Remote calltime has host of virtues:

• You can work with anyone anywhere in the world
• Nobody has to waste precious minutes of hours commuting to an office
• You need not spend you hard earned money on an office, or if you do, you can prioritize a storefront that is easy for volunteers to access and not worry about having a quiet call room

But there are certain hurdles that need to be cleared in a virtual enviroment. Trust is of the utmost importance in a virtual relationship. Your calltime manager cannot force you to get on Zoom, and you cannot stop your calltime manager from turning off their computer and walking away. In order run effective calltime, and build trust, here are the things you must do:

• Before you start, clean you virtual desk. Close any application unnecessary for calltime, and close or hide any tabs that are not relevant. The only things that should be open are
  • Your call list (either a CRM or spreadsheet)
  • Your script
  • The video call
  • Your campaign email
• Meet on a video chat platform. M|A uses Zoom
• Everyone should be on video at all times.
• The caller should be unmuted at all times (unless dealing with a sensitive personal matter)
• Any calltime staffers should mute while the caller is connected and on a call, but unmute after each call.
• As a caller you should make calls in the way that you feel most comfortable (speakerphone headphones, holding up your phone normally) But barring a strong personal preference, we highly reccomend doing calls on speakerphone. This will allow your calltime staffer, who has listened to thousands of these calls, to pick up on thing that will help you refine your approach.
• Do not hide the video call. You are on video for a reason, even if it's small, make sure you can see the video feed, along with your script.
• Decide on how you will communicate when you are on the phone. Caller and staffer should decide on a means of communication when the caller is on the phone (Zoom chat, text, Signal) and stick to it.