Get staff to read their emails!

[rrafluap]

Hi,

 

We have recently installed an new email server running Exchange 2010...

 

The only problem is our staff need quite a bit of encouragement when it comes to checking their emails (some check them once every few months).

 

My first thought was to set Outlook up in the startup folder so that it opened up when they logged on. But seeing we have a mixture of Office versions (a few really old machines with XP, 2003 and 2007) they dont all auto discover their exchange account. Is there a script that can configure their exchange account?

 

Or how would you do it?

 

Thanks, Paul.

[featured_spectre]

Just tell them if they dont they will have their equipment taken away as you spent money to get the infrastructure going and its not nice that they moan and then dont use it.

[Sylv3r]

Our staff relgiously check their e-mails throughtout the day or even permanently leave the mail client running in the background - to ensure all staff check their e-mails often all communication needs to be electronic and very little is passed in paper form, this is the only way you can help drive its use - also running training sessions 'Selling' the use of e-mail as a communication tool for ease and quickness for staff is also important initially.

[AnthonyTroy]

I have used a couple of these "tricks" in the past

- only use email to distribute payslips (this one usually works!!)

- only use emails to distribute important messages - and if people complain about missing out, tell them it was emailled

- start using the email system to send jokes

 

Regards,

 

 

Anthony

[witch]

This is an ongoing problem for me, too. The only way to improve it is to get SLT on the case. In one school they have started sending everything by email and putting read receipts on as well, and then they can work out who is and isnt reading their emails

[MatthewL]

Launch a link to OWA which will open on any machine

[glennda]

You can setup previous versions of Outlook to configure the accounts automatically. As for getting staff to look at them? It's hard but all staff are told here to check twice a day at least.

[rrafluap]

Thanks everyone, i think ill have to have a chat with the SLT and arrange for everything to be changed over to emails rather than printed.. that way as you mentioned... They will have no choice!

 

You can setup previous versions of Outlook to configure the accounts automatically. As for getting staff to look at them? It's hard but all staff are told here to check twice a day at least.

 

How can i configure these automatically? At the moment we have 80 staff accounts that id potentially have to set up manually + the head wants each child to have an account... and with their being around 650 children at the school thats something id rather not do!

[MatthewL]

Need to create a PRF file, you can then run Outlook to import the PRF file.

 

Or you can create some kind of batch/VBS file to set it all up dependent on the version of Outlook. I will have a look through out scripts folder at work tomorrow if I can get 5 minutes.

[glennda]

As mentioned above, Although We used to have it with the prf in the program folders and it auto picked it up.

 

But yes you can do the shortcut with import prf command line switch

[FN-GM]

You can use this to automatically configure outlook - RichProfile

[elsiegee40]

Don't ask me. Our staff fail to read theirs too. Grumpy Mrs gee this morning. I had a planned late start this morning and told the teachers by email last Wednesday to let me know if they needed anything on Monday so I could sort it before the weekend.. I received one reply after I went to bed last night asking for something first thing and apparently another teacher was scratching their head looking for me as they couldn't do what they required with their class.

[Torrevez]

We switched to sending all communications by email about 2 years ago and I can say we just about have the majority of staff regularly checking their email. As always you tend to find the newer and younger staff are more willing to adapt and learn.

 

So be aware this is not something that will happen over night

[HarryMonkey]

SLT need to make it a school policy that all staff must check their emails regularly. Now regularly can have different meanings so for example Heads of year, twice daily, HoD the same, anyone with an email address on the website, at least once a day, everyone else daily, cleaners etc weekly.

 

I used to send round an email to everyone saying that I had updated the mail server and could everyone please reply to the email so I could check it was still working properly. This gives you a clear indication of who is and isn't using the system and this can then be passed on as appropriate.