WORKFORCE
to make better use of the data it holds on its more than 400,000 members. (Royal Horticultural Society gets new CRM,
RetailTechnology.co.uk, 15 February 2013) The next phases in the volunteer roll out includes
automated expenses for volunteers, reducing errors and speeding up the current paper-based process for claimant and approver; a system to support the creation of volunteer schedules, saving property staff time and giving greater autonomy to volunteers; and a volunteer recruitment system, making it quicker and easier to attract new volunteers and get them enrolled. The similarities between the way the charity
manages customer and volunteer relations also responds to the expectations of a new breed of more tech-savvy citizens. “We’re already seeing new volunteers expecting us to work in this way,” added Elliott. “This enhances the experiences they can offer members and visitors, allowing them to focus on the work they need to do but with a far more flexible and collaboration approach.” Nevertheless The National Trust recognises that
March this year with the creation of a database to hold all volunteer data, supporting communication and volunteer management. Currently, the information is held on various systems so Blackbaud CRM will centralise the data in one place in a more secure manner. “It’s about investing in the skills of our managers and giving them the tools to do their jobs well,” Elliott explained. “The introduction of technology automation enables us to improve efficiency and consistent processes.” He also told Retail T
echnology that the
organisation evaluated a number of IT-based options for improving volunteer management that included WFM. “We looked at CRM and WFM systems and found that some ticked boxes on either side, but not all. There was also a volunteer management module in our central fundraising system that we looked at. But in the end it came down to a shortlist of three, where the web-based nature of Blackbaud was attractive, as were the advantages of them being an incumbent supplier.” The National Trust began using Blackbaud CRM
in 2013 to manage membership, fundraising and online applications, as well as to take advantage of actionable prospect research and analytics and multichannel direct marketing, to allow the RHS
40 Spring/Summer 2014
Westfield Stratford shopping centre, London
not everyone is confident using technology, so it was critical for any new system to be easy-to-use for both staff and volunteers. Another major factor for National Trust was accessibility. With a number of its places in challenging and remote locations, the new system needed to be cloud-based so volunteers could access it from anywhere. The National Trust has already worked closely
with the provider on the design of the new system and made a number of enhancements to Blackbaud CRM to suit National Trust’s specific needs. “I’m pleased at how configurable the system is,” said Elliott. “The real efficiencies come from replacing paper-based process that will save people time and administrative financial overheads. We also hope it increase our volunteers’ propensity to recommend us to other based on management and organisational standards, as measured by the ‘Volunteer Recommendation Score’. “We needed a single repository, managed locally
but nationally administered,” he continued. “Ease- of-use was vital for us – we aim to have 70% of all National Trust volunteers using the system after one year. If we hit that figure it will make an enormous difference to our entire volunteer management programme.” Another real estate owner with a vested interest
in keeping visitors that also happen to be shoppers happy is Westfield. As one of the world’s largest
www.retailtechnology.co.uk
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