Archive | January, 2009

Trouble Brewing For Starbucks?

by on January 28, 2009 in Relationships

Starbucks is taking a rather interesting (and somewhat dangerous) approach to economic decline: they’re not automatically brewing decaf coffee after noon, though you can still get it upon request. My take? Good for Starbucks. I’ll go out on a limb here and say they did their homework on not only cost-savings but quantify just how much coffee they’re throwing away daily. Rather than just keep sticking to the old way of doing things (must make sure we always have regular and decaf at the ready), they’re making some tough decisions. And better that than laying off a third of their baristas.

Now here’s where it gets to an issue of whether Starbucks has built a relationship with its customers. If you love Starbucks, you’ll accept this and say, “I understand and if it helps you stay afloat and not lay off the very nice baristas then I’ll wait a few minutes for a decaf brew.” So, the real question is whether Starbucks has valued your relationship in the past and is willing to bank off of this.

Both nonprofits and corporations must build great customer relationships in the good times so they can rely on them for help in the bad times. If you’ve not made remarkable customer relationships a key focus, now’s a rough time to ask for help from those who you need the most.

Stop Talking Social Media, Start Talking Conversation…

by on January 26, 2009 in Social Media

The term “social media” is now so amorphous, encompassing so many things that it’s lost a lot of its meaning. That’s not to say that it’s unimportant or irrelevant…quite the opposite.

Instead, let’s talk about what social media really is and what it can do. Let’s talk about conversation. Let’s talk about collaboration. Let’s talk about outreach. For nonprofits and companies, these are the things that matter, that are going to diversify your constituent or customer base, that are going to lead to long-term vitality. Social media is just a tool to help you achieve these things.

On February 12 at noon CST, I’ll be collaborating with Small World Labs on a webinar titled Top 3 Social Solutions for Acquiring and Retaining Members in 2009. We’ll be addressing how nonprofit associations can use social solutions can successfully use tools that are out there to better engage in conversation, facilitate collaboration, and promote outreach. And while the audience is geared toward the association executive, there will be plenty of advice on how to bring these ideas into other nonprofits and forprofit companies.

Make this the year that you engage in social media in a new way. You can register here: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/443369303

Don’t Hype Your Employee Branding…Make It Real

by on January 22, 2009 in Business

Earlier this week, Michael Arrington at TechCrunch managed to get his mitts on some rather juicy inside information from Google. Turns out that the tech darling isn’t the career paradise that it’s been made out to be. For all the gushing that us outsiders did over their innovative benefits and employment practices, perhaps it was all just hyperbole. From the post:

One message stands out though in most of the posts – employees thought they were entering the promised land when they joined Google, and most of them were disappointed. Some of them wondered if it meant they were somehow lacking. One person sums it all up nicely:

“Those of us who failed to thrive at Google are faced with some pretty serious questions about ourselves. Just seeing that other people ran into the same issues is a huge relief. Google is supposed to be some kind of Nirvana, so if you can’t be happy there how will you ever be happy? It’s supposed to be the ultimate font of technical resources, so if you can’t be productive there how will you ever be productive?”

There are some cautionary lessons to be extracted from this if you’re not only on the hook for your organization’s employer branding but employee engagement.

The reality doesn’t match the expectation. This is a failure of the brand to deliver the expected experience. Consumers rail against companies that deliver poor brand experiences, particularly when the brand has been hyped to the nth degree (e.g., Chevrolet, Sprint, Microsoft Vista). So, why does employer branding get a relatively free pass?

Individuals wanted to work for Google because it was supposed to be different than the norm, had innovative benefits, promoted a fun workplace, etc., etc. Turns out that maybe these were a clever facade masking a workplace and company that were just humdrum. If you want to sell the sizzle, that steak better not come out limp and soggy.

Professional failing is personal failure. It pisses me off when I hear stuff like this. Why? Because there’s a hellacious management problem here that no one is apparently trying to resolve. If a manager is going to wear the big hat and call him- or herself a leader, they better start with making sure that their people are getting what they need to be – and feel – successful. If an employee is struggling with their work, you better believe that’s likely going to get internalized as a “personal” problem. It’s a one-way ticket to not only poor engagement but a morale freefall.

When the going gets tough, uniqueness gets crushed. Yeah, I know…it’s tough out there for business. I get it. Now get over it. Everybody’s impacted so don’t think for a second that you’re special (hell, even Microsoft is laying folks off). So rather than curl up in a ball do something that none of your competition is likely thinking about right now: become even more unique and remarkable. Trust me, your competitor is hoping you’ll lay low like them. Instead, do something that will make their management wet themselves. Actually engage in employer branding. Build a workplace model where the people you have are doing their best not because they’re scared to death they’ll lose their job tomorrow if they don’t, but because they genuinely care about their work and their organization. Go out and look for the talent that’s looking for a place to make a difference (there’s plenty of good folks out there now).

Don’t waste this perfectly good opportunity. Be a leader, show some guts, and build something special when no one else appears to be doing it.

A Note From One Work Seeker to Another

by on January 10, 2009 in Career

I’m noticing a lot of blogposts, articles, and other resources focused on the jobhunt, as if the reason why is a great mystery. Yep, the current recession is putting many folks (myself included) into the growing legions of unemployed professionals. I was let go from my own full-time gig last month. This isn’t my first foray into this territory, which in some ways is comforting. If this happens to be your first time out of work or if it’s been a while since your last time, hopefully I can offer some suggestions to help you deal with this experience. These are more related to your emotional well-being since this can quickly become one of the casualties of unemployment. At the end of this post, I’ll toss out some of my favorite links on how to navigate the process of getting your next best gig.

Know and trust your value.
Just because you don’t have a job doesn’t mean you have little value. There are organizations out there who are looking for you and what you can bring to them. But you’ll never benefit from this connection if you undermine your own value, sell yourself short, or convince yourself that you have little to offer. You have the ability to define your value to a prospective employer.

Focus on good mental and physical health.
Being unemployed can raise all kinds of nasty thoughts and feelings. It’s important to be mindful of these. I won’t suggest that you shouldn’t feel pissed off, sad, or confused. But the absolute worst thing that can happen is to wallow in them for so long, they take up permanent residence. Feel them and then let them go. Sort of what I call “catch and release.” Easier said than done, I know. Which is why taking care of our mental well-being needs to be connected to physical well-being.

When I feel the negative thoughts arriving and getting comfy in my head, that’s my signal that I need to get out for a walk or run or bike ride. I plug into my iPod and get my heart pumping. And I’ve also lost some weight in the process, too.

Get social so you don’t get sucked into the cycle of depression.
If being out of work has reminded me of anything, it’s the importance of having a support network. Friends, family, and even acquaintances have been terrific in offering their support. It’s as true now as it was the last time I was out of work.

But here’s something else I’ve come to believe: you get what you give. My social network has grown wider and deeper, which was happening prior to being unemployed. And with that strong social network, I’ve come to realize that I can help other job seekers. For instance, I’m working with another workseeker, Alora Chistiakoff to put together a Jobhunters United Tweetup here in Austin. The point is that you don’t have to go through this experience alone.

Other helpful resources…
Here’s a set of resources that I’m finding extremely helpful right now.

And don’t be shy to add some of your faves here, too. Just post them in the comments area.

Five Steps To Make Employees Your Best Brand Ambassadors

by on January 8, 2009 in Branding

The modern concept of branding and word-of-mouth-marketing focuses primarily on getting customers to become raving fans and talk positively about a company to their friends and colleagues. In the past few years, this focus has come to also include the value of getting employees to be raving fans of their own company, to speak openly and honestly about their company’s virtues, and to share their pride for their own and the company’s work. The thinking goes that if a company employs happy and satisfied employees, then that adds to an overall positive reflection of the company brand.

Yeah, but what does this have to do with non-profits…or maybe more importantly, how does this help you achieve your organizational mission? I’d like to argue that your own staff is the critical, yet underdeveloped, edge you need to meeting your fundraising, advocacy, and other goals. You have powerful resources that extend far outside of your own marketing department. Here are five steps in figuring out how to use them.

1. Know your internal broadcasters.
Your staff can be roughly divided into two groups: consumers and broadcasters. Consumers take in content through various channels like newspapers, blogs, and websites. Broadcasters do all of this and also create the content. They’re your bloggers, Twitterers, Facebookers, Plurkers, etc. They’re the ones who are connecting with others far outside your particular marketing focus. They’re the ones you want to build your employee brand ambassador program around.

2. Reward your broadcasters.
Broadcasters live for information. They want to know all the cool and worthy initiatives that are going on in your organization and be able to share that information with others. Don’t be shy about opening access and sharing this valuable information. And ask for their input and insight into how to penetrate your organization’s messages deeper into your target communities and wider into new areas.

3. Allow for creativity.
The social media space and branding world evolve at a rapid pace, which means that your dedicated and passionate broadcasters tend to live at the cutting edge. Don’t make the mistake of binding them or restricting their platforms. Innovative social media broadcasters are always finding new ways to use current tools. And for every one of today’s Twitters and Facebooks, there are several undeveloped tools waiting to be created and used.

4. Show them how to recruit other staff.
Broadcasters shouldn’t be an exclusive clique within your organization. Help them create more broadcasters and new brand ambassadors. Ask them to do “lunch and learns” about social media. Create knowledge sharing orientations to help them discuss their brand ambassador work when asked by others in your organization. The objective isn’t necessarily to get 100% of your staff involved in social media and branding…instead, show that every individual has an opportunity to contribute.

5. Keep an eye on the relationship.
I can imagine one objection or question that may be sitting at the tip of your tongue: how do we make sure that our broadcasters don’t put the organization or our formal branding work in jeopardy? The simple answer is that you can’t and the brutal truth is that you no longer have total control over the message. Sorry…those days are long gone, which is why #5 is so important.

It may seem obvious, but in order for your staff to speak openly, authentically, and enthusiastically about your organization, they need to be in a positive relationship with your organization. That means being focused on your staff’s level of engagement with their work and tapping into the pride your staff has working for your organization and it’s mission.

If your organization has had great results from cultivating organization-wide brand ambassadors, what’s your story? Share the wealth in the comments below.

From Bailey WorkPlay, first published July 28, 2008