The launch of our new website was just the beginning...
We updated you in May about further improvements we'd made to the website, well we're now in July and we've got some more good news for you.
Over the last few months, we've been working hard with the web developers to bring new functionality to the site, and to fix a couple of those things we weren't quite happy with. Here’s some of the things we've been working on:
- Most significantly, we’ve launched a live chat facility. Using this, we’re aiming to remove the time it takes to answer queries, and we want to make this frustration free for you – so there are no bots, just the friendly Accord team waiting to have a chat! Not many unions offer a live web chat and we're the first and only union in the employers we work with to offer this service.
- We're making the website the go-to place for support, especially if there's no rep in your workplace or you're working from home. We've added a help centre which provides answers to frequently asked questions, and there's also some guidance on policies. If there’s anything you think we should include, please let us know.
- Continuing with our previous evaluation of the key journeys reps and members use to navigate our website, we've tweaked the site in a few more places to get the layout just right to help you find the information you need.
- After conducting some research with a number of reps, we've grouped together some key information under a menu option called get involved - bringing together all the information from the site in relation to events, training, webinars and of course becoming a rep.
- The same research found that My profile was a better way of describing our member login section as you don't need to login to interact with the site itself.
- We've adjusted part of the application form to hide some options when they're not relevant to make the joining process more personal and quicker.
- There's now a function for us to make important announcements at the top of the website. This is controlled via a cookie for your browser session which is deleted once you close your browser. We'll be making greater use of this over the coming months to draw your attention to important information we don't want you to miss out on.
- The news and blog section now has a filter for year so that you don't have to trawl through all our posts to find something - but don't forget the search functionality as well which should help you get the information you're after.
- We've designed some new areas, for example we now have images to go along with some of our testimonials from members and reps for a more personal feel. We've also adjusted the 'you might also like' section on our news and blogs posts so that we can direct you to more relevant content and in a more visible place (along the right-hand side of a post).
- Some frustrating bugs have been squished, including tackling an issue that allowed some spam to slip through the net (no, we don’t want any weight loss pills!).
And we’re not finished yet.
We plan to continue adding new functionality to the website and we've got many improvements in our plan. Here’s a couple of the things we’re working on right now:
- A website alert service. Once this is up and running, you'll be able to sign up to receive email alerts for news, blogs and newsletter for topics that are relevant to you. You'll also be able to enhance this with additional content such as events and webinars, resources, and videos. We want you to be in control of what you receive from us, and to help you remain informed about the work of your union.
- We'll be experimenting with our online joining process to make the journey for new joiners even slicker and quicker. We know we're asking for a lot of information up front, and there's lots to read, so we're taking another look at how we present some of this information.
- We've got a number of smaller cosmetic changes to make which don't impact on your experience of the website but aren't quite right. Most of these are text changes to make wording clearer for you.
Have you updated your details online?
We made the decision early on that as an open and transparent union, we wouldn't be locking away any information that would require you to login to access. But we do have a login area, and this is so that you can securely view and update your membership details with us. If you haven't checked yours, we'd ask you to take a few moments to login now and check we've got your details right*.
*If you're currently working from home, you do not need to update your workplace - this is because your contracted workplace hasn't changed. If that changes in the future, we'll ask you to update your details to reflect this.
To update your details, click the 'Update your details now' button below, and enter your email address (it can be any of the email addresses that you have provided to us). You’ll be emailed a unique link to access your profile. The link will expire after 15 minutes for security purposes. Once logged in, you can make changes to all your details, but some sections such as the employment and payment details need us to manually approve the changes so won't be updated immediately.
If you need support or have any suggestions for the website, email [email protected] or select 'website support' using our online chat.
Update your details now
