Provision of Keys for Stake Technology Specialists

Training and role of the STS
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carljokl
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Provision of Keys for Stake Technology Specialists

#1

Post by carljokl »

Dear All

I am now officially Stake Technology Specialist. I want to find out what is the normal provision for keys for Stake Technology Specialists. I am a very busy individual and finding time to set up and fix things is difficult. Given that I understand the Stake Technology Specialist to have overall responsibility for equipment, data and telecoms for the Stake I thought it was not an unreasonable request to have a master key to get into any of the buildings to be able to fix things.

I contacted the Facilities Manager and he seemed quite willing to arrange for me to get a master key. However the Stake Presidency have intervened and don't think I need a master key. It is planned to get me a Stake Centre key and that is it. The justification being that they feel that for the individual Wards I will need to meet with the local leaders when I do things anyway. I understand what I mean but in practice this may not be practical for me. Given that I am also my ward YSA representative, At the moment most evenings are taken up with something YSA related which I am supposed to attend and this week it has been every single evening including Sunday. Given that this leaves me narrow windows when I can get things done, having the extra complication of having to arrange to meet people in Ward building or borrow a key is something I could do without.

I will admit to being fairly annoyed regarding this after all the Stake Presidency can make a decision but it is my already overburdened time which gets wasted as a result.

I wondered if in other Stakes the Stake Technology Specialists get a building key or not or whether it really is such an unreasonable request.
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russellhltn
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#2

Post by russellhltn »

I have keys to the stake equipment, the stake office, and 3 wards. I do not have keys to get into 6 other wards, but I haven't pushed for them. I rarely need to visit them.
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bdayley
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#3

Post by bdayley »

When I was STS a few years back, I had access codes to all of our buildings (they don't need keys), keys to all clerk's offices, and passwords for the computers. I'm not sure how I would have done the job without these tools.

The main reason for this was most of my time was spent using MIS (before MLS), and we needed to touch a ward's computer to get updates for our stake SMIS system. Today, with MLS data being transmitted from ward to stake automagically, I might be able to live without the extra access.

In the end, though, it's up to the local leadership to decide how the job should be done. So, what worked for our local units may not translate to everyone.
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carljokl
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#4

Post by carljokl »

I am also sorry if my tone is not as positive as it could be but I am encountering amount of frustrating problems in my calling. Part of me wonders if the Stake Presidency do not want me to have a key because they do not trust me. I could argue that given the responsibilities and levels of access a Stake Technology Specialist has, if they do not trust me then I should not have been called as Stake Technology Specialist in the first place.
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johnshaw
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#5

Post by johnshaw »

I was in a similar situation, made worse, for me that 5 of the 8 buildings I support are between 30 minutes and 1.5 hour drives for me. After a couple experiences driving 1.5 hours and waiting in a bitter, freezing cold parking lot for an hour for my arranged local leader to meet me to open the building, I really pushed hard for a master key. I also preferred to do much of my work from 4 to 6 am, giving me time with my family after work. I made my case with a position paper and gave my reasons for wanting the access. Wireless installs in the buildings, 4 FHC's, etc... My problem wasn't the Stake Presidency, it was our PFR. For some unknown reason, wouldn't provide the access even though the SP had approved. So the SP asked me to call the PFR each time I needed into a building, and my keys quickly appeared. We have masters to all the buildings now, there are 2, we must check them out with a member of the Stake Presidency, and then return them when a task is complete. This seems to satisfy both our PFR and our FM group.

My advice is to find a way to make it reasonable that you need this access be reasonable with them, in this post you've taken a pretty hard edge, I would soften the tone if you are to get anywhere. My final point was the interruption of local leaders time (away from their families) for the sole case of letting someone into the building.
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carljokl
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#6

Post by carljokl »

I think for my part given that I already have enough on my plate without having to also look after Stake technology meaning that when it comes to fixing something, finding a slot in and amongst may be hard enough as it is. Having to add to that complexity also having to arrange to pick up a key or be let in makes it even worse. Especially if it might end up being a more last minute thing such as finding I have some time I did not expect to have.

I can talk to the Stake Presidency about it. For the moment I have only been officially called for less than a week (though doing it by assignment for a few months previous to this). The focus of the work so far has all been on the Stake Centre where I am installing some cabling. I haven't needed to do anything with the other Chapel's yet. To some degree I suppose it would be good to focus on sorting out one before moving on to the next. If it turns out that I don't end up having a lot of cause to go to the other Chapels then it might not be so much of an issue. However the rollout of broadband to all meetinghouses in the Stake may be happening later this year depending on how smoothly things go in UK HQ. In that case I may well have cause to have to look at all of them.
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#7

Post by lajackson »

carljokl wrote:I wondered if in other Stakes the Stake Technology Specialists get a building key or not or whether it really is such an unreasonable request.
I suppose it is nice to have keys. I had a key to my building and my home ward clerks office. I was able to work on that computer on my own time to become familiar with the computer and program(s).

Other than that, I have never had any keys. If someone had a problem that needed fixing, they either met me, or arranged to have the building and office opened for me by someone else. If they could not do that, it did not get fixed.

For the most part, it worked. And for the most part, they worked with me on my schedule, as long as my requested time was not unusual or in the middle of the night. And while I served, I usually was also serving in a key leadership position. In fact, I have been doing STS work since 1990, but have never ever officially held that calling, other than according to MLS.

So, it can be done without keys. I think it could be done more efficiently, with less troubling of other people, with keys. But along with the computer fixings, I also provided a lot of computer user training, so they needed to be there anyway.
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#8

Post by russellhltn »

For what it's worth, the old computer policy did say the STS was to have the necessary keys and passwords. The current policy does not. Instead it says "Assistant stake clerks should not access confidential membership and financial records, except as requested by a bishop or the stake president."
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aebrown
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#9

Post by aebrown »

When I was called as STS I was given a master key to every building in the stake. Fortunately, my stake presidency simply understood that I needed access in order to do my calling, so there was never any question. The master key has proved invaluable over the years for:
  • Satellite broadcasts (access to satellite receiver in two different buildings)
  • New network cabling
  • Installing and maintaining broadband connections (meeting with the ISP, etc.)
  • Installing A/V updates at 5:00am (my preferred time to do a lot of this work)
  • Replacing failed hard drives
  • Installing new computers
  • etc.
Could I have done all that without a master key? Sure, but it would have slowed me down, forced me to do work at less than ideal times of day, and created a hassle for many other people.

That said, I always respect the decisions of my stake presidency. I explain the pros and cons of any issue that requires their authorization and give my recommendation, then they decide. Their decisions make my life easier sometimes and harder other times, but either way, I figure out how to do what needs to be done to fulfill my calling.
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nathan.g
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#10

Post by nathan.g »

I couldn't do my calling as STS without a Stake Master key that opened everything. I am quite a busy person and having a master key enables me to get in and get the job done on my time schedule rather than having to coordinate building access every time. There are times when I am down at a chapel for several hours, and times when I need to pop out and get supplies and come back etc. I woudn't be able to do this effectively without having a master key.

I would encourage you to talk again with your Stake President and explain to him that it would be in the best interests of the Stake if you were to get a master key. What you may find is that perhaps the reason why you don't have a master key yet is because there aren't enough to go around at present :)

Good luck!
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