I spoke with Natasha, the founder of Wikitranslate, which used SkillShare to find skilled volunteers.
Though SkillShare they recruited three volunteers, each with different skills.
This is what they had to say about one of those volunteers:
“ A SkillShare volunteer differs from a general volunteer as I had a professional. It does not feel as pressurised maintaining the volunteer as they know what they are doing. It is less stress for me and I had full trust in the volunteer as they had a good professional background and I had the evidence of that. I had a lot of questions answered as they knew what they were doing”
“ I was given financial advice in regards to the funding for our organisation, it was a great help realising what was involved in the financial side of running an organisation, It gave me added support.”
Did having this volunteer enabled any changes within the organisation?
“Yes, financially. We now have a bank account for the organisation and are able to grow effectively. Also having the translators through SkillShare has enabled me to have a lighter workload.”
Had there been any difficulties involving a SkillShare volunteer?
“Yes. We had to overcome some physiological issues, letting volunteers realise how very valuable they are to this organisation. Working on confidence with the volunteers, as even though they were very competent in their area of work, some do not realise the help they give with just a few hours of their time and their skills, my biggest issue was having the confidence myself dealing with professionals.”
Any advice for Volunteer Centre Camden?
“ I think SkillShare is promoted very well, although I urge you to get a Facebook and Linkedin account!”
Final thoughts on SkillShare?
“SkillShare is good for future employment, these volunteers are valuable to any organisation, SkillShare does exactly what it says, I would like the service to develop as it is beneficial to Camden. People have skills they don’t use and can contribute. It is the way forward, there are a lot of benefits, it has a positive knock on effect and reaches a lot of people.”
Thank you to Natasha for speaking to me in regards to SkillShare, we appreciate the input and hope other member organisations can also have a positive experience using the service.
Interview by Kayleigh, March 2013
