The valuable role of volunteers
The Health and Environment Department (GUD) of the City of Zurich is professionally committed to the interests of old age, health and the environment. It comprises four departments, including the Health Centers for the Elderly (GFA) with various tasks as well as the City of Zurich Foundation for Housing for the Elderly. Volunteer work plays a prominent role with over 800 volunteers. Their tasks include a variety of supportive activities that significantly increase people’s well-being. These include regular visits and walks to prevent social isolation and provide companionship, as well as support and assistance with everyday activities.
The three goals of the new volunteer platform
The new volunteer platform was designed to achieve three key objectives: a standardized data structure, improved data quality and overview, and an easy-to-use and accessible platform.
The strategic decision for a central platform
Volunteering in the GUD has so far been organized in a very decentralized manner, for example, each GFA has its own volunteer coordinator. So far, the coordination and administration of volunteering has basically worked well, but each coordinator has used his or her own system for organization. The decision to gradually introduce a central and clear platform was therefore less the result of existing difficulties than a strategicdecision. The following advantages should be emphasized:
- Digitization offers considerable potential for optimization and synergy. By using a standardized system, processes can be made more efficient and redundant tasks can be avoided.
- A shared platform provides a better overview and simplifies volunteer management across departmental boundaries.
- A shared digital platform offers potential for the further development of volunteering in general. “Self-services” for volunteers, for example, is one such vision. In future, volunteers could register for assignments themselves, which would give them more autonomy and flexibility. This could be particularly attractive for younger people, who often have less time for long-term commitments. Whether and how this vision can be implemented remains to be seen in the future.
Another important aspect was to win over the coordinators for the new platform by offering them the opportunity to participate in a visionary project for the department.
”The collaboration during the project was very positive. The very uncomplicated way of working together, both internally and with Panter, deserves special mention. In addition, Panter showed a genuine interest in the topic of volunteering, which impressed us.
Nathalie BetschmannStabsmitarbeiterin Innovation & Digitalisierung
Step by step to acceptance
An important realization for project manager Nathalie is that the introduction of such a platform requires more time and resources than originally assumed. Involving the test group in particular proved to be a challenge. However, it turned out that the test group was very committed and interested. The main challenge was the availability of time, as many of the coordinators had other tasks in addition to their volunteer work, meaning that the platform could not always be their top priority.
Nevertheless, the development of the platform provided valuable insights that helped the internal project team to make technical and organizational progress. The platform was developed using an MVP approach. This proved to be a sensible approach, as the focus could be placed on specific core functionalities, which made a decisive contribution to realizing the project efficiently and not overloading it. At the same time, this meant that the individual systems of the individual coordinators and the new, joint system were used in parallel because not all processes had been implemented yet. This parallel use requires patience from everyone involved. Despite these challenges, the first positive effects have been observed, allowing us to look to the future with optimism . Users have already provided a lot of valuable input, which is being incorporated into the ongoing development of the platform. With continued commitment and support, it can be assumed that acceptance and use of the platform will increase in the coming months.
Beat Seeliger, Co-Founder
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