Technology

Have it your way

The AMS Users' Group and ASCnet each updates its Web site enabling members to customize the information they receive

By Nancy Doucette

Popularized by the ad folks for Burger King over 30 years ago, “Have it your way” has even more impact in the Internet era. Recently the leadership of two major management system user groups took that phrase to heart as they undertook a major overhaul of their respective Web sites.

New technology has made it possible for organizations to meet individual online customer needs. Whereas “old” Web sites were static, Web sites utilizing new technology can be more interactive. And that’s precisely what both The AMS Users’ Group and ASCnet had in mind when they launched their new sites.

AMS Users’ Group makes it personal

For members of The AMS Users’ Group (AMSUG), their new Web site is driven by each individual member’s content preferences. According to Kevin Dickmann, chair of the AMSUG Communications and Awards Committee, which spearheaded the project, “After you set up your personal profile, every time you log into the site, you’ll see tips, articles, and educational events related to your specific system platform, as well as announcements or information that relates to all users.”

“Two people from the same agency can sit right next to each other and have completely different interests,” notes Cindy Peebles, CAE, director of member services for AMSUG. “With our new Web site you can now set it up to be your own personalized experience.”

Dickmann explains that one objective for the updated Web site was to bring as much targeted information to the member as possible. Another goal was to enable the member to control what their experience was with the AMSUG Web site. “Your login drives the Web site, as do the preferences that you set based on your platform and the different AMS products that you use,” he notes. “As we move forward with this Web site we will add more capabilities to content preferences. The Web site is still in its infancy, so there’s a lot of growth ahead.”

Peebles says that one of the biggest improvements is the My AMSUG homepage. At the old Web site, members had to log in multiple times and navigation was cumbersome. Now members have a single login which takes them immediately to their My AMSUG homepage. “Everything is right there for them, based on their preferences. So if they’re an AMS 360 user and an AMS SETWrite user, they’ll see the latest tips, news or education events for those products.”

Dickmann points out that by members creating their My AMSUG pages, the association’s database is being updated. Agency records are being updated. New employees are being added. Individuals no longer employed by the agency are being removed. E-mail addresses are being updated. “Maintaining a database is always a challenge, whether you’re an agency or an association,” he observes.

Long-term, Peebles says, having an up-to-date membership database means AMSUG can better serve as an industry advocate on behalf of the membership. “Our industry affairs committee may want us to survey our members very quickly to get their opinion on a trend or issue, or to send out a ‘call to action’ in talking to their carriers.” In just over three months, she reports, more than 2,000 agencies updated their records using the new Web site, yielding some 700 new contacts.

AMSUG’s popular WebBoard underwent a facelift as well when the new Web site was launched. It’s now part of eCommunities and continues to be the #1 feature at the Web site, according to Peebles. “Last month there were 900 ‘posts,’” she reports. “I’ve seen where members are posting on a Sunday—perhaps they’re doing a conversion and they’re stuck.”

“A lot of the people posting are systems administrators so they’re responsible for what’s happening at their agency,” Dickmann explains. “I imagine they all have their PDAs and they’re monitoring to be sure nobody needs help, nobody’s down. The way eCommunities works is it automatically sends out the post and if you set it up to do so, it goes right to your e-mail. Our user group folks help each other. There’s a tremendous sense of community.”

Dickmann adds that there are public and private communities within the new eCommunities. Again, based on your preferences, you can have specific committee information pop up when you log in. Additionally, you can indicate whether you want e-mail communications relating to committee activities. For individuals who are not currently involved in committee work, they can indicate that they have an interest. “We have varying needs for volunteers throughout the year. Thanks to the capabilities of our new Web site, we’ll be able to get people more involved,” he says.

Peebles says that a number of features are on the drawing board. Among them, an enhanced search feature which would enable members to enter a word or phrase (disaster recovery, for example) and be able to search the entire site, as well as all the eCommunities posts, to find out more about that particular topic.

She says an expert’s directory is also in the works so members can find people who can help with an array of topics—technology, a management problem, or difficulty with a coverage placement or market. The job bank, which was at the old site, will again be available at the new site but it will be more advanced once it’s brought back.

“Our Web site is our front door,” observes Peebles. “Ten years ago I wouldn’t have said that was true. But today our Web site is the front door to just about everything we do. So much of what an association like AMSUG does is about is disseminating information. A lot of our work is about gathering people together, finding communities for people to gather together and gathering input. The Internet is a natural place for all of this to take place. Our Web site is a perfect vehicle to do that.”

For more information contact AMS Users’ Group at www.amsug.org. *

Applied Systems Client Network Web site becomes more interactive

Vicky Tuten, chair of the Applied Systems Client Network (ASCnet), explains that ASCnet’s new Web site enhances the association’s value to members. “There are four ways that ASCnet can serve its members: through the information that we provide, the education that we present, the products and services that we offer, and the community of members that we support. Our new Web site supports all these.”

ASCnet CEO Linn Wheeling, CAE, notes that ASCnet recognized early on the power of the Internet. “Our Newgroups started in 1996 when all of us were still on dial-up and an office generally had one e-mail address for the entire organization.”

“A lot of our members say that the Newsgroups—a bulletin board system that allows users to post questions in various topic areas—are worth the price of the membership,” Tuten says with a smile. “If I’m a user with a workflow question, or maybe I have an error message and it’s a Saturday, I can go out to the Newsgroup, post the question and I’ll get responses from around the country, Canada and the U.K.” The questions aren’t all system related either, she says. Members can post management questions for instance: “How do you handle paid time off?” She says members can sort the discussion threads and look for key topics.

“Through the years,” Wheeling adds, “we have developed various components at our Web site—an online chapter officer area and an area for our board members—and online event registration.”

Having so many different areas also became a challenge for ASCnet, she observes. “We reached a point where our members had to remember a number of IDs and passwords to connect to the content they needed. So just like the insurance industry is striving to reduce or eliminate dual entry, so are we,” says Wheeling.

The development of MyASCnet greatly streamlines the member’s experience, she continues. “With a single login, they can view materials for events they have registered for. Volunteers—chapter officers or committee members—will have access to content and information specifically for them without having to log in and out of various Web sites,” Wheeling says.

“MyASCnet enables members to make their experience with ASCnet a personal one,” adds Tuten. “Agencies now have the flexibility to set up as many (or as few) contacts as they want the agency to have with ASCnet.” So if the agency wants all of ASCnet’s information to flow through one main contact, that is identified in the preferences that the agency sets up.

However, the agency might want its accounting person to receive accounting-related information from ASCnet. And it might want its CSRs to get information about customer service—helpful hints and education updates. And it might want its IT folks to get information. The agency can now set up all those individuals as contacts, specify their demographics—their job title, the functions that they fulfill within the agency and their areas of interest. Based on that information, ASCnet can target its communications to those specific individuals.

Tuten points out that the new Web site enables an agency to add and delete contacts and update agency information more readily. If there’s a new hire, that person can be added as a contact. If an employee leaves, that person can be removed as a contact. When the agency upgrades to a new version, that information can be specified also. Unlike on the old Web site, all these tasks can be managed in real time.

Wheeling says that the new Web site will enable ASCnet to capture membership needs and wants. “Now we can track how our membership is interacting with us, which means we can do a better job of getting the right information in front of our members.” She says that within the year, ASCnet will be able to inform members of a particular program, event, product or service that matches their interests.

Virtual communities are also under development, as are virtual learning labs, according to Tuten and Wheeling. “We intend to appeal to all levels within an agency,” Wheeling notes. Tuten adds: “Virtual communities will give all our core groups the opportunity to collaborate. Chapters will be able to post their meeting announcements on ASCnet.org. They can pull a membership list in real time—current and inactive members. When a local chapter holds an election, the new officer roster can be posted. So there will be one place where the local chapters can go to get information and share it with each other.”

Tuten says that ASCnet committees will also have their own virtual communities. “For instance, the product advisory committee will have its virtual community,” she explains. “They can post their meeting minutes, their work in progress, their work plans as well as update their committee members.” The chapter and committee virtual communities were in Beta testing at press time.

Tuten concludes: “We’ve been gathering information for years on what our member experience needs to be, what online capabilities our chapter officers would like to have and what our committee leaders need. We’re going to continue to make changes to our new Web site based on the feedback and input we get.”

For more information contact Applied Systems Client Network at www.ascnet.org. *