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Newsletter
April 2011
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THIS MONTH'S TOPICS
1. FROM THE SERVICE: Results of the 2010 user survey
2. TIP: How to find your ideal online volunteer
3. EXPERIENCE: Volunteering their design skills for the UNV roster
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1. FROM THE SERVICE: Results of the 2010 user survey
In January this year we sent out an anonymous survey to our 14,000 users who were active in 2010: volunteers who applied to at least one online volunteering opportunity and organizations that submitted one or more opportunities for publication on the Online Volunteering service website. We wanted to know how satisfied they were with the services we provide, to help us remain aware of and further adapt to our users’ needs. Users were asked to give ratings of “excellent”, “good”, “average”, “poor” and “very poor”.
In 2010, 84 percent of respondents rated their satisfaction with the overall services provided by UNV’s Online Volunteering service as good or excellent, which is a slight increase (+2 points) compared to the 2009 survey results.
The overall satisfaction with the website remains high as 84 percent of our respondents rated it excellent or good. Volunteer respondents are still very satisfied with the website and newsletter content (84 and 82 percent respectively), whereas organization respondents’ satisfaction has decreased compared to last year. However, the satisfaction expressed by organizations about opportunity and volunteer management tools was slightly above that of 2009: for example, 95 percent of the organizations were satisfied or very satisfied with the opportunity creation functionality and 86 percent with the opportunity management tools offered through the website. Volunteers’ satisfaction with the website tools is stable in relation to 2009, e.g. the opportunity search functionality satisfies 78 percent of volunteer respondents’ needs.
While 87 percent of respondents rated the relevance of emails sent by the Online Volunteering service’s user support as excellent or good, it has been noted that there were some delays in the timeliness of responses, resulting in a drop in respondents’ satisfaction to 77 percent. 87 percent of organizations rated as excellent or good the guidance received on volunteer and opportunity management, as did 84 percent the guidance on the presentation and formulation of opportunities. These results have to be considered together with the 71 percent of volunteer respondents who indicated their satisfaction with the clarity of opportunities published on the website, as well as the 77 percent of organization respondents satisfied with the applications received.
We are grateful to the many users who participated in the survey. Your feedback provides us with a lot of valuable information to further improve our functionalities, processes and services.
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2. TIP: How to find your ideal online volunteer
Through the user survey, many respondents shared comments or raised questions that we will address in today’s and next month’s newsletters. Respondents who have raised more individual questions will be replied to directly, provided they recorded their name in the survey.
How can my organization receive support from volunteers?
Organizations registered on the Online Volunteering service are given access to the website’s opportunity and volunteer management tools. The first step to finding volunteers is to post an online volunteering opportunity in which you describe the task for which you seek support in a clear and comprehensive manner. UNV reviews all opportunities before they are published on the website to ensure they are in line with the criteria (e.g. only request online support from volunteers). It also provides guidance on how to present the opportunities in order to attract many applications from qualified candidates which allow you to select the most suitable volunteer.
How do I select the best candidate?
You will receive applications from candidates who are eager to support your organization and who believe they have the required skills. The more detailed the description of the task and the clearer the qualifications and experience required to perform the task successfully, the easier it will be for applicants to judge whether or not they have these skills and to tailor their applications accordingly. Asking candidates to include a CV in their applications can be very helpful, and we encourage you to short-list candidates and probe further before making your final selection.
Please remember that UNV does not pre-screen applications. Just like for any recruitment process, you will therefore receive applications from qualified candidates as well as from people who may not meet all the requirements. It is up to you to select the volunteers with the most suitable profile.
Irrespective of your decision, all applicants expect you to let them know whether or not their application was successful. We recommend you use the application rejection functionality of the website to do so, with its automated message to inform candidates.
Candidates you wish to collaborate with have to be contacted directly by email, which gives you the opportunity to ask them to reconfirm their interest, share additional information about the task to be performed and agree on next steps. Not all short-listed candidates may answer, as some apply to several opportunities at the same time and thus may not be available anymore.
Are online volunteers UN Volunteers?
Through the Online Volunteering service website, UNV gives organizations access to a large pool of individuals interested in providing online support to projects around the globe. Because UNV is not involved in the selection of online volunteers and does not sign a contract with them, online volunteers are not UN Volunteers – they are volunteers for the organizations they support on a specific assignment. Nevertheless, UNV monitors organizations’ and volunteers’ satisfaction and takes action when appropriate. It is therefore important to inform UNV of any problems you encounter with applicants, for example if they make inappropriate requests.
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3. EXPERIENCE: Volunteering their design skills for the UNV database of candidates
The United Nations Volunteers programme mobilizes more than 7,500 UN Volunteers every year and maintains a database of candidates interested in serving as UN Volunteers in the field. The UNV database contains the details of thousands of candidates, and new applications are submitted every day. In order to increase the efficient management of these candidates, staff of UNV’s Volunteer Recruitment Resources Section, which manages the database, developed “MyProfile”, a web-based application that enables candidates to easily update their profiles. Two online volunteers, Catherine Palmer and Ahmed Darwish, were engaged to design the graphic identity and homepage of the “MyProfile” application.
The online volunteers successfully mastered the challenge of developing a distinct graphic design for “MyProfile” that clearly differentiates it from the three public websites administered by UNV, namely www.unvolunteers.org, www.onlinevolunteering.org and www.worldvolunteer.org, while maintaining a cohesive organizational image. Moreover, the design conveys UNV’s mission and values, and visually integrates the promotion of volunteerism and gender equity. The page will go live towards the end of April.
Catherine and Ahmed worked together as a team, with Catherine focusing on the design of the graphic element and Ahmed on the layout of the “MyProfile” homepage. They sent weekly updates to their contact person in UNV, who provided feedback. The online volunteers’ proposals passed through a number of approval stages, and the comments were integrated into the design. The volunteers contributed to the development of a web page that makes it quick and easy for candidates to access and update their profiles, thereby greatly impacting the volunteer recruitment workflow and facilitating a faster and more efficient volunteer recruitment process.
Ahmed Darwish from Egypt works as General Manager for a consulting and telecommunications company in Cairo, and is enrolled in an MBA in Strategic Planning. He began his online volunteering activities in May 2010 in order to give back and make positive contributions to peace and development. He chose to apply to the UNV’s online volunteering opportunity because he wanted to support the United Nations.
“I spent about 8 hours a week on this assignment. It was really amazing working with Catherine, and with the help of our coordinator at UNV, we were successful in creating a design that was approved by UNV. Volunteering is something that has influenced my personal life in a positive way. One day my contribution may have a positive impact on the development of my community and country.”
Catherine Palmer, who is from South Africa and the U.K., holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art, complemented by studies in various design and 3D computer programme courses. She has worked in theatre, commercials, feature films and television. She had just applied as a UN Volunteer herself, and immediately seized the opportunity to contribute to this assignment because she thought the “My Profile” concept was a brilliant idea in which she wanted to be involved.
“The process has been very collaborative, each person using their specific design skills and tools. The online relationship has been fluid and open, and thoroughly enjoyable. I couldn’t say exactly how many hours I spent on it, initially a few days a week, which then just became a few hours a week as we resolved the design. I feel proud of the work I have done, and happy that people I have never met were excited by it. I’m glad that my skills and free time can produce worthy results. Volunteering is the most rewarding thing you can do with your time. The sense of achievement and accomplishment has far more value than any paid work.”
