I hope eveyone had a safe and fun holiday weekend! The last blog entry was all about making the name tags cool for the youth. This week, we’re going to talk about how to implement Self Check-In for Student Ministries. This last cool factor of name tags will help you tremendously as you won’t have to have as many volunteers manning Check-In Stations.
There are four important things that are needed for Self Check-In to work properly:
1. The student must be in the system.
2. The student must have a barcode number assigned to them.
3. They must have a Participant Assignment (be on the roster) in the Youth Activity.
4. They must have a barcode key fob to be scanned at the Self Check-In Station.
· As mentioned, each individual needs a barcode key fob. This is very similar to the grocery store super saver key fob that you probably have on your key chain. However, these key fobs will definitely need to be on the cool side with the youth graphics along with service times, address, phone info, etc to promote the youth activities.
· Any student not driving yet should also receive a lanyard to clip the key fob so they won’t lose it. The lanyard could be as simple as a dog tag chain with key fob hanging on it. The student will wear it around their neck at service and then hang it on a door knob at home.
If any of the above are not met, the student must go to the Assisted Check-In Station. Going to the Assisted Check-In will help in welcoming new students. It will also help in placing individuals on the roster and issuing the barcodes. For youth that have lost their barcode, standing in line while their friends are hanging out will encourage them to remember it and not lose it.
The best practice for issuing the barcodes for the very first time is to issue them at the Check-In Station. You have the capability to edit the individual’s information while at the Check-In Station. It’s very easy to scan the barcode at that time and provide the key fob to the student.
If you have a Kick-Off Night just for issuing the barcodes, you can do as shown above and then have the students try it immediately. This can be done by checking them into the normal Youth Activities for the night using the Assisted Check-In Station. Then, have the student try checking in using one of the Self Check-In Stations. The key here is that the students must be on the roster for the Kick-Off Night activity via a Participant Assignment.
To illustrate this process… they’ll get their usual name tag at the Assisted Check-In Station. As well, they’ll be issued their barcode. They’ll then be instructed to check-in at the Self Check-In station which will give them another name tag. This name tag should be used for some type of drawing. I know, another drawing, however, by having the student check-in immediately, they’ll see immediately how the Self Check-In application works. This will reinforce how easy it is.
I trust that after the last three weeks that you have learned the benefits of having students check-in and how easy it is to have it acceptable by our coolest congregants. It is definitely cool to have name tags and it’s even cooler knowing who’s present and who’s not. This great tool ensures that you are providing the best possible care for each student.