Hey everyone! Welcome to this special edition segment of three-minute update where we’re going to quickly talk about some changes coming soon that will help you manage recruitment and new member onboarding.
So, first thing first, it is so incredibly important for leaders to make sure that their unit pin is up to date and as accurate as possible. This includes information like meeting times and locations, unit fees, contact information for someone on the leadership team, and any other information you can think of. Your pin is displayed on your units page in BeAScout.org, so for many families this will be their first impression of your pack or troop. To update your pin a KEY THREE member of the unit should sign in to my.scouting.org and navigate to Organization Manager and then Unit Pin. From there you can update information as often as you would like to make sure that what families are potentially seeing is the most accurate information possible.
Now, before we go any further, I already know what you’re thinking- “Tyler, I’ve heard this before, I already know about updating the unit pin, you guys say it all the time!” Well, this time is different, because what we’re going to talk about next is something called MOVO. Lake Erie council is part of phase 2 of the MOVO rollout across Scouting America, and for us it goes live on Friday September 4th so it’s basically already here! So, what is MOVO? MOVO is an AI assistant platform that will be linked to BeAScout.org and will assist new families with getting signed up and started with a unit. How it will work is that when a family visits your unit on BeAScout and clicks on the “request more information” tab, a lead is opened. MOVO will respond to the leads on behalf of the unit and start working with the families to answer their questions and get the applications completed. The more information MOVO has about your unit, the more effective it can be. Volunteers and professional staff alike will have access to an online dashboard where they can help build the knowledge base that the program draws from. What this looks like for you could be things like your unit’s calendar of events, fundraisers your unit partakes in, changes or nuance to your units’ meeting locations and times, or anything else that you think families may be curious about. Using that knowledge base, in addition to what the unit has on their Pin, will allow MOVO to effectively promote for you and hopefully answer most of the FAQ’s that you’re used to getting now.
So, let’s take a second and talk about what this will look like in practice. A family goes online to BeAScout, enters their zip code and starts looking at all the units they have to choose from. They pick a pack, let’s call them Pack 1234, and they hit that request more information tab. The family will have the option to request communication through email, text, or a phone call, and then MOVO reaches out to them directly, often in as little as 5 minutes from the time the family submits the request! From there the family can ask their questions like, “How much will it cost?” or “Do I have to buy a uniform and other stuff right away?” and based on the information we have on BeAScout pins it will answer those questions for you and finish by trying to get the family to complete their application to join. If they don’t sign up yet, MOVO will do scheduled follow ups with them to try and complete the application process. Once they do join it also checks in at the 30, 60, and 90 day mark to ensure that the family is happy with the unit they’ve chosen. If there is ever a question or concern that MOVO doesn’t know how to answer, or that requires human intervention, it will escalate those to the unit’s designated leadership and/or the staff at the council office for their attention.
Another awesome feature of MOVO is that after your unit has been out at a school or community event and you walk away with a contact sheet full of names and number of interested families you can scan that sheet and upload it to MOVO so it can follow up with everyone for you!
MOVO has already been proven to be incredibly effective for the councils that have adopted it. Councils normally average a 10% conversion of leads into new members, and we’re seeing that MOVO has increased that number to over 50%. Average response time for units responding to new leads has been anywhere from 4-10 days, and MOVO will cut that down to a few minutes. We’re very excited about the potential that the platform brings and how it will positively impact membership not only in our council, but nationwide. All Lake Erie Council units will be included in this rollout, so it’s very important that everyone understand how MOVO works and supports you.
So, what’s next for you? Well, I’m going to have to say it one more time at least but get onto My.Scouting and make sure your pin is up to date! MOVO pulls refreshed PIN data every single day to ensure it’s giving out the most up to date information possible. Then, in the near future, there will be email invitations going out to leaders to get access to the platform so they can start building the units knowledge base. Now I’m sure you’ll have questions along the way as this rollout ramps up, and we want to be here to assist you however we can. Our council membership and growth executive Aidan Gray will be available to help and answer your questions, but so will each of your unit service executives. Reach out to start a conversation and let us know what questions you have.
To round out this special message, I’d like to just take a moment to thank all of our volunteers for the hours and the hard work being put in across the council right now to welcome new Scouting families into the program. Membership growth continues to be an important part of delivering a high quality experience and we hope that the addition of MOVO will make it both easier and more effective! Remember over the coming weeks and months as we push to hit our membership goal to get paper applications submitted to the service center or your service executive in a timely manner, talk to families about their membership renewals, and encourage your scouts to keep inviting their friends!
Well, that’s it for this week folks! Send pictures and videos of your scouts in action to us for a chance to be featured on council social media. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram! Until next time, remember to stay prepared, stay adventurous, and keep the spirit of Scouting alive.
