IMPROVING THE VOLUNTEER APPLICATION PROCESS THROUGH RESEARCH
This was the final project for a diploma program at the Universidad de Belgrano in Argentina. (2024)
Overview
TECHO is a non profit organization that, in joint action between residents and youth volunteers; improves housing and habitat conditions through the design, management and housing construction projects, access to basic services and community infrastructure.
The main problem was that TECHO extended their volunteer experience known as “Building trip” to a European audience interested in traveling to Latin America to support housing construction projects. But after a while, they experienced a low application rate and wanted to understand the reasons behind this.
The challenge
Collaborated with a teammate new to UX research; with empathy and clear communication we ensured a smooth collaboration. Adapted to recruit European participants under tight deadlines, demonstrating problem-solving and flexibility.
The team and role I played
We were a team of four members working remotely, with some of them from different professional backgrounds. I was responsible for leading the project, aligning team members towards the completion of every task.
Walk through the process
Segments we studied
Segment A: People who completed the enrollment process with TECHO but decided not to participate in the program.
Segment B: People who participated with TECHO in a Building Trip experience in Latin America.
Segment C: Europeans with experience in volunteer programs across Latin American.
Testing assumptions with users
We conducted Usability Tests to 5 European participants, to gather quantitative and qualitative data. The test was focused on the “Involucrate” section, where TECHO displays information about their volunteer programs. Some of our findings were:
60% of participants
Hesitated for at least 10 seconds before completing the tasks, asking questions about how to proceed. Key barriers included language, trouble finding the available volunteer program, and terminology difficult to understand.
60% of participants
Thought that having testimonials on the website could increase credibility. The absence of testimonials played an important role
40% of participants
Used their phones for the activity, sharing with us navigation challenges they experienced in the mobile version of the website.
I realized that some of these insights had a lot of value
Clear gaps between stakeholder assumptions and user realities were revealed.
For instance ↓
Language barriers
One of the stakeholders goals, was to attract more Europeans with at least basic Spanish knowledge. However, most of the interested participants, lacked this skill. As a result, 3 of them couldn’t complete the tasks because some pages were in a language they didn’t speak.
Stakeholders assumptions
Stakeholders mentioned that mobile didn’t seem to be important, based on their Desktop preferences to look for important information. Conducting the activity with users that chose to join with their smartphones, shows that stakeholders assumptions are not always aligns with users’ decisions.
Gathering insights through user interviews
We had a conversation with 6 people from Europe, to gather qualitative data. We asked questions for each segment, mostly focused on their experience, what they find attractive when applying to a volunteer program, their motivations, and if factors like financing and safety played a decisive role.
Some of our findings were ↓
Information is clear but it doesn’t connect with all the different audiences.
Safety is not a decisive factor in volunteering.
The organization could also benefit from offering non traditional options for volunteering.
We realized that TECHO offers the same message to all their different users, which impacts negatively when trying to attract a new audience. On the other hand, as a team we thought that safety was a decisive factor for Europeans when choosing a volunteer experience in Latin America, but we discovered that they don’t pay too much attention to that, this insight was interesting because it refuted one of our assumptions.
Shaping our recommendations
After 9 months of classes and work, we were finally able to defined our recommendations and present the results to the stakeholders. These recommendations were:
To take into considering users' stage of life, values, and personal motivations. Information should align more with the expectations of different profiles, not just the youth and student archetype.
Based on the users' expectations, build a strong connection with the audience.
There is a wide range of volunteering options, from people looking for cultural exchange to those only interested in personal development and social impact. TECHO could benefit from offering more flexible and personalized experiences to attract more people.
Lastly, consider defining and implementing more diverse communication strategies to impact and attract new segments wanting to participate.
Project takeaways
My learnings along the project
When we started working, I expected to focus on Research, but a week later I realized we needed to fill an unexpected leadership gap to move forward. Leading wasn’t my plan, but accepting it taught me how to bring out my team’s strengths, delegate effectively, and refine my skills.
After a few days of working together, we got to know each other and realized some of us had different professional backgrounds and seniorities. So, I had to keep everyone aligned toward our shared goal by strategically assigning tasks based on their experience and skill levels.
As a member of the team, I also had the opportunity to learn from my teammates. We not only networked and built strong connections but also shared methodologies, tools, and advice based on our professionals' paths.
Endless thanks to the team behind this
Good results come to life through collective effort. We moved toward a shared goal with dedication in every step, turning challenges into opportunities and ideas into reality.