Whether your members are around the corner or around the state, you still need to check in regularly. CNCS requires program managers to complete these forms and evaluations:

• VISTA—Members' time off; quarterly progress reports
• AmeriCorps—Activity/service logs (at least monthly); midyear and end-of-year reports

Besides the bare requirements, there are a number of things successful supervisors can do to keep members on track:

• Setting Goals and Expectations—Being clear about goals and expectations up front can help prevent a lot of problems down the road. Resources here include a goal-setting survey, forms, training ideas, and tips for collaborating with members on written expectations.
• Using the Project Plan—The project plan or VISTA Assignment Description (VAD) can be a great starting point for planning, problem solving, and developing benchmarks for monitoring and evaluation. See Demystifying Project Plans and VADs in the Planning and Documentation section for samples and resources.
• Ongoing Monitoring—Monitoring can take many forms: face-to-face meetings, service logs, informal e-mails, reports, conference calls, or individual phone conversations. Get tips on supervising from afar as well as ideas on creating your own monitoring and reporting systems.
• Performing Member Evaluations—Remember, as you evaluate members you're building relationships. Strong relationships pay off by boosting job satisfaction for both members and supervisors; improving member retention; promoting personal growth; and producing a more effective service year that ultimately benefits the community. This section has a variety of tips and evaluation forms, from quarterly to midyear and end of year.

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