A volunteer management system is software that helps you to recruit, train, engage and retain your volunteers in one centralised space.
A volunteer management system is only a tool. It should be complemented by policies and processes which support your organisation’s objectives.
It will take time to get up and running and even longer to fully embed a system.
During the procurement process, you need to clearly outline your requirements in a way that suppliers can understand.
Your requirements should be focused on the problems and issues you want to address and what you are trying to achieve. Gather as much information as possible from those who work closely with or manage volunteers along with volunteers themselves.
You should have a clear understanding of who the system is for.
It can be helpful to have a working definition of a ‘volunteer’ that allows for any future volunteer roles. This will help ensure a shared understanding of the target audience.
Be clear about what your priorities are.
You can prioritise requirements by putting them into three categories.
Be careful not to end up with all requirements in the ‘must’ category.
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