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2017 Speeches Backlog:
Main reasons for current backlog:
1.) Move to Drake and loss of staff pre-move meant that for 2 -3 weeks in the end of December and January very little, and at times no, collection was being done.
- This is on top of the Holiday Break that normally results in a drop in collection numbers.
2.) When the move to Drake happened there were 0 people in the speeches sub-department. We hired a new staff member quickly upon arrival, however our second was not hired until a month after that, and our third was not hired until about three and a half months after arriving at Drake. To make matters worse, the first staff member we hired, Kayla Day, was transferred to intern recruitment May 1st due to the loss of our recruiter, necessitating another round of hiring, which position was not filled until May 22. The cumulative result of this was that for roughly 6 months the entire sub-department had inadequate staffing levels, and the staff present were all new and needed to be brought up to speed.
3.) In addition to staffing problems mentioned above, there was a shortage of interns for the first two semesters of our time at drake. The first semester we had 5 interns, working 130 hours. In the summer, though we had more part time interns and a few working 400 hours, we were still in a deficit in terms of total hours needed to make up for lost work, let alone keep up with day to day collection.
Causes of previous smaller backlogs:
1.) Staff leaving without immediate replacements;
2.) Having a number of long vacations hit around the same time;
3.) Winter break when many staff take off time at once, especially the week between Christmas and New Years;
- Especially P.S. not being up to date going into this time period;
4.) Lack of interns;
5.) Period of time between semesters at Drake where we might not have interns immediately available.
Things to keep in mind about a backlog:
1.) Any backlog will need to be made up in the future. This may seem obvious but people tend to forget the implications this has, especially in regards to interns needed. As it stands, making up the current backlog means that not only do we need an more interns that we normally would to make up for the lack of interns in previous semesters, but also to make up for the lack of staff in previous semesters. While we have hired for a fourth P.S. staff position, the staffing situation leading up to the summer was so erratic the work a fourth staff member can be expected to complete before years end won't make up for lack of staff earlier in the year by itself.
2.) A speeches backlog can effect other departments/ programs. PCT Issue position determinations, On Point information, and DevComm postings all depend on Public Statements info to be as updated as possible for the best results. This increases the utility of Public Statements beyond what just website usage analytics might show.
3.) Even when the backlog is really bad, try to give staff in Public Statements some other projects to do as well. Burnout is a thing, and if a goal is set of “80 speeches a day” that should allow enough time for staff members to work on side projects, manage interns, etc... Burnout is a real thing in speeches and long term productivity will be better if staff aren't forced to collect constantly.
How to Get Rid of Backlog:
1.) At the end of the day its a manpower issue. Perhaps more than any other sub-department, Public Statements needs a constant stream of manpower to keep up to date. This is unavoidable.
2.) Make sure staff in other sub-departments know how to do collection of public statements. This will allow the potential for an influx of manpower when other sub-departments might not have as much work to get done or are in a slow period.
Elections and Public Statements Work
On-Year Elections:
Will have a lot more work to complete regarding advancing officials, updating Federal/State Committees, roster checks, contact info for new officials etc..
Typically, staff members will leave after on-year elections more frequently than off year after they have fulfilled their election commitment.
There is less urgency to prevent a backlog after an on-year election because the following year is an off-year, however, off-years can be equally valuable in terms of preparing for an on-year election.
Off-Year Elections:
Anticipate having much fewer post-election work to do, thus it will be easier to keep speeches up to date.
Prioritize speeches more than you would after an on-year election because any major backlog would impact every other department for the upcoming on-year election. Namely, Vote Easy, profiles, and ratings.
