Lunchtime Links: Getting Your Staff In On The Conversation
If only the problem were getting your employees to stop talking. Here's how to encourage your staff to voice their ideas. Plus: why blogging will boost your community engagement.
Engaging members in your community is one thing; encouraging employees to speak up is another. Tips to encourage your staff to get chatting, and more, in today’s Lunchtime Links:
Employee talent show: Now, that’s one way to get your staff talking, writes management author Peter Economy in his latest Inc.com article “5 Ways to Get Your Employees to Speak Up.” Encouraging your staff to contribute to office conversation can take a bit of prodding, but some outside-the-box thinking goes a long way. Where to start? “Model the behavior you want your people to follow … and they will,” Economy says. Create a safe space for them to contribute with different approaches to set communication in gear. In addition to the employee talent show, Economy suggests putting on company-wide Olympic games or setting up employee teams to inspire the brainstorming process. “[B]y taking these actions, you will be well on your way to building a business filled with engaged and energized employees who aren’t afraid to speak up—not to mention, a healthier bottom line,” he writes. Encouraging employee participation breeds better management while developing a more positive work environment. What do you have to say?
When digital got sticky: The print industry is in for a bit of a shake-up—Post-its included. 3M Post-it Notes is teaming with Evernote to release a cobranded product, reports Fast Company’s Alice Truong. What that means: Snag a sticky note, scribble your text. Then, grab your smartphone, snap a picture of your Post-it Note, and upload it to the Evernote app. Contain your amazement as you watch the system transform your written note to a digitized copy. “We view integration between digital and analog as very natural,” 3M Vice President Jesse Singh told Fast Company. And while the Post-it Note is due for a digital update, the digitized version won’t be letting go of its highlighter colors anytime soon. The “Super Sticky Notes” will come in electric blue, yellow, neon pink, and limeade. Now that’s a note to brighten your day.
Rolling feed: Engaging members lies at the core of your mission, for without those customers, there’s no service to provide. So, are you blogging? You should be, Socious’ Joshua Paul writes. With sharing and commenting capabilities, blogs can effectively stir the pot of community engagement. Don’t know where to start? Paul recommends publishing interesting content to hook members in. “[P]roviding a consistent stream of original and insightful blog content takes you from being a watcher of conversations or a monitor of community management processes to being a publisher,” he writes. The goal, he says, is getting your members to check your blog on a routine schedule, prompting the base to further interaction while fueling PR for your organization.
What digital upgrades have you made to your association? Tell us in the comments below.
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