Article Meetings / Events 2 min read

Daily Buzz: The Benefits of Self-Service Check-In

The check-in process can be a big pain point for attendees—and a logistical challenge for planners. Employ self-service technology to remedy both issues. Also: Keep in touch with volunteers through text.

Jeff Hsin

March 5, 2019

Heads up: this content is over 5 years old, so some information may be out of date.

One of the biggest logistical undertakings at events is check-in. You want it to be a short and smooth process, or you risk upsetting attendees and wasting their time. That’s where self-service check-in technology comes in.

“Much like the self-service check-in kiosks you see at airports and doctors’ clinics, the system allows people to use simple touchscreen technology to check in quickly to events through a simple name search or QR code scan,” writes the Eventsforce team  (opens in a new tab).

In addition to saving time, self-service check-in technology can give planners more accurate data, including who the attendees are, when they arrived, and how your attendance and registration numbers compare. Rather than manually checking names off a list, any changes to registrations can also be updated automatically and then sync with other data systems.

Plus, the tech can give planners real-time information about where attendees are spending the most time. “Accurate attendance recording also means that organizations like associations can do a better job of tracking the sessions and events their members are actually attending,” the team writes. “This helps them issue attendance certificates and manage CPD (Continual Professional Development) accreditation a lot more effectively.”

Text Your Volunteers

Now that most individuals walk around w/ a 📞 in their back pocket, texting has become one of the most effective forms of communication. Learn how to leverage the power of texting in our latest guest blog. #volmgmt  (opens in a new tab) https://t.co/RxxZEvkgzo  (opens in a new tab)

— VolunteerMatch (@VolunteerMatch) March 4, 2019  (opens in a new tab)

How do you communicate with your volunteers? Sure, email works fine, but with so many plugged into their mobile devices, texting might be the easiest way to get in touch. “In fact, text message open rates are as high as 98 percent, while email open rates, for comparison, are typically 20 percent,” says Shaunak Wanikar on the VolunteerMatch blog  (opens in a new tab).

He suggests exploring:

Peer-to-peer texting, or one-on-one conversations between your staff and volunteers.

Broadcast texting, which lets you send one message to all volunteers.

Opt-in texting, where interested volunteers can subscribe to your text communications.