Volunteer rota systems: Your questions answered

A volunteer rota system is a tool (or collection of tools) to help organisations schedule, assign, and manage volunteer time and activities effectively. For many people, spreadsheets, emails and other manual systems make for a logical starting point. But they’re a limited one, with the complexities of volunteer scheduling soon taking up unnecessary time and resources.

They are also prone to error. Without an efficient rota system in place, it’s easy for volunteer schedules to get confused. This doesn’t just make it difficult to resource organisational services. Poor scheduling can leave a bitter taste and negatively impact the volunteer experience — with some volunteers feeling over-burdened, while others struggle to engage and find their place.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to schedule shifts in a retail shop, coordinate event support, or manage community projects. A strong rota system will help you build a volunteer programme that delivers on personal experience and organisational impact.  

Before choosing your volunteer management solution, it’s important to understand the benefits and features of its core rota system. To help you on this journey, we sat down with our expert team to answer some of your most frequently asked questions.

How does Access Assemble’s volunteer rota system improve volunteer management?

Access Assemble’s volunteer management software is the solution of choice for hundreds of charities and non-profits across the UK. Designed with the needs of its users in mind, our ‘rota feature’ is highly intuitive and makes it quick and easy for Volunteer Managers to:

• Gain visibility over volunteer activities and schedules
• Manage rotas, assign tasks and coordinate workflows
• Track and report on volunteer activities
• Forecast and resource specific projects and services
• Communicate with individual and groups of volunteers

All of the above work to reduce the administrative burden of volunteer management, saving you time and money, and empowering your staff and volunteers to do more.

How does a volunteer get assigned to — or sign up for — a shift?

There are two ways to manage volunteer shifts. The first option is for Volunteer Managers to assign  a particular task or shift to individual volunteers. The second is for volunteers to use our ‘self-service’ feature and sign themselves up for a specific shift or task.

What do we mean by ‘self-service’ and how does it work?

Our ‘self-service’ feature is one of Access Assemble’s most popular tools. Once a volunteer has logged in (through the desktop or app) they can view, sign up to, and withdraw from shifts according to their own availability. This works regardless of whether a volunteer is looking to secure a regular slot or make ad hoc bookings, and is a great way to streamline coordination and empower people to take charge of their time. 

What information is displayed on my rota?

As a Volunteer Manager, there are several ways to view your rota data, including the calendar view pictured below. As you can see, this option allows users to quickly assess how a rota looks for the month ahead, with a colour-coded key making it easy to identify gaps and shortfalls (e.g. staffing shortages are marked in red).

Need more detail? Not a problem. With Access Assemble, it’s easy to zoom in, see who’s working which shift, and identify (and mitigate!) any scheduling conflicts or shortfalls.

There is no need for you to email out multiple versions of the same rota! If a Volunteer Manager assigns someone a shift, they will automatically receive a notification. Similarly, if a volunteer logs on to use the ‘self-service’ system, their Volunteer Manager will be automatically notified.  

Finally, because Access Assemble stores all your volunteer scheduling information in one central hub, staff and volunteers can log in and view their activity rotas in real time. 

Who can manage a rota?

While volunteers are encouraged to engage with our ‘self-service’ system, permissions for full rota management are reserved for identified team members. Typically, this includes Site/Shop, Service and Volunteer Managers.

Can I set a maximum limit on the number of volunteers needed for a shift?

Yes. To avoid over-subscription, Access Assemble allows managers to set a maximum number of volunteers required for any given task.

Can I leave a 'to do’ list for volunteers to complete on their shift?

Of course! Once a shift has been assigned, there will likely be specific tasks that volunteers are asked to complete. While this feature doesn’t sit within our rota system, managers can use Access Assemble to create dedicated task lists and assign them to volunteers. Not only does this help make sure that no task is left undone, it’s easy for volunteers to collaborate on a given list  — logging in to view completed and outstanding actions, and picking up from where the last person left off.

Is it really as good as it sounds?

Okay, so maybe we’re a little biased, but the proof (as they say) is in the pudding. Follow the link to find out how organisations like the Letchworth City Heritage Foundation are using Access Assemble to improve their volunteer programme, experience and impact.  

“Ensuring that the foundation’s spaces and services are supported by volunteers is essential to keeping them going and doing this manually is time-intensive, with an enormous amount of room for error. 

“Our rotas are now simple and straightforward to manage. Access Assemble is intuitive to the point that we can clearly see which shifts need additional help. We can easily set up recurring rotas and all whilst keeping track of the hours that volunteers have contributed.”
  

Volunteer rotas and the systems behind them are the mainstay of good volunteer management. Get them right, and not only will you boost your overall volunteer experience, you can help develop the people your organisation needs to drive its mission forward. 

But finding the right tool for the job isn’t always easy. If your organisation is looking to transform its volunteer management and scheduling, then our team is on hand to make sure you’ve got all the information you need to take the next step.