Attendance and Presence
Definition of terms
Statutory events are the regular weekly gatherings that the club is required to hold.
Registration serves as a confirmation of potential attendance or absence at a forthcoming event. It is unrelated to actual attendance and is outlined here: Life cycle of an event
Attendance refers to the recording of a member's physical participation in an event.
Presence points and attendance rate represent, on one hand, the points accumulated in the active member's personal attendance account, and on the other hand, the calculated ratio in % of these attendances relative to the total number of statutory meetings held by the club during the specified period.
Presence points are given for participating in an event or for engaging in volunteer activities. You can check your attendance on your club’s website, by navigating to the "MY PRESENCE" section.
Club administrators can access or download statistical information related to event attendance or member participation over a designated period. District officials are permitted to view club attendance data. A periodic report to the district is not required.
Attendance and presence in a nutshell
What is the purpose of activating event registration and capturing attendance?
Activating registrations helps event organizers know attendance numbers and communicate with the restaurant. Related questions provide more information, but only if registration is active!
Capturing attendance allows data entry into club statistics and assesses participation levels. It's also required if the Finance feature is on, automatically debiting event costs from members' accounts.
Practical guide
1. Create club events in the Calendar on time and mark statutory events correctly for accurate attendance statistics.
The participant list is generated automatically or manually when creating or duplicating an event.
You can define the participant list by setting default participants in Club parameters > Other parameters > Event defaults > Default participants – or for special events, using Recipient groups at “Utility”, not forgetting, if needed, to first remove all default participants. You can also add individual participants or groups of participants to the list of default participants.
2. Capture attendance at the event or shortly after. Confirmation of attendance is possible from the event day. Use landscape view on smartphones to see all function buttons.
Enter visitors from other clubs in the participant list. Just 3 letters from their name are needed to start the search. This can also be done at the event with a smartphone. Polaris does not know visitors from foreign Rotary clubs. Give them a guest card.
If registration is activated, you don’t need to register visitors manually; each registration will add them automatically to the participant list.
Scanning the members QR code allows validation of attendance without prior registration.
3. Finally, close the event to record attendance statistics. Reopen the event if corrections are needed.
IMPORTANT
Visitors need to ensure that the host club has documented their visit in Polaris or they must obtain a guest card.
Attendance with a guest card needs to be logged as compensation by the presence manager, secretary, or CICO. They are the only ones permitted to access membership information.
To log attendance in the event, having "presence administration" or "Attendance capture (restaurant)" permissions is adequate.
Presence
Attendance can only be recorded on the day of the event or afterwards. How to capture attendance is described in the article Life cycle of an event.
The PDF attendance list for a club event includes all current members of that club. To monitor all participants, individuals from other clubs should first be included in this list by scanning their QR code or by clicking the "+ Add" button, they can also be added manually after printing. This enables all members of the community to be easily found and chosen. Furthermore, any other person, including the speaker, can also be included.
For meetings such as a board meeting, you should first delete all default invitees and then invite the predefined recipient group “Board current” to the event. This will shorten the list, simplify attendance tracking and automatic reminder.
For district events, the attendance list is empty. It is assumed that attendees register and are therefore automatically added to the list, or that they are manually added to the list by the organizer.
NOTE
Maintaining an accurate and thorough list of participants is crucial for the proper tallying of attendance points, as well as for tracking financial transactions.
Presence points
When the event is concluded by the administrator, the attendance points are automatically credited to the personal presence point balance of active members, guests, and visitors.
Guests and attendees from other clubs also earn their attendance points at the conclusion of the event. There is no need to complete an attendance card anymore. For visitors from countries or clubs that do not use Polaris, it is still necessary to provide a printed attendance card. It will subsequently be recorded by the secretary of the member’s home club as a compensation.
Members who participate in events at different clubs earn their attendance points from those clubs. This is also true for district events.
Compensation
FAQ
What are statutory events?
Statutory events are the regular weekly gatherings that the club is required to hold.
What is the difference between registration and attendance?
Registration serves as a confirmation of potential attendance or absence at an event, while attendance refers to the actual recording of a member's physical participation in that event.
How can I check my attendance?
You can check your attendance on your club’s website by navigating to the 'MY PRESENCE' section.
How are presence points awarded?
Presence points are awarded for participating in an event or engaging in volunteer activities, and they are automatically credited to the personal presence point balance of active members, guests, and visitors at the closing of the event.
Can attendance points be logged for visitors from other clubs?
Yes, guests and attendees from other clubs (within the same Polaris instance) earn their attendance points automatically at the conclusion of the event.
What should I do if my attendance is not logged?
If your attendance is not logged through Polaris, you should ask for a printed attendance card, and the attendance points must be entered manually as compensation in your home club.
Who can access attendance data?
Club administrators can access or download statistical information related to event attendance, and district officials are permitted to view club attendance data.
When I want to log presence with my smartphone, the menu is not displayed?
On the smartphone, the menu is displayed on the top by tapping this icon:
The familiar menu structure then appears, which can be used to select the current events. To close the event on the smartphone, turn it to landscape mode - then the “Close event” button will appear.