Marketing Plan for Hanover Welfare Services - Case Study Example

Hanover Welfare Services Hanover Welfare Services Marketing Plan Introduction Despite the advanced levels of world civilization, some portions of the globe still remain under difficult living conditions. In the modern society, people living in hardship are referred to as the underprivileged. The underprivileged therefore suffer from a range of problems such as homelessness, lack of food, poor health, limited or no access to education services, joblessness and the like. This means that such people are unable to comprehensively fend for themselves thus require some form of assistance. This kind of assistance is what Hanover Welfare Services endeavors to provide. Hanover Welfare Services however specialize in alleviating homelessness or any form of housing crisis (hanover.org.au). Working as a solely independent organization and not for profit, Hanover Welfare Services is therefore a venture that should be supported at all cost. This kind of support can most certainly be provided through many ways one of which is volunteering. Volunteering to work with a welfare organization enables it to achieve its goals without suffering any cost and in turn the volunteer gets personal gratification from understanding that they have helped an underprivileged person. Such volunteers should therefore be people who are mostly energetic, have few responsibilities and are looking for some form of work experience and have some form of education experience. These qualities therefore point mostly to people of what is known as generation Y, that is individuals born between the years of 1980-1994. Hanover Welfare Services requires this group to help in such aspects as Organizing social activities such as BBQ's and Film Nights; providing administrative support; tutoring disadvantaged youth; mentoring in job skills; assist with the food van, garden maintenance or by serving on one of Hanover’s many committees. This project paper therefore aims at advancing ways in which Hanover Welfare Services can use to attract and recruit members of generation Y in volunteering to work for them for the good of the homeless. Executive Summary This is a project paper that aims at helping Hanover Welfare Services come up with ways of attracting members between the ages of 13 to 25 apply for voluntary services at their organization. This voluntary labour is vital in helping Hanover Welfare Services a not for profit organization achieve its goal of housing the homeless. Literature Review Under this title, the paper discussed Hanover’s current market situation and such aspects as the history of Hanover Welfare Services, Its aims and goals, achievements and volunteering statistics in Australia, SWOT analysis and objectives. Marketing Strategy This was an in depth analysis of an appropriate marketing strategy that Hanover Welfare Services would use and how it would be carried out. It included such aspects as Marketing campaign specifics, Action Programs, and a Budget. Action Program This involved the programs which Hanover would undertake in order to achieve its objective of attracting the youth to volunteer for it. Conclusions and Recommendations Under this section, the paper provided an insight of the importance of welfare and why people should volunteer and emphasized the need for Hanover to implement the action plans. Current Marketing Situation Short History of Hanover Welfare Services/Background Formed way back in 1964, Hanover Welfare Services takes its name form the street where its headquarters were first located, that is Hanover Street in Fitzroy (hanover.org.au). “Hanover was one of the first agencies to use research to investigate the causes and consequences of homelessness and to suggest solutions to help alleviate it (hanover.org.au).” Currently, the headquarters are located at 52 Haig Street, South Melbourne 3205. Also according to (housingregistrar.vic.gov.au), the agency is independent, that its, it does not have any links with any other organization or structure such as churches, missions or even the government. Some Achievements According to (harnover.org.au) “Hanover has developed a range of flexible, specialist accommodation and support services. These services directly assist over 15,000 Victorians every year. Hanover’s way is to provide the right mix of housing and support where and when it is needed by individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. This means tailoring our response by providing services and intensive support programs to best meet someone’s needs. Hanover provides emergency accommodation, material aid and personal support to those who literally have no where else to go.  Our crisis accommodation centers are located at South bank, St Kilda, South Melbourne and Dandenong. Our Young Adults and Young Women’s service is run at Windsor and Housing Support is run out of Cheltenham and Northcote. Hanover’s Outreach team, based at Northcote, also supports people who sleep rough on the streets, in parks, derelict buildings and other improvised shelters. The support we provide includes counseling, material aid, financial aid, assistance with education and training as well as referrals to specialist health services”. As a proactive organization, Hanover Welfare Services goes ahead to forecast the risk of homelessness amongst individuals, families and groups and then intervenes to prevent the situation from aggravating. By doing so, Hanover has prevented thousands of people from becoming homeless as a result of mostly financially stressing situations. This has been achieved through programs such as the Family Focus program which assist people to maintain their housing even through financially stressing times (harnover.org.au). As of latest reports, Hanover Welfare Services had in recent times most specifically in 2007 initiated a program to boost its volunteer portfolio. This program is called the Community Involvement through Volunteering (CITV) project. This project was meant to attract members of the society who are homeless and isolated also to do the volunteering (Penman 2006, p.2). Currently though, about 100 volunteers are involved with the range of programs at Hanover such as education and community development to administrative services and even gardening (Penman 2006, p.2). Hanover recognizes that social exclusion is a contributing factor in keeping individuals homeless and poor. In reaction to this, Hanover is developing service models that are geared towards enhancing social inclusion, positive societal relationships and dispelling misconceptions. This is according to (Penman 2006, p.3). “As an organisation, Hanover is strongly committed to the principle that evidence and outcomes should drive solutions and interventions. One of the questions posed in the Green Paper is what would be appropriate goals, targets and outcome measures to drive change. We believe that an overall goal or target should be to reduce the number of Australian’s experiencing homelessness by 50% as measured in the 2021 Census. We also propose target measures for a range of areas throughout this submission which we feel will ensure that we reach this target” (Keenan 2008, P.1) By any standards, homelessness is simply the lack of a descent place to stay away from the harsh environment and other factors. However according to (Penman 2006, p.4), homelessness supersedes just shelter but rather broadly means also the lack of a home. In this case, a home is an environment with both physically and emotional stability in a place where one stays. According to Solowiej (2006, p. 1) over 105, 000 Australians were found to be homeless when the 2006 census program was carried out. She further goes ahead to state that “Each day nearly 1 in every 200 Australians is homeless, without safe, secure or affordable housing. Last year, 105 000 Australians experienced homelessness. One in every 154 Australians sought help from a homeless assistance service and one in every 39 children aged under 4 slept in a homeless service. 23% of Australia’s homeless are children – almost one in four homeless people is under 18. Of every 42 Australian children under four, one has experienced homelessness. Every day, half the people who request immediate accommodation from the homeless service system are turned away. Two in every 3 children who need support are also turned away, as are almost 80% percent of families” Horn (1996, p.1) attributes homelessness to several factors such as Domestic and family violence which takes up about 22% of the homelessness pie, Eviction or earlier accommodation ended which takes up 11% of the pie, family and Relationship breakdowns, the usual lack of availability of accommodation and Financial problems which cover about 10% of the share. According to (Zappala 2000, p.1),”the most detailed source on the extent of volunteering in Australia is the first and only national survey conducted by the ABS in June 1995, the Survey of Voluntary Work (ABS 1996). From a sample of 56,000 people usually surveyed as part of the Monthly Population Survey, data was collected for the 10,600 people who claimed to have undertaken some form of voluntary activity in the previous twelve months”. Also “This survey suggested that 19 per cent of the civilian population aged 15 years and over had provided some form of voluntary work through an organization or group during the 12 months ended June 1995. Almost two thirds of volunteers worked for one organization only, and 54 per cent of all volunteer hours were accounted for by volunteers working for organizations in welfare/community, religious and educational sectors. A national survey of Australian workplaces found that volunteers were present in 14 per cent of Australian workplaces, and accounted for almost 10 per cent of all employees. The number of volunteers was almost 50 per cent higher than the number of home workers/outworkers, contractors and agency workers put together. Volunteers were primarily concentrated in the Education, and Health and community services sector” (Zappala 2000, p.1). Generation Y According to (Trumk 2007, p.1) Most members of generation X are busy with juggling between work, family and outside interests, however a good majority of generation Y members just want to make themselves useful in any way. This leaves a good opportunity to attract them to volunteer say for Hanover. Trump also goes to assert that according to a research by Deloitte, it is hard to keep generation Y members indoors and that more than half of workers in their twenties prefer to work at an organization that provides numerous volunteer opportunities. These facts can be capitalized on by organizations such as Hanover Welfare Services to achieve the goal of hiring volunteers. “Understanding Generation Y is important not just for employers. Older workers--that is, anyone over 30--need to know how to adapt to the values and demands of their newest colleagues. Before too long, they'll be the bosses” (Trump 2007, p.1). SWOT and Issue Analysis Some of the strengths that Hanover can boast of are the presence of their strategic plan that has been currently running from 2007 and is bound to continue through to 2012 (harnover.org.au). This plan has proved to be the backbone of the organization. Also, Hanover has managed to partner with several other organizations such as the Department of Human Services, FaHCSIA, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Mental Illness Fellowship, and Alfred Psychiatry which have proved to be assets in achieving its goals (housingregistrar.vic.gov.au). Also, according to (housingregistrar.vic.gov.au), Hanover has the following assets; Total as at end of previous financial year $7,010,363, Annual turnover for year ended $14,219,362 and Operational surplus for previous financial year -$(325,028). Perhaps however, the main weakness that Hanover faces is the fact that it is a not for profit organization. This means that it relies heavily on people’s goodwill in order to carry out its operations. The main form of goodwill is the volunteer program. From this program, Hanover is able to implement its goals, thus if few or no people are volunteering, then its operations are greatly crippled. This facts are supported by (Penman 2006, p.1) who states in a volunteer report that “The mission of Hanover is to empower people who are homeless, or at imminent risk of becoming so, to enable them to take greater control of their lives. Our mission is also to stimulate and encourage change in Australian society to benefit people experiencing homelessness. We see volunteering as a critical element in enabling us to achieve our mission and we have a number of successful volunteer programs currently in operation. However, with around 170 staff, Hanover is a relatively large community based organization and yet we face significant challenges in being able to both properly resource our volunteer program and to attract appropriate volunteers” In terms of opportunity, Hanover has the chance to build its portfolio by hosting or participating in events such as the just ended Ride for Home event where cyclists came out to do a marathon in support of the Homeless (hanover.org.au). Also, Hanover can develop strategies to tap into the massive labour that the youth can provide say during the holidays when they are out of school. The only major threat to the success of this organization therefore becomes the lack of or shortage of labour. If individuals are not volunteering in the desired numbers, then the situation becomes threatening. According to (Penman 2008, p.4), the following misconceptions hinder volunteering programs and are thus threats to the organization: Issues with lack of clarity around centre link rules, i.e. a perception that mutual obligation is the only permissible way to be involved in community. Clients concerned that volunteering may enhance a negative perception that they should be working rather than being actively involved in their community. Some community organizations apply criminal records unilaterally, without applying discretion as to the particular criminal charges and thereby potentially excluding people who could make a good contribution in the right role. Transport and childcare costs associated with volunteering. Not knowing how to start to work through their options, to find out where to volunteer or to select what they might be able to do. Objectives The main objective therefore for Hanover, is to attract members of generation Y to work for it as volunteers. This can therefore be achieved through; Perhaps as of this generation, the most powerful tool for reaching young people between the ages of 18 to 25 is through the internet. The internet has become a major launching area for many youths through such things as social networks say, facebook or myspace. By advertising or creating awareness on the internet via such sites, Hanover can achieve milestones in attracting generation Y to volunteer for it. This is supported by several facts as according to (Thurman 2010, n.p) below: 93% of teens ages 12-17 go online, as do 93% of young adults ages 18-29. 75% of Millennials have created a profile on a social networking site. 1 in every 5 Millennials have posted a video of themselves online. 41% of Millennials use only a cell phone and have no landline. Over half of YouTube’s users are under 20 years old. 53% of the total blogging population is 21-35 years old. TV advertisements: A good majority of young people spend a significant amount of precious time watching television and movies. By creating adverts to run during such airtime, Hanover can for sure attract a good percentage of idle youth to volunteer for it. School based programs: By partnering with selected schools, Hanover can persuade the school system to create a program where at least once a week students from different classes get to volunteer for the welfare. Through awareness programs: By selecting volunteer youths from homeless families or backgrounds to speak to fellow youth about the importance of welfare, the other youth can be moved to volunteer for Hanover. Hanover could also partner with institutions of higher learning to create a volunteer program which would suffice as internship for students. This would then attract students to volunteer. Also, by getting role models for generation Y such as music celebrities to preach about the importance of welfare, Hanover would have wooed a large majority of young people to work for it. Marketing Strategy The following is the marketing strategy that Hanover would use to attract members of generation Y to volunteer for it; The organizations main strength the organization has is its significant financial assets which it would use to fund action plans for attracting the youth to volunteer for it. Its weakness being the lack of secure labour, the organization should endeavor to find ways of having constant labour through constant volunteer programs. It being a welfare organization, its main goal should be to assist as many underprivileged people as possible through the services of volunteering youths. Hanover is well placed as a pioneer welfare organization for the homeless serving people of all ages. This is why it gets a lot of assistance requests. It specifically specializes in dealing with homelessness as its basic customer’s needs. What sets it apart from the rest is its capacity to take in almost every help request that comes in by struggling not to turn away anyone needing a home. Marketing campaign specifics The goal of the campaign is to reach as many youth as possible to request them to volunteer for Hanover. The campaign will focus mainly on attracting individuals from generation Y, that is 13 to 25 years of age. The product being sold would be the chance to volunteer for Hanover. The success of the campaign will be measured by the number of volunteers who will turn up versus the target number. The effectiveness of the campaign will be measured likewise after one month of its launch. Action Programs The main action programs are as stated in the objective, that is, to run a TV advertisement, partner with schools, run awareness programs, create an internship program and involve role models all in appealing to the youth to volunteer for Hanover Welfare Services. The programs will be carried out by the paid workers and the current volunteers at Hanover and will coverall the major and minor districts within Melbourne and Surrounding areas. Budget   Program Payment/Month Full Year TV ads $1000 $12000 School Program $500 $6000 Awareness Program $500 $6000 Internships $100 $1200 Role Models $1000 $12000 Conclusions and Recommendations (Keenan 2008, p.1) states in his report that “Hanover believes that this is not the time for complacency in our approach to homelessness. While current approaches have delivered some good outcomes, the Green Paper rightly points to some serious failings as well. Business as usual will not suffice and will lead to further increases in homelessness, further waste of human potential and further entrenched disadvantage. We take the Government at its word, when it says that it is serious about fixing homelessness and we look forward to being in a partner in this important work” Hanover Welfare Services is therefore an important program that has come a long way and needs to continue surviving. In order to survive, Hanover greatly relies on volunteer services. A good source for this free labour is the youth of generation Y. We conclude by urging the youth to come out in their masses to support this program because homelessness is a threat that could befall anyone at any given time in life. Let the privileged help the less privileged. In terms of recommendations, we would suggest that the Hanover research team look at some of the facts highlighted in this paper about the characteristics of generation Y coupled with other fact materials as a way of understanding the workings of generation Y members. This understanding is crucial to knowing how to attract these people to get involved in volunteer programs. The action programs or objectives suggested in this study would be extremely beneficial if implemented to the latter as they would go a long way in soliciting for voluntary labour for Hanover Welfare Services. References Bessant, J 2001, 'The question of public trust and the schooling system', Australian Journal of Education, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 207-226. Hanover Welfare Services. 2011. Retrieved from http://www.hanover.org.au/ Hanover Welfare Services. Housing Registrar. 2010. Retrieved from http://www.housingregistrar.vic.gov.au/registered-housing-sector/housing-providers/hanover Horn, M. 1996, Families and Homelessness - Prospects and Policies for the 21st Century: Research and Development Co-ordinator Hanover Welfare Services Melbourne. Keenan, t. 2008. Response to the Australian Government’s ‘Green Paper’‘Which Way Home? A New Approach to Homelessness’ Morello, V 2010, "Couch Surfing Risky for Homeless Youth". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/couch-surfing-risky-for-homeless-youth-20100413-s74y.html. Penman, D 2008. Response to call for submissions on the Whole of Victorian Government Volunteering & Participation Strategy 2009-14. Seymour, G 2010. "The Young and the Homeless". Retrieved from: http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=10256. Soliwiej, A. 2006. Homelessness in Australia. Retrieved from: www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au  Trunk, P 2008. Time magazine. What Generation Y really wants? Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640395,00.html Thurman, R. 2010. 36 facts about generation Y in the workplace and beyond. Retrieved from http://www.rosettathurman.com/2010/07/36-facts-about-generation-y-in-the-workplace-and-beyond/ White Paper Anniversary. 2010. Retrieved from: (http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/site/index.php) Zappala, G. 2000. How many people volunteer in Australia and why do they do it? Research and Advocacy Briefing Paper No 4, September 2000 Read More