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If properly managed, the Internet can be a great resource for an agency and its staff. By encouraging employees to develop comprehensive, well-structured lists of favorite sites and to familiarize themselves with their browsers' search capabilities, agencies can help them become more efficient and self-reliant. The staff also will be able to provide better customer service. An agency may have one or two Internet "power users" who continuously discover Web sites that could be useful to the rest of the employees - or at least those in the same department as the power user. There is a way to harness that talent and put it to work for the benefit of the entire staff. Once a master "Favorites" list of sites has been created, the staff should be trained to use it.

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IF PROPERLY managed, the Internet can be a great resource for an agency and its staff. By encouraging employees to develop comprehensive, well-structured lists of favorite sites and to familiarize themselves with their browsers' search capabilities, agencies can help them become more efficient and self-reliant. The staff also will be able to provide better customer service.

Some owners hesitate to put the 'Net to use in their agencies, however, out of concern that employees will wind up surfing the Web on personal business during company time. That was a concern for us, too. When we first installed high-speed Internet service three years ago, we emphasized that it was to be used for business purposes only during office hours. We did, however, grant employees unlimited Internet access at other times. We also emphasized that since employees would be using the agency's equipment and Internet service, they should have no expectations of privacy.

A month later, we checked each work station to see how it was being used. Clicking the History command on the Microsoft Explorer browser we were able to identify a substantial number of violations of our policy. (Note: You can alter the number of days that History is retained by clicking Tools, then Internet Options, then History.) While no one had yet been staying late, numerous non-business sites had been visited.

Without singling out anyone, we brought the staff together and informed them of what our review had uncovered. Since we previously had stressed that the agency reserved the right to monitor how employees used the agency's equipment and Internet service, our announcement caused no hard feelings. In fact, several individuals apologized over the next couple of days. We have excellent staff people, but the initial temptation to make personal use of a high-speed Internet connection, available at their fingertips, during business hours was just too great-especially for those with no, or slow, Internet service at home!

Since our meeting, we have had no problems with unauthorized Internet use, and employees often stay after work to conduct any personal Internet searches they want to make. We also allow the staff to use our Internet access for evening online courses.

Our 'Favorite' things

An agency may have one or two Internet "power users" who continuously discover Web sites that could be useful to the rest of the employees-or at least those in the same department as the power user. There is a way to harness that talent and put it to work for the benefit of the entire staff. Have the power user build an index of favorite sites on his or her work station. After the power user has accumulated a large number of them, he or she (or you, sitting at the power user's work station) can use the browser's folder structure to put them in logical groups. For example, we have separate folders for links to government agencies, association sites, office supply sites, travel sites, consultants and specialty markets. If the folders function is properly used, your collection of Web sites will become a valuable, time-saving tool to which employees will gravitate.

Next, go to the browser's toolbar and click on File, then Import and Export, then Next and then Export Favorites. Select a folder location on the agency's server to which to export that Favorites list. You can then go to each work station on your network and, reversing the process described above, import the list from the server. As a result, everyone will have the same list as the power user. As new useful sites are identified, the process periodically can be repeated.

You should be aware that the export-import process we've just covered will completely replace the Favorites list on each work station. But in the master Favorites folder on the server, employees can maintain their own separate subfolders of sites relevant to them. All of these subfolders will ride along with the master Favorites folders with each export-import updating. Each employee would then delete the subfolders of all other employees.

This same model can be used for work groups within the agency. For example, the claims department, marketing department and accounting department can each develop its own master Favorites list. The list can then be exported from one work station to a folder on the server, from where individual work stations in the department can import it.

Once a master Favorites list has been created, the staff should be trained to use it. Develop a set of questions and show the staff where to find the answers by using the Internet and the Favorites list you've built right into their work stations. After the training has been completed, remind each person who later asks a question that the master Favorites list might be able to provide the answer.

Later on, you can introduce the notion of using a browser's Search function to find other material. Show employees how they can use the function to conduct multiple searches or limit the parameters of a search. (The use of quotation marks to limit the search to sites containing the exact words in the quotes is one of the easiest and most overlooked ways to refine a search.) To really show off some power, have employees click on one of the search engines listed in the Search function. Most will be amazed at the number of different places from which they can initiate a search.

Regularly share personal experiences of successful searches for that proverbial "needle in the haystack." Here are a few of our own:

*A vandal damaged the rear window of a client's customized van, and the customer had no idea where to get it repaired. We entered just the name shown on the side of the van into a search engine and within a couple of minutes identified a repair facility. It was 85 miles away, but nonetheless gave the customer a practical solution to a baffling problem-and made us a hero in his eyes.

*A customized switch, which controlled the speakers in multiple rooms in our agency, broke. We were unable to locate a replacement switch anywhere within 50 miles. We entered the words "recessed speaker switch" in a search engine and found a source that delivered the elusive switch to the office within a few days.

*On a personal note, I had a basement wood stove with broken wooden handles, which made it difficult to open its doors. I found the manufacturer's name on the unit and entered it in the Yahoo search engine. In less than five minutes, I identified a source within 50 miles and had the handles delivered within three days.

Such practical examples of the value of Internet searches will win over even your most reluctant employee. Indeed, the Web is a marvelous tool that an agency's staff can use daily to answer questions, enhance service and improve overall operations.