The Placement Tool is an online platform that supports a Member-centric placement process. Using the Placement Tool, Leagues provide Members with productive development experiences that result in tangible skills development.
Access the complete Guide to the Placement Tool With Information on New Features & Options.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
This step-by-step overview guides League Placement Administrators and Editors on setting up and operating AJLI’s Placement Tool.
The Placement Tool is accessible to Leagues on both the Member Essentials and Digital Cheetah platforms at no additional cost. It is included automatically for all Member Essentials Leagues. For Digital Cheetah Leagues, please contact info@ajli.org to have the tool added to your platform.
Leagues configure the Placement Tool with detailed descriptions of each placement, including:
- Committee
- Responsibilities
- Community issue area (if applicable)
- Experience and skills the Member will gain
- Committee meeting information
- Committee contact
- Orientation or training required
- Location (if applicable)
- Other important information.
Placement Matching and Sign-up Modes
Beginning in 2024, Leagues determine how they will operate the Placement Tool:
- Placement Matching Mode
- Placement Sign-up Mode
In Placement Matching Mode, Members identify the learning experiences they want and choose their level of involvement from a menu of options for the upcoming League year. By sharing their skills and competencies, Members receive recommended placements aligned with their goals.
In Placement Sign up Mode, Members read the detailed Placement descriptions in the online catalog and select their placements and rank them in order of preference.
The Placement Tool needs to be customized to each League’s specific needs and choices, and the steps below detail everything the Placement Admins need to know to ensure that the Tool operates successfully.
STEP 1: PERMISSIONS REQUIRED FOR ACCESS
To access the Placement Tool on either Member Essentials or Digital Cheetah, you must first have one or more of these permissions:
- Placement Matching Administrator
- Placement Matching Editor
- Placement Matching Interviewer
Learn about what each Admin does and how to set permissions>>
STEP 2: ACCESSING THE PLACEMENT TOOL
There are different instructions for accessing the Placement Tool depending on whether your League is using Member Essentials or Digital Cheetah.
In Member Essentials, click the Placement Matching toggle in the upper right-hand corner of your League homepage if you have Admin access only to Placement Matching. Similarly, for Leagues using Digital Cheetah, the way you access will depend on whether you have other administrative access rights beyond the Placement Tool.
Learn about accessing the Tool>>
This part of the Guide shows how to use the tools and functions of the Placement Tool and how to find what you need. It explains each icon and function of the Administrative Queue and Placement Configuration screens.
Administrative Queue
- One function of the Administrative Queue is to display the list of Members who have accessed the Tool and show their progress. It allows Placement Admins to track and monitor.
- The second function is to provide navigation to all other screens and functions in the Placement Tool.
Placement Configuration
- The Placement Configuration screen displays all the year's placements under columns with descriptive headings.
- In addition to the column headings, the screen displays action and tagging icons to help Placement Admins navigate configure placements.
Learn about navigating the Placement Tool>>
CONFIGURING PLACEMENTS
The Placement Configuration screen displays all of the League’s placements for the year (usually the coming League year) and allows Placement Admins to edit, archive, and configure placements.
Learn more about configuring placements>>
STEP 4: PLACEMENT DESCRIPTIONS
Placement descriptions provide information to Members to help them determine which placements provide the civic leadership development opportunities they are seeking. The tool relies on the League to enter comprehensive descriptions to ensure the process is as relevant and accurate as possible.
Learn about adding and editing placement descriptions>>
STEP 5: TAGGING PLACEMENTS
Tags are critical to the functionality of the Placement Tool, as they add important information Members need to select placements that match their interests and availability. To tag placements, you will need Placement Matching Administrator or Placement Editor permission.
STEP 6: CREATING A NEW LEAGUE YEAR
In the Placement Tool, "Starting a New League Year" simply means copying over the placement descriptions and tagging you used in the previous year to the new, upcoming year. After your first year using the Placement Tool, you will need to complete a series of tasks to prepare your placements for the upcoming year. There are different instructions depending on whether your League is using Member Essentials or Digital Cheetah.
Learn more about creating a new League year>>
STEP 7: ADDING NEW PLACEMENTS TO THE PLACEMENT TOOL
This section explains how to add placements in your current system in Member Essentials or Digital Cheetah, and it shows how to use the bulk upload feature in the Placement Tool to upload batches of placements.
Learn about adding placements>>
STEP 8: LEARN ABOUT ENHANCEMENTS TO THE PLACEMENT TOOL
In 2024, AJLI made significant changes to the Placement Matching Tool to better support the needs of Leagues and League Members. This section explains the new features and options the Placement Tool now offers.
Learn about the enhancements to the Placement Tool>>
STEP 9: CONFIGURING YEAR-SPECIFIC SETTINGS
Year-specific Settings are the configurations that need to be set in the Placement Tool at the beginning of each year. They apply to all Placements for that League year.
Learn about the year-specific settings>>
STEP 10: SENDING MASS EMAILS & REMINDERS
Members with Placement Matching Administrator rights have the ability to send mass emails, reminder emails, and daily summary emails.
Learn how to send emails to Members on the Placement Tool>>
STEP 11: TURNING ON THE SYSTEM
Before you launch your placements for the year, make sure that your Year-specific Settings, as well as your Member Access Settings, are configured correctly.
Learn how to turn on the Placement Tool>>
STEP 12: PRE-LAUNCH CHECKLIST
Once you have done with configuring the Tool and before you launch, use this checklist to ensure that the system functions as you anticipate. AJLI can also support you with some spot-checks of your data to help ensure accuracy (info@ajli.org).
Go to the pre-launch checklist>>
STEP 13: ASSIGNING PLACEMENTS
Once Members have completed the Placement process and you have closed the Placement Tool, it is time for the League to use Members’ selections and placement rankings to assign their placements for the year. There are two main steps to this last part of Placement.
Learn about Assigning Placements to Members>>
STEP 14: REPORTING
The Placement Tool offers multiple reports to help Leagues analyze their Member engagement and development data and make strategic decisions. Reports can be accessed only by Placement Administrators.
Learn how to access and use Placement reports >>