[Businessmtg] FW: Fwd: Greeter Process and interactions with new members - response to Beverly's thoughts

[Anne O.]

All,

I'd like to address Beverly's questions because I think I still may not be
communicating clearly.

1. (Beverly) You stated early here, that " we have a population of newcomers
and members who don't read or just can't digest the volume of information
that is available and given to them."

I am wondering if there is a way to sift thru that group of new members to
see which ones would be qualified for a greeter position after six or nine
months? Idk.

-Well we don't have volunteers beating down the doors lol, people step up to
service carefully and sometimes timidly.  There is training and oversight
and through that training period, we have had prospective volunteers drop
out.  What are you suggesting we look for when we sift through the group
members to check on qualifications.  How subjective is that going to be?  I
am not in favor of that.  Checking on participation is somewhat subjective
as it is.  How many times does a volunteer need to share in the meeting
before they are considered active add to that the content of their share,
hmmm.  A slippery slope in my opinion.

2.  (Beverly) A thought.  What makes it easier for the greeters? Pushing
people thru, quantity or quality? Priorities or numbers.  Idk.
-I don't know what this means.  The new process mirrors the old, however
instead of emailing information back and forth, prospective members are
guided through a series of questions on the website
http://asp-afg.org/join-asp-1/ before they submit their request to join.  It
is cleaner and easier for them to read through that questionnaire rather
than the old emailing back and forth. This is more about the prospective
member experience rather than the greeters.  The win for the greeter is that
the tracking of the new members progress is also cleaner and more
manageable.

3. (Beverly) Next you said " The old process required multiple emails and
tracking of those emails by the greeter before anyone was subscribed, and
sometimes took a couple of weeks to complete a single request."

IMHO, it takes what it takes to receive new members.  If there is a waiting
issue, seems to me if they can't wait and leave, oh well.   People either
want recovery or they don't.  Our attraction does not change.
Still doesn't convince me why the rush to push people thru.

-Also see my response to the 2nd item above.  There isn't a rush to push
people through, the couple of weeks to subscribe was about how and when
people logged in and were able to respond.  The file management and
confusion for all is magnified with this approach.  Sorry if this led you to
believe I am in a rush.

Hugs,

Anne

  
-----Original Message-----
From: Businessmtg
[mailto:businessmtg-bounces+aohara77=comcast.net at asp-afg.org] On Behalf Of
Sandie Parkker
Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2019 4:47 PM
To: aohara77 at comcast.net
Cc: ASP Business
Subject: [Businessmtg] Fwd: Greeter Process and interactions with new
members

sorry all I sent this to Anne and I meant to send this to the group.


Hi Anne and all:  Thank you Ann for this information.  It is helpful and I
am grateful for you and your service.   I would like to comment:

You stated early here, that " we have a population of newcomers and members
who don't read or just can't digest the volume of information that is
available and given to them."

I am wondering if there is a way to sift thru that group of new members to
see which ones would be qualified for a greeter position after six or nine
months? Idk.

It seems to me people who are not able to digest what is going on when they
first get here are surely not going to turn around soon.  I concur there is
a lot of reading and understanding to do on this website.

I understand you have priorities, as we all do.  And it is easy for me to
sit here to say what I am saying.  I'm not in your shoes.

A thought.  What makes it easier for the greeters? Pushing people thru,
quantity or quality? Priorities or numbers.  Idk.

Next you said " The old process required multiple emails and tracking of
those emails by the greeter before anyone was subscribed, and sometimes took
a couple of weeks to complete a single request."

IMHO, it takes what it takes to receive new members.  If there is a waiting
issue, seems to me if they can't wait and leave, oh well.   People either
want recovery or they don't.  Our attraction does not change.

Still doesn't convince me why the rush to push people thru.

Peace and hugs,
Beverly

On Sun, Jul 28, 2019 at 10:11 AM Anne O. <aohara77 at comcast.net> wrote:

> Good Morning!  Lots of activity and questions overnight.. I will try 
> to touch on all points and some additional ones.
>
>
>
> I am not sure why folks think the current process is less personal 
> than the former.  I was a greeter in 2014 and was part of the 
> transition to the new process.  The old process wasn't less personal, 
> it was onerous and I am not sure any more effective in connecting a 
> greeter with a newcomer.  The old process required multiple emails and 
> tracking of those emails by the greeter before anyone was subscribed, 
> and sometimes took a couple of weeks to complete a single request.
>
>
>
> I also want to say that greeters provide a lot of information during 
> the pre and post subscription interaction, that includes how to share 
> and that they are available to answer questions.  No matter what we do 
> to improve that (and there is always room for improvement!) - we have 
> a population of newcomers and members who don't read or just can't 
> digest the volume of information that is available and given to them.
>
>
>
> Questions I am trying to answer here.
>
> .         Personal touches
>
> .         A person to go to with questions.
>
> .         Greeters that are swamped
>
>
>
> Joining ASP-Process:  There are 3 greeters who share the workload, we 
> adjusted the assignments this year, I don't think they are swamped, 
> please explain what this means.
>
> .         The new member finds and reads our public website in search of
> help.  They go through the questionnaire and submit their 3rd 
> Tradition qualification and request to join.
>
> .         The greeter assigned to that request, reads the request and
> confirms that there is a problem of alcoholism in a family member or 
> friend.
> If they can't confirm, the request follows another path.
>
> .         The greeter sends a personalized message,  letting the new
member
> know that their subscription is in progress and that it could take up 
> to a day or so for the new member to start receiving emails.  The new 
> member is given the link to the member site so that they can read the 
> member instructions before the emails begin to come in to their inbox.
>
> .         The greeter also sends a request to the server, that request
sits
> there until I login, review the member requests and then approve the 
> subscriptions that are pending.
>
> .         As soon as I approve the request, the new member immediately
> receives a  system generated welcome letter from the list 
> administrator that is filled with a lot of good information. (ASP 
> shares also start at that same point in time)
>
> o   Depending on when the new member logs in again, the LA welcome along
> with member shares greets them.  This can be a lot all at once.
>
> .         With each subscription I approve, I confirm with the Greeter
that
> the subscription has been completed.
>
> .         The greeter receives subscription confirmation and then
> welcomes/introduces the new member to the group, which almost always 
> happens later that day or the next.
>
>
>
> So, now to the timeline of events.  These steps are sequenced, but the 
> amount of time that passes between each step is variable.
>
> .         We have variable time zones across the greeter team, we log in
at
> all times of the day or not, and we are not on speed dial J.
>
> .         We all have personal lives that include full time jobs and
family
> commitments that limit our availability.
>
> .         We don't know how often the prospective member checks their
> email,
> or what time zone they are in.
>
> .         All of this to say, that the end result and flow happens in
> elapsed time.  Particularly once the subscription is approved, there 
> could be a large amount of email for the new member to sift through.
>
>
>
> The new member has multiple resources to turn to when they are in the 
> process of being subscribed and after.
>
> .         The initial greeting from the Greeter, includes their name and
> email address.
>
> .         The welcome from the LA is signed by Jerry and includes his
email
> address, and it reaches him if the member uses an email reply with 
> questions.
>
> .         The new member can also go to the website to get information.
>
> .         I guess I don't understand why it is perceived a problem when a
> new member reaches out to another ASP member with questions.. It 
> happens in F2F meetings all the time.
>
>
>
> And finally, I want to reiterate that the 6 month threshold change 
> that we are discussing, in my opinion in no way dilutes the goal or 
> quality of a new members welcome.  From 2012 on, although not in line 
> with the website terms, we have been using 6 months as our minimum, 
> again, I don't know how that happened, but I followed suit.  Many 
> people I talk to since becoming the chair in 2018,  volunteer for the 
> greeter position because they want to give back.  Because their 
> memories of joining ASP are still fresh in their minds.
> I have members reaching out to volunteer that have 7, 8 and 9 months 
> under their belts but can't become a greeter until they have been active
for a
> year.   I think we are selling ourselves short and until we figure out how
> to make service more attractive and give newer members an opportunity 
> to serve.  I think we need to widen the net responsibly and reduce the 
> requirement to 6 months.
>
>
>
> Please let me know if I missed answering any of the questions that 
> have been posed.
>
>
>
> Anne
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> The ASP Instruction page is 
> http://asp-afg.org/members/asp-instructions/
>
> The ASP web site for ASP members is http://www.asp-afg.org/Members/
>
> For assistance with other ASP issues, contact Jerry the List 
> Administrator, at  la at asp-afg.org
>
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>

_______________________________________________
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The ASP web site for ASP members is http://www.asp-afg.org/Members/

For assistance with other ASP issues, contact Jerry the List Administrator,
at  la at asp-afg.org

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