Difference between revisions of "Template:Rac1overview"

From Charitylog Manual
Jump to: navigation, search
(Created page with "'''You are here: User Manual > Recording Contacts''' __TOC__ {{Rac2clients}} =Recording a contact for a new client= =Using referral templates...")
 
 
(11 intermediate revisions by one other user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
'''You are here: [[Main_Page#User Manual|User Manual]] > [[Recording Contacts]]'''
+
__NOTOC__
  
−
__TOC__
+
Recording contacts is really what Charitylog is all about. We want to help you get the numbers and statistics you need for funders. Mainly, organisations need to count the interactions they have with their clients.
  
−
{{Rac2clients}}
+
Simply making staff count their interactions is doomed to failure, because it's an '''extra job'''. That counting has to be done by someone, but it doesn't tend to work if you just ask staff to count things. With Charitylog, we give your organisation an extra bonus: a comprehensive way of managing your work, passing work from one person to another (no more emails, telephone messages or scraps of paper!) and recording case files.
  
−
=Recording a contact for a new client=
+
This chapter will mainly focus on the work management side of recording contacts. The counting is being done in the background, and we'll look at it in the [[Reporting and Outcomes 1: Overview|Reports]] chapter.
  
−
=Using referral templates=
+
<div style="text-align:center;">
 +
Contents of this chapter:
  
−
=Record an Anonymous Contact=
+
'''Recording Contacts 1: Overview (you are here)'''
  
−
There is a common problem that end users come up against when using Charitylog - namely, clients often don't want their details kept on record. The majority can be convinced by a conversation about how your organisation handles data. As long as you are sensitive to the client's feelings, you can explain that:
+
'''[[Recording Contacts 2: Finding or creating clients]]'''
  
−
* If you are going to do work on their behalf, you will almost certainly need some identifying information
+
'''[[Recording Contacts 3: Recording contacts with clients]]'''
−
* Your organisation depends on funding, and funders want to know statistics which back up the work you are doing - hence it's necessary to take down some information
 
  
−
Despite these points, the occasional client will still want to keep their details "off the record". It's important to balance the wishes of the client against the needs of funders. You might also want to record a contact with someone who simply popped into the office for a leaflet, or similar. It's important that these numbers are still counted.
+
'''[[Recording Contacts 4: Anonymous contacts]]'''
  
−
Charitylog's "Record an Anonymous Contact" feature provides a solution. Contacts can be recorded, so they still count towards the total number of interactions with clients your organisation has had - but the client's personal details are not recorded. It works as follows:
+
'''[[Recording Contacts 5: Contacts with non-clients]]'''
  
−
==Recording a contact with a client who wishes to remain anonymous==
+
'''[[Recording Contacts 6: Referral Templates]]'''
  
−
'''Click the "Record an Anonymous Contact" link on the main menu.'''
+
'''[[Recording Contacts 7: Conclusion]]'''
 +
</div>
  
 +
==The chain of actions==
  
−
[[File:rac_anon_3.png|border]]
+
So what exactly do we mean by "recording contacts"? Well, let's look at an example; imagine that your organisation helps people apply for benefits. This flow chart shows a (simplified!!) piece of work that might be done with a client that wants to access a certain benefit. If we were to describe the whole piece of work, we might say the following:
  
 +
'''"Mrs Jones phoned in for information about this benefit. We decided she might be eligible and booked a time for her to come into the office. After speaking to her in person it seemed that there was a good chance of her obtaining the benefit. She took the relevant forms home, filled them in and returned them. We sent them to the relevant person at the Council, and after a few weeks, her benefit was awarded. We conducted a follow-up interview three months later and she was very happy with our service."'''
  
−
This will take you to a project selection page, as with any other contact. After selecting the relevant project/template, and clicking "Create New Referrals", you will be taken to a "Record a Contact" screen, but headed by some data entry boxes.
 
  
−
''If you encounter an error message at this point, it is probably because [Input Field Rules] are not yet set up on your system. Please contact your administrators to have them set up. The relevant section of the administrator manual is here:'' [[System Setup Guide#Input Field Rules for anonymous contacts|Input Field Rules for anonymous contacts]]
+
[[File:rac_overview_1.png|border]]
  
−
The example below shows a system where Input Field Rules are only set to require the client's name, but depending on how your administrators have set up the Input Field Rules on your system, you may see more data entry fields.
 
  
 +
Without a system like Charitylog, the information here might be stored any number of ways, but if we use Charitylog to manage our work, we get the following benefits:
  
−
[[File:rac_anon_1.png|border]]
+
* On first contact with the client, we can see straight away if they've had involvement with us before, which makes us look really professional!
 +
* We can manage our own workload and set reminders for ourselves to do the next action, at the same time as recording details of the current action.
 +
* We can easily assign work to our co-workers, and it will appear in their upcoming work immediately; no need for email messages or paper reminders.
  
 +
And in the background, Charitylog is logging all this. From this example chain of actions, we could run reports that would tell us:
  
−
==Checking that the client isn't already on the system==
+
* How long it took to complete the chain of actions
 +
* How many actions like this we've had in a given time period
 +
* How many successful benefit applications we've done in the last quarter, which member of staff they were obtained by, how many weren't successful, and why
 +
* How many clients were happy with our service
 +
* Plus much more
  
−
Notice that the "Name" field is filled in by default with "Anonymous Client". '''This field has an extra function''': it allows you to fill in the first three letters of a client surname to check that they are not, in fact, already on the system. If the relevant person appears in the drop down list, you can pick them from the list and the contact will be logged against their client record.
+
And best of all, we will have completely eliminated the counting that staff have to do at the end of each quarter/year. Providing we use Charitylog properly, it will all be done automatically.
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
[[File:rac_anon_2.png|border]]
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
Notice that the system gives you their date of birth and postcode to assist in identification.
 
−
 
 
−
If they are not on the list, and wish to remain anonymous, simply leave the box with "Anonymous Client" in it, and continue.
 
−
 
 
−
* NOTE: As your system grows, this will result in a lot of clients with the name "Anonymous Client" being on the system - so why create them a client record at all? Why not just let them disappear? The answer is that doing it this way means that in the future, if the client comes back for more work, you still have the chance to find their anonymous record and create it into their new, named one. There's also the issue that there needs to be a client record on the system for the reports about "how many clients have we dealt with" to work properly.
 
−
 
 
−
From this point on, the process works just the same as when recording a contact for a "normal" client.
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
== Referrals Diary ==
 

Latest revision as of 17:27, 3 January 2013


Recording contacts is really what Charitylog is all about. We want to help you get the numbers and statistics you need for funders. Mainly, organisations need to count the interactions they have with their clients.

Simply making staff count their interactions is doomed to failure, because it's an extra job. That counting has to be done by someone, but it doesn't tend to work if you just ask staff to count things. With Charitylog, we give your organisation an extra bonus: a comprehensive way of managing your work, passing work from one person to another (no more emails, telephone messages or scraps of paper!) and recording case files.

This chapter will mainly focus on the work management side of recording contacts. The counting is being done in the background, and we'll look at it in the Reports chapter.

Contents of this chapter:

Recording Contacts 1: Overview (you are here)

Recording Contacts 2: Finding or creating clients

Recording Contacts 3: Recording contacts with clients

Recording Contacts 4: Anonymous contacts

Recording Contacts 5: Contacts with non-clients

Recording Contacts 6: Referral Templates

Recording Contacts 7: Conclusion

The chain of actions

So what exactly do we mean by "recording contacts"? Well, let's look at an example; imagine that your organisation helps people apply for benefits. This flow chart shows a (simplified!!) piece of work that might be done with a client that wants to access a certain benefit. If we were to describe the whole piece of work, we might say the following:

"Mrs Jones phoned in for information about this benefit. We decided she might be eligible and booked a time for her to come into the office. After speaking to her in person it seemed that there was a good chance of her obtaining the benefit. She took the relevant forms home, filled them in and returned them. We sent them to the relevant person at the Council, and after a few weeks, her benefit was awarded. We conducted a follow-up interview three months later and she was very happy with our service."


Rac overview 1.png


Without a system like Charitylog, the information here might be stored any number of ways, but if we use Charitylog to manage our work, we get the following benefits:

  • On first contact with the client, we can see straight away if they've had involvement with us before, which makes us look really professional!
  • We can manage our own workload and set reminders for ourselves to do the next action, at the same time as recording details of the current action.
  • We can easily assign work to our co-workers, and it will appear in their upcoming work immediately; no need for email messages or paper reminders.

And in the background, Charitylog is logging all this. From this example chain of actions, we could run reports that would tell us:

  • How long it took to complete the chain of actions
  • How many actions like this we've had in a given time period
  • How many successful benefit applications we've done in the last quarter, which member of staff they were obtained by, how many weren't successful, and why
  • How many clients were happy with our service
  • Plus much more

And best of all, we will have completely eliminated the counting that staff have to do at the end of each quarter/year. Providing we use Charitylog properly, it will all be done automatically.

Retrieved from ‘https://wiki.dizions.co.uk/index.php?title=Template:Rac1overview&oldid=952’