Bloomerang Volunteer’s check-in features track when volunteers arrive at your events, and when they leave. Volunteers can check in and out at the kiosk, or can be checked in and out by administrators. You can then create reports from this data to analyze attendance patterns, identify late volunteers and no-shows, and plan future opportunities.
Bloomerang Volunteer offers a variety of ways to check volunteers into your opportunities. Choose the method that best aligns with your organization’s goals and the nature of your opportunity. Planning a proper check-in and check-out strategy before setting up your opportunity helps ensure that the event runs smoothly and that you collect the appropriate data.
Tip: To learn how to manage your opportunity’s check-in settings, read General Check-in/Check-out vs. Shift Check-in/Check-out.
Bloomerang Volunteer offers three ways to check in volunteers:
A manager can check volunteers in.
Volunteers can check themselves in.
A volunteer with the Check-in Administrator role can check volunteers in.
Each of these check-in strategies has advantages and disadvantages, which you should consider carefully. All of these strategies work with both General Check-in and Shift Check-in.
Manager-based Check-in
Managers can check in volunteers using either a web browser or the Bloomerang Volunteer mobile app. Managers can check volunteers in and out individually or in bulk.
In this context, “manager” means:
Best Practices for Manager-based Check-in
Train managers on how to check volunteers in and out.
Use bulk check-in to save time.
Filter volunteers by check-in status.
Managers can check volunteers into an event in multiple places in Bloomerang Volunteer. Choose the method that best suits your current context.
Advantages of Manager-based Check-in
Managers provide a trusted, objective account of volunteer check-in and check-out times.
Multiple manager-level roles and permissions can be used to perform check-in and check-out.
Other volunteers don’t need to be trained on the check-in and check-out procedure.
Disadvantages of Manager-based Check-in
Managers can become check-in and check-out bottlenecks if they have other duties to perform.
Volunteers must locate a manager to check in and check out. If an opportunity is spread out over a large physical area, this can be difficult or time-consuming.
Self Check-in
You can allow volunteers to check themselves in and out on the mobile app or kiosk.
The kiosk is a web application that lets volunteers easily check in on a shared tablet or other mobile device. Use the kiosk at your event to create a convenient check-in location that multiple volunteers can use. The URL of the Bloomerang kiosk is https://kiosk.bloomerang.co/.
Tip: If you allow volunteers to check themselves in and out, consider enabling geolocation. Geolocation tracks the exact location at which volunteers check in and out for an opportunity. This helps verify that volunteers were onsite during an opportunity. To learn more about geolocation, read Track Volunteer Check-in and Check-out Location.
Volunteers can also add and manage their own hours worked.
Advantages of Using the Mobile App for Self Check-in
Allows volunteers to check in from any location.
Volunteers have control over their own hours.
Volunteers are responsible for their own check-in and check-out. This frees up managers and administrators for other duties.
Disadvantages of Using the Mobile App for Self Check-in
Requires volunteers to use more technology skills.
Volunteers must download the Bloomerang Volunteer mobile app.
Volunteers might forget to check in or out.
Advantages of Using the Kiosk for Self Check-in
The kiosk interface is very simple, so no technology skills are required to use it.
Volunteers don’t need to download anything onto their mobile devices.
The kiosk can stay stationary, so volunteers always know where to check in and out.
Volunteers can check themselves in and out without a manager or administrator.
Disadvantages of Using the Kiosk for Self Check-in
If the kiosk stays in one place, it can create a bottleneck in the check-in process.
Check-in Administrators
The Check-in Administrator role is specifically designed to allow volunteers to check other volunteers in and out.
Check-in Administrators can only check volunteers in and out on the Bloomerang Volunteer mobile app, and only when the opportunity is live. Check-in Administrators can use the check-in administrator interface on tablets and other mobile devices to make check-in easier.
In terms of best practices, advantages, and disadvantages, using Check-in Administrators is similar to using manager-based check-in. Check-in Administrators can take pressure off of managers when self check-in is disabled and managers are too busy to perform check-in and check-out. Choose trusted volunteers to fill the Check-in Administrator role.
To learn how to assign the Check-in Administrator role to volunteers, read How do I assign a Role?
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