In 2024, AJLI made significant changes to the Placement Matching Tool to better support the needs of Leagues and League Members. 


Two Modes of Operation

AJLI heard from some Leagues that they were seeking a more streamlined process for placement than was offered in Placement Matching. We designed two parallel modes of operation for the new Placement Tool. Leagues must choose between the two modes and may not change modes after launching the tool.


Placement Matching is the default.


1. Traditional Placement Matching Mode: In this mode, Leagues continue to offer a tool that matches Members to League placements using Members’ input on their skills development goals and availability. 


But there are changes that offer new options for Leagues using Placement Matching:

  • It is now optional for Leagues to use the following for defining Placements:
    • Hourly Commitment/Selection
    • Seasonal Availability
    • Availability (day, evening, weekend, weekday)
    • See below for details about these options


2. Placement Sign-up Mode: New to the Tool, this Mode allows Leagues to bypass the matching aspects  of the Tool in order to present Members with an online catalog from which they will choose their placements and rank them in order of preference. How does it work?

  • Placement Admins follow all the steps for configuring Placements, starting a new year, and opening the placement tool
  • Placements must have Skills tagged to them, in addition to the Description fields as in traditional placement Matching 
  • Now optional in both Matching and Sign-up modes, Leagues choose whether to use the following to define placements:
    • Hourly Commitment/Selection
    • Seasonal Availability
    • Availability (day, evening, weekend, weekday)
    • See below for details about these options 


REMINDER: When configuring Year-specific Settings, Leagues must choose which of the two modes they will use for all of their placements and waves. Leagues may not switch modes after launching the Tool to Members.


New Introduction Message Screen 

Another significant change in the Tool is the first screen Members see. Formerly referred to as the Member Compact, the screen is now called the Introduction Message and is part of both Matching and Sign-up modes. 




Here are the key changes to that screen:

  • Introduction Message: Leagues must now customize the language on this Member commitment screen - this includes the heading (e.g., replacing Compact with Agreement or Commitment) and all bulleted items. Leagues have full responsibility for what goes on this screen designed to introduce Members to the Placement process. 
    • Leagues must enter the title/heading for this screen and the language for all bulleted items
  • Check Boxes: Check boxes have been replaced with a bulleted list (which Leagues define), so Members may agree to all items by submitting the form.
  • Hourly Commitment: The Hourly Commitment selection drop-down has been removed from the Introduction/Member Commitment screen. This allows Leagues to create a Member commitment statement that does not include an annual hourly commitment. 
    • For Leagues using the Matching mode, Members will enter their annual hourly commitment (if used by the League) on the Member Discovery Screen 
    • For Leagues using Sign-up Mode, Members will not need to enter Hourly preferences but will see hourly information (if used by the League) when they view all Placements in the catalog
  • Logo: AJLI branding has been removed from all Placement screens Members see when they access the Placement Tool in both Matching and Sign-up Modes. No logo appears on these screens.


New Choices for Hourly and Availability Selection

To accommodate Leagues that do not define their Placements with an hourly commitment, we have done two things:


1. Made Hourly Commitment Optional: Leagues may opt out of using the Hourly Commitment to describe their Placements. Leagues that decide not to use annual hourly commitments for their Placements must:

  • In the Year-specific Settings, make sure all items are unselected in the Hours Selection menu 
  • In the individual Placements, unselect all previously checked-off Hours items



2. Moved Hourly Commitment: As stated above, Members will no longer see the Hourly Commitment drop-down on the Member commitment screen. It is now located on the Discovery Screen in Placement Matching Mode. For Leagues not using Hours selection, Members will see:

  • In place of the Hourly selection drop-down, Members will see “No Preference” and will not be able to make a selection

New Choices for Availability Selection

We have also made changes so that Leagues that do not add Availability to their Placements can use the system. Leagues may opt out of using the Seasonal Availability and Availability selections to describe their Placements.


1. Leagues that decide not to use Seasonal Availability filters for their Placements must:

  • In the Year-specific Settings, under the Seasonal Filter menu, make sure all items are unselected
  • In the individual Placements, unselect all previously checked-off Seasonal items
  • “No Preference” appears in place of the drop-down



2.Leagues that decide not to use Availability filters for their Placements must: 

  • In the Year-specific Settings, under the Seasonal Filter menu, make sure all items are unselected
  • In the individual Placements, unselect all previously checked-off Availability and Seasonal items
  • “No Preference” appears in place of the drop-down



3. Availability on the Discovery Screen

  • For Leagues using Matching mode, Members will enter their Availability and Seasonal Availability preferences (if used by the League) on the Member Discovery Screen. (See section VII for more details.) 
  • For Leagues using Sign-up Mode, Members will not need to enter Availability preferences but will see Availability information (if used by the League) when they view all Placements in the catalog


New Option for the Member Online Discovery Screen

We also heard from Leagues that Members wanted a more flexible means of conveying information about their League and Placement experiences than currently offered in the Discovery questions section. We have made all questions on the Discovery screen optional for Members to respond. The questions are part of the Placement Matching mode only. 


See Configuring Year-specific Settings for more details on setting up your placements for the year>>