Yellow+Pages

//Finding expertise in house//
 * YELLOW Pages**

Yellow pages (also known as white pages, staff directories, etc.) are searchable electronic directories that contain information about staff within an organization. In addition to general information (name, job title, contact details, division/section/field presence), Yellow Pages also include information concerning knowledge, skills, expertise, prior experience and possibly interests.
 * What it is**

- To tap into tacit knowledge within the organization - To locate in house expertise on a country, region, human rights theme - To link skills and knowledge to individuals - To identify colleagues for a peer assist or similar exercise - To establish and strengthen networks
 * When to use it**

OHCHR currently has an Intranet Directory (Find a colleague), found on the Intranet homepage, which allows each staff member to upload and update contact details as well as current responsibilities, past experiences, and colleagues, among other features. The Directory is searchable by name, also by keywords. Our Intranet Directory relies on each colleague to keep his/her profile updated, creating a sense of collective ownership.
 * How it is applied**

The following are a few suggestions to make the most of your directory listing and, in so doing, contribute to a more comprehensive inventory of the knowledge and experience we hold within the house.

- Make an effort to thoroughly fill in all fields of your profile and try not to limit yourself to contact details. Include details about your current responsibilities but also past experiences so that colleagues can find you when looking for expertise in a particular area. For instance, if you worked on the 'right to health' in the past and you include this information in your profile, those looking for this expertise, by searching the key word "health", will find you among others. - If you change posts, make sure to update your directory profile accordingly. If you change Division or section make sure to check that this was updated on your profile, otherwise, inform the OHCHR Helpdesk (Helpdesk@ohchr.org) by email to change your Division or Section on the directory. - Photos make it easier to connect names to faces, so consider adding one to your profile. You are encouraged to include informal photographs, which can say much more about you and the things that motivate you than the picture on your ID badge. Just make sure that your face is visible enough for others to recognize you. - Promote the Intranet Directory within your section and field presence and try to get as many of your colleagues as possible to update their profiles. - Use the search function of the directory when looking for expertise in a particular area, but bear in mind that this will only work insofar as there is a "critical mass" of directory users with fully updated profiles.

- Some parts of the Office, such as the Research and Right to Development (RRDD), have developed a PDF-based "Who's Who". This comprehensive directory is centrally managed at the Division level and therefore benefits from regular updating and uniformity in entries. The fact that it is PDF-based makes it very easy to search for keywords. On the other hand, it is less dynamic and staff members are only able to update their entries periodically. The information on each staff member refers to current responsibilities. - There are a couple of existing telephone directories on the Intranet linking to the 'Find a colleague' Directory. One of them is the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division (FOTCD) Directory of Responsiblities, which is a large telephone directory list with staff names linked to the Intranet Directory. This kind of list has several useful functions such as filtering by branch, by section, or by staff name and can be printed out and updated easily by focal points. When one clicks on the staff name, it opens the person's profile on the 'Find a colleague' Intranet Directory. This encourages staff to update their profiles on the Intranet 'Find a colleague' directory. - Profiles in on-line social networks such as LinkedIn, Ning or Facebook can serve a similar purpose (see section on social networking for more information) and can be very useful, especially when involving stakeholders and partners from outside OHCHR who do not have access to our Intranet.
 * How to adapt it**

Detailed instructions on how to use the OHCHR Intranet directory (accessible to OHCHR staff only): [] KS Toolkit: [] Dare to Share: http://www.daretoshare.ch/en/Dare_To_Share/Knowledge_Management_Methods_and_Tools/Knowledge_Management_Toolkit/Yellow_Pages Article on Yellow Pages by Chris Collison: []
 * Where to learn more**