Know What Your Volunteers Can Actually Do
Most charities are sitting on far more capability than they realise. SkillDrill finds it, in a five-minute conversation instead of a form nobody fills in properly.
You already know the problem
A rota. A spreadsheet somebody updates when they remember to. A volunteer who mentioned once, in passing, that they used to run a bookkeeping business, and nobody wrote it down.
You are not short of capability. You're short of visibility.
Skills hidden beyond the role
A volunteer signed up to help at events might also be a qualified first aider, a fluent Spanish speaker, or an experienced project manager. Unless somebody asks the right questions, you will never know.
Turnover means constant re-discovery
Volunteers come and go. Every time someone leaves, their knowledge walks out with them. Every new starter is a blank slate. You are always starting from scratch.
Spreadsheets cannot keep up
Manual tracking is slow, outdated the moment it is created, and impossible to search. When a project needs a volunteer with a specific skill, a spreadsheet will not help you find them fast.
Built around how volunteering actually works
SkillDrill is built for the realities of the third sector: mixed teams of paid staff and volunteers, tight budgets, and people whose time you cannot afford to waste.
Low-commitment for volunteers. A short conversation on their phone, not a form to sit down and complete.
Match by skill, not just availability. Find who can actually do a task, not just who's free on Tuesday.
Keep people engaged. Volunteers who get asked to use skills they're proud of stay longer than volunteers who get handed whatever's left over.
Built for tight budgets. Pricing starts at a level that suits a small charity, not just an enterprise.
Visibility across staff and volunteers, in one place
From the first conversation to the day you need to find someone with a specific skill in a hurry, here is what SkillDrill does for a charity like yours.
A five-minute chat instead of a form nobody fills in
Volunteers bring professional skills from day jobs, past careers, and personal interests. AI Conversations uncover all of it through a short, natural chat on their own phone. No account setup, no login, nothing to install.
- The AI adapts to each person, asking follow-up questions that surface deeper expertise
- Works for both paid staff and volunteers, no separate process needed
- Captures skills that people often forget to mention on forms: languages, safeguarding training, first aid, mentoring experience
- Typically 5 to 15 minutes, completed whenever suits them
Skills extracted
Find who can actually do a task, in seconds
When a project needs a specific skill, you should not have to message the whole group and hope. Skill Explorer makes every skill across your organisation searchable, so you can go straight to the right person.
- Search for specific skills across your entire volunteer base instantly
- Every profile in one place, paid staff and volunteers together
- Build shortlists for new projects or events in seconds
Sarah, Volunteer
Completed conversation
8 skills discovered in a single 12-minute conversation
Build the right team for every project
Smart Teams suggests who to approach for a new project based on real skills data, not who you happen to remember. See a complete picture of your organisation's capability, then put the right people on the things that matter.
- Suggested line-ups based on the skills a project actually needs
- Pair experienced volunteers with less experienced staff for peer learning
- Spot where one person is carrying a skill the whole organisation depends on
- Share a clear picture of capability with your board or your next funding application
147
Unique skills mapped
89%
Team completion rate
12
Skill categories
3
Priority gaps found
A live picture of capability across staff and volunteers, all in one place
Make limited budgets go where they matter
When you can see exactly where your skills gaps are, you stop guessing and start investing wisely. SkillDrill shows you what your team already knows and where the real gaps lie, so every training pound delivers maximum impact.
- Identify skills gaps across your entire organisation at a glance
- Avoid paying for training in skills your team already has
- Build a business case for specific training by showing exactly who needs it
Priority: Data Protection training needed for most of the team
Give long-standing volunteers a visible next step
Volunteers leave when they feel underused or stuck in the wrong role. Career Pathways maps what someone can do now against where they want to get to, so you can offer development that keeps the people you have already invested in.
- Discover what volunteers actually want to do, not just what they were assigned
- Spot volunteers whose skills are not being used in their current role
- Plan development conversations around real data rather than guesswork
Events volunteer
Current role, 18 months
Event lead
Next step: two skills to develop
Volunteer coordinator
Aspiration captured in conversation
A visible next step for the people you want to keep
Why skills visibility matters now
Charities are under constant pressure to do more with less. Knowing what your people can actually do is the foundation for every smarter decision that follows.
Hidden capability
Most volunteer skills never make it onto any record at all, so they never get used.
Service delivery
Unseen skills gaps quietly limit what services a charity can safely take on.
Funders notice
Being able to evidence team capability strengthens grant applications and board reports.
Avoidable spend
Training budgets stretch further when you know what your team already has.
What this looks like day to day
A new volunteer completes a five-minute conversation during onboarding.
You search Skill Explorer when a project needs a specific skill, instead of sending a message to the whole group and hoping.
Smart Teams suggests who to approach for a new project, based on real skills data, not who you happen to remember.
Career Pathways gives long-standing volunteers a visible next step, which helps you retain the people you've already invested in.
New volunteer conversation completed
11 minutes on their own phone, 9 skills added to the map
Skill Explorer search: "first aid"
6 matches found across paid staff and volunteers
Smart Teams shortlist suggested
Summer fundraiser project, 5 people with the right skills
Career Pathway updated
A long-standing volunteer's next step agreed and recorded
Skills data quietly working in the background of a normal week
Direct people to the right resources
After each conversation, SkillDrill shows relevant training links, support contacts, or next steps based on what was discussed. Configure rules to match skills, keywords, or welfare concerns to the right resources.
Keep profiles fresh automatically
Set review intervals per question set. SkillDrill reminds people when a catch-up is due and carries forward their previous answers so they only update what has changed. New skills and qualifications are captured automatically.
Nothing sits unread in a transcript
If a conversation raises a welfare or safeguarding concern, SkillDrill flags it to the right person so it can be followed up promptly, rather than sitting unnoticed in a record nobody reads.
How it works for your charity
Three simple steps from setup to a searchable picture of what your people can do. No technical expertise required, and your team can get started the same day.
Set up your question set
Choose from templates designed for the charity sector or create your own. Define what matters most for your mission, from safeguarding to fundraising to digital literacy.
Staff and volunteers complete a quick AI conversation
Share a simple invite link. Each person has a short chat with the AI, which adapts its questions based on their answers. No login hassle, no lengthy forms.
See your skills map and identify gaps
Explore your organisation's skills through interactive dashboards. Spot gaps, find hidden expertise, build project teams, and share a clear picture with trustees, all from one place.
Frequently asked questions
Pricing starts at a level built for smaller organisations, not just enterprise buyers. See Pricing for the current tiers.
It's designed to feel like a short chat rather than a form: typically 5 to 15 minutes, on their own phone, whenever suits them. No account setup, no login, nothing to install.
Both. Use it across volunteers and paid staff together in one place.
Ready to know what your volunteers can actually do?
Start with a short conversation, not another form. See the skills you already have, then put them to work.
Prefer to see it yourself first? Try the interactive demo.