Well-organized registration procedures for staff, whether full time, temporary or voluntary, will make the maintenance of personnel details easier. But in the hurly-burly of an election, especially in the last few weeks prior to an important election, volunteers in particular might be coming into programmes rapidly and for short periods of time. As a result, their names and contact details can easily be lost.
This is one of the most important assets available to an educational programme. And it is likely to be the one in which most time and money has been invested. The section uses the terms "staff" and "volunteers" to remind educators that their programmes will involve people from a range of backgrounds. They may be employed directly by the election authority, or they may be sent to that authority for the occasion by another organisation. They may be temporary workers or volunteers paid a `per diem' or not paid at all. They may also be full-time staff of another organisation who take part in the programme at the expense of that organisation (known as seconded staff). Or, they may be people that such an organisation has recruited according to a similar list of options.
Whatever their positions, it is likely that these people have received training or have had experience in either developing materials or conducting aspects of the programme. Or they may have worked in an office doing set-up work or analysing survey and assessment data. Whatever the case, they carry the organisational wisdom and experience that is normally associated with systems, but they may be dispersed once an election is over. Education programmes are even more vulnerable than political parties in this regard, because there is no reliable expectation that the same people will be available next time unless good records are kept and the people can be found. Even then, they may no longer be available for extended periods. They may be available only to at least pass on their experience.
Obviously, the more often people are involved in educational programmes, and the more people who are involved, the more likely it is that it will be possible to find people for future programmes. Poor countries, however, are likely to have struggled to find and train people at all levels. The scarcity of trained people will be exacerbated if good records are not kept of those who have obtained training and experience.
There are two ways to ensure that adequate records are kept, and both should be used – index cards and certificates.
Index Cards
In the first place, educators should create and insist upon the use of a registration form or index card for recording and storing personal details of all staff, whether employed or voluntary. This record should be prepared when a person begins work, even if it is not yet known precisely how long the person is going to be involved. Prior to the person leaving, this record should be updated to include the latest contact information available.
The greater the investment in the person, the more important it is that contact is maintained, and, therefore, the more care that should be taken. But a volunteer who comes in to conduct three high-level seminars in one election may turn out to be a valuable and central resource for the next election.
On an index card, or in a computer database, the following information should be included:
- full name
- all necessary contact details (see Interlocutors and Intermediaries)
- information about the job that the staff member did
- a notation on their performance from a supervisor
- training opportunities
- any certificates given (see below)
As elections may be held only every five years, for example, contact information on these index cards, whether stored in computers or in alphabetical files, is likely to become dated and eventually incorrect. People do move; although the extent to which the file has included the name of the person's organisational or work background may make the search for a new address easier.
Certificates
Staff members may be provided with a certificate of performance when they conclude their work. The onus is on the individual, then, to keep this information. Because many unemployed people may be drawn into a programme, and because they may still find this periodic employment desirable, there is benefit to be gained from maintaining personal certification of this nature.
In like manner, certification for all training events can be awarded. This form of record has an additional value. Many of those who work in voter or civic education are not paid adequately, if at all. Certification acts as a recognition of the work they have done. Such a certificate should not be confused with a competency-based diploma or other certificate that has educational currency, although the ability of educators to provide such certificates for at least some of their training is obviously an advantage. Rather, it should be considered as a token of public recognition that should not be overlooked.
Thus, with institutions and the individual committed to remembering and carefully recording the work done by an individual in the previous campaign, it is possible that finding people to work in the next will be easier.
