For current/former elders & CO's - A day in the life of a service report

by truthseeker 9 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  truthseeker

  This question is especially directed at those who dealed with field service reports. I have yet to read a post which describes in detail the life cycle of one of these annoying slips of paper.

  So...

  At the end of the month, we put our fake hours into the box at the back of the hall or give them to the congregation book study conductor overseer. What happens then?

  Who is responsible for tabulating the hours/books/RV's etc. What kind of program did you use - Excel?

  Did you have averages, formulas for calculating people who did less than 5 hours a month? Any 'red ink' for those who did nothing at all?

  What do you do with the reports when you have entered them into the computer, assuming of course this is where the data goes?

  From what I understand, Bethel needs to have these precious slips of paper by the 6th of the month. Do they keep them forever or do they have one card for each publishers with all their yearly hours on.

  For former CO's...some questions

  You were responsible for looking at the reports of the brothers every Tuesday afternoon prior to the first congregation meeting of your visit. What exactly were you looking for?

  Were you looking for high hours so you could appoint brothers? Were you looking for low hours to locate 'trouble spots' in the congregation. Did you really look at those time sheets? Did you ever talk about brothers who did low hours or nothing at all with the other elders?

  This could be a really interesting post and I would welcome your input.
• 

  Euphemism

  I wasn't an elder, but I occasionally helped with the time, and I had a friend who did the time for his congregation.

  First of all, the Society only mandates two things:

  - Each individual publisher's numbers are written on their publisher card
  - Summary statistics for the congregation (broken down by publishers, aux pioneers, reg pioneers, and spec pioneers) are sent to the Society.

  However, individual congregations will often use an Excel spreadhsheet or a program. I forget the name of the most popular program now. It hasn't been updated since Win3.1, probably because the Society has told elders not to keep the information on computers. Many elders get around that by storing the files on a floppy, which they keep in the locked file box that has all the publisher cards. I know one brother who puts the data in an Excel spreadsheet, prints it out, and then deletes it.

  One sample spreadsheet I saw, which I think is typical, provided a summary breakdown for each bookstudy, as well as for the whole congregation. Each summary, along with totals and averages for all the numbers, showed the number of publishers in various hour ranges (0, 1-5, 6-10, etc), and also the number of publishers with no magazine placements.
• 

  willyloman

  Former secretary weighing in here...
  

  A brother someplace created software to help secretaries record all this stuff, and we had our copy and used it exclusively. The cards were collected and telephone calls made to those who didn't turn in cards. An attempt was made to get a report from every publisher, but usually about 80% turned in time in a given month; the rest were irregular or inactive or couldn't be reached. The ones you reached on the phone were, for the most part, clearly making up some numbers. On occasion, a secretary would refuse to accept zero ("You must have put in SOME time, brother, perhaps informally? Reading to your children?") This pleading usually resulted in a one or two hour report from said publisher.

  The numbers were dutifully entered into the computer program. It calculated all the totals required for the pre-printed form that went to the society. Printed copies of the summary report (all totals) from the computer went to all the elders, along with a break-out report that showed the individual totals for each member of their respective book study (for those who conducted one). This was considered a management tool.

  Elders, and circuit overseers, were primarily concerned with: Are the numbers up from last year, month, CO visit? What percentage of congo had five hours or less? What percentage 6-10 hours? More? How many pio's and how does that number compare to the past? How many irregular, inactive, and how's that compare? Is there improvement/growth in the number of publishers? pioneers and aux pio's? How many inactives have been reactivated? Basically, it's all about how do we compare to the national average and the rest of the circuit and our own past performance.

  None of these figures were considered to be "official" until they were entered by hand onto the individual publisher cards. Rarely a CO would ask for the computer printout, but most of them insisted on the actual cards along with a copy of of the form sent to the WTS which contained the totals. What they were looking for is the same as the elders, above.

  This, to best of my memory, is the process, which may have changed some by now.
• 

  orangefatcat

  Speaking about a publishers service report cards. In the past twenty years just prior to leaving the organization the Bro. would never ever get my baptismal date right not ever. I told the bro. each time that you have the date wrong. I told the overseer it was wrong several times. It was never changed. That is how organized the elders are. Bye the way for the 15 year I lived in Que. is was correct. Oh well,

  Also my ex-husband would take it upon himself to put on the little service sheet my service hours for the month. I told him to stop it because they were not true and I would have to work the hours and make it up or call the brother and tell him that John but my service in and it was wrong. And it was wrong by many many hours. He use to piss me off. If he did that on mine I wonder if he cheated on reporting his own.

  Orangefatcat
• 

  SadElder

  Served as Secretary for many years until I resigned and served as sub CO on and off for about 10 years or so. I never was one of those numbers men. I looked more at the overall appearnace of the cong. Were they happy, what was the spirit, etc.? This is not really the norm. Most CO's I know are pompous twits who look at hours as a total barometer of spiritual health. Of course just about everyone here reports of faked reports and wasted time running around in circles within the territory. So whose getting fooled here? The numbers men of course.
• 

  caspian

  Never served as a secretary, Got away with that one...

  On the travelling work, I had to fill in the S2 for the society on the Circuit week I don't know if any one has this form, but I will have a spare one that I can upload sometime.

  One of the funny ones was at the E/m.s meeting on the Fri night.when I read out the names of the irregular ones that included the names of two elders, should have seen their faces lol.

  Great trick I only pulled when I saw elders names on the list

  Cas
• 

  stillajwexelder

  Not much to add to all that has already been written - but yes Excel was used to compile reports -- certain zealous elders who obeyed the Society directive completely NOT to use computers would compile by hand -- most I know disobeyed and stored on a floppy disk not on hard drive. Each publisher listed alphabetically under book study with hours, mags, books, brochures, RVs then subtotalled -- then Pioneers and Aux pioneers done seperately. Also book study attendance done on spreadsheet. Finally all totalled and sent to society by 6th of month -- I personally never worried if I was a day or two late -- and society or CO never complained. Finally all data transferred to publisher record cards and meeting attendance record cards.

  If publisher did not report a few months then decided to put in a report for all the misssing months it would screw the figures but spreadsheet could accomodate - usually all secetaries made specail effort in August so that year ends would be complete which is waht everyone sees in yearbook and January 1st Watchtower. COs only view record cards -- not a computer sheet -- which most elders would eny having anyway as not allowed by society
• 

  LittleToe

  In Summary:

  • Each individual had a record card.
  • We also kept a card containing the totals for the Pubs, Aux, and Pio's.
  • There's a form sent to the Soc. each months, with totals for each of those categories.

  I made up an excel spreadsheet to simplify the totalling. Otherwise you were left with adding up every single sheet, at the end of the year, in addition to the monthly compilation.
  I also kept the meeting attendace figures, in the same manner. C.O.'s love that stuff
• 

  minimus

  Caspian, were you a CO? If so, please share some good stories.
• 

  BluesBrother

  I had 2 spells as secretary , which shows that I was a glutton for punishment - or more like that I was out manoevered at the elders meeting the second time, and got lumbered

  In my time, up until the mid 90's, computers were discouraged and there was no official software, at least around here. I did it all by hand with paper and a calculater.

  The Society only received a total report every month and I remember having to do an annual report with more analysis every September.

  C/o's were very interested in the figures and on the first day of their visit they would meet with the P.O or secretary and go through it all in great detail .

  Happy Days (not)