4. Tracking
4.6. THE IDEAL TRACKER
Choosing your tracking staff wisely is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure overall success. Over the years, we have found that good trackers tend to have certain characteristics. Good trackers enjoy the challenge of finding people. They are committed to the problem-solving nature of the task. They are socially adept and mature enough to always keep confidentiality issues in mind and not go over the line. They are also street smart and understand the conditions under which your clients tend to operate. They are computer savvy. They are friendly, maybe even have the gift of gab, but can maintain appropriate professional boundaries. And, they are confident in the field, but not imprudent in possible risk situations. We will discuss these and additional characteristics below. Good trackers do not have to have all these characteristics to be successful, but the more they have, the more likely they are to succeed. Certainly, your team of trackers should, together, have them all.
NOTE: Trackers should not resemble the police, debt collectors, bounty hunters, or other similar people your clients may want to avoid. |
The ideal tracker:
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Can work independently. Trackers often need to work evening and weekend hours - times when it may be difficult for you to be on hand for supervision. In addition, trackers should be able to make decisions about what course to follow without requiring constant oversight.
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Is friendly, polite, and can build rapport easily. Because trackers are asking favors of others, a pleasant demeanor is essential, but even more important is the ability to quickly build rapport. Good trackers quickly put people at ease and engage them in assisting the search for your client.
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Is street smart. Street smarts are so important when following up on clients, especially in doorknocking situations. We usually look for people with a history of working in the community. To gain more insight into current street situations, have trackers talk to other clients, your most knowledgeable counselor, local service providers, anyone else who can give them a sense of what's going on out on the streets. Trackers should also be aware of places/situations that are unsafe (i.e., drug-dealing areas, isolated areas, gang turf, turf wars, etc.).
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Can work with a wide variety of people. To be successful, trackers have to secure the trust of your clients, clients' family members, clients' employers, social service agency personnel, criminal justice system personnel, and others. Be sure your tracker will treat drug users, parole officers, "co-dependents," etc. with respect.
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Is non-judgmental. Do you have clients who have relapsed? Who are involved in prostitution? Or who are in unhealthy relationships? A tracker should be able to work with clients in these situations without appearing judgmental.
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Is culturally sensitive. It's a good idea to have trackers from the same cultural groups you serve and who are aware of the cultural issues that might come up. Even over the phone, there are differences in things such as directness, use of silence, time spent on pleasantries, and so on that differ from one cultural group to another. These can be key to successfully locating a client.
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Is perseverant. You want someone who enjoys the challenge of finding your clients and is not discouraged by a hard-to-find case. Trackers also need to be systematic, keeping notes on the steps they are taking, automating tasks (such as sending letters) when possible, making weekly checks for clients in the criminal justice system, and so on. A good tracker will follow up on leads when he or she finds them.
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Understands confidentiality issues. There may be times when your tracking staff may be tempted to break confidentiality. For example, a social service worker or parole officer asks for information on your client in return for providing information. Trackers must understand that the confidentiality of clients cannot be breached even when it might make their job a little easier.
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Is smart and analytic. Trackers need to be able to study a file containing the locator form and tracking notes and figure out what the next best course is.
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Is flexible. Your tracker should be willing to go to a not-so-nice park to find a homeless client, or to make calls during evenings and weekends.
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Is computer savvy. A good tracker should be have good basic computer knowledge - understanding how to go online, how search engines work, how to use databases, how to do mail merge tasks, how to back up the computer, and other related tasks.
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Documents the steps taken. A good tracker documents everything: the phone numbers called and the results, the letters sent, the letters returned, impressions of the situation when they talk to people on the phone, ideas about a good next step, or an address or phone number that may be good, but hasn't given results yet. You find all this and more in the tracking log of a good tracker.
Staffing
Typically, our trackers are college graduates with backgrounds in the social sciences. Many of them come from non-White ethnic groups and are bilingual. Most have relevant community experience, such as being an outreach worker, working in a homeless shelter, or tutoring youth in the community. Some grew up in the same neighborhoods as many of the clients in our studies. Some of our trackers and interviewers are in recovery.
Employing treatment program staff for tracking and locating is generally not advisable. Clients may not want their counselors to know that they have relapsed or they may have had a negative experience at the treatment program. It may also create confidentiality concerns on the part of clients.
When we staff our follow-up studies, we usually have one person working an early shift (starting at 8 a.m. or earlier) while the others come into work later. That way, our project phones are covered from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This is extremely important when clients are calling from prison or jail, where they are required to make automated collect calls and there must be someone at your office to accept the call. We usually have a Saturday or Sunday covered every week as well. A tracker with early weekday hours can contact agency personnel (jails, prisons, social workers, department of motor vehicles, etc.), while trackers who work evening hours can contact people after they have arrived home from work. Trackers do not have to work full time to be effective. One of our best trackers works only 8 hours per week, but she maximizes her effectiveness by working in the evenings or on Saturday or Sunday when she is more likely to reach people by telephone.
Even though you recruit and hire for the skill set described above, it is important to train continuously as well, not only from the coordinator to subordinates, but cross-training among the staff. This does not have to be particularly formal or time consuming. Just be sure that trackers with knowledge in particular areas assist other staff in learning this information.
How do you supervise staff members who are often working outside regular business hours? One way is through weekly meetings that all staff attend. Another way is to monitor the Locator Notes. Is a staff member making clear and thorough notes of tracking attempts? Is a staff member making a reasonable number of tracking attempts? Are these attempts appropriate? Not everyone has the right mix of qualities to make a good tracker. If, despite your attempts to assist or train, a staff member is not showing success, move him or her out. None of us can afford to waste resources.