Be part of the voice, please
All the debate over who should be allowed to blog strikes me as odd. Should CEOs blog? Should employees be allowed uncensored departmental blogs? I mean, really.
Once again, the small business blogger’s position sits 180 degrees from that of the big blog consultants and the bloggers for hire. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not looking for a fight, I’m looking for some help.
In hospitality, like any front line customer contact business, the people our customers see and hear are very much a part of our product. They are certainly a key ingredient to the overall “experience” we’re trying to promote. I want these people to be a part of our blog. We have 50 full timers and another 25 part time staff. These are colorful resort people with years of stories (good and bad) about themselves, people they’ve served, our region and our restaurant. This is the stuff that would make for great blogging. A unique voice further differentiating the Horsefeathers experience.
Alas, no one wants to play. Aside from one courageous hostess, everyone here has heard my pleading and then clammed up, hoping this whole blog thing will go away.
My next attempt at coersion will be a personal letter attached to paychecks next Friday. Any suggestions on what I can include that might get more of our people on board? Once they get started, I know they’ll enjoy it. Of course then, there will be no shutting them up. This is a good thing.
Filed under: BLOGthenticity, Ben, Business Blogging, Contributors, General, How to Blog, Why Blog?
Now you’ve got me feeling a bit peckish, Ben.
What about making a percentage profit bonus scheme available to all who blog?
I know there are downsides to it, but I suppose if you set out posting guidelines so nobody feels they are doing more than the others then you might be alright.
At the end of the day, you should be onto a winner considering ROI and blogging is so damn flaky.
Other than that, just let the hostess blog. Maybe there’ll be a trickle down effect once she starts telling everyone how good it is.
I’ll be honest. There’s no way I’d blog for a workplace as an add-on to my existing duties. Not without some from of remuneration or perk.
Make sure you keep us posted as to how it goes.
“Peckish” you say? Very discriptive.
When I was in school (cramming my four years into eight), I spent a semester in South Kensington. I came to love the subtle expressions that separate our common language. It was also a great way to meet chicks. “‘Cuse me dear, could you help me? I think the bartender gave me the wrong change. What’s a quid, anyway?”
The one I never got a translation for however was,” Bob’s your uncle”. Now, what the hell is that!
Ha ha.
The first time I met my prospective Mother in Law (an American), she asked me how I was and I replied that I was a bit peckish. Talk about panic. The poor woman didn’t have a clue. It’s one of my favourite pastimes, y’know. Not eating, but confusing Americans.
A quid is a pound sterling.
‘Bob’s your uncle’ means that you’ve sorted everything out. It’s finished.
The thing is, every region has its own weird and wonderful sayings with even weirder dialects.
I’m one of the very few blokes who can honestly say that my wife doesn’t understand me.
You guys are funny. I won’t throw in southern expressions, just refer you to any Jeff Foxworthy “You might be a Redneck” CD.
Ben, the businesses I do know of that have launched online (intranet/extranet) initiatives (and tried to get employees to post) have only found significant ‘buy ins’ when they tie the act of posting to job performance reviews and/or bonuses (wages), or perks, etc.
Let’s face it. There must be some form of ‘utility’ in it for anyone. How can they use (or benefit from) the act of participation. It isn’t ‘their’ business for most, it is their ‘job’ and that’s not the same.
So, I’d think of any ways you can add that to the mix. Now, these may be way off base, but just some ideas:
- gift certificates to eat at the restaurant for a small group of the ‘first 10′ to sign up and start blogging.
- one day off a month, or quarter, with pay for the first few to sign on
- do you do ’savings bonds’ in your payroll? one of those for some value provided by you for the employees that blog. This one would be kinda inexpensive and has future value.
Less costly, but recognition based would be 8×10 photos near the door or some prominent place with lil’ placards saying, “These are our bloggers.” or some such thing with the URL. Do your waiters/hostesses wear “flair”
How about buttons or stickers identifying them as the company bloggers.
OK, those are just ideas, but I guess you see where I’m going.
I agree. You have some wonderful stories just sitting there waiting to be told and these are the very real personal experiences that will make your blog blossom. Can’t wait to start reading the stories.
Best of luck.
Robert
Great advice Robert. Marketing solutions are almost always simple and easy, but we often need a different pair of eyes looking at the problem. So easy to get all tangled up in the frustrations and sluggishness.
All I can add now, because I’m tired, is make the blog so Astonishing with your own content, your people will want to post.
See my “pomade flambeau nebulosity” post on this blog. Print it out and distribute to your people. Get them to laugh at you, laugh at blogging, laugh at themselves. Make “posting” seem fun, not a chore. If you force them to post, well, that’s similar to ghost blogs. Coerced interaction is no interaction at all. Send emails, survey them, ask one question about their colorful lives, a specific question to like the 10 most colorful salty sailors you got. When they, in their own time and comfort zone, with no stress, respond to your email question, post that.
This is HOW to get people to POST. Do NOT ask them to “post to a blog”, but to do what they already enjoy doing: replying to an email.
Well, the first thing is you cannot force people to do things they do not want to.
If your hostess wants to blog - and she’s hot - make her the centerpiece. If you have other people that begin to show an interest, let them blog also. But, don’t force it. It’s time intensive, and I am sure that your employees want to go home and just relax.
But, don’t forget that there is that NY waiter that blogs - and just writes about how cheap his patrons are. There’s your danger in having the staff blog. They might really write what they are thinking. And, you don’t want to be put into the position of either letting people go for what they write, or having to edit the content.
Nice Jeremy. You’ve mentioned excellant points. I am nookelling a new concept for both getting people to post in a post haste manner, and how to contact someone who won’t respond to emails, and whether thinking “talking to oneself” is communication or expression or re-presentation (analysis of Derrida vs. Husserl).
I think you could try having a contest, as R. French states, prize is gift certificate, a dinner for 2, with drinks and dessert, for the most colorful or funny or interesting writing. Your people could scribble something on a napkin, or in a letter, or in an email, whatever THEY are most comfortable doing.
Then you, or whoever you pick, reads the stuff, and posts the Best of, say, once a week or twice a month, or as material comes flooding in.
(1.) fun contest, (2.) nice prize (s) related to restaurant, not external to it, except once in a while for Variety and Excitement, Best of Quarter, Best of Year gets Extra Paid Week Vacation—yes, yes, very powerful, (3.) submission in any form THEY choose, (4.) you do the posting of the material until they start wanting to, but then you will still need to edit and monitor and filter to some degree maybe.
So, maybe it’s good they do NOT want to blog. I just hate to think of being forced to blog. Not a very wonderful approach, IMHO.
I posted a response to this at Vaspers the Grate blog:
http://vaspersthegrate.blogspot.com/2005/04/inspiring-employees-to-post-on-your.html
it’s not always the case that employees won’t write if they are not remunerated. depending on the business and the leadership attitude, some employees will be enthusiastic enough to write on their own if they are given time and space and trust to write - and praise (actually, that seem to be the case here with the lone hostess).
but let’s not forget that writing to a blog can be like feeding a ever-hungry monster. people who are not writers who try to keep up with a steady flow of writing and who need to be coherent or who need to at least spell correctly will soon sour to the whole thing.
it shouldn’t be every employee, even though they all have a story to tell. it should be a volunteer role if they are not already in marketing (and even then it shouldn’t be forced - I know). also, there is the impact to the brand if the wrong writer just doesn’t have the knack or voice needed to extend the brand.
yes, everyone has a story. but, no, not everyone can put it up in an engaging way (either due to skill, inclination, time, motivation, and so on).
the way to build blogging in a group is to seed it with enthusiastic types (there are always a few). maybe there is someone there who really wants to blog and just needs a bit of trust and server space. nuture them, have them record the stories of the staff (and give beaucoup de credit - that’s the perk for the storyteller). that enthusiasm will show (as will your praise) and others who should follow will follow.
tchau,
charlie
Charlie you have added rich content to this thread. Thank you. It’s amazing how much comments can bolster and enhance and clarify a post. I’m a big advocate of comment posting and feel it is the lifeblood of blogs.
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Praise is something most businesses and corporations do a horribly lousy job of, and it’s the arrogance and intimidation dwelling at the top of the scum pile that is responsible. I have strong negative feelings toward the typical corporate atmosphere, I’ve been in it and it usually sucks big time.
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Would it kill a boss or manager or owner or CEO to encourage and praise employees? Proof of my point = when employees are told the Big Cheese wants to see them, they invariably panic, feel guilty, are worried and fearful, thinking “What did I do wrong now? Am I in trouble? Am I going to be dismissed?”
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No reflection on Ben intended, I just went off on a tangent but it is On Topic.
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So yes, getting one or two who like to write, who have stories to tell, getting them to post, then praising them, but not to cause envy or shaming in the others, this is good.
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I think there are indirect methods: ask permission to micro record a conversation with a salty dog, transcribe that, post it to the blog. Do my survey technique, send emails asking one question, post the best or all replies. Try different techniques, then report back to us, Ben, what works or did not work, or backfired.
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