STOPS

Policy Updates and Upcoming Opportunities

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Faith (and Josiah in spirit)

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Faith

• Director of Volunteer Infrastructure (employee)
• STOPS for all events

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she/her/hers

wow it’s me and a video game

JOSIAH

• Also works for MAGFest, but not in the cool "gets paid" way that Faith does
• Currently missing MAGCon to once again have my third degree stolen from me
• Faith kept telling me this slide was too big so I made it smaller

JOSIAH

• Also works for MAGFest, but not in the cool "gets paid" way that Faith does
• Currently missing MAGCon to once again have my third degree stolen from me
• Faith kept telling me this slide was too big so I made it smaller

Alan Reid

Crystal Inman

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Pete Vanderkley

STOPS Committee

Melanie Szemis

AK True

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STOPS Committee Spring 2025 Recap

In 2025, STOPS Committee has worked on:

• Internal infractions/sanctions document
• Public-facing copy of this document coming soon!
• Processing outstanding disciplinary issues from Super 2025 and making sure sanctions align/are applied fairly
• Reviewing major policy changes for 2026 (pay attention!)

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STOPS Committee Spring 2025 Recap

In 2025, STOPS Committee will work on:

• Setting scope for committee-sanctioned projects
• Determine timelines for future projects
• Figure out how to accommodate whatever wild changes Josiah wants to make
• ???
• If you have an idea or problem regarding staffing you'd like SC to review, please email stops-committee@magfest.org.

SUPER UPDATES

STAFF CAP - it’s real this time

Super 2026 is the last time for the foreseeable future that new volunteers will be able to earn staff status (and the perks that come with it the following year).

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Shift Numbers

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85%

filled shifts

220 new staffers

What does this mean �for Departments/DHs?

Departments should try to stay relatively close to the number of hours their department used in 2025.

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STOPS will share these numbers with departments; please use as a guideline for 2026 planning.

HOURS BUDGETS

We will continue to be stringent about fast-tracking, and we are working on a form so that the process to request that we fast-track someone is more streamlined and fair.

If you are hoping to fill roles in your department, please consider:

• Have you used the Job Board on the website?
• Have you made an effort to recruit or train from within your department? From within the existing staff/volunteer community?

FAST TRACKING

STAFF SUITE

Staff Suite 2024 vs. 2025

Staff Suite (and STOPS) have read through all the feedback, and have identified some of bottlenecks for food service. Some of the possible proposed changes for Super 2026:

• Grab and Go in another location (easier to get in/out quickly)
• Allowing staffers to assemble multiple meals to bring back to others on-shift (i.e. you put together to-go boxes for you and 2-4 others).
• Eliminating or greatly reducing TuberEats/fulfillment.
• If fulfillment remains, it will be highly simplified, with limited customization.

STAFF SUITE 2026: a simpler time

• Consider your shift schedules and number of slots/shift
• Build in a buffer so that 1-2 people could go grab food for the others on shift.
• If you are worried about coverage, talk to STOPS. The more information we have about your needs, the better we can direct people your way.
• We’re telling you now so you have time to plan accordingly.

STAFF SUITE 2026: what does this mean for my department?

ORG-WIDE POLICY UPDATES

We are re-workshopping this to include new perks/benefits for teams who do not have at-event shifts or work (currently: Swadges, IT, DevOps, Social Media, Theme Team).

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If your department has at-event shifts (i.e. 95% of staffers/volunteers), nothing will change for you for the remaining 2025 events and Super 2026.

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OUT OF EVENT HOURS UPDATE

Average OOE hours reported by staffers working in departments which also have at-event shifts was 17. This implies that:

• Most staffers are working enough to achieve the 16hr OOE max, and aren't affected by the limit. (i.e. we don't need to raise the cap on OOE hours for most volunteers)
• OR Staffers may only be reporting enough hours to reach the 8-hour max.

OUT OF EVENT HOURS (by the numbers)

• STOPS would like to see data that supports the notion that staffers are working more hours outside of the event.
• We suspect this is true for many DHs and other very-involved staffers as well, but do not have a lot of data there. Additionally, DHs are eligible for other perks.
• If you work in a department that has at-event shifts and work, the OOE policy will not change for you at this time - you will be able to apply 8 hours max towards at-event perks. We are open to adjusting this in the future if the data changes.

OUT OF EVENT HOURS

The average OOE hours reported by staffers working in non-event departments was 149.

Implication: these volunteers are working disproportionately without perks.

Plan: What we plan to try, starting with Super 2026, is a new perk for members of these departments specifically.

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OUT OF EVENT HOURS (by the numbers)

We are working on a way to recognize these volunteers as staff and grant them perks.

What will this look like?

• We’re still figuring it out.
• May involve the existing form with new *~logic~*
• This will likely involve the non-event team DHs participating in some kind of hours approval process TBD.

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OUT OF EVENT HOURS (changes)

MAGStock

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Shifts Live for STAFF: May 7 🤞

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Shifts Live for new volunteers: May 19

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Anticipated needs:

• LARP Manager
• Merch (indoors 👀)
• Lifeguards (must have certification)
• Public Safety
• Rangemaster
• And more!

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this could be you!

MAGWest

Many opportunities, including:

• All Music Roles (liaisons, audio, stage manager, lighting, everything)
• Consoles DH
• Merch
• Marketplace
• Registration
• Most departments have openings!

NEW CARPET ALERT

QUESTIONS?

Head to #magcon-questions or come up to the mic!

If your question is personal or very departmentally-specific, consider catching me elsewhere this weekend or come to:

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STOPS OPEN HOURS Sunday 4/27 from

12-1pm in Magnolia 1