Change Log 06/09/2023 (September Update)
Description
Following on from the two major updates to Hermes released earlier this year, we are pleased to now provide an additional update with some further useful functionality.
This release will again help resolve known issues and enhance the experience by providing useful new features ensuring Hermes is seen as an asset to Lodge Secretary and Chapter Scribes.
Given this update is smaller, we have not produced a supporting video demonstrating the changes, however please see this 'Change Log' document for further information. An abridged version of the changes included in this release are also included below.
Updates
Joiner - Taking up Membership at a future date
When processing a successful ‘Ballot for a Joiner’ within a Post Meeting Report, you can now select whether they took their membership up immediately (i.e. at the meeting they were balloted), or whether they wish to begin their membership at a future date (for example, at the start of the next Subscription Year).
Common Scenario - Ballot was successful and member wishes to take up membership immediately
In this circumstance, as before, the Hermes Administrator will update their Post Meeting Report indicating that the Ballot took place and was favourable. He will then indicate that the member took their membership up immediately.
This will, upon submission of the PMR and completion of meeting, remove the Prospective Member record and add them as a ‘Current Member’. They will receive emails confirming they have joined the Lodge/Chapter, all as they would have previously.
Common Scenario - Ballot was successful and member wishes to take up membership at start of next Subscription Year
In this circumstance the Hermes Administrator will again update their Post Meeting Report indicating the Ballot took place and was favourable, however they will then indicate that the member did not wish to take his membership up immediately.
The Hermes Administrator will then be able to select at what date they wish to take up the membership. This will default to the first day of the next Subscription Year for ease, as we believe this is the most common scenario, however it can be changed to another date if necessary.
Upon submission of the PMR and the completion of the meeting, the member will remain as a Prospective Member, with a new status indicating that they will be joining in the future.
On the morning of the day selected, the system will automatically update their record, removing the Prospective Member, adding them as a ‘Current Member’ and sending the relevant emails.
Limitations and Considerations
1. Please note that currently there is no functionality to amend the date they wish to join, once it has been selected. To have the date changed, please raise a Support Request making sure it includes the relevant Prospective Member record, the date originally selected and the new date.
2. Please also note that automatic emails will only be sent at the date they join the Lodge/Chapter, meaning there will be no confirmation of the ballot being successful sent via email.
Resignation – Resignation with effect from a future date
When recording a member as having resigned from Lodge/Chapter, the Hermes Administrator will now be able to specify on which date the resignation will take effect.
Please Note this field replaces the previous ‘Status Effective Date’ field.
Once this date has been entered and saved successfully, the member will remain as a ‘Current Member’ but automatic emails will still be sent, as before, to the member (CC’ing the Lodge/Chapter Membership Officer and Almoner) and to the Provincial Membership Team.
Should a Hermes Administrator review the ‘Member Details’ screen for the member, it will indicate that they have a ‘Membership Status’ of ‘Current (Pending Resig.) – DD/MM/YYYY’.
Please Note: The Hermes Administrator may, should they need to, still update the membership record again if they need to record the membership status as Rule 148/Reg 71 or Deceased or amend the arrears status and amount.
On the morning of the date entered, the member’s record will automatically be marked as ‘Resigned’ and they will no longer appear in the ‘Current Member’ list, instead appearing in the ‘Past Member’ list.
Limitations and Considerations
1. Please note that currently there is no functionality to amend the date that was entered. To have the date changed, please raise a Support Request making sure it includes the relevant Member’s name, the date originally selected and the new date.
2. Should the resignation be rescinded, this will still need to be processed via the UGLE Registration Team via your Provincial/District Office.
3. No automatic emails will be sent and no notification will be shown to the Hermes Administrator, once the resignation takes effect, the emails are sent at the point the resignation is recorded instead.
4. Should the Lodge/Chapter wish to Elect the member to Honorary instead of them resigning at a future date, the resignation must be rescinded in the system before processing the ‘Elect to Honorary’ Agenda Item in a Post Meeting Report.
Bug Fix - Apologies Received ‘Update’ Button no longer inactive
The ‘Apologies Received’ ‘Update’ button is now fixed and can be used to record apologies prior to a meeting.
Bug Fix - Post Meeting Report tab ‘Update’ buttons now inactive before meeting
The ‘Update’ buttons on the ‘Post Meeting Report’ tab are now correctly inactive prior to the date of the meeting, or if there are no agenda items added to the agenda.
Bug Fix – Issues recording certain Offices/Posts on Installation Returns now fixed
After the last update a bug was introduced that caused issues recording members as having taken up an Office/Post that did not require membership within the Lodge/Chapter, as well as showing duplicate records when searching for a member who held multiple memberships. These issues should now be resolved, however if you believe the issue persists please raise a Support Request for further investigation.
Further Changes, see download for further information
For a list of all the changes, please click here to download a PDF Change Log document.