How to be easy to contact by email
How to be easy to contact by email We guarantee to all people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) that whichever branch or national support group they approach, they will get the information and support they need. We can say this because we have a set of essential requirements in place for every branch and group. The eight essentials for MS Society branches and groups Your branch or group must: be easy to contact by phone and email send out a regular newsletter offer support to everyone affected by MS make our publications available to all keep an up-to-date list of local contacts to signpost people to be contactable for newly diagnosed people supply appropriate information to new contacts provide necessary financial support This How to guide is about our essential requirement to be easy to contact by email. It includes: why being easy to contact by email is an essential requirement practical suggestions for setting up and publicising your branch email addresses why keeping track of emails is important the support available to help you Your responsibilities You are all responsible as a committee for providing the eight essentials, with the chair having overall responsibility. People affected by MS may contact their local branch for either information about local services, activities and events, or for emotional or practical support, provided by our trained support volunteers. A member of your support team who has attended MS support training should be the authorised user for your branch support email address. Your H2G8 v1.2 Page 1 26/06/2014 branch secretary or newsletter editor is often well-placed to respond to branch email enquiries. Our agreed standards Most branches already use email to send and receive communication from members, local MS professionals and colleagues. Until now, branches have had to either set up accounts with an external email provider or ask volunteers to use their own personal email addresses. By providing standard MS Society email and support email addresses to all branches, we will ensure that: • • • • people affected by MS reach the most appropriate person to deal with their enquiry the safety and security of volunteers is maintained both during and after their time volunteering with us all email communication looks professional and meets our brand guidelines information contained within emails is stored securely, as required by the Data Protection Act (1998) Being easy to contact by email has become an important way to support people affected by MS. It lets people know they have a local group to turn to and makes it possible for us to support people who aren’t able to attend our meetings or events. To meet this essential requirement, you must: have two email addresses - a branch email address and a branch support email address publicise your email addresses locally clearly display your email addresses on your MS Society website pages nominate an authorised user for each email address to respond to enquiries Authorised users Your committee and support team need to agree an authorised user and a back-up user for each of your email accounts. Two volunteers might each look after one account and provide back up for the other, or you may have a different authorised user and back up for the two accounts. Authorised users are responsible for regularly checking and responding to enquiries received by email. A member of your support team who has attended MS support training should be the authorised user for your branch support email address. Your branch H2G8 v1.2 Page 2 26/06/2014 secretary or newsletter editor is often well-placed to respond to branch email enquiries. Branch email support will maintain a list of all authorised users and backups. You must inform them if these details change. Standard response messages and automatic signatures Your branch email addresses are equipped with two features that you won’t be able to see. When a person sends an email to either of your email addresses, they will receive a standard response message to reassure them that they have reached you and that you will be in contact soon. This is the standard response message they will receive: Thank you for emailing our branch of the MS Society. We have received your message. Although this inbox may not be checked daily, we aim to respond to you as soon as possible. If you have questions or concerns about MS, you can also contact the MS Helpline on 0808 800 8000. The helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 9pm (excluding bank holidays). All MS Society email addresses also have an automatic signature block that doesn’t show when you send an email. Your automatic signature follows this format: MS Society Anytown Branch Phone: 01234 567 890 www.mssociety.org.uk/near-me | Find us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter The Near me web address is specific to your branch and the Facebook link is specific to your country. The banner below the signature block changes in line with key MS Society events and activities. Accessing your email accounts Your email accounts are accessed through a program called Outlook Web Access (OWA). Using OWA means authorised users can access email from H2G8 v1.2 Page 3 26/06/2014 any computer and makes it easy to transfer responsibility for the address if need be. Top tip Use this web address to access OWA - https://owa.mssociety.org.uk or click the link on the volunteer website at http://volunteers.mssociety.org.uk/branch-email Publicising your email addresses Setting up dedicated email addresses for all branches and branch support teams is a considerable investment for the MS Society. By publicising this new service as widely as possible, we can ensure the support we offer is accessible to all who need it. Here are some suggestions for publicising your branch and branch support email addresses: publicise them in your newsletter and on your MS Society website pages get posters, flyers or business cards printed and distribute them to local GP’s surgeries and libraries - contact your local staff member for help designing promotional materials and to check you’re using the most upto-date MS Society brand and fonts make sure that the local neurology department, MS nurse and anyone else who might refer people to the branch knows your email addresses Remember - branches and groups that are well advertised and easy to contact are also more likely to recruit new members and volunteers. How is it going? Keeping records of emails can provide your branch or group with a wealth of useful information. It can help you: • • • • • • • identify local issues and needs establish your future priorities demonstrate to health and social care professionals or potential funding sources how you support your MS community find out whether your branch or group is meeting its aims produce an email evaluation report and share it with members at your branch or group annual meeting publicise your branch or group locally with a press release about how many emails you get inspire other branches and groups by sharing your success at forums or meetings organised by your local staff team H2G8 v1.2 Page 4 26/06/2014 Sources of support Our volunteer website Whatever you do as an MS Society volunteer, you’ll find the latest news and information to help you carry out your role on our volunteer website, http://volunteers.mssociety.org.uk. Here are some key resources for branch email users: Branch email technical guide http://volunteers.mssociety.org.uk/980 Branch and volunteer email usage policy http://volunteers.mssociety.org.uk/981 Technical support If you have problems or queries that aren’t answered in this How to guide, the technical guide or email policy, you can contact our Volunteering team. Volunteering [email protected] Tel: 020 8438 0818 Your local staff member Your local staff member can help you to achieve your essential requirements for supporting people affected by MS. If you need contact details for your local staff member, please contact the following people: Development Team (Northern Ireland) [email protected] Tel: 02890 802 802 Volunteering Development Manager (Scotland) [email protected] Tel: 0131 335 4074 Volunteering (England and Wales) [email protected] Tel: 020 8438 0944 H2G8 v1.2 Page 5 26/06/2014 The MS Helpline The MS Helpline offers emotional support and information to anyone affected by MS in the UK. You should give the helpline contact details to anyone you think could benefit: • • Freephone helpline 0808 800 8000 Helpline email service: [email protected] H2G8 v1.2 Page 6 26/06/2014
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