Spring 2014 A PublicAtion for commissioners And ProfessionAls THE ommissioner C SPRING 2012 www.scouting.org/commissioners Commissioner Tools to Launch By Rick Hillenbrand, Communications chair This is the second article about the new Commissioner Tools, and it is intended to provide an update and some additional details about the tools. To read the first article, please see the Winter 2014 issue of The Commissioner. One of the unanimous decisions of the 16 volunteers and professionals who make up the focus group that developed the requirements for the Commissioner Tools is that the Commissioner Tools will not be launched on some predefined date if they are not ready—something agreed to by the nearly 70 volunteers who are testing the tools. Unfortunately, in going from requirements to an operating Web-based application, “virtual,” such as a phone call or an email. Not all face-to- we encountered more delays than our schedule could absorb, face contacts are meaningful and should be logged, such as which consequently has delayed the projected initial release the following: date. This article is being written about four weeks prior to 1. Commissioner meets committee chair at shopping publication, and at this time it is going to go down to the wire mall and discusses family matters. This is not a whether we will be ready to fully launch the Commissioner “meaningful” contact. Tools at the National Annual Meeting in May. Even if the 2. Commissioner meets committee chair at shopping mall. Commissioner Tools are not ready for full release, you can After discussing family matters, they have a 20-minute stop by the exhibit hall at the National Annual Meeting and discussion about how to conduct a troop annual get a firsthand demonstration of a “preproduction” version of program planning conference. The second part of this the tools. interaction IS a “meaningful” contact. Training to use the Commissioner Tools will be consistent 3. The commissioner and committee chair have an with most state-of-the-art software programs, which means email exchange that goes on for days about how to there will not be a phonebook-thick user’s manual that cannot organize the pack’s blue and gold banquet. This is a be kept current. Instead, the tools are being designed to be “meaningful” contact. intuitive and will have an online help manual and pop-up helps that can be accessed by right-clicking. Additionally, there will After considerable deliberation, the focus group and the be a training video available at the National Annual Meeting, National Commissioner Support Staff decided that in addition and in-person sessions at commissioner colleges, conferences, to commissioners, field-serving professionals should have and area meetings will continue. the ability to log contacts and use the Commissioner Tools. This was a logical conclusion because both share the wreath One of the most fundamental changes is that where of service and work together as a team to serve Scouting we logged “visits” in UVTS, we will log “contacts” in the through unit service. This will also help in situations where Commissioner Tools. This change allows us to recognize and professionals assist volunteers in logging their unit contacts. log unit service that doesn’t always happen face to face. With (There is an ability to print a paper copy of a Commissioner the release of the Commissioner Tools, we will also provide a Assessment Form for use without a computer.) Because adding glossary of terms, which includes the following definition the capability for professionals to make entries was not deemed for “contact”: critical and is a form of “scope growth” that could jeopardize A “meaningful” interaction between a commissioner and the initial release of the Commissioner Tools, this functionality one or more members of a unit. Meaningful contacts can be will be added post-Release 1. From a JTE perspective, it Spring 2014 A PublicAtion for commissioners And ProfessionAls THE ommissioner C SPRING 2012 www.scouting.org/commissioners is important to remember that JTE item 14 for districts and Universally, the volunteers and professionals working on the councils measures commissioner unit visitations. Thus, when Commissioner Tools have found this to be a very positive and the change is made to allow professionals to log contacts, collaborative experience, yet we know that when it is in use, the Commissioner Tools dashboard will both display and you, the users, will come up with ideas and improvements that differentiate between commissioner and professional contacts. have not yet been considered. As a part of the Commissioner Tools, an email address has been established for you to When creating the requirements for the perfect submit your concerns, compliments, requests, and ideas: Commissioner Tools suite, the focus group anticipated that [email protected]. users may come up with additional good ideas, and the testers have already made several suggestions, some of which will be For additional information, including a presentation with incorporated into the initial release and others that will have screen shots of the new Commissioner Tools, go to the to wait until a subsequent release. On a related note, one of Commissioners website. the conundrums of any software design team and program manager is recognizing when the product is ready to launch. In the case of most software programs, “better” can quickly become the enemy of “good enough.” Already, as a part of the focus group that developed the requirements for the Commissioner Tools, I know there are some things that will end up in the initial release that could be better—and hopefully will in subsequent releases. For example (and maybe this will be fixed in the official release), I found the contact entry “forms” to have too much white space. Spring 2014 A PublicAtion for commissioners And ProfessionAls THE ommissioner C SPRING 2012 www.scouting.org/commissioners Success Story Dan Morgan was the first person in the Atlanta Area Council to earn the Commissioner Award of Excellence in Unit Service. He serves as an assistant district commissioner and, as an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, saw opportunities to improve service to those units. Dan created a repeatable process that resulted in timely leader registration and training in the units he served. To ensure their timely completion, volunteer applications were included in the process of calling a Church member to a Scouting position. In extending the call, Church leaders provided the Scouter with detailed expectations, including completion of training and attendance at roundtables, and ensured successful completion of applications and Youth Protection training before a bishop sustained the Scouter in the sacrament. The Church provides notice of the appointment of a leader to the unit commissioner to enable training coordination. Larry Chase As a result, Dan’s Church-based units were more National Commissioner Service Recruitment and Retention Chair successful in establishing new leaders who were trained [email protected] and understood the expectations of their commitment to serve youth through Scouting. That’s success! Have a success story to share? Effective use of commissioner recognition strengthens unit service. Send your story to Larry Chase at [email protected]. Spring 2014 A PublicAtion for commissioners And ProfessionAls THE ommissioner C SPRING 2012 www.scouting.org/commissioners Successful Recruitment Is More Than an Ask There’s not a council or district in the BSA that doesn’t need Priorities additional commissioners. Recruiting is a year-round process: Strange as it sounds, we don’t always control our priorities. A We should continually be looking for candidates. But once one candidate with both passion and potential for the work you need is identified, what’s next? Successful recruiting is far more than done may have 6-month-old twins at home or may have recently just asking someone to serve. accepted a promotion that will require heavy travel with a Preparation burdensome workload for the next 12 months. As a general rule, volunteers should be given the chance to decide whether or not Successful recruitment begins with a vision: How will you— they have the time to do what you need done, but your wisdom is and the person you’ve identified—know if he or she has been needed, too. Sometimes it is evident that we’re asking more than successful? Increasingly, we have metrics available to identify anyone can reasonably be expected to give. That, too, requires where unit service work is needed. Those metrics can also a bit of homework. help measure progress—and success. Before making an ask, write down, specifically, what success will look like. And make Poaching a reasonable estimate of how much time it will take to fulfill the Don’t do it! responsibilities in question. The best candidates will ask you about both; be prepared to answer. Even if you’ve found the perfect candidate—his or her passion, potential, and priorities all align with your vision—don’t Passion make the ask until you do one more bit of homework: Is this We’ve all heard it: If we find work we love, we’ll never work person already doing a great job in Scouting for someone else? another day in our life; that’s passion! Our dedicated volunteers If so, your first call needs to be to his or her current leader. are passionate about Scouting, but when you get down to the Sometimes you’ll learn the current assignment is close to a details, they’re not all passionate about the same things. Some conclusion or that there is a way for your candidate to perform really want to be on the front lines and work directly with the both assignments.