January 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 53

possible. If planned and executed
correctly, members should have
no idea that a technology failure
has happened. For unresponsive
software, use a spreadsheet program like Microsoft Excel. This
amazing instrument can be used
to record basic information like
participant names and membership numbers, document the purpose of facility use, note payment
type and mark participant attendance. If all systems are down,
use a pen and paper check-in
sheet. Make sure to create this
predetermined system to record
the key information and ensure
all staff can access it.
After recovering the check-in
process, the next priority is to ensure function of the registration
and payment process. If the agency uses digital registration for
programs and memberships, then
registration forms may need to be
created, preferably before a system
malfunction occurs. These forms
should match closely the information captured by the department's
recreation software. Be sure to capture the name of the program(s)
and/or membership(s) that participants register for and include all
required waivers. Proper financial
recordkeeping is extremely important in this situation.
In a " pay-to-play " facility, staff
should never let anyone participate
without paying the proper admission or registration fee. Payment
methods may be indicated as a continuation of the admission spreadsheet, but credit card forms that
collect all information required by
the software need to be created to
allow the agencies' merchant to
process successful transactions after the software comes back online.

Simple, hardcopy forms can be used to
record information if computer systems
become inoperable, forcing staff to obtain
the information manually.

Staff should ensure document privacy and destruction after completion of document use.
Phone-Call Response - Once the
facility and departments are running efficiently, the departments
should post on the departmental
websites and social media outlets to inform the community of
the unforeseen circumstances and
apologize for any inconvenience
of the registration process. If the
recreation software is down, that
also means prospective program
participants are unable to register
online. This may increase the number of phone calls a department
will receive. When speaking with
frustrated patrons, remember to be
polite, vaguely explain the situation and apologize for the inconvenience. Although they may already
be aware, get in touch with the
software company's support team
or the agency's IT department to
ensure that the incident is not an
isolated occurrence.
Paper to Digital - When systems are back to their usual operation, staff should use the provided
tools to create new user accounts,
perform registration processes, including transactions, and check in
all participants. It is important that
all the information is as accurate as
possible. Managerial staff will need
to save all documents in an easy-toaccess file and destroy fiscally sensitive documents.
While agencies operate differently, a well-developed plan and
easy-to-locate resources can ensure
nothing stops a facility from func-

tioning at its normal operational
capacity. No agency should ever decide to close its recreation facilities
because of technical issues. Recreation facilities were able to operate
long before computers made regular tasks easier. If the facility can
operate safely under close-to-usual
conditions, then the recovery time
will be reduced significantly. The
odds of technology failing are slim,
but if it happens, be sure your department is ready.
Hunter Pooser is the Recreation Specialist for City of Marietta
Parks, Recreation and Facilities (hpooser@mariettaga.gov).

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January 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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