Accurate reporting of attendance on quarterly report

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ericb
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Accurate reporting of attendance on quarterly report

#1

Post by ericb »

In preparation for submitting our ward's most recent quarterly report, I decided to take a lilttle more time and review the names submitted by the organizations (names of those not attending meetings are reported). Sorry if this is a bit long, but I observed two things that I think are good to pass along:

1) Some names submitted had been moved out of the ward several months back, and some recent move-ins that should have been reported were not. In talking with each of the organization leaders, it became apparent that their secretaries are working from their own spreadsheets rather than referring to the latest lists in MLS. I know this seems like a no-brainer to most of us, but it was obviously not perceived as a problem by a couple of the leaders. They are now on board, so it just needed to be pointed out.

2) In the reports generated from MLS, it is not always obvious to secretaries who should be included in the reporting of attendance. I have verified several times in MLS that anyone 9+ years of age that has not been baptized & confirmed is not to be included (this is easily determined by clicking on the hyperlinks in the quarterly report for the different groups reported). I believe part of the confusion is that MLS does not consistently indicate this status. Some reports put an (*) next to the name to indicate the non-member status (Print Rolls & Lists option with 'Standard', 'Abbreviated', or 'Phone' selected, but not when 'Attendance Roll' or 'Birthday' are selected). I realize that non-members may sometimes see the reports, so perhaps this is the reason for the discretion. However, I think a good compromise is to always including an (*) next to the name on any of the Print Rolls & Lists option, as well as an (*) footnote with something like "baptism and/or confirmation date not recorded". Again, this may seem like a no-brainer to many of us, but I've found this topic is confusing to the secretaries.

I will appreciate other clerks observations, thanks.
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#2

Post by RossEvans »

ericb wrote:
1) Some names submitted had been moved out of the ward several months back, and some recent move-ins that should have been reported were not. In talking with each of the organization leaders, it became apparent that their secretaries are working from their own spreadsheets rather than referring to the latest lists in MLS..

I liked the practice of a bishop I used to clerk for in another ward. Each month he asked the clerk to compile for him, from each of the secretaries, a list of the names of the members being reported as not attending. Hard copies of these lists were clipped to the monthly report submitted to the bishop. This practice not only focused attention on people rather than numbers, but also served as a cross-check on the numbers being reported..
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opee
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#3

Post by opee »

boomerbubba wrote:I liked the practice of a bishop I used to clerk for in another ward. Each month he asked the clerk to compile for him, from each of the secretaries, a list of the names of the members being reported as not attending. Hard copies of these lists were clipped to the monthly report submitted to the bishop. This practice not only focused attention on people rather than numbers, but also served as a cross-check on the numbers being reported..

On the Quarterly Report, if you click the link on the far left, it will give you a print out of the names of those being counted in the report (as of the last day of the month in that quarter). You could print this list off and give to the secretary/president for reporting. It does not include the "*" members who are unbaptized. It is a list of those being counted for the report.
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ericb
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#4

Post by ericb »

opee wrote:On the Quarterly Report, if you click the link on the far left, it will give you a print out of the names of those being counted in the report (as of the last day of the month in that quarter). You could print this list off and give to the secretary/president for reporting.

This came up when talking with one of our organization presidents. The leader made the point that it should really be the responsibility of each organization president and secretary to be up-to-date on their members rather than relying on the clerk. If only I could get the other organizations' leaders to feel the same way :rolleyes:. I guess it comes down to encouraging, reminding, and training as we go along.
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#5

Post by russellhltn »

ericb wrote:This came up when talking with one of our organization presidents. The leader made the point that it should really be the responsibility of each organization president and secretary to be up-to-date on their members rather than relying on the clerk.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. The clerk has the official list for the ward. But the clerk may also be in need of input to know when things change. I see it as a two-way sync.
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dlukesmith
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Re: Accurate reporting of attendance on quarterly report

#6

Post by dlukesmith »

How do I include the name of those without membership records on a roll? This has been requested by secretaries in my ward, but I have yet to discover how. Thanks.
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Re: Accurate reporting of attendance on quarterly report

#7

Post by sbradshaw »

dlukesmith wrote:How do I include the name of those without membership records on a roll? This has been requested by secretaries in my ward, but I have yet to discover how. Thanks.
In MLS you can create temporary or nonmember records for the person – note that you must have their permission – then add them to a class or quorum. Then they'll appear on rolls printed from MLS.

In Leader and Clerk Resources there is no way (currently, at least) to add temporary or nonmember records.

In both MLS and Leader and Clerk Resources you can print rolls with extra spaces at the end for a person to write their name. As long as you don't print new rolls every week, it shouldn't be a lot of trouble to write the name by hand once a month or once a quarter.

Note that people who are not members of your ward should not be counted as part of the members attending on the quarterly report – but as leaders it is helpful to know their names and attendance pattern so you can fellowship them individually.
Samuel Bradshaw • If you desire to serve God, you are called to the work.
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Re: Accurate reporting of attendance on quarterly report

#8

Post by johnshaw »

ericb wrote:In talking with each of the organization leaders, it became apparent that their secretaries are working from their own spreadsheets rather than referring to the latest lists in MLS. I know this seems like a no-brainer to most of us, but it was obviously not perceived as a problem by a couple of the leaders. They are now on board, so it just needed to be pointed out.
I have never understood the incessant need for primary to re-create rolls. I have NEVER been in a ward, other than my own when I was a ward clerk, that used the MLS lists - so it seems pretty common. Even when my wife was in a Stake Primary Presidency and I was a Stake Clerk together we couldn't get the primaries to work with MLS.

I found, that with minimal effort, in January, if the Primary Secretary and myself sat down and did all the rolls correctly in MLS it made life easier.
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom.”
― Thomas Paine, Common Sense
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