With Jon’s impending 3 part series on management theory coming shortly I thought it would be nice if i tossed out a few of strategies I have been toying with to keep my phoners interested…and as far as I know it definitley has not ben done in my company yet…and if it has no one toots their own horn like I will on this bad boy….

I have recently been on a huge social media kick trying to actually figure out how to use it as a vessel to expand my knowledge in the Non Pofit sector, have my voice and ideas be heard and finally as a tool to pass along to my employees and keep them informed, entertained and engaged.

Step 1:  Create a tumblr account and get my people blogging about something specifically tailored to what keeps them working on behalf of charities or what makes them successful at their job.  Each person was given a different topic suited to what they are interested in and where their strengths as a cnavasser lie….the results were good, they were stimulated and discussing their topics the rest of the day with other co-workers….victory….

plus it validates their existence in a for profit job where their triumphs are often dwarfed by several factors….

Step 2: Create a twitter account and follow all of the clients that you canvass for….this is a double edged sword…on one hand it seems like something fun but also possibly a time waster…i run a phone room..why do I want them to have a twitter account? Because It exists at all points of the day even when they arent at work and most people (like myself) are always connected whether its computer or cell phone and become addicted to articles, pictures and words of those you follow….

Twitter is a great way for them to garner experience in a growing field and say ‘yes I am fmailiar with social media here is what I use and know’ It also saves me time  time from using google news or going to each clients website looking for news updates to pass along to them before shifts or weekly (and it saves paper waste)…this way they can periodically go on their twitter account or before their shift starts see what the clients have posted and do a little reading….then We have a pre-shift meeting, discuss what we learned and form there….it also has the potential to be something where each caller gets a couple clients each week to follow and must pull news and update everyone else in the phone room!  Thats where the magic happens….exchanging ideas, news, rap practice and whats working and not working with donors!

Step 3: Whiteboards / Incentives: Place a whiteboard up to track the performance of the callers throughout the shift…This practice can go either way.  This is both a blessing and a curse…it often times distracts or psyches out a caller, because they are pre-occupied with their results instead of the matter at hand: The Donor on The Phone and their cheque book. 

This is where the manager must manage expectations and keep his callers focused on the goal: raising money and reaching goal.  Being confident, supportive, reassuring but also firm with the goals that need to be met.  One way to do all this is focus on the whiteboard as the getway to rewards….reach goals I set and you will recieve incentives…this completely changes the way everyone will look at the whiteboard….the one I currently have set up has a schedule of calling on it as well as something else I included “a swear jar tally” I notcied a lot of poeple, including myself would curse at times in the phone room…since instilling the swear jar and a quarter penalty each time you curse, the cussing has gone down dramatically and its also a fun little game to bust other people at…all of the fund are then used to splurge on coffee, drinks, lunch etc…..it all goes back to the people who paid.

I assure you, try new things…some will succeed most will fail.  Do not be afraid to innovative.

Peace and Love,

Ry