Using an Interactive Member Portal to Approach Volunteering 4.0
Many associations struggle with the challenges of digital transformation. Modern tools are overlooked, old tactics are maintained and members become increasingly impatient. Yet engagement in digitalisation can be so simple. A Member Portal, for example, helps to make Volunteering 4.0 a success.
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Industry 4.0 in Associations? What “Volunteering 4.0” really means
Everyone should have heard the term “Industry 4.0” by now. Yet many do not know what Industry 4.0 actually means or what impact the concept has on their own work. Industry 4.0 is intended to usher in the fourth industrial revolution, characterised by production using intelligent and, above all, digitally networked systems. Here, people, machines, products and logistics communicate and cooperate directly with one another. But it is not only production that has changed through the latest developments in the digital and technical fields. So how can the concept of Industry 4.0 be transferred to volunteering?
Parallel to industry, volunteering is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation. Social developments and technological innovations are gradually showing their effects in the world of associations. While traditional volunteering still occupies a generous place in people’s free time, Volunteering 4.0 is characterised by non-commitment and occasional participation. It benefits from modern, digital tools such as interactive Member Portals, and thrives on the activity of its members. In contrast to traditional volunteering, it makes more sense in the era of Volunteering 4.0 to bind members to the association not through time, but through emotion. Those who feel a strong emotional connection to the association are far more likely to invest their valuable time in contributing.
Challenges for Associations in Times of Volunteering 4.0
According to the 2014 Volunteering Survey by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, increasing numbers of people are becoming involved voluntarily. Since 1999, the proportion of the population engaged in volunteering has risen from 34% to almost 44%. In addition, the willingness of those not yet engaged to take up volunteering in the future is high. What stands out, however, is that volunteers today spend far less time on voluntary activities. Ultimately, this leads to associations struggling to accomplish their tasks on time. The challenges of Volunteering 4.0 therefore do not lie in a lack of interest or motivation among members but in the infrastructure and working methods of associations. Alongside work, family and other leisure activities, members have little time left for voluntary engagement. Many are accustomed to the high flexibility and fast exchange offered by Facebook and similar platforms. If this development is not transferred to volunteering, participation appears slow and unnecessarily complicated to members.
Bringing Volunteering 4.0 into the Association with a Member Portal
It quickly becomes clear: volunteering needs digital tools to keep pace with developments in recent years. Participation in association activities must be made more accessible to today’s society. An interactive Member Portal helps you approach Volunteering 4.0 in your association. Thanks to its basic structure, flexibility and numerous functions, it initially resembles social networks. But on closer inspection, several differences become clear: it is not an openly accessible platform but a protected space. It makes not only simple exchange possible, but actual collaboration. Whether on the go, on the train or at home on the sofa, it is accessible anytime, from anywhere. In this way, a Member Portal overcomes temporal and spatial barriers. Members decide for themselves when and how they want to contribute to what is happening in the association. Thus, a Member Portal helps to implement Volunteering 4.0, as it corresponds to today’s working practices. It also enables you to include members who are motivated but extremely limited in terms of time.
Using Digital Transformation to Your Advantage
Despite the challenges that digitalisation brings for volunteering, these innovations also offer opportunities. The motivation for voluntary participation exists. Now it is up to you to work digitally within your association and thus reach digital natives. If you succeed in using a Member Portal to implement Volunteering 4.0, you can look forward not only to new members. In addition, an interactive Member Portal strengthens member loyalty, as it not only grants them freedom but also offers opportunities for direct communication.
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