MCS2

Membership Communication System (Version 2)

·  MCS2 contains individual membership data as well as information on Federations and the individual WI

·  Although it is possible to record a variety of information it is currently mainly used to keep names and addresses to mail out WI Life and to send out welcome packs to new members. In addition, landline telephone and mobile numbers as well as email addresses are recorded together with positions held within the WI and/or Federation. It is also possible to record whether the current subscription has been paid

·  There is currently no requirement to keep any extra information. Should an MCS representative decide to do so then permission should be sought from the member since this information may be shared with other members of that WI

·  Each WI should have an MCS representative who has the necessary security permissions to access MCS2 for their own WI. This security access, together with a password, will be provided by Federation or the Federation MCS co-ordinator

·  In order to log on to MCS2 representatives must have an email address on their MCS record since this will be their username

·  To log onto MCS2 go to the NFWI website (https://www.thewi.org.uk) and scroll down to the bottom navigation bar and click on MCS in the dark green panel. To access the site you will be asked to enter a username and password

·  For help using MCS2 click on the small green square containing iHelp which is to be found on the top right hand corner of each page of the MCS2 site below the green banner. This will lead to a Table of Contents. Clicking on each item will gain entry to that chapter. The entire document or individual

·  MCS2 (Cont)

pages may be printed. NB iHelp may be accessed without logging into the MCS

·  Please remember that members’ details on the MCS are strictly confidential and must not be downloaded from the MCS to share with other officers or members unless all members of the WI have given permission for their details to be shared

·  MCS representatives may use the MCS to produce address labels and some specific reports for administrative purposes

·  Contact information for individual members may be shared separately to aid communication, but only with the permission of members and limited to names, phone numbers and / or email addresses

A few hints:

·  It is not possible to delete WI members. It is only possible to make them inactive. Consequently, there is a complete record on the MCS2 of all members, past and present, which may be accessed if necessary

·  The officer positions must always be filled. Therefore, when altering these positions it is always necessary to assign the replacement officer before removing the current one

·  Removing the current officer does not delete them they are just not current, they may still be viewed together with their dates of service

·  Although shared roles are offered in the drop-down list of positions one member has to be designated as secretary in order to receive correspondence. Other members may then be made membership or minute secretaries as necessary. A similar approach is needed with the other officer positions

·  Members must have only one entry on MCS2 which shows both primary and dual membership. Dual membership may be entered by either WI since the instructions involve entering a postcode which brings up existing members at that postcode thus ensuring there will be no duplicates

·  In general, the help facility is very comprehensive so do work through the instructions carefully

·  If there are still difficulties contact Federation Office (01244 347462) or the Cheshire Federation MCS Co-ordinator ()

Page 1 of 3 13.07.2016