Save time and money on voluntary work with streamlined processes and automation

Every club is dependent on volunteers, otherwise the entire club life, the organisation of the club or the implementation of training or events would not work. However, time and money are also scarce commodities in voluntary work. This makes it all the more important that you organise your voluntary work more efficiently. We will show you how automation and process optimisation can help.

spized / Vereinsstrategen | Club management

January 30, 2024 |

Whats’ on this page

1. Optimise typical club processes

1.1 The coronavirus pandemic as an important driving force for new approaches in the association

2. Why a target definition is important for process optimisation

3. What resources are available to me?

4. Do it or let it be done: Saving resources with external service providers

5. Change needs acceptance

Optimise typical club processes

Anyone who has ever been a member of an association knows the constant processes that are necessary for the operation of the organisation. These include member care as well as collecting membership fees and communicating with members. These processes regularly require time.

An important starting point for optimising these processes is to ask how the process speed can be increased. Specifically, this means "How quickly can membership fees be collected?", "How can I reach my members in the least amount of time? Or "How do I build a sustainable and efficient channel to stay in contact with my members?".

If you manage to speed up even these elementary processes, you can save a lot of time for voluntary work and use it more sensibly elsewhere. Or to put it another way: even with a limited number of members, you can achieve more than you think.

The coronavirus pandemic as an important driving force for new approaches in the association

Since the coronavirus pandemic and the associated drastic restrictions, many clubs have had to make changes to their work. This had become necessary so that individual members could stay in touch or work together on new plans for the club, even if they were unable to meet regularly on the sports field or in the sports hall. Out of necessity, many concepts were developed and implemented during and after the pandemic. For example, many clubs have gone more digital, which in some cases has also provided much-needed relief for volunteers.

Why a target definition is important for process optimisation

Before you start optimising specific processes, you should ask yourself what your strategic goals are as an association. Also think about how you want to achieve these goals. It is important to always define the goal first and then derive the specific measures on this basis, not the other way round. The sum of all goals is then your club strategy. Possible areas for the implementation of the goals can then lie in the optimisation of administration, communication and accounting.

Take membership applications, for example: If one of your goals is to get more members, you can simplify the application process, for example. Instead of always printing out and displaying the membership applications, you can offer to fill out the membership application online or download it as a PDF from your website. Depending on which option you choose, you can skip several intermediate steps.

The implementation also depends on how your organisation is set up. The example of membership applications in particular shows that you should pay close attention to the membership structure. If you are a single-division club and mainly target senior citizens, pure digitalisation would probably make less sense. If, on the other hand, your club has several sections and appeals to families, a digital membership application is a good idea. Another thing you shouldn't forget: The club must not only have the technical equipment, it must also have people who know how to use technology.

What resources are available to me?

Once you have developed an organisation strategy and defined goals, it's time to plan resources. This is where your members come into play. Who can take on which roles and how can the existing personal skills be optimally utilised? You will quickly know where you can utilise which potential. This leads directly to the next aspect.

Do it or let it be done: Saving resources with external service providers

If you initiate changes in the association, especially in the area of digitalisation, this ties up resources in the association. In many cases, the necessary expertise is not even available. This starts with creating the website and extends to managing the organisation's finances. In this case, you can ask yourself whether it wouldn't make more sense to outsource work to external service providers. This usually involves additional financial outlay. In return, you save valuable time for your volunteers elsewhere. You should therefore not view the expenditure on external service providers as a cost, but as an investment. In this way, you create sustainable value for your organisation.

Typical areas that can be outsourced within the organisation:

Events: Events tie up a lot of resources in the organisation. However, setting up and dismantling stages, catering, advertising for events, etc. can be outsourced directly. Although this initially involves an investment, it frees up resources elsewhere that members can use, e.g. for the stage programme.
Search engine optimisation: One aspect of clubs that is often underestimated is their online findability. If there is no expertise in SEO in the association, it can happen that the association's services are not found easily. However, if you leave SEO to a trustworthy service provider, you can kill two birds with one stone. The organisation will be found more easily, achieve greater reach and potentially attract more new members and grow.
Preparation of the annual financial statements and document management: If you do not have a person with the appropriate technical background in the organisation, then this is a task that should be outsourced for risk reasons. The advantage of this is that you can also choose different levels of support. After all, most tax advisors are now so digitally equipped that it is also possible to scan every receipt with a smartphone and send it directly via the tax advisor's platform. This means that you are not only outsourcing, but also simplifying the process for members within the association.

In theory, almost all areas of the organisation can be outsourced. However, it always depends on the cost-benefit factor and how you want to utilise your financial and human resources.

But: Outsourcing is of course not THE only solution for every organisation. After all, external service providers also have to be paid. However, the club funds available are primarily intended for club operations and sporting activities, especially in smaller clubs. So when outsourcing work, check exactly how much these costs are and how they can be reduced, e.g. by doing it yourself.

Digitisation is a good example here: Perhaps there are members in your organisation who can contribute their expertise?

Change needs acceptance

An important key to changes in the association and to the optimisation of processes and structures is the acceptance of the members. It is not a question of individual departments pushing ahead or acting in isolation, but rather of everyone working together. This makes it all the more important that everyone agrees on the direction in which the organisation wants to develop and how these goals can best be achieved before starting change processes. This creates the basis for optimising processes within the club and making the best possible use of the limited resources of volunteers.