Give every resource listing someone to keep it current

What we found in the news

NHS England's May 2024 guide to improving telephone journeys (opens in a new tab) connects the telephone experience with staff processes and useful information. Its advice on signposting includes maintaining:

an up-to-date directory of services

The guide is written for general practice. We are considering a narrower operational lesson for care and community organizations: a list of resources needs an owner after it is created, because the usefulness of a recommendation depends on the details still being true.

Why this matters to us

A directory can look complete while its contents gradually become unreliable. A program changes its meeting place. A partner stops accepting enquiries through an old address. A service still exists, but its eligibility or availability has changed.

The person using the directory discovers those changes at the least convenient moment: while trying to find help.

We think maintaining resources is a piece of service work worth planning. It requires time, a relationship with the organizations listed and a clear way to correct information. Publishing the page is the start of that responsibility.

Give each listing a responsible person

Consider a hypothetical community center maintaining a directory of local support and activities. Different staff members contributed the first entries, and everyone assumes someone else is keeping them current.

Start by deciding who is responsible for each group of listings. That person does not need to know everything about every service. They need a workable process for checking with the source and recording what has been confirmed.

Agree which details matter to a visitor: what is offered, who it is for, how to make contact, relevant access information and whether an arrangement must be confirmed directly. Do not describe a listed opportunity as available simply because it appears in the directory.

Use information the partner is authorized and willing to publish. A personal contact offered for a one-off conversation should not quietly become a permanent public listing.

Make a correction easy to raise

Staff and participants may notice outdated information before a scheduled review. Provide a clear route for reporting it and identify who receives those reports.

In the illustrative center, a participant might find that a group no longer meets on the advertised day. The team should be able to flag the uncertainty promptly, check with the organization and update or remove the detail as appropriate.

Avoid leaving a doubtful listing looking fully confirmed while waiting indefinitely for a reply. Explain uncertainty in a way that helps the reader decide what to do next. Where an alternative contact is available, verify it before passing it on.

Thank people for useful corrections without making them responsible for maintaining the service's information. They have already done the work of telling you something is wrong.

Review the relationship behind the link

A resource directory and a formal partnership are different arrangements. Being listed does not necessarily mean the organizations exchange information, accept referrals or guarantee access.

Make those distinctions clear to staff. Someone offering general information should know when a person needs to contact the service themselves and when an agreed organizational handoff exists. Any sharing of personal information requires the appropriate authority and process.

Periodically ask partners whether the way they are described still fits their work. Their capacity or purpose may have changed even if the website address remains active.

Also examine whether the directory is useful to the people it is meant for. Categories that make sense to organizations may not match the question a participant brings. A short explanation beside a verified resource can be more helpful than a long list of names.

What this means for the people you serve

People should be able to understand what a resource might offer and what remains to be confirmed. A useful listing supports their choice; it should not suggest that the organization has arranged help when it has only provided information. Invite people to tell the team when the route is confusing or a detail appears outdated.

The genus connection

Configured genus public resources can give an organization a place to present community information, with staff workspaces supporting the people who maintain it. Available content and permissions depend on the setup.

The platform does not make an external organization's information accurate or guarantee a place in its program. Someone still needs to verify details and own the relationship. Explore the partner portal and insights (opens in a new tab) for current options to support that ongoing work.

One question for your next team meeting

If one of our most-used resource listings changed tomorrow, who would find out and who would update it?