Communication
Managing Two Groups of Volunteers
Prior to using MSP, Lynn and Javier would schedule their ministries separately, building their list of volunteers individually for their specific Masses, a process that created problems. “When Javier would give me his list of ministers for the Triduum, for example, I would have no way of pulling their contact information if there were any changes in practices, and vice versa.” Lynn said. “That was a challenge for us.” There were times when quick communication with volunteers was necessary, and contacting them could be cumbersome and time-consuming.
Now that Lynn and Javier have begun managing both groups of volunteers through MSP, all important information for both groups (including schedules, contact information, etc.) could be found in a single place. It is much easier to quickly communicate with all volunteers, or filter their messages to specific groups, using MSPs Announcement Pane.
Communicating in Multiple Languages
Originally, Lynn and Javier were working separately to write communications in their respective languages, from scratch, each time. This essentially doubled the amount of time needed for every message, and introduced the opportunity for inconsistencies between instructions given to both sets of volunteers.
By customizing the MSP Web Terminal, setting up email templates through the Announcement Pane, and using volunteer custom fields and addressee filters, Lynn said she can now more easily provide information to all volunteers in both languages, and choose to send messages to specific ministries or volunteers based on their preferred language. Lynn said that MSP has helped build a stronger, singular community by making both English and Spanish translations available.
Tracking Messages
Prior to MSP, Javier used a different email program to deliver his schedules, substitute requests, and other messages. There were occasional issues with undelivered or unread emails, and he would then have to spend more time determining why his volunteers were not engaging with his sent messages.
“What I like about MSP is that I have the report of who does and does not read the emails I send. I can then call those individually who aren’t opening the messages.” Javier said. “That functionality is a big help on my end.”