Volunteers are the lifeblood of any charity. In fact, 91% of charities rely solely on the work of their volunteers. More than 21 million people are giving their time to help these charities raise as much money as possible for their great causes.

So what can you do for them in return? After all, you want them to work to their best ability and have a stress-free time doing so. There are plenty of ways you can make their lives easier and also benefit your charity. Here are our top picks…

Streamline their day-to-day

A big part of making their role simpler is to streamline what they have to do. If one quick job ends up taking them multiple steps, there might be room to improve it. There’s also the added benefit of making it a more pleasing experience for your donors, especially in shops.

For example, can you make the Gift Aid sign-up process quicker? Some systems integrate Gift Aid into the buying process, making it streamlined and automatically reminding volunteers it needs to be done. If you have a tablet-based EPoS system, you can also beat the queues by allowing staff to serve people from anywhere in the shop.

Provide support

This is two-fold. It’s both support for them as a person and ensuring they have support as a volunteer. For them as a person, make sure wellbeing is at the top of the agenda. These people are giving you their valuable time, so ensure they aren’t getting burnt out in the role. This goes double for people who canvas on the streets, as a lot of rejection can take its toll on a person.

Then there’s technical support. Their job is going to be that much harder if EPoS systems are constantly crashing. Make sure they have the most up-to-date software and that you have access to 24/7 support if anything goes wrong. The sooner they can get back up and running, the better.

Convenience

We’d all love it if our jobs were more convenient, and your volunteers will be no different! So ask yourself how you can make using certain tools simpler. Some EPoS systems allow you to pick them up and use them anywhere – like the tablet-based ones we mentioned earlier. And we mean anywhere. It’s a lot more convenient to use on the street or at a car boot sale than working with paper forms or cash.

You can also look at making the system more convenient for them. Some let you customise their tablet dashboard, meaning they have access to only what they need, when they need it.

Value security

Your volunteers shouldn’t feel at risk on the job. Put a lot of attention on your system’s security to keep them (and your donors) safe. If your system is hacked into, cyber criminals could gain access to their personal details. Ensure everything is up to date with the latest patches and, similar to the last point, work with someone who can guide you through any security concerns.

Volunteers will likely be working with you because they’re passionate about the cause. So make sure they have everything they need to run a tight ship and bring in as much money as possible. Our new CHARiot Web EPoS system has all of the above and so much more. If you want to find out more, get in touch with our team.

CHARiot Web has been designed with your charity in mind. This innovative and versatile SaaS solution is all you need to take your charity to the next level and build back better. To find out more, reach out to us on 01204 706 000.