How Latitude59 made volunteering engaging with Zelos

The startup world in the Baltics is busier than ever. As the HQ of companies such as Bolt, Transferwise, and Pipedrive, Tallinn is now considered one of the hottest tech hubs in Europe. With business constantly evolving, Latitude59 was created to foster new connections between potential investors and the best Baltic startups.

Latitude59 is a two-day event with multiple activities happening at the same time, which results in a need to meet a constant influx of tasks. To face this challenge, Maarja Pehk, the event’s CEO, used Zelos to prioritize and delegate assignments.

Below you can read how Latitude59 made the most of Zelos’ task creation feature. If you would like to learn more about it, you can also check our knowledge base.

How did Zelos’ task creation help Latitude59?

Latitude59 created tasks to engage with their volunteers and prioritize what needed to get done first. The biggest challenge was to coordinate across the different event areas, so Zelos came in handy to centralize and manage the workload.

“In a conference this big, there are a lot of surprises guaranteed to happen. The app was quite good helping to communicate those extra little tasks.” 

How does Zelos manage tasks?

Before the event began, the team behind Latitude59 listed reminders for the volunteers to do the important things that are often forgotten when it gets busy: network, explore, share and enjoy the event.  Some activities that Latitude59 listed in Zelos included:

• Visiting a hydration station.
• Meeting intercontinental travelers.
• Thanking another volunteer.

As time went by, and unexpected tasks came up, volunteers were sent push notifications so they could choose to sign up and complete them. Here are some examples of the urgent tasks that could not have been predicted and assigned in advance:

• Covering extra wardrobe shifts
• Switching out water coolers
• Distributing surprise gifts by sponsors

By drafting, communicating, and assigning activities in Zelos, Latitude59 avoided splitting the information across spreadsheets, text groups, and other applications.

How long does it take to create tasks in Zelos?

Since Latitude59 could access their team’s space via web and mobile, tasks could be published instantly . Staff members could also see what each volunteer was working and find available people to complete key activities on time. 

Through Zelos task creation feature, Maarja and her staff were able to direct volunteers (in real-time!) to the event areas that needed additional support during the two-day conference. Zelos also allowed the team to schedule activities that required to be done periodically, so volunteers would get task reminders at regular intervals.

How Zelos’ task management improved the volunteering experience?

Zelos increased volunteer engagement considerably, since volunteers completed 100% of the tasks that emerged during the event. Every activity awarded points, which allowed volunteers to compete with one another by completing both incoming and pre-planned tasks. 

The amount of points received depended on the type of task. Basic activities (such as drinking water) were awarded 5 points, while social media shares earned 15 points, and on-site help received 40 points per completion. 

Volunteers were so engaged with Zelos (and getting points) that after completing all available tasks, those who had not originally completed the onboarding quizzes, finished them in retrospect to still get the points. The top 5 most active volunteers were given gift cards to a design shop to choose their own rewards made by local artists.

How big was the team behind Latitude59?

Latitude59 had a volunteer team of 30 people that efficiently served over 150 startups, 200 investors, and 2,500 guests during the 2019 edition. Team leaders were recruited two months in advance, while additional volunteers were welcomed a couple of days before the event. Since each task followed a standardized flow in Zelos, volunteer coordination cut down on time and mistakes.

What are some best practices in task management seen in Latitude59?

By centralizing tasks in a single app, volunteers can operate more efficiently and collaborate as a single unit. List and delegate must-do activities before hand, so critical assignments are covered and the staff has a clear overview of who is available if something unexpected happens.

Don’t forget to make the event as engaging as possible for volunteers. Create extra activities which allow volunteers to enjoy the event and take care of themselves. Happy volunteers will remember their experiences fondly and be more willing to participate again!