We are all busy spinning many plates, especially people who work in the charity sector, who are often underfunded and understaffed doing great work serving their cause and helping others.
But I can’t help noticing that sometimes being too busy doing things the same way and never stopping and thinking if there is a better way of doing this that will make me less busy but more productive.
Productivity is not about how many hours you work but how much you accomplish. It is about doing the right things and not wasting time on tasks that don’t add value to your business such as admin.
The obvious example I would share is paying volunteers’ expenses. We researched 60 charities (see page 4) and found that reimbursing volunteer expenses was a huge pain point for the sector. Respondents felt all aspects of the volunteer reimbursement process could be improved, 58% cited that the level of paperwork and admin was the most commonly cited problem.
We thought the industry will be all over vHelp to process volunteer expenses, but we found there was a huge reluctance to change the way things are. There is an element of the sector being reluctant to adopt technology but we believe the main reason is people are too busy and are not taking time out to assess if they can do things better.
Using tools and technology helps you work smarter rather than harder. Technology has the potential to make our lives easier and more productive. Freeing up time for us to focus on the things that matter most.
being productive as appose to running the hamster wheel gives your team a sense of achievement
We all get stuck in the comfort of doing things the same way, but to grow as a team and as a charity people must pause and rethink; can do things better?