How to get organizations to update their pending applications?

Inform organizations about pending status.

Deedmob partners face, despite 4 automatic reminder emails, a common issue: organizations aren't updating the status of applications, leaving them stuck in "pending." This problem affects about 30% of all applications across Deedmob's partner network - you’re not the only one dealing with this!

We understand this issue and have conducted research to gather tips and tricks for encouraging more organizations to update their application statuses.

Why aren't organizations updating application statuses?

We investigated the reasons organizations fail to update statuses, aiming to develop solutions based on our findings. Here's what we discovered (click on the chapter to read the solution!):

• Organizations are unaware they can update statuses
• Organizations don't understand the benefits of updating
• Organizations don't prioritise status updates

To get you started, we’ve also created some how to’s and templates:

• How to find an overview of organizations that still have applications in pending?
• Template mail to send to organisations

You can also find a summary at the end of the article.

Organizations are unaware they can update statuses

This problem may be the easiest to solve: create videos or other types of tutorials on how to update statuses. Share these in your newsletter, on your social media, or send them directly to all organizations with pending opportunities.

You can use this general helpdesk article, but video’s/tutorials based on your own platform might work better!

Organizations don't understand the benefits of updating

Organizations are often unaware of the advantages of updating application statuses. These benefits include maintaining a clear administration, accessing accurate data and analytics, and being able to send targeted messages to volunteers based on their status. It's important to inform organizations about all these advantages.

Additionally, organizations often underutilise the platform's full potential. They may process applications outside the platform, unaware that it can serve as a comprehensive solution for all their volunteer management needs. The platform has the potential to simplify organizations' workflows—they just need guidance on how to use it effectively.

We've observed that organizations frequently and fully use the platform are more likely to update application statuses. The solution is clear: thoroughly train organizations on how to use the platform effectively and highlight its excellent features. The platform offers numerous valuable options, including:

• Embedding opportunities
• Data and analytics
• Adding members (volunteers) to your organisation page
• Adding (application) forms and asking for files (for example CVs)
• Teams feature
• Sharing opportunities on social media

Well-trained organizations lead to greater platform impact and fewer pending statuses—a win-win situation.

Organizations don't prioritise status updates

Now that you've informed and trained organizations, but they still aren't updating the statuses, what can you do? While you can't force priorities onto anyone, you can increase the importance in several ways.

Here are three ideas from our partners:

• Stop promoting or supporting organizations with numerous "pending" statuses
• Include status updates in your code of conduct and remind organizations of this agreement annually
• Inform organizations that maintaining correct statuses is crucial for platform funding

How to find the organisations with pending applications?

Through the following steps you can see which organisations still have pending applications:

1. Via the admin panel, go to the data overview
2. Select “applications”
3. Download the excel file
4. To make it easier for yourself, hide all the rows you don’t need: you only need the information about the organizer!
5. Remove the duplicate rows, analysing the organization_id column - you now have an overview of all organizations that have pending applications.

 

Template mail to send to organisations

Below is a template email you can use to reach out to organizations. You are welcome to customize the content as needed, and consider replacing the links to our general helpdesk articles with tutorials or videos tailored specifically to your platform.

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Dear [organisation],

We noticed that some applications are still on “pending” on your organization page. We would like to ask you to update the application status to “match,” “no match,” or “on the reserve list,” depending on the situation with the volunteers. This process takes a few seconds and is easily explained in this article.

Of course we understand that you are very busy, but it is important to take those few seconds to update the status because it has many benefits:

• For your administration: It gives a clear picture of the number of registrations and outcomes.
• Analytics: On your 'Analytics' page you will find a nice graph with your impact data. This is only accurate if the statuses are up to date. More in this help desk article.
• For the volunteer: On their profile, the impact only becomes visible when the application is registered as a “match.” Help each other out a bit!
• Communication: By keeping track of statuses properly, you can send targeted emails to registrants based on their current status. Again, that makes it all easier in communication! Learn more about sending messages here.
• Engagement: Upon a successful match, you can add the volunteer to your organization page (with their permission), to keep them informed of new activities. You can read how to do this here.
• In addition, updating the statuses makes the notifications disappear, making your job a little easier. More about notifications here.

If you have any questions or need help with the process, we are always here to help!

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Summary

• Educate organizations on how to update application statuses
• Train organizations in using the platform comprehensively, showcasing its various features
• Emphasise to organizations the importance of updating statuses
• Use Excel to find the organizations with applications in pending
• Use our template email to inform organizations