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:
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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
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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:
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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
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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
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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:
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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
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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
volunteering@mssociety.org.uk
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)
NIDevelopmentTeam@mssociety.org.uk
Tel: 02890 802 802
Volunteering Development Manager (Scotland)
vdm@mssocietyscotland.org.uk
Tel: 0131 335 4074
Volunteering (England and Wales)
volunteering@mssociety.org.uk
Tel: 020 8438 0944
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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:
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Freephone helpline 0808 800 8000
Helpline email service: helpline@mssociety.org.uk
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