What does a remote workforce mean for charity volunteering?

COVID-19 has changed everything for charities. From fundraising to service delivery, every area of charity operations has been disrupted. Necessity is the mother of invention, and for many charities, the pandemic has acted as a catalyst for digital transformation, as organisations have been forced to find innovative digital solutions in order to continue providing their vital services.

Perhaps no area of charity operations has been transformed quite as dramatically as the way we work. Advances in remote working technology have allowed many charity workers to continue their roles from home. And so we have switched commutes for coffee-makers, braved the perils of the Zoom meeting, and set up shop in bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens.

As we’ve adjusted to remote working, forward-thinking charity leaders have begun looking to the future - as we imagine what the charity workforce will look like in years to come. This has been the subject of much discussion in the sector. But most of the focus has been on full-time, salaried employees.

One of the key differences between charities and corporate organisations is the importance of volunteers in the workforce. Volunteers are the lifeblood of many organisations - particularly small or local charities who face tighter budgetary restrictions than their larger and more affluent counterparts. 

“Over a third (36%) of people volunteered formally (ie with a group, club or organisation) at least once in 2018/19. This gives an estimate of 19.4 million people who formally volunteered during that year.”

 

- Data from the NCVO

With a large portion of the UK now experiencing tighter restrictions, volunteers will have to take their important work into the digital realm. For many organisations, this foray into digital volunteering will mark another first.

So will this new state of affairs change the face of charity volunteering? Or is it merely an acceleration of existing trends?

Skills-based volunteering offers charities greater value

Skills-based volunteering allows qualified professionals to work for charities on a pro bono basis.

In some fields, this has been a longstanding practice. Lawyers may undertake unpaid public defender work, or work on behalf of a charitable organisation or legal defence fund. Medical practitioners may sit on the board of trustees for a charity dealing with a specific disease or condition, so as to offer expert advice and guide decision-making.

Skills-based volunteering offers unique benefits when it comes to charity digital operations. Many small charities may struggle to pay full-time staff or freelance contractors to perform specialised digital tasks. It can be difficult to find the money to pay someone with the necessary skills.

This leads to longer-term consequences: if charities do not have digital professionals helping to guide decision-making, then those organisations are likely to fall further behind the curve in the future.

Organisations that lack the resources to hire digital professionals can benefit from skills-based volunteering, as long as one or more of their supporters has the requisite digital skills and is happy to volunteer their time and expertise.

The challenge facing charities lies in how to remove the barriers to skills-based volunteering. One of the easiest ways for charities to do this is to offer opportunities for remote volunteering.

With remote working becoming normalised among both charities and the wider public, there will be greater opportunities for digital volunteering now and in the future.