I definitely have my own ideas of how this needs to be done. I come with a vision for a more interactive, more story-centric web site that first engages audiences and then educates them. I also have a sense of how the process should work, especially since the responsibility for making the changes ultimately resides with me.
However, I am realizing very early on that even though I am leading this project, I am not the only authority on it. In fact, almost everyone in the organization seems to have an opinion about what the web site looks like, how it works, and what is on it. The executive director wants the home page to explain what the organization does in full. The program manager wants better graphics for her program descriptions. The receptionist thinks the contact page needs to be reworked. The IT guy is worried about changes to the file structure.
What is interesting about this is seeing how each and every person seems to take the web site personally. They see it not as a functional tool for communications but as a presentation of their identities, both individually and collectively. They feel that everyone in the organization has a voice in what the web presence looks like.As this process moves forward, we will see whether this universal interest in the web site is a good thing or a bad thing. On the good side, their concerns reflect a strong connection and commitment to the organization. Everyone wants to make it work and help their mission be realized. On the bad side, however, their concerns could lead to fractured decision-making and an inability to move forward on the redesign. The project could be stalled along the shoals of minor disagreements and turf wars.
The key for me, as the communications director and the leader of this project, will be to find the balance between these two directions. I want to harness the organization-wide energy for change and engagement by keeping the process transparent and open to input. But I need to maintain a firm grip on the rudder and steer us through decision-making processes that get us to our shared goal of a new, improved web site. This will take a sensitivity to the politics of the organization and a willingness to make decisions that won’t be universally popular.
Who knew that changing the web site would become an exercise in political management?
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Congratulations on your new job and being charged with owning the site overhaul. Just found your site by following a link from Kivi's blog.
ReplyDeleteIn the last few months I've built two sites. One small site for a growing non-profit I co-founded, and one larger, very complex site for the company I work for (which actually provides web content management systems for enterprises.)
I've found your observations to be true in both cases, particularly for the larger site which - contrary to what I might have thought given we were using our own product - turned out to be no small feat due to the reasons you mention.
I think this universal interest from within your organization is might be your most powerful tool. Even though it sometimes makes it difficult to please everyone, you can harness this energy and enthusiasm to great effect. A few of the things I've learned..
- Set and manage expectations. Be conscious of this all the time. It's better to align people's expectations ahead of time to avoid disappointment, which can turn someone off the project very quickly.
- Educate, and teach by showing. Things like interactivity and most everything under the "Web 2.0" umbrella - blogs, wikis, social technology can seem daunting to management, whose buy-in you'll often require. I once sat down with the CEO of a previous company for ten minutes and showed him how easy it was to set up a blog, and had instant permission to explore a corporate blog for our company.
- Outline, in as detailed as possible, every function on the site (from how a registration process works to what exactly the "print" button does). I'm constantly reminded that architects and developers can think in very different terms than the people whose buy-in you're getting for certain elements of the site - do your best to align them as much as possible.
Good luck - can't wait to follow the progress of your site.
Thanks for the advice. Good points, especially about setting and managing expectations and walking people through the technical aspects of Web 2.0 no matter how routine or common they seem to me.
ReplyDeleteShannon, really enjoying the blog so far. I was just promoted to Communcations Director at the independent school where I work. I noticed that you said you'd studied extensively about Web 2.0 tools, an area where I could definately use some improvement. Can you recommend some books, blogs, sites that helped you (and, hopefully, me!) get up to speed on how to use these tools? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of this blog! I know you are busy, but try to post a bit every day. So much is happening so fast, and we want to follow it. Maybe it's because we need the information ... or maybe we are just living vicariously. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have been working on a web site for a large non-profit organization for the last year. I have years of experience with the work I am doing and years with the company. Everything you said about this is true. Here are my bits of advice to you:
* Give everyone the opportunity to give their two cents and assure them their contributions are valuable.
* Take time in the discovery and planning phase. Don't rush that process. Listen, listen, listen. Then, reveal the plan and get buy in at all levels - receptionist to executive director to board.
* When someone gives you a timeline - whether it's a designer, writer, technical support - double it. Do not share their dates with anyone above you or external audiences. Pad those suckers like crazy. Seriously, I've been through an overhaul of this size twice now and each time, I should have doubled what everyone was telling me, but kept each of them on task as much as possible, and we would have launched on time - my time, not theirs.
* If someone doesn't believe your doubled timeline, say "We could do it faster, but we would need twice the budget." It's the truth. And if they surprise you with twice the budget, hire twice the help and get it done faster!
Good luck. I'm excited for you on this new adventure!