Configuring Roles

Configuring Club Roles

Learn how to manage the roles used in your club’s meeting schedules, including adding custom roles, setting prerequisites, and configuring role settings.

Understanding Club Roles

Club roles are the positions that members fill during meetings. Examples include:

• Speaker
• Evaluator
• Table Topics Master
• Timer
• Grammarian
• General Evaluator

Each role can have specific settings that control how it’s assigned and displayed.

Default Roles

When you create your club, The Club Schedule automatically sets up default roles based on your organization type (Toastmasters, church, Rotary, etc.). These default roles are pre-configured with:

• Appropriate display order
• Role prerequisites (if applicable)
• Major role designation
• Standard settings for your organization type

You can customize these defaults or add your own custom roles.

Viewing Your Club Roles

To see all roles configured for your club:

1. Log in as a club officer
2. Go to Club Settings > Roles
3. Or navigate to Settings > Manage Roles

You’ll see a list of all roles in display order, showing:

• Role name
• Whether it’s a major role
• Prerequisites (if any)
• Active/inactive status
• Edit and reorder options

[Screenshot: Club Roles list showing multiple roles with settings]

Adding a New Role

Step 1: Access Role Settings

1. Go to Club Settings > Roles
2. Click Add New Role button

[Screenshot: Add New Role button highlighted]

Step 2: Configure Role Details

Fill out the role configuration form:

Basic Information:

• Role Name: The name displayed in schedules (e.g., “Ah-Counter”, “Joke Master”)
• Description: (Optional) Additional details about what this role does

Display Settings:

• Display Order: Where this role appears in the schedule (lower numbers appear first)
• Is Active: Whether this role is currently in use

Assignment Settings:

• Is Major Role: Whether this is a primary/significant role (affects gap requirements)
• Is President Only: Whether only the club President can be assigned this role
• Allow Concurrent Assignments: Whether a member can have this role plus other roles in the same meeting

Prerequisites:

• Prerequisite Roles: Roles a member must have completed before being assigned this role
• (Select from dropdown of existing roles – you can choose multiple)

[Screenshot: Add Role form with all fields visible]

Step 3: Save the Role

1. Review all settings
2. Click Save Role
3. You’ll see a confirmation: “Role created successfully!”

The new role is now available for assignment in schedules.

Editing an Existing Role

To modify a role’s settings:

1. Go to Club Settings > Roles
2. Find the role you want to edit
3. Click Edit next to that role
4. Make your changes
5. Click Save Changes

[Screenshot: Edit Role form]

Understanding Role Settings

Is Major Role

What it means: This is a primary, significant role in your club.

When to enable:

• Roles that require substantial preparation or responsibility
• Examples: Speaker, Evaluator, Toastmaster, General Evaluator

When to disable:

• Supporting or minor roles
• Examples: Timer, Ah-Counter, Grammarian

Why it matters:

• Major roles are subject to gap requirements (members must wait X weeks between major role assignments)
• This prevents members from being assigned multiple major roles too close together
• The gap duration is set in Club Settings > Schedule Settings

Is President Only

What it means: Only the club President can be assigned this role.

When to enable:

• Roles that are specifically presidential duties
• Example: Presiding Officer (in some clubs)

When to disable:

• Any role that other members can perform

Why it matters:

• The assignment algorithm automatically filters to only consider the President
• Other members won’t be assigned even if they’re otherwise eligible

Allow Concurrent Assignments

What it means: A member can have this role AND another role in the same meeting.

Default: Disabled (members typically do one role per meeting)

When to enable:

• Minor roles that can be combined with other duties
• Examples: Grammarian + Timer, Ah-Counter + Timer

When to disable:

• Roles that require full attention and can’t reasonably be combined

Why it matters:

• Controls whether members can “double up” on roles
• Helps ensure fair distribution of responsibilities
• Only activates as a fallback when no single-role members are available

Role Prerequisites

Prerequisites ensure members have the necessary experience before being assigned to advanced roles.

Setting Prerequisites

When editing a role:

1. Find the Prerequisite Roles field
2. Select one or more roles from the dropdown
3. Members must have completed ALL selected prerequisite roles before being eligible

Example:

• Evaluator role requires: Speaker (as a prerequisite)
• Members must do Speaker at least once before being assigned Evaluator

[Screenshot: Prerequisite Roles dropdown with selections]

How Prerequisites Work

• Members are eligible only after completing the prerequisite role at least once
• “Completion” means the meeting date has passed and the member fulfilled the role
• Prerequisites check both historical role data and current schedule assignments
• Multiple prerequisites require ALL to be completed (AND logic, not OR)

Bypassing Prerequisites

Individual members can bypass prerequisites:

1. Go to Manage Members
2. Edit the member’s profile
3. Check “Eligible for all roles”
4. This member can now be assigned to any role regardless of prerequisites

Use this for:

• Experienced members joining from other clubs
• Members with proven competency
• Special circumstances requiring flexibility

Deactivating Roles

If your club no longer uses a role:

1. Go to Club Settings > Roles
2. Edit the role
3. Uncheck “Is Active”
4. Click Save Changes

What happens:

• The role won’t appear in new schedules
• Existing assignments in published schedules remain unchanged
• You can reactivate the role later if needed
• Role history is preserved

Reordering Roles

The display order controls how roles appear in schedules and reports.

To change the order:

1. Go to Club Settings > Roles
2. Use the drag-and-drop handles to reorder roles
3. Or edit each role and change its Display Order number
4. Lower numbers appear first

Typical ordering logic:

• Major roles first (Speaker, Evaluator)
• Supporting roles next (Table Topics Master)
• Administrative/timing roles last (Timer, Ah-Counter)

[Screenshot: Role list with drag handles for reordering]

Best Practices

Role Configuration

• Use clear names – Make role names obvious to all members
• Set realistic prerequisites – Don’t create barriers that are too high
• Mark major roles appropriately – Consider preparation time and responsibility level
• Review periodically – Club needs change; update roles accordingly

Prerequisites

• Don’t over-prerequisite – Too many requirements limit assignment options
• Logical progression – Prerequisites should make sense (Speaker before Evaluator)
• Document reasoning – Keep notes on why prerequisites were set
• Check regularly – Ensure new members can progress through roles

Organization

• Consistent naming – Use your organization’s standard role names
• Group similar roles – Keep the display order logical and grouped
• Clean up unused roles – Deactivate roles you no longer use
• Test new roles – After adding a role, create a test schedule to verify it works

Troubleshooting

A role isn’t appearing in schedules

• Check if the role is marked as “Active”
• Verify the role exists in your club’s role list
• Create a new schedule to include the role

Members aren’t being assigned to a role

• Check if prerequisites are too restrictive
• Verify members haven’t opted out of the role
• Ensure members meet the prerequisites
• Check if “President Only” is enabled incorrectly

I can’t delete a role

• Roles with historical assignments can’t be deleted
• Instead, deactivate the role (uncheck “Is Active”)
• This preserves history while removing from future use

Prerequisites aren’t working as expected

• Verify the prerequisite roles are set correctly
• Check member’s role history to confirm they’ve completed prerequisites
• Ensure “Eligible for all roles” isn’t checked on the member (this bypasses prerequisites)
• Remember: ALL prerequisites must be met (not just one)

Members are getting too many major roles

• Increase the “Major role gap weeks” setting in Club Settings
• Verify roles are correctly marked as “Is Major Role”
• Check that you have enough active members to distribute roles

Related Articles

• Creating and Publishing Schedules
• Setting Up Role Opt-Outs
• Club Settings Overview
• Managing Members