Understanding Constituent Engagement at the Congressional Level

No new Congressional office can be 100% prepared for everything they will encounter, but constituent communications is one area you can’t wait till January to figure out.

According to Ben Hooker, Head of Federal Client Success at Indigov, it’s essential that newly elected offices understand just how much mail (and the different types of mail) they’ll receive on day 1.

“When you get to D.C. in January, there will be a lot of unknowns, but there are a few things that you can be very sure of. The first is that on a weekly basis, you can expect to get thousands of letters from constituents,” he says.


Ben Hooker leads Indigov's federal client success team and has spent several years working closely with congressional offices to improve the constituent experience. He and his team of client success managers work with Congressional offices on a daily basis to ensure they have the tools they need to be effective. Prior to joining Indigov, Ben worked in IT consulting and served as a Marine Corps officer.

Understanding Congressional Level Engagement

“Not only are requests coming in across different channels, but you can expect a wide range of requests coming in.”

You can expect to receive messages in numerous forms including:

• Emails
• Phone calls
• In-person visits
• Website forms
• Social media messages

These messages will require vastly different responses as they could be:

• Voicing opinions on legislative issues
• Seeking assistance with federal agencies or benefits programs
• Applying for internship opportunities
• Service academy appointments
• Requesting meetings with the Member
• Capitol tours and arranging visits to DC

“On top of all of this, first impressions are going to matter. This may or may not be this constituent’s first time writing to their member of congress, but I can guarantee it is the first time they are writing to you as their newly elected representative.”

The Dynamic of D.C. and District Offices

“Your staff is going to be spread out. You’re going to have a staff that is based in D.C. but you may also have 1, 2, or even 3 district offices to work with. In each one of those offices, you may have an in-person staff, you may have folks working remotely, and you may have folks who operate between the two.”

Having an office both on the Hill and in your district can make coordinating tasks difficult. Relying on email to triage incoming messages or using spreadsheets to manage casework is a surefire way to lose track of a message from a constituent in need.

It All Comes Back to a Constituent Management System

“You need a way to stitch together all these channels and all of these types of requests. As you get closer to January every office is going to need to make a Constituent Management System decision. The best advice I can give you is: take this decision seriously.”

Before the member is even sworn in, the office will be responsible for choosing a CMS platform. Your frontline staff will live in that Constituent Management System (CMS) on a daily basis, responding to and assisting constituents. Your communications team will rely on the platform to create newsletters and build targeted outreach messages.

This decision will define the nature of your relationship with your constituency, so take the time to seriously evaluate the various vendors. See what it would look like to use these systems everyday, and ask tough questions to identify which one best fits the goals of your office.

If you are interested in Indigov’s CMS approach or have questions about best practices for new congressional offices, don’t hesitate to reach out!