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The Association for the Promotion of Voluntary Social Services has been organizing the Voluntary Social Year (FSJ) in Austria for more than 56 years. The association does this in order to give young adults an insight into the social sector, accompanied by FSJ employees who have the well-being of the FSJ participants at heart. The non-profit association cooperates with numerous large social organizations, such as Caritas, Lebenshilfe and regional clinics, as well as with many smaller institutions such as private children's groups.
The FSJ participants work 34 hours a week in a social institution in Austria, gaining experience, professional orientation and personal development. The association ensures supportive and fair conditions in the social institutions with mandatory mentoring and reflection meetings for quality assurance. Depending on the area of work and location, different activities are involved. The main aim of every FSJ placement is to support the respective team and the clients being cared for.
Organization name:
Association for the Promotion of Voluntary Social Services - Voluntary Social Year
Brief description of the project:
Digitization of signature processes to significantly reduce administrative work and optimize contract processing.
Why sproof sign:
"It was important for us to find a solution that was practical and affordable. Data protection had to be met. The tool used to process the signature had to be competent, trustworthy, professional and, above all, "listen" to what we needed. We found all of this with sproof."
MMag. Elisabeth Marcus, Managing Director of the Voluntary Social Year Association (©privat)
How did the decision to introduce the digital signature come about?
When I took over as Managing Director three years ago, the association, which had been in existence for over 50 years, was still in its infancy in terms of digitalization. Until then, all contracts with the social institutions and FSJ participants were created using form letters, printed out, signed, stamped, put in an envelope and sent to the post office. And signed and returned by post. If a change was necessary, everything started all over again. This was still feasible with a smaller number of participants, but the more young adults doing an FSJ, the more impossible the undertaking became. Not to mention the likelihood of errors in the various Excel lists. This meant that digitalized solutions had to be found for the 21st century.
The first step was to find an IT company that could digitize all of our processes. This meant that we could no longer receive applications as an attachment in an email (whose information then had to be inserted into Excel lists), as was previously usual and necessary, but via a registration tool. The data could then be used directly to automatically create the necessary contracts once an FSJ placement had been confirmed. This meant that the contract creation was complete, but the digital signing option was still missing. After some research and, above all, thanks to a recommendation from a friend, I finally came across sproof.
How important is the digital transformation for the FSJ?
The importance of the digital transformation for the FSJ cannot be overestimated. An FSJ year always starts in the fall. This means that summer is the peak period for placements and also the peak period for contracts. Two contracts with our association are required for each person placed: With the social institution and with the FSJ participant. We have to sign these contracts and, of course, so does the other party. sproof offered and continues to offer us the ideal solution! This year we expect around 700 FSJ assignments, and therefore around 1400 contracts that need to be signed.
What criteria were decisive for you when looking for the right e-signature provider?
It was important for us to find a solution that was practical and affordable. Data protection had to be fulfilled. The tool used to process the signature had to be competent, trustworthy, professional and, above all, "listen" to what we needed. We found all of this with sproof.
For which applications is the digital signature used?
For the signatures of our FSJ agreements with the social institutions and with the FSJ participants and also for contracts with funding bodies, service contracts, etc. Simply for all documents that require an officially valid signature. And so sproof not only helps us with contracts relating to FSJ assignments, but also with documents that need to be signed by the association's chairperson and managing director, as we don't see each other that often - which makes it difficult to sign by hand - but are mainly in contact via email and telephone.
Since we have sproof, which allows us to sign via ID-Austria, there is no longer any need for meetings, which used to be mainly about getting a signature for an important document. We are also celebrating the paperless solution. This allows us to save valuable resources. Today, we print almost nothing at all.
Until then, all contracts with the social institutions and FSJ participants were created using a form letter, printed out, signed, stamped, put in an envelope and sent to the post office. And signed and returned by post. If a change was necessary, everything started all over again. This was still feasible with a smaller number of participants, but the more young adults doing an FSJ, the more impossible the undertaking became.
MMag. Elisabeth MarcusHow did the cloud integration work?
The IT company that did the digitalization for us and sproof took care of this directly. From specialist to specialist, so to speak. That was ideal for us as a customer.
What security, compliance and data protection requirements does an organization like the FSJ have?
Of course, we have extremely high standards. The question of data protection and security was one of the first we asked when we came across sproof.
What do you particularly like about sproof sign?
All of sproof's employees are incredibly competent, friendly, professional and always strive to find the best solution for us. They are there and available for questions and problems and do everything they can to ensure that we, as a customer, get the result we need and want. sproof is the best thing that could have happened to us, alongside the great IT company with which we approached digitization.
Do you use signature workflows for your use case?
Yes, especially when I digitally sign documents with our chairwoman, the signature workflow is used. But also for contracts with volunteer positions and FSJ participants. By switching from manual signatures on agreements sent by post to digital signatures by email, we have also ensured digitization in the more than 700 social institutions, because the management of the social institutions then also had to deal with the digital signature.
We are now in our third year of use and it is working wonderfully everywhere. sproof is seen as a trustworthy and uncomplicated partner. Incidentally, digital drawing was never a challenge for the FSJ participants. The young adults did it in no time at all with their cell phones, as if they had never done it any other way. This also speaks for the easy and understandable usability of sproof. We would like to say a big THANK YOU for the great cooperation!!!
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