of non-profit organisations and volunteers. Shannan Gove, co-founder of Rosterfy, is an example of a visionary who is changing the way large-scale non-profits engage with their communities through centralised volunteer management.

Here are Shannan’s Top 5 tips for efficient volunteer management:

Rosterfy works with not-for-profits around the world to centralise the way that they engage their community.

“Rosterfy provides an end-to-end solution for managing volunteers. From registration, recruitment, onboarding, skills matching and training, through to scheduling, time tracking and attendance, Rosterfy is allowing nonprofits to quantify the impact and value that volunteers are having with an organisation,” said Gove.

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a stark reminder of the invaluable role that volunteers play in the not-for-profit sector. As Gove aptly puts it, “through COVID and post-COVID to me is almost like you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.”

“Volunteerism is the heart and soul of what a lot of organisations, in particular not nonprofits, live and die by,” he added.

However, managing a vast volunteer workforce efficiently is no small feat. Gove identifies key challenges and opportunities that Rosterfy addresses:  

1. Replacing Manual Processes with Automation: Many organisations still rely on manual processes with a heavy headcount to manage registration, recruitment, and onboarding of their volunteers. By utilising volunteer management solutions like Rosterfy, automations can be utilised to better manage and engage volunteers to drive efficiency and engagement.

2. Business Efficiency: With budgets tightening across the board and reduced headcounts commonplace, staff are being asked to do more with less, with many organizations choosing to invest in technology to ensure maximum efficiency and return on investment.

3. Single Identity for Volunteers: Rosterfy integrates with various CRM systems, allowing organisations to have a single source of truth for each volunteer. This not only enhances visibility but also helps organisations recognise the multifaceted talents (maybe they’re a volunteer AND a fundraiser) of their volunteers to maximise their full potential.

4. Risk and Compliance: Gove emphasises the importance of ensuring data security and compliance in volunteer management. With increased emphasis being placed on thorough governance and compliance, Rosterfy offers solutions to mitigate risks related to data handling and onsite in the form of volunteer background checks.

“Rosterfy can really help organisations with how they can ensure that their data is stored correctly and secondly, how their workforce can be compliant with all the standards that you set for your organisation,” he explained.

“Don’t allow yourself to be in a situation where you’re short on volunteers and so you grab anyone in the community and send them out, wearing your shirt when maybe they haven’t gone through the appropriate background checks and the right inductions to be onsite representing your nonprofit.”

5. Personalised Engagement: In an era where personalisation is key, Rosterfy enables organisations to tailor their volunteer opportunities and onboarding processes to meet the specific needs and motivations of each volunteer.

“We’ve been running Rosterfy for six or seven years now, and we’re forever wanting our clients to work closely together to say, ‘guys stop putting your posters up in the same place, stop all posting your different role offers on the same job sites.’”

“How do we share our volunteers amongst each other?” Gove said, further highlighting the power of collaboration in volunteer management.

Rosterfy has over 2 million volunteers on its platform globally, with a surprising demographic trend: the average age of volunteers falls in the 24 to 34 age group, challenging the common assumption of older volunteers. Gove notes the success of engaging university students in volunteering, aligning their activities with their academic subjects and personal aspirations.

“What we [Rosterfy] want to be is the best in the world in mass volunteer and workforce management and connecting communities around the world. That’s what we care about,” he added.

Shannan Gove and Rosterfy are not just revolutionising volunteer management; they are providing organisations with the tools and strategies needed to thrive in an era where efficiency, collaboration, and personalisation are key to success. Through their innovative solutions, they are paving the way for a brighter future for not-for-profits and their dedicated volunteers.

About Rosterfy
Rosterfy is used by non-profits, charities, sporting federations, and more to better manage their volunteer programs by improving how they can recruit, screen, train and retain volunteers.

Our market leading technology helps you create engaging experiences throughout the whole lifecycle of your volunteer journey.

Book a demo today.

Shannan Gove

Shannan Gove is the Co Founder of Rosterfy. Since starting Rosterfy in 2010, Shannan has proven himself a global leader in mass workforce operations having worked alongside some of the biggest workforce programs worldwide including British Heart Foundation, St Vincent de Paul, Lifeline Australia and many more.

Shannan is also the host of Rosterfy’s Engaged Volunteer Podcast, which brings together leaders in workforce management to share their journey and learnings along the way. Guests to date have included workforce managers from SXSW, FIFA, Ironman and Oxfam UK just to name a few.

Menchie Khairuddin

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Menchie Khairuddin is a writer Deputy Content Manager at Akolade and content producer for Third Sector News. She is passionate about social affairs specifically in mixed, multicultural heritage and not-for-profit organisations.

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