The Estonian Song Celebration used Zelos to manage unexpected tasks

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“After entering the tasklist to Zelos I could just forget and not deal with them throughout the day. When I came back later, all the issues had been independently solved by the volunteers.”

Luise Sommer, Coordinator of volunteers / Song Celebration 2019 (Estonia)

100 volunteers using the Zelos app
100+ tasks completed
100,000 event attendants
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The crown jewel of Estonian culture is the Song Celebration, a festival that dates back to 1869. The number of singers and attendants have increased with every edition and 2019 was no exception: over 32,000 performers sang to an audience of 100,000 while many more watched it on live television. This is an impressive achievement, considering that the total population of Estonia is just 1.3 million people!

Why task listings were key during the Estonian Song Celebration

The Estonian Song Celebration is a showcase of local folk and popular songs which takes place every four years. This unique event features over 32,000 singers and is only possible thanks to the effort of 1,900 staff members and 100 volunteers.

With so many people involved, it is crucial to make task management as simple as possible. By overcoming the limitations of spreadsheets and text groups, Zelos assignment listings allowed volunteers to see all tasks available in a single place and sign up for them with a single click.

How task listings work in Zelos

On the days leading up to the event, the Estonian Song Celebration staff published the tasks that needed to be done by volunteers. These tasks could be published to the main team dashboard or targeted to a specific group of volunteers. By delegating activities more efficiently, managers could focus on the event while being sure small details were taken care of.

Over the two days of the event, staff members were able to communicate and assign last-minute tasks using the same system. Since task listings were found in a single place,  volunteers could instantly see where they were needed. Some of these last-minute activities included:

  • Printing and assembling invitations.
  • Moving props to the concert venue.
  • Restocking the team coffee station.
  • Getting fresh flower bouquets.
  • Notifying organizers when the staff bus was on the way to the concert.

Since Zelos works both in mobile and desktop devices, tasks were easily accessed and reported which reduced the time spent verifying that everything was getting done. The mobility of Zelos also allowed managers to reach volunteers when they needed to, no matter their location.

By using Zelos as a way to display tasks easily, the Estonian Song Celebration reduced the time needed to manage assignments and increased the efficiency of its team.

How Zelos removes the stress out of volunteer management

Zelos simplifies volunteer coordination by empowering managers to organize their own method to assign and display tasks. Every task listing leads to a task description page where admins specify how many people they need, when and where they need them, how volunteers can prove completion, and other specific details.

Instead of looking through lists of names and personal skills, managers can list a task and target it to groups of volunteers that are able to complete it within seconds. Managers can choose to send specific tasks to groups of volunteers that are sorted according to their experience, skills, department, availability, and other factors.

Zelos task listings reduce the need for texting, avoids miscommunication, and missed messages while increasing the ability of volunteers to self-manage.

“With Zelos, we delegate simple tasks to volunteers so the organisers can focus on the big picture. Zelos quickly gets us rid of all the little tasks that we couldn’t predict in planning.”

Luise Sommer Volunteer Coordinator, XXVII Estonian Song Celebration

What are some best practices in task listings seen in the Estonian Song Celebration?

Instead of looking for the right people to complete every task, volunteers can be sorted out in groups before an event begins, so the staff can quickly assign unexpected tasks once it starts. Groups can help to keep tasks organized by avoiding huge lists of things to do that might not be relevant to all the team.

In addition to activity details, tasks listings that include pictures and catchy titles appear more attractive to volunteers. By promoting self-management, leaders can delegate unexpected tasks without having to stop what they are currently doing. 

The best thing about Zelos’ tasks listings is that volunteers can know when their best skills are needed, thus bringing talented people together to make amazing events possible.