Changes to the Tracker Elf Conference

/5 Comments/in , /by

The Tracker Elf Conference is designed to help good elves become better trackers. It’s about training and communicating needs for everyone – for you, the tracker elf, but also for North Pole Flight Command, your Elf Supervisors and, ultimately, for Santa.

In years past we have done this as a long event over one or two weekend days.

Your response to the Tracker Elf Conference Survey told us that this didn’t work out well for you – mostly because December is packed with so many other events. Most seemed to feel that access to the information as soon as possible through news and posts was better than the chat-heavy events of the past.

So we’re going to do that.

But we’re also going to do some chat events too. That has already been announced by Elf Winslow earlier.

We are going to focus on two major changes going forward-

  1. Weekly updates from your elf supervisor. This has already been announced and it begins this Monday.
  2. Your questions answered: We got a lot of great questions from the survey. We’re going to hold roundtable discussions with Santa and key elves and then provide you with an transcript of those discussions for your review. The questions and answers will specifically address:
    • Operation Merry Christmas
    • Santa-specific Stuff
    • How Santa Tracking Works
    • How to Answer Tough Questions from Skeptics
    • Questions About Reindeer
    • Christmas Eve

We believe these broad topics cover the majority of the questions submitted via the survey. We invite you, however, to continue asking questions through that survey. If you think of something new, just submit it via that form even if you have done that before.

We will be using your questions verbatim in holding these discussions.

Thank you for your attention. It’s going to be a great Tracker Elf Conference this year!

Saturdays in Elf Chat

/4 Comments/in , /by

Saturdays in Elf Chat is a new feature for this tracking season that come as a result of your participation in the Tracker Elf Conference Survey.

The surveys were split on the topic of the Tracker Elf Conference. In the past the Tracker Elf Conference was held on one or two days and chat was where it was held. For many however, especially since we all live in different time zones, it wasn’t a convenient way to get information.

But for those who COULD attend those live chats the information was very helpful.

So the decision has been made to tackle the format of the Tracker Elf Conference in several new ways – by still using chat but also by posting articles about important topics.

So, we will be holding live chats featuring key elves you have asked to chat with. Specific times of these chats will be posted as we get closer to these dates:

  • Saturday, December 3rd – Elf Victor, Head of Reindeer Operations at the North Pole
  • Saturday, December 10th – Elf Frank Myrrh of North Pole Radio News
  • Saturday, December 17th – Elf Crash Murphy, Santa’s Eye-in-the-Sky Reporter
  • Saturday, December 24th – Elf Roger Star, International Director of Santa Trackers

A couple of additional notes for you:

  • We are trying to find a time for a chat with Santa. That might not happen on a Saturday as those are really busy times for Santa. We’ll keep you posted on this.
  • The chat on Christmas Eve could be interesting because we’ve never tried that before. It’s a very busy time, of course. Elf Roger is being very generous in giving us some of his time for that day.

The topics for these chats are not set in stone. Between this and other features we are offering this year we believe we can get to all the questions our tracker elves have. If you have a question that you haven’t thought of to ask before just submit it via the Tracker Elf Survey (even if you’ve already filled out that before). We’re taking all questions.

Thanks!

 

Elf Supervisors to Report to YOU

/4 Comments/in , /by

Elf Supervisors have been meeting with the leadership team at Flight Command this week in response to the Tracker Elf Conference Surveys you have all been submitting. Some decisions have been made and over the next several days a number of announcements will be made.

The first announcement is that each Elf Supervisor will be posting up a report each week of activity in the sector. This report will not only show you what is happening but will also include a list of things you will need to do that week as a tracker elf. Included also will be a brief statement from Santa about anything he might want from you in your particular sector.

The reports will follow a pattern for each week leading up to Santa’s launch:

Mondays – Sector 1
Tuesday – Sector 2
Wednesday – Sector 3
Thursday – Sector 4
Friday – Sector 5

I will also be posting a report every Sunday that recaps our seasonal effort tracking Santa for Santa along with any news and information you might be needing.

We are hoping this spreads out the work of tracking Santa so that when Santa launches you will be more available to watch the skies and report the weather and news from your location.

This is an all new format for us this year. We are all learning how to track Santa different. Please be aware that we are following Santa’s plan and that these many changes were designed by him because he’s the guy driving the sleigh.

His goals, as you help him with the reports you submit and by sharing what’s going on in your neighborhood, are met when you meet your goals.

Let’s give Santa some good support this year.

Stay tuned for a lot more announcements. You should be checking in to SantaTrackers.net everyday if you can.

Thanks!

Tracker Elf Conference Survey

/7 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

A tracker elf conference is held every December. This has been the tradition of the past five years. Key elves from Flight Command and even Santa himself take the time to discuss tracking Santa for Santa and what is needed in that particular year.

The Elf Supervisors are thinking of doing the Tracker Elf Conference a little differently this year. They are asking, in advance of scheduling this event, for your questions, comments and needs BEFORE the Conference.

How and when the Tracker Elf Conference will be held is yet to be announced. But we can proceed in getting your input right away.

We are asking all elves to provide the following information so we can make the Tracker Elf Conference more useful for you. You can fill this form out as many times as you like so that all of your questions can be considered:

Elf Supervisors are considering a new format for the Tracker Elf Conference this year. Your feedback on this question is very important

New Chats Posted for Santa Update

/4 Comments/in , /by

North Pole Chat at SantaUpdate.com this month will feature two very special events.

The first, occurring this Sunday, November 13th at 7pm EST in North Pole Chat features Elf Crash Murphy:

Chat with Elf Crash

Crash will be taking questions about the Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade. Tracker Elves might want to attend this chat with Elf Crash because they are, like last year, invited to participate in the Elf Parade. Crash will talk about how to do that.

Then, in a very special event that we’re sure will be very well attended, Santa Claus will chat on November 27th:

Chat with Santa

The chat with Santa in North Pole Chat will be popular. We strongly encourage submitting your questions in advance. More details of this event will be provided as we get closer to that date.

We hope you can join us for these events at SantaUpdate.com.

We will soon be posting chats exclusive to tracker elves here in Elf Chat at SantaTrackers.net.

Elf Winslow

Santa Updates by TEXT

/4 Comments/in , /by

North Pole Flight Command is just about to announce the availability of this year’s TRACK SANTA by TEXT phone number.

Tracker elves may want to be some of the first to enroll.

Just text the word SANTA to 844-399-7929 to sign up. Text updates will be sent when major news breaks on any of the Official North Pole websites – SantaUpdate.com, NorthPoleFlightCommand.com, SantaTrackers.net and ElfHQ.com.

This service is expected to be especially busy on December 23rd and December 24th after Santa launches from the North Pole.

We believe this service should be working now in Canada and the United States. It is being tested right now in other countries but that availability is NOT yet confirmed. We will update you when this becomes available in other parts of the world. They are working on service in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and countries of the Pacific Rim, including the Philippines and Japan.

As always, North Pole news will be broadcast on Kringle Radio, as well as posted at the sites mentioned above.

 

Night Time Flights in Sector 3

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Hello fellow Trackers of Sector 3!

I just received word from Flight Command that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are headed back to our sector. I’m am also told the schedule will include a special emphasis on night flights (after all, Santa flies almost exclusively in the dark).

The track record of seeing sleighs in flight is always better at night. We have about 10 reports from night flights for every 1 report we get during the day. I think the sun makes a flying sleigh really hard to see.

As of right now, I have no reporting assignments for you.

However, as the test flights get closer I might. So pay attention to the map.

Thanks.

Sector 5 Elves Needed to Report

/3 Comments/in , , /by

Happy November, Elves!

With Santa’s Sleigh taking a test flight dip into Sector 5 I was expecting to get a report request. Well, I got one but it wasn’t for anything to have to do with Santa’s Sleigh.

Flight Command has told me they want to see a Public Observance Report from Sector 5 now that Halloween is over. Please click on this link to access the report.

Freelance elves can use this link to report.

I’m not expecting Santa’s sleigh to be in our sector very long. I would expect them to keep mostly to Canada this time around but it appears to me they are on their way to somewhere else. I haven’t heard anything from Flight Command about this current round of test flights.

You’re doing a great job, elves! Thank you for your ongoing efforts.

 

Elf Chat Scheduled

/4 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

Elf Chat this week welcomes Elf Crash Murphy on Saturday, November 5th at 6pm EST on SantaTrackers.net.

Elf Crash Murphy serves as Santa’s eye-in-the-sky reporter. For more than a decade he has followed Santa on Christmas Eve and reported his activities during the Tracking Santa Around the World Show on Kringle Radio. Elf Crash has been instrumental in the development of the Santa Tracker program at the North Pole and works year round in the Elf Community at SantaTrackers.net. He is co-host of the Santa Tracker Podcast as well as the North Pole Podcast with Elf Frank Myrrh.

The chat this week will focus on Santa tracker elf questions for the upcoming tracker season.

If you cannot make the chat we encourage posting your questions for Crash below and we will make sure he answers them during the chat.

Elf Chat

Improvements Seen in Elf Reports

/4 Comments/in , , , , , , /by

I have reviewed the progress so far in each Sector. I have met with each Elf Supervisor. I am pleased to report that thanks to change initiated by Santa after last Christmas that we find ourselves way ahead of last year in terms of information we have and the preparations we are making for Santa’s flight around the world.

We are doing this with fewer elves but with greater reporting.

So far, freelance elves outnumber North Pole elves by a factor of 12 to 1. That is why we have seen such a rapid increase in reports in the past four weeks. Freelance elves, which are the only new elves we are allowing this year, have started joining us, as they do every year, in massive numbers in every sector.

Even though most of them are new and relying on Elf University for their training the quality of reports coming from freelancers is vastly improved over a year ago. We are seeing very good results in every sector so far. On the whole, freelance elves have sent in 84% more reports with an average quality score of 5 (on a scale of 10). The number of reports per elf so far received from the freelance ranks is about 3.1.

But the real progress is being shown among experienced North Pole elves. Those elves have sent in a whopping 231% more reports and their quality score is over 8 (on the same scale of 10). The average number of reports from our North Pole elves is 7.3.

I can tell you now, based on these early reports, it has to be a big goal after this Christmas to turn more freelance elves into North Pole elves.

Each Sector Elf Supervisor reports they are working with many candidates. None of them will make it before Christmas, but several have the opportunity to be invited into the Elf Community in the New Year if they keep up the work they are doing now.

Quality remains our watchword. If you put forth good information in your reports you WILL advance in your elf career. It’s as simple as that.

We are only in the tens of millions of reports Santa says that he wants. The target this year is 1 billion reports. We are just getting started.

But for where we are at right now, as we near the end of October, things are going very, very well.

What will November and early December look like for trackers?

Just follow the lead of your Elf Supervisor.

All of this is happening just as Santa said it would.

Thank you for your efforts.

Elf Roger Star

 

Heads-up for Sector 1

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Fellow Trackers!

North Pole Flight Command has now confirmed that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh will once again be over the skies of Sector 1 very soon.

We are yet to see an “official” sighting of Santa’s sleigh during the test flight phase and I believe this next round of flights in our sector may provide good opportunity.

The best possibility of seeing a sleigh in flight is actually at night and I have been told there will be a lot of night time flights in Sector 1 over the next week or two.

Please keep your eyes peeled.

I’d love to score a sighting!

If you do see one, don’t forget to get a photo if you can and make sure you use this report.

Thanks!

Alert! Elf Status Update

/3 Comments/in , , /by

Hi elves!

I’ve been to a couple of interesting meetings lately. I have reason to believe things are going to get interesting.

So, just to prepare myself I’m asking each of you to please file an Elf Status Report as soon as you can. I need to know how many of you out there are paying attention and might be ready for some projects.

These are interesting times!

If you are a North Pole Elf, please use the report at this link.

If you are a Freelance Elf, kindly use the report at this link.

I look forward to hearing from you.