Keeping It Local: Summary of Chapter 5

Capitalizing on Scheduling Opportunities

Do's

  • Do develop and implement a scheduling system that advances the Member’s strategic goals by: defining office goals; evaluating the impact of office goals on scheduling; communicating goals to staff; assembling the scheduling team; developing scheduling criteria; and conducting a strategic review.
  • Do determine roles and responsibilities for the Scheduler(s) and other staffers on the scheduling team.
  • Do carefully consider the Member’s travel schedule and the distance from DC to the district/state before hiring and deciding where to locate the person responsible for district/state scheduling.
  • Do forecast a long-range scheduling plan for either the first session or the entire upcoming term.
  • Do establish procedures for the planning and execution of district/state travel, including timeframes and staff assignments.

Don'ts

  • Don't rely on reactive scheduling, where the office simply responds to invitations or requests. Instead, actively seek and create opportunities to achieve goals.
  • Don't neglect to get feedback from event attendees through surveys or candid assessments. Knowing what went right and wrong can improve future scheduling trips.
  • Don't overschedule. Schedulers must learn to say “no” diplomatically and take the heat because of it. While schedules are necessarily busy, a hectic campaign-like pace is not always required.
  • Don't wait too long to respond to invitations, which angers those who are inviting you, nor reply too quickly, which might result in last-minute cancellations. Learn to balance these competing challenges.
  • Don't let conflict between the Member’s family and staff fester and grow by ignoring or avoiding it. Set up ground rules for the family’s involvement in scheduling and how staff should interact with them.

Details

Copyright 2010, Congressional Management Foundation
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Congressional Management Foundation; 3rd edition (March 8, 2010); Reprinted in 2017
ISBN-13: 978-1-930473-13-3
Dimensions: 7.5 x 9.25 inches

Pricing for Hardcopies

Price: $25.00
Bulk Price (10+ copies): $25.00 $22.50 (10% off)

 
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