100+ hours of human attention, instead of admin
To replace manual document handling, we built a customised CRM for the Kék Vonal Child Crisis Foundation. It replaces 100–130 hours of admin in every volunteer selection round.
About the client
Kék Vonal is a free, anonymous helpline for children in trouble, available day and night. Nearly 40,000 children turn to them every year. Calls are answered by around 60 trained volunteers, in their free time.
Volunteers are essential: they are the service. Yet selecting them was manual admin work that took 30–45 minutes per applicant.
Discovery
Handling volunteer applications was a chain of manual steps: downloading, organising and checking application materials, requesting missing documents, coordinating internal assessments and sending replies. A single applicant took 30 minutes on average, and up to 45 in more complex cases.
We started by asking questions. How does information flow through the organisation? Where is capacity being lost? Which admin burden slows down day-to-day operations? And where can we automate?
We found that nobody had ever designed the process. It had grown that way over the years, one applicant at a time. We rethought it to make it faster and more efficient, leaving more time for the children.
“We don’t believe in handing over advice and hoping someone, somehow, gets it done. We build it together, take it to market together, scale it together and see the whole process through together.”
András Lőrincz CCO & Co-founder, Sonar Digital
Building the system
We built a customised CRM that initially covers volunteer applications and selection. We automated everything that doesn’t need a human decision or professional judgement: document handling, status tracking, chasing missing documents and communication.
The system handles volunteer applications only. The sensitive data of people calling for help is handled by the foundation under strict child protection guidelines and was not part of the project.
We worked together throughout. The foundation brought its day-to-day operational experience and professional expertise. We brought systems thinking and process optimisation.
Results
- 200+volunteers per selection round
- 100–130hours saved per round across the organisation
- 50–80hours of capacity regained per staff member
- Automatedper-applicant admin, instead of 30–45 minutes by hand
New ways of working
In each selection round, the new system frees up 50–80 working hours per staff member. Across the organisation, with 200 applicants, that’s 100–130 hours of admin.
That time doesn’t disappear. It goes into assessing applicants more thoroughly, improving the quality of selection and, ultimately, supporting children and young people.
The real result of the project isn’t a more efficient system. It’s the hundreds of hours of human attention that now go where they’re needed most.
“András helped us put together a CRM system for our volunteer management process. For now, it covers volunteer applications and selection. We hope it will later support all of our volunteer management, and even more – the sky’s the limit.”
Orsolya Táler Managing Director, Kék Vonal Child Crisis Foundation