Once you have created the shifts that require staffing, you are ready to schedule your volunteers. The process of assigning volunteers to shifts and removing volunteers from shifts is completed through the Volunteer Scheduling form shown below. A key feature of Volunteer Coordinator 2005 is the ease and effectiveness with which this process is accomplished.

•  Select a venue to display a list of dates of shifts for that venue.

•  Select a date to display a list of available shifts for that venue and date.

•  Select the shift from the list of Available Shifts to display the details of the shift and the list of volunteers currently assigned to the shift and those that are available to be assigned to the shift.

•  To assign a volunteer, select the volunteer name(s) in the ‘Available Volunteers ' list and click the right-arrow button. (Or simply double-click on the name(s) of the available volunteer(s) to assign to the shift.)

•  To remove a volunteer from the shift assignment, select the volunteer name(s) in the ‘ Assigned Volunteers ' list and click the left-arrow button. (Or simply double-click on the name(s) of the assigned volunteer to remove them from the list.)

If you have recorded information regarding volunteer availability and the volunteer's requested positions within the volunteer registration forms, Volunteer Coordinator 2005 provides you with the ability to view this information to aid you in the scheduling process.

•  If you click the Position Requests button located at the bottom of the Shift Details section, a list of volunteers that have specifically requested this position is displayed in a popup form. The popup form also displays a list of volunteers that have not specified any particular positions of interest.

•  If you right-click your mouse over a volunteer name within either list of names, a popup form will display showing the volunteer's availability information. Information for multiple volunteers can be displayed at one time.

Another feature of Volunteer Coordinator 2005 that simplifies the task of scheduling is the Staffing screen shown below. This screen is accessed from the Main Menu by clicking the Staffing Required button, or from the Volunteer Scheduling form by clicking the Staffing List button.

This screen provides a quick reference to your staffing needs for the date selected at the top of the screen. If you double-click on a shift in either list, the Volunteer Scheduling form will open with all the details of the shift already selected for you and ready for scheduling changes . The ability to switch back and forth between the Volunteer Scheduling form and the Staffing screen provides a unique tool that makes scheduling fast and effective.

As you can see, Volunteer Coordinator has made the often-daunting task of scheduling volunteers relatively easy and worry-free . To experience the effortless task of scheduling volunteers first-hand and to learn more about using the program, please download the Volunteer Coordinator 2005 Demo.