Manually managing contacts gives you the flexibility to change or update contact information whenever necessary. But that’s not all! Here are some other advantages:
Expand your reach: Add volunteers and other important stakeholders to your communication network.
Target your messages: Reach the right people by filtering contacts based on:
- Facility
- Department
- Position
- Shift
- Up to 6 custom filters (e.g., seniority level, certifications, training needed, vaccination status, name)
This level of control ensures your messages reach the intended audience, every time.
Who can import contacts?
Organization Administrators: Can manage contacts for the entire organization or any specific facility.
Facility Administrators: Can manage contacts only for the facilities they have access to.
Two ways to manage your contact lists (if you have multiple facilities):
Organization Level:
- A single spreadsheet containing contact info for all employees across all facilities.
- Managed by an Organization Admin.
Facility Level:
- Separate spreadsheets for each facility, containing contact info for employees at that location.
- Managed by either a Facility Admin or an Organization Admin.
Both approaches have their advantages. The best part? You can easily switch between them!
To toggle between the Organizational and Facility views with the context selector in the bottom left-hand corner of ACM Messenger.
Step 1 | Importing Staff Contacts
Keep your contact information current by easily exporting and importing data using our provided template.
How to Update Contacts:
- Go to Main Menu ☰ > Staff Add-on > Import/Export Contacts
- Click the Template button to download the Excel template.
- Locate the downloaded file (usually in your “Downloads” folder) named “staffcontacts_template.”
Remember: You can update contact information, custom fields, and communication preferences as often as needed!
Step 2 | Adding Contact Data To The Template
The next step is to make sure your contact data matches the template format. You have two options:
Copy and Paste into the Template:
- Open both the Contacts Template and your existing data source.
- Carefully copy and paste the information, one column at a time.
- Important: Do not change the column header names in the template.
Modify Headers in Your Existing Spreadsheet:
If you already have a spreadsheet with employee contact data, it might be faster to rename the column headers in your existing file to match the template. Then, simply copy and paste the data into the template!
Remember: The column order doesn’t matter, but the column headers must match those in the Contacts Template.
Required Fields:
- One of these: Unique Employee ID, First Name*, Last Name*
- One of these: Home Phone*, Cellphone*, Email*
- Facility ID* (numeric)
Other Fields:
- Preferred Contact Method (see PR code list)
- Department
- Position
- Shift
- Custom 1 [Custom 1]
- Custom 2 [Custom 2]
- Custom 3 [Custom 3]
- Custom 4 [Custom 4]
- Custom 5 [Custom 5]
- Custom 6 [Custom 6]
Fields marked with (*) are mandatory.
Finding Your Facility ID
Find the ID number for each facility by selecting Organizational in the bottom left-hand corner. Click on the Facilities button. This will display the facility name and respective ID.
Setting Preferred Contact Methods
The default contact method is Voice. If an employee prefers to receive messages a different way, use the following preference codes in the Preferred Contact Method column of the template.
- For voice: (PR:V)
- For email: (PR:E)
- For text (SMS: (PR:TC)
- For do not contact (or unsubscribe): (PR:N)
- To Force Voice call to cell number: (PR:VC)
TIP! Don’t forget about SMS Consent! This is required in the U.S before contacting contacts via text.
Using Custom Fields
You have the flexibility to tailor six custom fields to your needs. Update them as often as you like to easily target specific groups of contacts when sending messages.
Field Names Matter: The descriptions you enter in square brackets (e.g., [Seniority Level]) will appear in the “To” section of ACM when you’re creating a message.
Only Change What’s Inside the Brackets: Do not modify the column headers themselves (“Custom 1”, “Custom 2”, etc.). The system needs these exact names to work properly.
Don’t Forget to Save!
Once you’ve finished updating your data, make sure to save the file. We also recommend keeping a backup copy in a secure location for safekeeping.
Step 3| Upload Your Contacts
The last step is to simply upload your new Template file. To do so navigate back to the Import/Export Contacts page. Click the button and locate your file, or drag and drop it.
A pop-up will appear with the number of contacts uploaded. Make sure the number of contacts matches what you expected, and you’re all set!
Note: Facility Administrators will only be able to upload and send for their authorized facility IDs. If they upload information related to other facility IDs, those records will be ignored.
