Using an email list and planning website

Mailing list for facilitators

We created a private mailing list, d4conference@googlegroups.com, for use by conference facilitators. Whenever a new facilitator came onboard, our conference webmaster would add him or her to this list. This list proved very helpful for communicating planning information and getting out the word on planning meetings.

(The d4conference@googlegroups.com list should still be available for your District 4 Conference. Contact the previous list administator to get the list ownership transferred to you.)

Website for facilitators

In addition to the mailing list, we created a small, private website for conference facilitators. This website was useful as a way of accumulating key information and resources in an orderly format, rather than having them accumulate in inboxes. Also, some of the resources (images, PDFs, etc.) are big, and sending them to a large mailing list fills people's inboxes and gets messages filed in spam filters. When these resources are of general interest, it's much better to post them to a central website and then just tell people they are available.

Here are some of the items we posted on our planning website:

• facilitator roster
• checklists
• conference scripts
• proofs of the programs, for proofreading
• planning schedule and directions
• guest speaker information
• floorplans for review
• other resources useful for facilitators

Suggestions for improvement

• Using the email list helped a lot with coordination, but in some cases there was too much information exchanged on the list that was not relevant to all facilitators. Consider setting up a "tiered system" of email lists, with a "core" list and an "all" list. Individual teams, if sufficiently large, might want their own separate lists. And of course, not every item of conference communication needs to be sent to the list -- if it applies to only a few specific people, a message should be sent to them personally.
• Encourage users of email lists to be thoughtful and exercise discipline about their posts. Every post should have a descriptive subject line, and its content should directly relate to the conference. Discourage the sending of quick "thank you" notes to the whole list. And of course, all messages need to be professional and courteous.
• Consider using a blog to post meeting minutes.