Granting portal access

Access to the portal is managed through the contact record.   This can be given to a large group of councils, but it is recommended to keep this to smaller groups, such as granting access in alphabetical order.   This allows you to use the exercise as a further check on quality of data which has been imported into the system and to troubleshoot any issues as they arise. 

The instructions below are based on Suffolk’s approach and system build at the time. 

Step 1: telling your members about the change

It is a good idea to inform your members of changes to the way you deliver services – either via regular newsletters, forums or direct email marketing.    You might also want to provide members with a brief video (like this) so that they look out for the email from the system inviting them to the portal.  All of these things help encourage take-up.  If you plan to do this in groups, starting say from A to Z make sure you tell your members too so that you manage their expectations.

Step 2: rolling out access

The following method will help you manage roll out in small batches:

·         Use the filter ‘council’ and then re-sort into alphabetical order

·         At the top of the list change the page number view to 1 – xxx (total number of records) so that you have a full list on one page

·         Tick the box in small alphabetical batches (A,B for example) and then cross reference any other records you have and remove these as necessary from the list, eg:

o   Councils where the clerk is using a single email address for multiple councils (see IMPORTANT NOTE above)*

o   Councils who are non-members

o   Councils who have taken part in any previous pilot scheme and already have access

*You will need to liaise separately with these councils as they will only be permitted to access one council record.

·         If you have decided to send clerks a notification to expect the portal invite - under the action key select “send email” and choose/create an email template that explains portal access is about to come through.  Send the email to those selected.

·         Repeat :

®     Tick the box in small alphabetical batches (A,B for example) and then cross reference       any other records you have and remove these as necessary from the list, eg:

®     Councils where the clerk is using a single email address for multiple councils (see IMPORTANT NOTE above)*

®     Councils who are non-members

®     Councils who have taken part in any previous pilot scheme and already have access

·         From the action key select “grant portal access”

      – click at the top of the box titled “type" to re-order the list with organisation at the top and individual at the bottom. 

        Remove all   organisations using the delete button on the right-hand side.  This will not delete the record only as part of this action.

·         Go through the list to check if there are any which have no email addresses assigned (this provides a further opportunity to screen the quality of the data that was imported). 

·         Remove any contacts which, say, have been marked as “clerk until – xx/xx/xx”  as described above.

·         Once you are happy with the list select invite users.

·         If there are any duplicate emails or contacts with out an email address that you might have missed the system will warn you before you complete the task.

·         Remove any duplicates or issues and then select invite users.

Here is a link to a video you can send to your member councils 

To view a list of latest logins by portal users – go to APPS and SETTINGS, clear standard filters and select portal users.  The view includes date last updated which indicates whether the user has authenticated portal access – if you want to send a reminder to clerks who have not yet activated their portal access go to contacts, use the filter ‘portal access’ use the action button, selection ‘grant portal access’ and tick the box to resend