Many of you may be aware that over the past few months there have been some changes happening in iSG and we thought it would be good for us to update the territory on what has happened as far as the team in concerned.

Mark Bennett was seconded for a period of 3-5 years by IHQ for a major global IT project and he began that work at the end of June this year.  He is still working for TSA, but no longer has day to day management of the iSG team.

Late in July Peter Hennessey was appointed as iSG Manager during this secondment period and has taken over these duties.

More recently a new Ops IT Team Leader has now been appointed and this week iSG welcomed Rob Martin into this role.

He comes to us after delivering contracted ICT services to various organisations both here in NZ and abroad over recent times.  His main role is to continue on with the excellent level of support our small OpsIT team provide to the territory and we are delighted to have him as part of the team.

As per our usual process, any queries in relation to tickets logged in Supportal would first and foremost go to Rob for attention and he will be happy to assist as necessary.

In the meantime, should you around THQ, or have a spare minute, feel free to get in touch with Rob and welcome to the Salvation Army family/whanau.

Once a staff member begins, it can take a while to get them up to speed with the various tasks, and getting them to understand the "Army" way.

With the help of various departments here at THQ an induction resource has been made available to all officers, managers, staff and volunteers.  

welcome.sarmy.net.nz

This can be used for any and EVERY new staff member and we would highly recommend all staff take the time to check this great resource out.

Even if you don't have a login you can still read and view the videos through this resource.

We trust you will find it a helpful resource in your induction of new staff and volunteers.

Having to employ a new staff member can be cumbersome and frustrating, particularly when it comes to all the paperwork that needs to be completed.  Aaargh!!  And then to top it all off there can be unexpected delays with ETA's for various items new staff need to get on with their tasks.

Most of the paperwork relates to HR documentation required by law, but from an ISG perspective, you may also need to know what forms need to be completed, approved and submitted for action.

Most office staff will need a computer, a user account and sometimes even a mobile phone.  ISG have always had the following ETA's for these:

• a computer can take up to 3 weeks to arrive from the date the request is first received at ISG;
• a mobile phone can take up to 3 days to arrive from the date the request is first received at ISG;
• a new user account can take approximately 3 business days from date the request is received, assuming there is an active employee ID for the user. New user account requests are worked on Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's.  

All these requests, can be pre-empted and a manager is welcome to log them before the employee arrives.

• Computers and mobile phones can be requested before a manager has even made the final call on who will be employed.  Machines are only configured for users after they start, but the hardware itself can be requested, submitted to Divisional or Nationally Managed Boards for approval and subsequent submission to ISG for action.  The sooner a request is received, the sooner iSG are able to provide the necessary equipment;
• New user accounts can also be requested before an active ID is provided. All this means is that ISG will check for the activation of the ID and regular notifications will be sent to the person who logged the original ticket and their line manager letting them know if no active ID is available.

ISG do not like to keep people waiting, but the more advance notice a manager can give us for new staff, the sooner we can get the required work done and sorted for them.

Thanks for helping us help you.

The graphic below is a very clear indication of how much times have changed and particularly the technology that has evolved over the last 30 years.

The most interesting component, from a TSA perspective, is the change in cost of the technology over the last 3 decades.

Although, at times, we can be unsettled about the fact we haven't got "there yet", in terms of our goals its always good to look back and just see how far we have already come.

A new Lifecycle Replacement round is about to kick off this week.

This means that managers at various Corps/Centres that have machines that are now due for replacement will receive an email from iSG with a request to complete a simple online form (3 questions) to confirm that the machine is on site, and whether they require replacement or will be returning it to ISG.  Please note that if you select to return, ISG will expect the machine to be returned at your earliest convenience to ISG.  Charges for machine will only be stopped once machine is received at ISG

ISG will give managers and directors 2 weeks to complete the online form at which stage, the information will be collated and a bulk purchase will be made with our supplier.   Machines ordered are sent direct to each centre.  Once they arrive, the expectation is that the centre will notify iSG and book a mutually agreeable time to get the new machine connected and final configurations done on this replacement.

HOWEVER, if the deadline is missed... fear not!  Still complete the online form, as this information will be stored for the next LRP round to be held in October.  iSG have 3 LRP rounds every year (Feb, Jun and Oct).

The most important item to note however is simply this... IF an online form is NOT completed, iSG will  NOT have any information to process, and so NOTHING will be done.  We require an action from the recipient of the email, before iSG is able to take the appropriate action.

If you are looking through BiAS, then any machine with a status of "Awaiting Confirmation" means an email has been sent to the respective manager.  If "Awaiting Order" then the manager has completed their task as requested, and if showing "Awaiting Replacement", the order has been submitted to the supplier and centre can expect delivery of machine within 3 weeks of this.  If any delays in delivery occur, we will endeavour to keep the centres informed of this as news comes to hand.

Thanks for all you do for, and for helping iSG help you.

With the introduction of Google apps to TSA, one of the apps that may be very useful to Corps and centres is the Google Calendar.

Did you know that within the Calendar you are able to create a publically shared calendar.  This could be useful to Corps who wish to share the upcoming events to their congregation, but also really useful to set up for a team you may manage to share overall events that the team need to be aware of (eg. staff on leave).

To create this "shared" Calendar, simply:

1. login to Google with your TSA account (ie. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) ;
2. then in Google Drive, select the icon on top right corner of window;
3. select Google Calendar  and your calendar will appear;
4. On the left hand side column you can select the drop down arrow next to "My calendars", then "Create a new calendar".  
5. Fill in the necessary information on screen and then "Create Calendar".  If you are creating this to share with external emails (i.e. not TSA emails) then ensure when you select "Share this calendar with others" that the box marked "Make this calendar public" is ticked and that the selection is to "See all event details".  This allows you to share it with
6. Under "Share with specific people", you can then select who you wish to share the calendar with by typing their email address and selecting the appropriate permission settings.

You can always go back to share the calendar with more people if you wish to, or to manage any required removals etc. 

Considering a number of you have been working on budgets in recent times, we thought it would be helpful to remind all our TSA mobile users of an app that helps you stay within the approved budget.  Managers may want to ensure staff are aware of this facility to help them manage their device more effectively.

iSG has posted about this back in August 2014 (My Vodafone App - A very helpful tool) and in September 2015 (Manage your Mobile), but we thought it about time we reminded our users about the ability that you already have to keep an eye on the amount of minutes and data used on your mobile device if connected to the TSA plan.

Remember that if you have not used this before you will need to register online (see the August blog for instructions) before it becomes active on your mobile.

As always, if you have queries on this, feel free to log a ticket through the Supportal for iSG assistance.

Further to the previous blog for you to view tickets that you have logged, sometimes you may be included in a ticket as an involved user.

This could be for a number of reasons, including someone logging a ticket on your behalf, or you are the manager who needs to confirm approval of a request amongst those.

As an “Involved User” you are able to view the tickets for any updates.  When logging into Supportal you will see these tickets listed with a light blue background as per the image below

You can also add a comment/query, for the iSG tech assigned to see and respond.  Simply select the ADD COMMENT button.

If you wish to Cancel or Escalate the ticket then the person who has logged the ticket will need to do this, as they are the one listed as the primary person for the ticket.  You can also request this by adding a comment to the ticket and the iSG tech can then action accordingly.

Thanks for helping us help you.

Many of you already know this, and iSG is grateful for you utilising the Supportal to its full extent, but for those of you who don't know...

Did you know... You can stay up to date with the tickets you have logged in Supportal? And in the same way, you can keep ISG up to date with any further information we may need to know to get the request done.

To look at your current tickets simply login to Supportal, and on the Tickets window, all tickets logged for you will be listed in the window as shown below:

Simply select the ticket you need the update on and the information will appear on screen.

There are three buttons that are also useful in this screen.

To add further useful information into the ticket for ISG to know about, then feel free to add a comment by selecting the ADD COMMENT button.  This is useful if ISG are waiting on a response from you.  The moment you submit your comment, the ISG tech assigned your ticket is told the information has been posted in the ticket.

Also really useful is the CANCEL TICKET button.  Sometimes you may log a ticket because of some issue you are having. But then, after a computer reboot, or another colleague helping you, this is no longer an issue for ISG to get involved with.  It's really helpful to both of us for you to log in to the Supportal and CANCEL the ticket.  This means iSG won't bother you anymore about this, and you save ISG a phone call, and give us a little more time to contact someone else with their issue.

Thanks for helping us help you!

If you use Publisher but are keen to move towards the Google Apps that are now readily available then LucidPress may be for you.

Lucidpress is a web-based layout/design software application produced by Lucid Software Inc.

Just perfect for those Corps Newsletters.

To find out more click on this link.

Google Keep is a note taking application developed by Google.

Google Keep is also available as a mobile app for the Android and iOS mobile operating systems and as a web application.

Easy to use for note taking or for making check lists, it's a useful tool which can be used for making that quick mental note about something you don't want to forget, or for creating your daily To Do list.  You can set reminders for specific times, and you can even "share" your individual notes with someone else so they can see what needs to be done!

If you haven't used it before I would highly recommend this app.  

At the beginning of each month a report is automatically created in the BiAS system which is then processed by Finance for the monthly journals related to both Hardware and Software costs.  All users have access to BiAS and are able to see what charges are being made against their cost centre. 

For all HARDWARE cost centre queries, feel free to log a ticket in the supportal, and a member of the iSG team will be able to answer and/or amend any cost centres as necessary. 

For all SOFTWARE cost centre queries, these need to be directed to the NZPayroll team as this information is collated directly from the Payroll System.  

We have noticed that in recent days there have been some issues with some people who have more than one cost centre associated with them (usually someone who has two or more separate positions in TSA). The report used for journalling each month has had some issues with the information being pulled from TechOne.  We are aware of this, but unfortunately this is not something iSG can resolve.  We have made the team who can make the necessary changes aware of this, and they are working on it.

We are unable to say when this will be fixed so recommend that if you are aware of any such issues to:

1. Firstly ensure that the Payroll team does have the correct cost centre associated in the employee/volunteer's payroll record;
2. Then simply process a journal with the Finance team to rectify the accounting records.

We will let you know when the report issue has been resolved, and therefore when the monthly correction journal can be stopped.

Due to the work related to change of appointments over the coming weeks in December and January, Team iSG will be implementing a change freeze from the 7 December 2015 through to 15 January 2016.

What this means is that we will continue to provide support for any tickets logged with us, but any requests for equipment or new mobile phones or telco connections will not be attended to until the new year (15 January) as our suppliers will be unable to attend to this, and we will be trying to connect Officers to their new appointments..

Feel free to continue to log your tickets through the supportal (support.sarmy.net.nz) and we will attend to these as soon as we are able.

Thanks for helping us help you.

Did you know there is an app called Meter which acts as a live wallpaper for your phone.

It shows remaining battery life, mobile signal and notifications in the wallpaper which is easier to see than the small notifications that usually exist.

It is a data-driven live wallpaper. The wallpaper cycles through three visualizations with every unlock, and each can be manipulated by tilting and moving the device. This simple ambient display creates a peripheral awareness of your phone's status over the course of a day.

To download it, simply go to Google Play Store and search "METER".

Very soon, when you call iSG you may hear a voice you may not recognise.  I say very soon as we haven't got Lino answering your calls just yet as he is undergoing the usual preliminary induction on all things TSA and iSG.

However, with Andrea Levett's departure from the role based at Northern DHQ, we have recently employed LINO BABARAN to replace her.  He is excited to be part of our organisation, and we are thrilled to welcome him to our dedicated support team here at iSG. 

Lino (said "Lee-noh") comes to us with years of IT experience, mostly in Singapore, and has recently moved to NZ with his wife Katherine and 4 year old daughter Kaitlyn, and is resident in Auckland.  

If you happen to be around Northern DHQ, then feel free to pass by his office and say "hello" and introduce yourself.  If not, then feel free to drop him a line and say "G'day!".  As with all our support team, you can also call him on (04)802 6262.

Please join us in welcoming Lino to The Salvation Army staff family.

You've made it to the end of another week.  You've done well, so why not enjoy a long weekend.

May God fill your days with blessings! 

This reminds me... better remember to call my mother ;-)

Google Drive is a useful app as it provides access to files anywhere, anytime on any device (pc, smart phone or tablet).  However when creating or storing files in Google Drive for TSA work, its important users know how to store it in the right account.

"How do I know I'm using the right account on the phone?" is a question we have received and is a valid and vital question.

When on your mobile device, you can open the Google Drive app by selecting this icon

You can see any accounts you have loaded on your device by selecting the icon with 3 parallel lines as shown here

Once you select the icon, you will be shown the  something similar to the following screen:

In this example you can see both my TSA Google account as well as my personal one.  If your personal one is showing, then you just need to select the down arrow and you will be provided the following options:

Select the correct account you wish to view.  If you do not have a TSA Google Account set up on your phone, then simply select "+ Add Account" and follow the on-screen prompts.

Using your TSA Google Account will ensure that if ever you have issues with missing files, or errors, or you require assistance, then iSG are able to help you.  

The first week of school holidays is over.  Hopefully you won't have issues like this ...

Enjoy your weekend.

We have updated our Get Help Tip Sheet, and think it would be a great idea to print this out and include in your induction pack for all staff.

You might want to send this to all the staff at your Corps and Centre as it contains some useful, and some vital information in terms of how people can get help and can help themselves through our support portal, or as its known at iSG... the Supportal!

Simply select the link here and download the document to pass on to everyone you know in TSA.  ISG-Get-Help-Tip-Sheet.pdf.  Alternatively, and even better, get them to subscribe to the iSG Blog, where many more tips are published weekly.