How to set up a Department

Setting up departments in Elvanto is essential for efficiently managing your volunteers across various services and ministries. Each department is defined by sub-departments and positions, ensuring a structured approach to volunteer management.

Adding a New Department

  1. Navigate to Settings: Log in to the Admin Area and go to Settings.
  2. Select Departments: Click on the ‘Departments’ section.
  3. Add Department: Click the ‘Add Department’ button.
  4. Enter Department Details: Fill in the Department Name and customize your Sub-departments and Positions.

Volunteer Self-assign

  • To allow volunteers to self-assign to departments, read this article to learn more about configuring self-assignment settings.

Non-Conflicts

  • Set up non-conflicts so that the entire department doesn’t conflict with specific other departments, sub-departments, or positions.
  • You can also set a department to not conflict with itself if desired.

Adding Sub-departments and Positions

Sub-departments

  1. Add Sub-department: Click the “Add Sub-department” button and enter a name (e.g., Instruments).
  2. Add More Sub-departments: Click the green ‘plus’ icon to add additional sub-departments. A department must have at least one sub-department.

Positions

  1. Add Position: Click the “Add Position” button and enter a name in the text field (e.g., Worship Leader).
  2. Add More Positions: Click the green ‘plus’ icon to add additional positions. A department must have at least one position within a sub-department.

Customizing Sub-departments and Positions

Under each Sub-department and Position, you’ll find a Pencil icon. Click this icon to edit additional details about the sub-department or position.

Reports To Volunteer

  • Set a default ‘Reports To’ person for a sub-department or position. This means that whenever someone is scheduled for a service in a position with a ‘Reports To’ person set up, it will email that person with a notification if the volunteer confirms or declines. To learn more about ‘Reports To’, click here.

Leadership Position

  • Mark a person as a ‘Leadership Position’ within a department. This can be useful for performing Advanced Searches or building People Views to identify department leaders.

Self-Assign

  • You can disable self-assign for specific positions, even if it is enabled for the entire department.

Non-Conflicts

  • Set non-conflicts for each sub-department and position individually. Click the Orange ! icon to configure non-conflicts with other positions, sub-departments, or departments.
  • Inherited non-conflicts are derived from parent departments or sub-departments.

By setting up and managing departments, sub-departments, and positions effectively, you can ensure a well-organized volunteer structure in Elvanto, making it easier to schedule, notify, and manage your church's volunteer workforce.