Managing Internal Information
Keeping our internal information organized and up-to-date is essential to preserving the consistency of processes and integrity of our work over time and between people.
Finding and Saving Information
Manuals and Instructions:
The PVSWiki is the centralized place where all accumulated, permanent knowledge is to be stored. All staff and interns will have read access to the wiki. Permissions for access to read and write on the wiki can be set by editing the ACLs on the bottom of the page. See: Editing the Wiki 101
General rules of thumb: DON'T create a duplicate page on the wiki- always browse around for the content and perform a text search to ensure it doesn't already exist. Note: As of March 2013 there are still some manuals and instructions on the shared drives, and perhaps in physical files that haven't been fully-incorporated yet into the PVSWiki. Once something has been fully incorporated onto the wiki, the original document should be clearly labeled as having "already-been-incorporated."
Contact Information and Relationship Management (verify with our current "list-keeper" (the Office Manager) that this is accurate and up-to-date):
- Current Project Vote Smart Employee and Intern Contact Information is stored in the wiki: Phone List
- Business Contacts are stored in the wiki under Other Contacts
- Emergency Contacts are stored in the wiki under Emergency Contacts
- Media contacts should be stored in the Media Database (on Google Drive; contact DevComm for access)
- Donors' information should be stored in Donor Perfect
- The list of our Advisors is maintained by the Legislative Research Director
- Foundation and Board Member contacts are kept exclusively by Development
- The master Vote Smart Alumni (Former staff and interns) contacts are stored as a google doc
- For other contacts not addressed here, please consult the National Director where they should go
Calendars:
We use shared Google Calendars to keep track of our schedules and other important dates, as well as reserve the use of equipment and rooms. Everyone with a @votesmart.org email address should have access to the "PVS Office" calendar and calendars related to their specific department. Learn more about creating events and dealing with calendars. In particular, try to use Google Calendar invites to set up meeting times. To reserve the use of equipment or rooms, add the resources to the event on the calendar. To view what resources are available, add the resources calendar to your calendars. If you are a supervisor, you may want to allocate some time as "office hours" in which people can set up appointments with you at convenient times without the back and forth (this can be done through appointment slots and copying the public link for your appointment slots onto the phone list).
Tasks:
You can set your own personal tasks and reminders using Google Calendar's Tasks functionality.
Other Records:
"The Archives" in the back of the Iowa Office contains physical records of importance from past years, as well as those required to be kept by law. Department manuals detail the appropriate procedure for archiving. A directory of the archives and other information is currently kept on the public drive in a folder called "Archives Files (barn)." Physical files that are still in use are typically kept in filing cabinets in the office.
Department Network Shared Drives serve a dual purpose for electronic files- keeping electronic records of important records from past years, as well as maintaining the active files of a department. Make sure you understand the Organization of Shared Drives. Be careful not to create duplicate files. If you'd like a file or folder to be accessible from multiple locations, simply right click on the file and select "make link." It may be good practice to include dates of last update in the naming of files and folders.
also see: VideoInventory
Collaborative Works:
Google Drive Docs are temporary files to be used for collaboration purposes only. Once the collaboration is complete, the file is no longer being updated, or the employee/intern is leaving, they should be moved to the appropriate place on the Shared Drive or the PVSWiki.
Temporary Files:
Temporary files should be kept in the public drive->temp. This "temp" folder will be subject to periodic cleansing.
Personal Files:
Your "Home folder" (or your desk, for physical files) is where you would store personal files that are of ABSOLUTELY no use to anyone besides yourself--ever. It is your personal responsibility to manage this folder. Your desktop is never an appropriate place to store any information- however, you can use it to LINK to documents saved in their appropriate place.
Sensitive Information that Should Be Secured:
Passwords are kept in the appropriate clipperz.com password management accounts. See your supervisor for more information.
If you need to send someone information that is of a sensitive nature, like a password, use a tool like 1tyme
Other electronic files that are of a sensitive nature can be protected by specifying access and permissions on the shared drives or the wiki.
The Development Department Safe and Administration Safe are used to store sensitive physical files. Safes should be locked when not under direct supervision, and combinations should be changed on a regular basis.
Your Responsibilities
It is EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY to keep files that they work on properly organized according to the schema above, as well as help maintain the files of one's department.
See: Network share drive responsibilities, by department
Monitoring and Cleaning Up Internal Information
MONTHLY TASKS
1. fold whatever content is on the Public drive related to your department into the APPROPRIATE place on your home drives
2. transfer all google docs shared by members of your department that are not actively being used to the APPROPRIATE place on your home drives- then delete from google docs for everyone who has access to them
3. update the department manuals on the Wiki with any new approved procedures or missing information
4. Make sure there are no Orphaned Pages on the wiki that are covered by your department. If so, work with your supervisor to incorporate those pages appropriately.
5. Cleanup your department's network shared drive as needed, in accordance with the established Organization of Shared Drives
6. Monitor the Recent Changes to the wiki being done in your content area to ensure that the changes make sense. Also monitor Recently Commented for suggestions
YEARLY TASKS
1. Update "The Archives" with department materials as specified in your department manual
2. Clean out desks and filing cabinets, and your "home folder" as appropriate
3. Clean up Network Shared drives, in accordance with the established Organization of Shared Drives
CategoryAllStaffandInterns
