Information Desk

Basic Department Description

What do you do for the convention/What is your purpose?

To give as much information to the attendees as possible.

What skills are handy for those in this position?

Customer service
You are the first person people should see, and ask. Need to have a smile on your face, and be prepared.
Organization
You should have all your information organized, and ready way before the convention begins.

What is your staff email?

None at this time, you can use your personalized email, or use your personal VF email

Yearly Responsibilities

What do you need to do during the year for your department to function before con?

Have a list of everything you need to know about
Maps
Helping bucks
Ribbons
Charity
Party block
AND ANYTHING NEW!

Are there things you need to order during the year?

You may be printing some things.
Possibly plastic sign holders for your table (this should already be purchased, and in storage. But in the case you may need more.)

Do you need a function space map created for your department?

You will need a few maps of different things
The hotel (this is a huge help)
Will also have the party room floor
Dining guide map
Possibly more (no other map was needed in 2017)

What do you need to do during the year to function AT CON?

Gather as much info as you can
Be in communication with most of the departments.
Prepare binders of information (computer is easier)

How many volunteers do you need to function well AT CON? (make sure everyone has proper breaks in their at con schedule!)

2-4 volunteers should be enough
HIGHLY RECOMMEND: 2 on at a time. ^[[[a]]]^[[[b]]]^[[[c]]](can fit 3 people behind a 8x2 table comfortably)
If sharing with AA: They can help out with Info Desk. [confirm with them first]

What equipment do you need to function well AT CON?

Computer (i suggest getting before the con starts, so that you can add your information on it. For when your volunteers take over)

Having the sched readily available is a huge help
Telegram to communicate with the VF chat to keep people informed may have been a help.

Monitor (to scroll panel events)

2017 - we didnt use, it did not seem needed.

What staff will you be working with AT CON?

Departments information desk should work with

Programming
Operations
IT
Con game (may not be every year)
Treasury

Make a note of which updates/prompts should be sent to Social Media. (Remember, they can send out notices for more volunteers, due date reminders, opening dates, etc!)

Your Department on the Website/in the Conbook

Do you need a website/conbook page/blurb for your department/event? What information do you need on this page/blurb? Do you need to provide a layout design?

You will need a table at con for people to find you.
2017 shared a half a table with artist alley check in
You should have a place on the map, so that people can find you at con
Not sure about website yet (july 5th, 2016 was written)
Make sure to have someone look over the information before sending it to the respective lead.
Send it to the respective lead.
Make sure to test the contact page (website) that the form sends an email to you.
Make sure that your email is listed on the contact page (website) outside of the form.
If you have any future updates, make sure to send them to the Web Lead!
If you spot any mistakes in your blurb for the conbook, make sure to contact them ASAP about it!

6 Months before con, what do you need to have done?

Add in items your department should have completed by this time and items to finish ASAP.

3 Months before con, what do you need to have done?

Do you have enough volunteers?
Add in items your department should have completed by this time and items to finish ASAP.

1 Month before con, what do you need to have done?

Send in your BEO’s to Hotel Lead. (Banquet Event/Equipment Order. This is what the hotel needs to set up for your room if applicable. Tables, chairs, etc. You also need a layout of how the room is to be put together with those items.)

If you are sharing with Artist Alley, confirm they have sent BEO)

Make sure to contact Logistics to get any equipment from the VF storage locker to the hotel for your use.
Make sure to contact IT to organize when your equipment and Tech needs can be setup in your department area.
Send in any needed information to the Conbook for print.
Add in anything else your department needs!

After the Convention/Before the Firing Party

Make sure all your volunteers (and yourself) got inputted into the system for their hours.
Update your guide with any new/relevant information/changes.
A staff feedback survey will be emailed out and sent into the staff chats. Please fill this out ASAP!
Make any staffing suggestions to the next years’ chair. (If you want to work again, staff who excelled and where, etc.)
If VancouFur owes you money for department spending, PLEASE PLEASE send your reciepts to [email protected] & [email protected] and then fill out [[1]] ^[[[d]]]

Break down of contacts

Who on staff do you need to be in contact with regularly for your department to function?

Volunteers
Programming
Operations
Artist alley (this is if you are sharing the table again)
Con game (they may use you for things)
IT (you need wifi, computer, and monitor)
Theater? (will know more later -july 5th, 2016 written)
Con book
Treasury

Who is your executive contact?

Operations executive - [email protected]^[[[e]]]

Do you have contacts outside of VF staff that you should be in contact with?

Not at this time

Department Inventory and Ordering Resources

list who you have ordered products from (if any) and be sure to list

price/currency/quantity and if there was a representative you were in contact with, please list their name.

Donation box: (already ordered; from http://plasticworks.ca/. Convention has 2. One should be for infor desk, the other can be put where needed.)
Plastic signs: (already ordered; from [[2]]. Convention has 5. 1-2 are used for cons tore, 1-2 are used for info desk. Extra’s are given to registration or anyone else that needs it badly.)

Remaining inventory you have from this year

Donation box
2 plastic table signs

List possible ordering alternatives for future years if any

May need more plastic table signs vertical, and horizontal
May need to buy another donation box

General feedback/tips for future staff when ordering products

(sizing, how much the order vs how many expected attendees, etc)

[[3]] - Great stuff, cheaper then anywhere else we looked.

Do's and Don'ts of the Department

What worked well/Would suggest doing again?

RIBBONS: 2017 had ribbons,
Money went to our charity
$1 for average, and $3 for special
$250 for a very special one (though this number will likely change.)
Was very successful, and was for a great cause.

Computer

Having the schedule, to be able to look information
Telegram, to keep in touch with staff, and the VF chat, in case people had questions/concerns.
Table sign

We had one, but I think it was too small, or possibly in a poor spot. (was on the wall above our heads)
Feel people were mistaking us as a vendor table.

Training

Not fully needed, but would be helpful.
The volunteers i had knew the basics, but had a laptop that was useless to them.

What didn't work/would suggest to avoid?

Meant to get a monitor to scroll the events. It never happened. It didn’t feel like it was needed. (perhaps could be utilized to show the live stream of the events instead? Might promote people to go check out the events. Should also have information on the info desk about the twitch stream and how to view the stream on the hotel room TV’s. Main hotel only, obv.)
Computer,

2017 - random computer my volunteers did not know what to do with.

Suggest putting information on a USB, so you can add the schedule (in document form, and GDoc form) (Download onto the computer [try to get the night before])

Simple schedule (Has the times, rooms, extra information)
Volunteer sched
A map (having one on the table, and on the computer is a good idea.

OPTIONAL: Telegram - if possible add telegram to the computer, so that you can have another access to the chat

Answer questions
30 mins before panel starts post to telegram vf chat

Panel name
Time
Location
Link for more information

Other Resources

Add whatever extras you feel are good tips, tricks, resources, contacts, etc for the future years!
List any other websites the dept staff may need (for example, Social Media needs a list of all the places that vancoufur has access to or an account on to run social media and who to ask for password resets for if a new person takes over the job in the future.
Resources for how you organized your time, any apps that were helpful to you, etc.
Advice on how to work with certain companies if they prove to be difficult. (Some companies we order from, it is best to contact a rep directly instead of doing a straight up online order. )

PLEASE REMEMBER

Always respond to emails/contacts, even if it is just to say “I recieved your email and will get back to you soon!” / “I don't know the answer but I am looking into it for you!”
Be sure to contact the Chairs or Admin to make sure you have access to the materials you will need for the year like your Staff Email, Access to any folders/sites with materials, etc. (Be on the lookout for invites or emails to these things and check your junk mail too!)
Make sure you TEST your new staff email (if any) and report problems immediately to the Chairs! (if you haven't gotten any emails in a while, do another test!)
Make sure you keep all of your information up to date with the convention staff! Contact the volunteers lead to update your information if the volunteers spreadsheet is not available for direct editing!
Do not WAIT for someone to contact you. If you have a moment to reach out, do so! Depending on who you are working with, the communication road may not be a 2 way street and you will have to do a lot of poking. Please be proactive!
Do not edit any staff members’ documentation without permission!
Keep all VancouFur related documents INSIDE the VancouFur Materials folders. Keeping things on your own gdocs and not inside the VancouFur specific folders makes it incredibly difficult to find needed information for all parties without hassling a lot of staff.
If you need to make something private in the materials folder (Googledocs or wherever it moves to in the future) Make sure that the Chairs, Admin and Executives CAN STILL SEE IT. We need to know where you are and if your files are all hidden we cannot proactively offer help, guidance, or corrections. Otherwise, just keep things public/view only to prevent people from messing with your info.
Make sure you know who your Executive is! They are there to help you and oversee the branch of departments you are in. Contact [email protected] / [email protected] to check or check the contact page on the website!