| During
this weeklong seminar, participants worked with
colleagues and faculty to solve organizational and
individual challenges. They banged out plans in
small groups and discussed in larger groups such
topics as ethics and mission statements.
Here
are some of the action plans developed by participants
to help improve their workplaces. Specific organization
information has been left out to maintain confidentiality.
The action plans can be applied to many work situations.
Automate
and Empower
Automate
some tasks to allow people to do more exciting
work and empower others so that Web developers
can concentrate on their jobs. Since this shop
cannot hire new people, they want to be able to
work with news designers interested in the Web
and provide them with tutorials for making Web-friendly
graphics. They will talk to writers about how
their writing affects users and teach them how
to look at forums and e-mail. They will educate
advertising people about e-commerce.
Budget
Meetings
Recast
daily budget meetings.The meetings will be a place
to solve problems and create a more cohesive mindset
when they work on the Web site. Someone will check
with the newsroom to discuss his or her needs,
which will be discussed at the meeting.
Other
tactics:
 Have
an agenda.
Once
a week, use a portion of the meeting for planning.
Use
the opportunity for the staff members to get
to know one another.
Use
the time to reflect on past experiences.
Interactivity
Bring
more interactivity to the website by using baby
steps. Education is key, so web staff will talk
with news staff to show them the relevance of
forums and other interactive tools.
Education
Reinforce
the lessons learned at Poynter with a brown bag
lunch for colleagues.
Another
Tactic: New lessons can be learned every day
by looking at the Web and don’t require formal
settings. Look at sites, pick five and write blurbs
pointing out highlights and send it out to colleagues.
Mission
Control
Create
a mission statement or share the existing mission
statement. If rules have been made over time,
but have not been written down, those will be
added.
Suggestion:
Call these documents "guidelines" and
"protocols" to keep them from being
too rigid.
Reorganize
Streamline
the site and stop shoveling information on the
website just because we have it available.
Steps:
- Take
a few days to get organized.
-
Meet with other departments involved in the
website and get input.
-
Rebuild
the site.
See
also: Links
to useful information about new media.
|
Tools