Question

Photo of Jonathan Miles

0

Scheduling/Managing Volunteers

We are looking for efficient ways to organize and schedule our volunteers. Currently, we are using a mix of PCO and Spreadsheets. I'd like to use Rock, but there seem to be some limitations. Here are some things we hope to achieve:

  1. Position Scheduling - For instance, on our Security Team, we have Team Leads, Medical, Supervisor, etc. In Rock, they are currently one team, the "Security" team. When I tell scheduling I need 12, that would be a Supervisor, Team Lead, Medical, some Officers, etc. I can't schedule 12 officers and no medics. How do we define this type of scheduling?
  2. Skills - Similar to positions above, what about skills based scheduling? For instance, I'd like to ensure I have one Spanish speaking Guest Services volunteer on every shift.
  3. Blackout Dates - Is it possible for our volunteers to enter blackout dates that they are not available so that we won't schedule them.
  4. Service Path - How do you define a growth path for each of your volunteers? We want to be able to define what the next step in service looks like for that individual. Camera OP > Switcher, Switcher Op > Team Leader, etc.
  5. Sync to xxx - Can a volunteer sync to iCal, to their native phone calendar, whatever to see when they are set to serve?

If you are not using Rock for your scheduling, I'd also be curious as to what you use.

  • Photo of Miles Carmany

    1

    You can accomplish most, if not all, of this with the out-of-the-box tools.

    Start at the Group Scheduling section of the Groups manual.

    You may also want to look at Steps section of the Engagement manual for building out a process to mentor volunteers.

    You might need to (or have someone) do some work to get iCal feeds, though.