ISG Blog

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.

Its great to see so many of you using the new Support Portal to log all your jobs with ISG.  

You would have seen a few blogs about this, and we value any contributions you may have to help us make the experience easier for all involved.

Don't forget there are already many answers to your queries under the FAQ's section, and you may want to look at that before logging a job.

Also, it will be really helpful to ISG for us to see the type of request with a correct indication of what the job is.  So to help you here's a little explanation for you.  When logging a job you will need to select whether your job is a:

1. 'Change or Request' - This can relate to updating software, changes to access, any complete requests forms, etc.
2. 'Error or Issue' - This can relate to inability to login, error messages appearing on screen, inability to print,  inability to access applications (LN, Connected, SAMIS, etc)
3. 'Information Request' - This can relate to requesting information on how to perform a task, or how to find a policy or procedure, or maybe a query on the rental billing.

Selecting any of these will provide you with a different list of 'Subjects' to choose from.  Selecting the right subject helps iSG prioritise our tasks.  AND the more information you can provide us in the job (under 'Details'), the better iSG are able to assist on our first contact with you.

Thanks for helping us help you, and for assisting us in "enabling the mission".

We thought is would be a good time to remind the territory that the Salvation Army has a nationwide Service and Rental Agreement with FujiXerox for all our printing needs.

We have had a few requests recently about having printer drivers for donated printers and cheap off the shelf printers to be installed on our machines.  We understand that a $100 printer from the local IT store can look attractively cheap while on the shelf, or better still a donated machine which costs you nothing.  But when you start calculating the consumables, any service required, plus the time spent by various staff in managing this equipment one soon finds that its very hard to beat the competitiveness of a FujiXerox machine.

FujiXerox will match the printer for your centre to your Centre's needs.  All you need to do is complete the "FujiXerox - Printer Request form" found on the intranet under ISG Forms, and then submit this through your relevant Divisional or Nationally Managed Management Board.  We will then submit to FX who will find the 'best fit' machine according to your need and volume.  There is no cost to getting the machine, and the agreement is for payment on a per copy/print basis.

This is 2 cents ($0.0265) per A4 black, and 13 cents ($0.135) per A4 colour copy.  This includes the service agreement which means when your machine needs to be looked at, it just involves a call from you direct to FX to send their technician out to you.  The only other cost is the cost of the paper you use.

It couldn't be simpler!

So next time you are needing a new printer for your Corps/Centre... think FujiXerox !!

At times we think its important to give all TSA users a big picture of what happens within our department and so today we wanted to make you aware of some of our work related stats for your information.

Here are the stats from the previous 2 months

We also send on occasions random emails to users for jobs that have been recently closed, and ask people to rate ISG's service on a scale of Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent.  Here are results for the overall results so far compared with last month's results as scored by our users:

Overall Total

May 2014 Total

Thanks for keeping us busy as we continue to work towards 'enabling the mission'.

Most of us know that we can create calendar entries within Lotus Notes, but did you know that when you invite someone to the meeting you have just created you can also stay on top of who has replied to you and who hasn't?

In Lotus Notes this is a very simple process.  First you create your meeting invite as per your normal process and under 'Who: Required:' you would enter the email addresses of those you wish to have present, so if a staff meeting, you would enter your staff group name, or individually those in your staff you want to attend.  Remember to check their calendar to minimise the backwards and forwards of having to sort out the right time (this is under 'Find available times' at bottom of screen) and then 'Save and send invitations'.

To check on who has replied to you or not, you simply go back into the meeting entry on your calendar and at the top you can:

• 'View invitee status' - this shows you has accepted the invited who haven't and who you are still waiting to hear from;
• Go to 'Owner's actions' and select from the drop down list what you would like to do.  Reschedule, Cancel, Send message to invitees, Send message to invitees who have responded or Send message to invitees who have not responded

This is also an easy way to send an email to the various invitees with all the information already in the calendar entry and means you only do a job once rather than send an email enquiring about a meeting, and then having to send a calendar invite.

We thought it timely to remind all users who have a smartphone on the TSA mobile plan that one of the good applications to load on your smart phone is Lotus Traveler. We do have a tip sheet with some brief instructions on how to load it, but to assist you we have provided below the steps you need to follow to get this operational:

1. Open the internet browser on your phone.
2. In the address bar enter type “traveler.sarmy.net.nz”.
3. Use your lotus notes logon (e.g. FirstName [space] LastName, i.e. ‘Joe Blogg’) and then your current lotus notes password.
4. Then select ‘Sign In’.
5. On next screen, select ‘Configure your Android’.  A download of Lotus Traveler should begin downloading.
6. Once download is complete, select it to install it.  Depending on your current settings your phone may get this message “Install Blocked: For Security your device is to block installation of applications not obtained from Google Play.”
7. Go to settings and then tick the box to allow unknown sources of apps to install.
8. On the following screens simply select ‘Next’, then select ‘Install’, then select ‘Open’, and lastly ‘Accept’
9. Enter your Lotus Notes Credentials First Name – Last Name and pass word and click next.
10. Select Activate
11. Choose between your phones internal or removable memory and then select finish.
12. Select Ok in the next screen.  Your phone will now sync with the server and set itself with your data.  This may take a few minutes.

As with your normal Lotus Notes account you have to change your password every 90 days / 3 months. Every time you change your Lotus Notes password you also need to change the password on your mobile phone.

To do this you need open the actual Lotus Traveler icon on your phone.  Once done you will get options on the bottom of screen.  Open the settings menu, then to update your Lotus Notes password select ‘Account’.

To select items like notification sounds and other settings select ‘Applications’.

To download the tip sheet simply go 'Department and Services' on Intranet menu, and select ISG Tip Sheets.

Our grateful thanks to Anthony McFarlane for his assistance in the writing of this blog entry.

If you have ever had your phone lost, stolen, or damaged only to find you have to re-enter all your contacts onto a new phone, then today's blog is short, simple and very effective.

When entering contacts onto your phone, store these either using your Gmail account, or using Lotus Notes Traveler.  Don't save it on the phone or the SIM!

This means, that if you have to replace your handset, all you will need to is sync it to your Gmail or Lotus Notes account and all your contacts will automatically synchronise to your phone.

Did you know you can search My Details for any TSA employee who has a Lotus Notes account?  And when you find them you will find all the information you need on them.  Full name, the centre they work at, their line manager, relevant phone numbers and address.

And all this is at your finger tips.  We have posted about how to find this through a smart phone (see Searching for a number?).  Today we show you how to find it using your web browser.

Log in to My Details on the QuickLink menu.  On the top far right corner of the window you will see a search field as per the picture below:

Simply search by first name, or surname, or centre name, or job title and My Details will provide you with a list of whomever matches your search criteria.  By selecting the name (highlighted in blue) this will open up the individual's details and give you all the information you are looking for.

I use this all the time, and I would encourage you to do the same.

We all know about the "Out of Office" function in Lotus Notes, and how useful a function it is to use when you are away either on holiday, at a conference, on sick leave etc.  It helps those who have sent you an email to know when to expect a response from you.

But did you know that you can send different messages to different people with this functionality? For example, you may be away at a course or conference, and you want the generic emails to simply be told you are out of the office, and that you are unable to check on emails, but you want those in your team to know in urgent cases they can text you.  Or you are on holiday and again generic users just need to be notified when you will be back, but you can send a response to your team that says "Haha I'm on holiday and you're not" :-) or maybe something a little more professional.

To do this is very simple.  Simply follow these steps:

1. Go to your Inbox, and select 'More' > 'Out of Office..'

2.  The window that opens allows you to set your out of office for all incoming emails.  Set the date you are 'Leaving', 'Returning' and the 'Additional Body text:' is for what you want the reply email to say.  If you don't want to set a separate message to a select few, then just click on 'Enable and Close' and your out of office is now set.

3.  However, if you do need to have a separate message for the select few, then before "Enabling" select the 'Alternate Notification' tab, and in 'To' field enter the group, or individual email address to whom the message will relate to, and under  'Additional Body text' type the relevant information necessary. then 'Enable and Close'.

4.  A third option is to stop the out of office email being sent to specific groups or emails. This would be used for the likes of ISG Job Track notifications etc.  In the 'Sent by' field, enter the email address(es) which you do not want notified of your leave, as shown below.  Once done 'Enable and Close'.

Hope you have found this useful, and remember its common courtesy to let people know you are away and give them options of who to contact while you are away, or that you will respond to them on your return.

Does your Inbox fill up with emails that you don't want to see (junk) or that you file in a specific folder to be read later (i.e. newsletters etc).  Then Quick Rule is what you need.

Create rules more quickly by basing them on the characteristics of a selected message.  Use them to trap junk mail or to assign high importance to messages.

The following steps will help you create it.  First go to your Inbox, then:

1. Select a message that has the characteristics you wish to use in the rule (eg. sender, subject, etc)
2. [Click] 'More' and choose 'Create QuickRule...'
3. Select and set the conditions for the rule. Choose whether one or all conditions must be met.
4. Choose the action to perform, such as 'Move to folder','Change importance to High' or 'Do not accept message'. Complete information as per screen request then [Click] Ok.

These rules are visible in the Tools > Rules view.  This is found on the left hand side of the Inbox screen, below the list of folders. To modify any rule, simply double click on the rule and make the necessary changes.

If your Inbox is anything like mine, its is constantly full  and I will often file emails into various folders I have created as I work through the various requests.

The problem with this is that occasionally I want to go back and find that one particular email that has some information I often refer to, or that I need to regularly get the information in it to pass on to others, or I need to find the email that I needed to follow up on and it can take me a while to remember who sent it, where I stored it or how to go about finding it.

There are two options:

Option 1 is DO A SEARCH.

In Folders pane, you will see listed "All Documents".  Select this, then on the top toolbar select 'View', then 'Search this view'.  A search field will appear at the top of your email listing.  Simply type in the name of the person, the subject, or any other keyword that you believe the email contains, and Lotus Notes will then present you with its findings.  The All Documents view, is really helpful as it will search through your Inbox, Sent, Draft, and any other folders you may have created.  If you were to run the search just in the Inbox, this would limit the search capability.

Option 2 is FLAG A MESSAGE FOR FOLLOW UP.

Select the email(s) you wish to flag.  Click on the Flag icon  and choose 'Quick Flag' to set a default flag based on your existing preferences.  To set custom flag options, choose 'Add or Edit Flag...' then set options and click OK.

The selected flagged items will now appear in the follow up View, which is usually located on bottom left hand corner of LN window in either the Inbox or Calendar view.

To view the email message simply double click on this list.

Over the next few weeks, the blog will be focusing on a few pointers on how to best use Lotus Notes. If you have been using Lotus Notes for a while, you may already know some of the aspects shown. Refreshers are never a bad thing though.  So we hope this series is helpful to you.

During the first part of this series we will be focusing on Lotus Notes Mail.

Today's tip and trick is on creating 'Stationery'.

As part of your role, do you have certain emails that need to be sent out on a regular basis, where only some minor changes are required, or where you constantly look for the one email you sent out last week, and then copy and paste into the new email to save you typing it all over again?

Well, Lotus Notes has the ability for you to create what they call 'stationery' which is basically a template for any email you send out regularly, ie. a monthly report, Team meeting minutes, etc.

CREATING STATIONERY

To create stationery, simply create a new email message (shortcut key Ctrl+M).  Type up the regular information into the email body, including recipients, i.e. Leadership team members, subject line and body text information.  As much or as little information as you want.

Note that this can be either the full email you would normally send, or just the 'bones' of the email for you to add information to when you are ready to send it, i.e. attach the Minutes as a document to the email once they have been completed.

Once you are happy with this, click on More and select "Save as Stationery..."

You will be asked to name the stationery, so just give it a name that makes sense to you what its for.

USING STATIONERY

To use the Stationery, you go to your Inbox, select 'More' and choose "New Message with Stationery..."

Choose the desired stationery (should you have a number of them) and click 'OK'.

Complete your message and send in the usual way.  The original Stationery will stay in the list of Stationery.

VIEWING STATIONERY LIST

To view all created stationery, go to the Folder pane and click on "Tools" then "Stationery".  This will show all the stationery you have created, where you can manage these, and delete them if no longer necessary.

We have had a few requests recently from some of our users asking for various printers to be connected to their machines.

Did you know the Salvation Army currently has a nationwide Service and Rental Agreement with FujiXerox for all our printing needs?

We understand that a $100 printer from the local IT store can look attractively cheap while on the shelf, but when you calculate all the ongoing costs of such a machine plus take into consideration the quality of printing etc, you will find it very hard to beat the competitiveness of a FujiXerox machine.

All you need to do is complete the FujiXerox - Printer Request form found on the intranet under ISG Forms, and then submit this through your relevant Divisional or Nationally Managed Management Board.  We will then submit to FX who will find the 'best fit' machine according to your need and volume.  There is no cost to getting the machine, and the agreement is for payment on a per copy/print basis.

This is 3 cents ($0.0345) per A4 black, and 15 cents ($0.15) per A4 colour copy.  This includes the service agreement which means when your machine needs to be looked at, it just involves a call from you direct to FX to send their technician out to you.  The only other cost is the cost of the paper you use.

It couldn't be simpler, so next time you are needing a new printer for your Corps/Centre... think FujiXerox !!

There are times when you will need to provide access to your mail file to others in the office (eg.  your assistant, when you are on leave for an extended period and someone is looking after your role, etc).

So this blog entry is to assist you with doing exactly this.  Often we will receive a request for this in ISG, and we thought it may be easier if you learned how to do this yourself, which would then make the process quicker for you, and ISG is then given more time to work on the various other jobs we get.

So here are the steps to follow to do just that:

First you need to open your mailbox. Once there select ‘Preferences’ from the More options button. 

Click the ‘Access and Delegation’ tab. 

This allows you to add/remove users who can access your mail, and change what access they have. 

If you are giving someone access for the first time they will need a link to access your mailbox. The easiest way to do this is to email them a link for their workspace. 

To do this simply right click your mailbox (on your workspace) and select application – copy as link. 

You can now paste the copied link into an email and send it to the appropriate person. 

They simply need to click on the icon and the link will be automatically added to their workspace and it will also open the Inbox/Calendar on their screen.

The best work habit you can ever get into is very simple: Do your worst task first thing in the morning. Every given day, you've got one major to-do that's highest priority. But when you've got the whole day stretching out ahead of you, it's easy to put it off until after you get your coffee, check our email, or go to that meeting. But just like breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the first thing you accomplish at work sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Watch a video depiction of this here. This blog was written by Gina Trapani and originally published on FastCompany.com