I have recently taken over for someone who held the role for 26 years.

14 Comments

1. AnonymousJanuary 12,2024 at 8:04PM UTC

   Just start fresh with the contacts you make. Most likely, lots of those rolodex contacts are outdated. Act as if it doesn't exist.

2. AnonymousJanuary 12,2024 at 8:16PM UTC

   Tuck away the rolodex somewhere and pull it out on occasion. And what exactly do you mean by 'everything'? Do you mean more than just contacts?

3. AnonymousJanuary 12,2024 at 8:37PM UTC

   Yes, more than just contacts, passwords, ss #'s, date of birth, account numbers, I mean everything!

4. Heather CutlerJanuary 12,2024 at 9:47PM UTC

   Please consult your organization's policy for handling sensitive information, on creating, managing, and housing user names and passwords, and document retention. I'd hate for all of your work to violate any existing procedures....especially given the nature of things like Social Security numbers and dates of birth.

5. Victoria Hepburn, PCCJanuary 12,2024 at 8:41PM UTC

   Wow. The good news is that anything you do improves the business process. The bad news is that it's a lot of manual data entry and trial and error to set up the right systems.

   Why did she have the rolodex? Was it for client communications, fundraising, internal communications, or what? If it were for client communications or fundraising, I would get a CRM (like Pipedrive or Salesforce) to track deals and call activity. You can update your Outlook contact details if they are for internal contacts.

   If you have no idea what the information would be useful for, there's always Excel to quickly search the information and copy/paste when you need it. That should be faster than the rolodex until you figure out a better method.

   Check your company's data security and sensitive records policy before you transition the records. The rules on what data you can and can't record in company systems make some people save things on paper in defiance. So, if you have sensitive info, like birthdays, salary info, account numbers, etc., get official advice from someone internally.

   I hope this helps, and good luck!

6. AnonymousJanuary 12,2024 at 9:00PM UTC

   It is a personal data collection for my two bosses. The other person was afraid of technology and only used it because she had to at certain time.

7. Noelle LewisJanuary 12,2024 at 9:24PM UTC

   Scan all the names and addresses using a mobile app and then upload that to your computer. I've used quite a few. There will be some data entry and that is the pain and the glory. Lastly don't throw the Rolodex away until you validate the system although it may drive you crazy to see it. Don't discount talking with your predecessor over lunch about her methods (without mentioning the antiquated system) IT takes a lot to last 26 years. There is a lot of value there.

   Good Luck in your new role!

8. AnonymousJanuary 12,2024 at 9:36PM UTC

   You'll need to build your database of contacts. Further you should probably design a document repository and start just with the immediate pertinent documents you deal with then over time scan in other documents for your use. It will grow over time.

9. AnonymousJanuary 13,2024 at 12:33AM UTC

   It's a bunch of manual work with a discipline that you are building a foundation as you go. Trust me most of her roledex is out of date. So use the 80/20 rule.80% of the value will come from 20% of the data she amassed. So don't get overwhelmed. It's very doable.

10. AnonymousJanuary 13,2024 at 4:58PM UTC

    I just read through this thread and saw some huge red flags about the information in the Rolodexes. Some of this is very sensitive and may be illegal outside of a secure filing system, and you need to bring it to the attention of someone in HR or legal for advice on what to do. Here is my take (for what it's worth):

    Personal information: Any card with personal identifying information such as dates of birth and socials should not sit on top of anyone's desk. Verify that the data is in the appropriate database (personnel, payroll, client/patient) and then shred the card. If you don't have access to the proper database, shred the card, as you should not have access to it.

    Login IDs and passwords: Enter these into a spreadsheet and lock it. If it is for one of their personal accounts, shred the card and don't enter it into the spreadsheet, as it is their personal information. If it is a business account, verify that the ID and password still work. If you have been given access to the same system, you can shred their ID and password as you would never need it, and it has likely been disabled. If it is not disabled, bring it to the attention of management/vendor to delete it.

    Internal Contacts: enter appropriate information in your email contacts (Outlook, etc.) Do not include things like DOB (birthday without the year is ok if you want to recognize birthdays) or SSN.

    Clients/Patients: Ensure they are entered into the CRM or HMIS system. Update as necessary and shred the card.

    Vendors: These should be entered/updated in the email system, like internal contacts. Depending on your CRM set-up, they might go there instead.

    Donors: Enter/update them in the CRM or donor tracking system (depending on what you use).

    To streamline this, you may want to take part of the Rolodex each day and separate them into those types of categories. Then, follow the above guidelines to do multiple inputs into the same systems simultaneously. Once the data is entered into the appropriate system, shred the card, especially those with sensitive identifying information or account numbers. Hopefully, you have access to a cross-shredder, as you are sitting on a liability powder keg.

11. AnonymousJanuary 13,2024 at 5:01PM UTC

    One update to the above information. Once you verify a password still works, change it after you update the profile information with your name and email address.

12. AnonymousJanuary 15,2024 at 2:44PM UTC

    Thank you for you very well thought out response, this gives a lot of great information. I wish we were this organized with our data! I work for the owners of the company and they love paper. But with that being said, I am trying to move them into a more digital type of world. As far as our policy goes, there really isn't one for this, there are others that I can use as a general guideline.

13. AnonymousJanuary 15,2024 at 3:21PM UTC

    You're very welcome. You may want to start looking at CRM software like SalesForce. Most of what you are describing here can be entered there. It is very customizable, so you may need a consultant to help set it up. A demo could help show the bosses how easy it can be to find specific information. I could search easily on multiple identifiers, even first names in the one I used.

14. AnonymousJanuary 13,2024 at 5:44PM UTC

    Do it in stages, take on one letter at a time or perhaps use the customer list and do it that way instead. Don't try to take it on all at once and when you do automate it use something simple that can grow and is a stable product that is used by many. On a macintosh recommend filemaker pro its an excellent flat file database that can cross reference and handle many files. You should use with it a program that can scan and read files to upload the cards. Good luck.