The Volunteer Kinetic Software is a system that we in Glasgow Life (Sports Development) have been using for over 10 months now. The system has helped to change for the better the way that we engage with volunteers, allowing us to put in place a self service experience for our volunteers empowering them to make choices for themselves around the volunteering they wish to get involved with. The Glasgow Sport Volunteer Bureau (GSVB) is a key mechanism of Glasgow Sports vision for volunteering and allows us to work extensively with new and existing volunteers and organisations, within a variety of settings. Having this system in place allows Glasgow Sport to support the recruitment, training, development and deployment of volunteers, whilst recognising the contribution volunteers make to sport and rewarding their success. The system allows us to accurately track volunteer activity for active volunteers on the system, giving us real understanding of the volunteering that is taking place. The GSVB has allowed us to attract a new audience of volunteers and providers out with the usual sports network. In addition, it has made the recruitment and deployment process faster and enabled us to produce more comprehensive reports. From a Volunteers perspective ' The GSVB has allowed volunteers to access an online system with easy access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for them to view and join any sport volunteering opportunity they wish to do so. Volunteers can also log their volunteering hours and provide feedback on their experiences, helping to enhance and improve similar opportunities for future volunteers. From a VIO's perspective ' VIO's has been able to engage with volunteers more effectively and efficiently to assist them with recruiting volunteers for their programmes/events. Developing these new partnerships allows Glasgow Sport to work with the organisations to improve opportunities available to volunteers across the city. In terms of customer service from the team at Smarter in Design is second to none they are always there to assist with any issues or queries that we have and have been fantastic when we need quick answers. Overall I would reccommend this system to any volunteer managers who want to keep everthing in one place, allowing you to have a log of voluntary hours and help you as a manager to become more efficient and effective in your role.

It has revolutionized our volunteer management system and dragged us forward into the 21st century! It enables us to drive consistency and expectations that all volunteering activity will be managed through it thereby providing greater transparency and accountability.

We like that volunteers, providers and admin all use the same software, the look and feel is recognisable and easy to use with great features around social media, feedback and recognition to improve the volunteer experience, particularly for young people. There are huge benefits in all our providers using the same system to manage volunteers and in the visibility of this by admin users is invaluable. The ability to specify when and where opportunities are available has helped our providers to be clearer in planning their opportunities which should make recruitment much easier. The follow up support from TK has been prompt and effective and this has helped us overcome our lack of knowledge when setting up the system initially.

At present the referencing functions are a bit limited for our needs but Team Kinetic have taken this on board and are developing some new functionality to address this. We are still learning how to operate it from an admin perspective and sometimes the visibility of what stage volunteers are at in their application is limited, likewise it's harder to see what progress providers have made with applications than we would like. We will be asking for some custom reports to help with this as in our organization the admin users need to be able to monitor progress and compliance centrally. The setting up of sessions is complex, understandably so, and we are still working out the best way to use this for our opportunities.

The best bit about this software is the function to log hours and be able to track how many hours have been logged. It is also really useful to be able to put training courses and vouchers onto the system also. Uploading opportunities is also really simple.

The reporting is very complex and not very relevant to what we are looking for. The email system is not beneficial as you are unable to track past emails, which is often necessary. From an admin perspective, when opportunities have finished and closed, they still remain on the system and this very much clogs up the system. It can be difficult for admins to judge what is on the system, how long it has been on there and in general look through all the opportunities.

We have used the software to replace paper log books that our volunteers previously used to log and record their hours. The online system is a real improvement to this as it provides an efficient way for volunteers to record their hours. There is an option for them to write feedback - which is a really useful way of them being able to document their experiences. They can also upload their qualifications and create an online profile, which they will use for their personal and professional development. Providers can also leave feedback for the volunteers, which is really encouraging for our students. The system is very user friendly and our students have found it quick and easy to register. We feel that it looks professional and the team at volunteer kinetic have designed it well to fit in with our branding. We have the continued support of the volunteer kinetic team who answer queries quickly and happily call to talk you through any queries you have. The training day provided was very informative and practical and we felt like we had a good understanding of the system after this. As you log on as an admin member, it is very clear to see how many registered members you have, how many hours have been logged, and how many hours need approving. there is also on option to pull reports, which we will use to track the progress of our volunteer programme. These can easily be exported in to excel spreadsheets, which saves on admin time. Overall we have found that the students find the online system a very interactive and effective way of applying to volunteer. It helps make the volunteer opportunities more appealing and it enables them a hassle free way of volunteering.

It sits on your website, can be accessed anywhere, perfect for a digital generation to sign up and manage their own volunteering experience, hours and achievements. It is easy to post opportunities and view sign up's to events etc.

It does not come with a user guide for volunteers in communicating what they can do on their profile and how I would like them to interact with the software.