With Volunteer Check-in, volunteers can easily check into and out of their volunteer opportunities. Volunteer hours are automatically submitted based on check-in and check-out times.
There are three types of volunteer check-in:
- Self Check-in - By clicking a link in an email or going to the Need Responses area of their profile, volunteers access options for checking into and out of needs. Volunteers can also schedule their check-in and check-out times in advance as needed. This option is only available for shift needs. See Volunteer Self Check-in to learn more.
- Agency/Program Check-in: Kiosk - Volunteers check in and out using a device (tablet, laptop, etc.) provided by your agency or program at the volunteer site. This option is available for all needs, including advanced-events needs. See Using the Kiosk for Volunteer Check-in to learn more. To see how the Kiosk works from the volunteer's perspective, see For Volunteers: Using the Check-in Kiosk.
- Agency/Program Check-in: List - An agency or program representative checks off volunteers as they arrive at the volunteer site. This option is available for all needs, including advanced event needs, and it is covered in this article.
Geared toward agency and program managers, this article focuses on how to use the Check-in: List feature available to them. For more information on how the self check-in works, click here. For more on the Kiosk, click here.
Accessing the Volunteer List for a Need
To check volunteers in to a need, you must first access the volunteer list for that need. To access the list:
- Log into your Connect site and click My Agency (or My Program). If you manage more than one agency or progrm, select the applicable agency from the options provided.
- Click Check-in from the toolbar.
You will now see all of the active needs posted by your agency or program. Note below that needs may appear in one of two formats, depending on whether a set number of hours has been associated with the need.
If hours are associated with the need, you'll see a List button at the bottom of the need card, as shown on the "Mobile Food Pantry Volunteers Needed" card above. If no hours have been assigned to the need, you'll see an Hours Needed field. Enter the number of hours and click Add, and the List button will appear for the need, and you can begin checking volunteers in.
Checking Volunteers In
Click List (see image above) to view a list of volunteers who have responded to the selected need.
Note: For non-shift needs, the list will look similar to the one above. For shift needs, you'll need to select the shift first.
- Select a User Group from the dropdown as applicable. (If a selected volunteer is not in that user group, their hours will not be associated with that user group.)
- When you're ready to check the volunteers in, mark the check box next to each name (or mark the top check box to select all) and click Check In Users. Once the volunteers are checked in, the Checked In column entries change from No to Yes.
Viewing Checked-in Volunteers
To view which volunteers are currently checked in to a need, click Checked In Now. To learn more about this feature, see Viewing Checked-in Volunteers.
Checking a Volunteer Out of a Need
To check volunteers out of a need:
- From your agency or program management area, click Checked In Now. You'll see a list of everyone who is checked in.
- From the Check-out dropdown, select the applicable check-out option
Note: If you select Check out with a custom time, you'll be prompted to select the date and time from a calendar.
The volunteer's hours will be calculated accordingly and added to their approved hours. (Since an agency or program manager has checked them out, your Connect system assumes the approval.)
Note: Hours are calculated for the volunteer based on their check-in and check-out times. If the volunteer is not checked out of the need, they will be given credit for the full shift. All hours calculated from the volunteer check-in tool will be approved automatically.
Viewing Hours Details
Once the volunteer has checked out, you can view their check-in and check-out times in the Active Need Hours table in the Stats section.
You can also export this information into a spreadsheet. The export also shows the source of each check-in and check out (in other words, how they were checked in and out, and whose account was used).