How to Set Up a Phone Tree

A phone tree is a useful way to connect many people.

A phone tree can be an effective mobilizing tool to gather volunteers to attend an event or participate in an activity. The tree involves a core group of people who call a previously determined list of people to pass on messages or instructions. Those people, in turn, call a list of people with the same information. The process continues until all individuals on the tree have been reached. Since the effectiveness of the tree is dependent on all the links in the chain, all members of the chain must be reliable and willing to undertake the task.

Instructions

1. Appoint one person to be the phone tree coordinator. This person will be the final authority on the list and ensure that calls are being made at all levels of the tree. This person will be the individual responsible for spot-calling a few individuals low on the phone tree after a message has been sent out to ensure that the message has gotten through. He or she will also be the point of contact should there be a difficulty in reaching anyone throughout the chain.

2. Appoint a key group of callers. These individuals are on the top of the phone tree pyramid. They will receive the message first and begin the process of transferring the message. Since they are the starting point of the tree, they must be reliable, easy to contact and willing to be persistent to attempt to reach everyone at the next level of the tree. If your organization is nationwide, you may wish to have a key group of callers that corresponds with geographic regions. For example, one caller for each state that begins a chain of calls within that state.

3. Distribute the appropriate phone numbers to each member of the phone tree. Train members of the tree to guard the privacy of the phone numbers they retain. Let members know guidelines surrounding the time frame for making calls. For example, if they are to be made within 12 hours, 24 hours or even within a few hours. Distribute the coordinator's contact information to all members along with the procedures for letting the coordinator know if they are unable to reach any of the individuals they are tasked to contact, or if they are somehow unable to participate in their portion of the phone tree.

References

• Community Group UK: Using a "Phone Tree" for Community Action
• AAUW: How to Build a Phone Tree to Activate Local Activists

Resources

• National Service Resources: Keeping Volunteers Motivated by Maintaining Positive Communication