I can't get my volunteers to clock in

If half your volunteers never clock in, the problem is almost never that they do not care. It is friction. Every step between walking in the door and being on the clock costs you a chunk of participation.

The friction killers

• Downloading an app. A volunteer who comes once a month will not install your time-clock app, and should not have to.
• Creating a login. Usernames and passwords are the fastest way to lose a casual helper. Kangaroo Clock has no worker logins on purpose.
• Hunting for the right screen. If clocking in takes more than a few seconds, it competes with the actual reason they showed up.

What actually works

Put a tablet kiosk by the entrance. The screen shows everyone's name. A volunteer taps their name to clock in and taps it again to clock out. No app, no login, no password. That single tap is the whole interaction.

For programs where everyone has a phone in hand, a posted QR poster does the same job: scan, tap your name, done. For remote or roving helpers, send each person a personal link they bookmark once.

Placement matters more than reminders

Put the tablet or poster on the path people already walk, at the door, by the sign-in sheet they used to use, next to the coffee. A clock-in surface they have to go looking for is a clock-in surface they will skip. If scanning is the weak link, see why a QR code won't scan.

Make the first time effortless

Add everyone to your roster ahead of time so names are already on the kiosk when they arrive. You can paste a list or pull the roster straight from your signup form. The goal is that a new volunteer never has to type anything. Try the kiosk in the demo.