DIY Communication: Offering Self Service in the Workplace
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DIY (Do it Yourself) communication is allowing others to contribute and manage their own content, increasing their responsibility while allowing some flexibility and freedom. Think of it as a self-serve method for preparing and producing content. You still have to provide framework to deliver the goods, but the effort is collaborative. There’s a reason why people prefer self-service.
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DIY Communication: Offering Self Service in the Workplace
- 1. DIY COMMUNICATION Todd DeLuca @TechCommTodd Offering Self Service in the Workplace
- 2. What We'll Cover Why We're Here What is 'DIY' Communication? Why or Why Not? Who and What Thoughts & Questions
- 3. Why We're Here Learn Share Ideas Meet People Identify Opportunities Solve Problems Collaborate & Participate
- 4. Before We Start Are you asked to do more with less or more with the same? Do you have spare time to work on interesting or high-value projects? Are you provided everything you need when others ask for your support? Would you like to offload or share a portion of your work with others?
- 5. My Story Progressive Journey Solo Tech Writer (long road) Tech Comm Manager (interesting ride) Comm Director (next opportunity?) Success of DIY Do more with same Improved reputation Can manage remotely
- 6. What is DIY Communication? Full service vs. self service Self service is now (ex: gas and food) Enabling others to participate in process They initiate, contribute and have responsibility It’s their content Focusing on preparation and deliver You’re still responsible, service is different
- 7. How Does It Look? It’s a system Identify customers (Internal and external) Consider services (What to Offer - next) Design the results (Deliverables) Identify resources (People and Materials) Make estimates (Schedule) Process and assemble (Methods and Tools)
- 8. What to Offer? Simpler, easier things Repetitive things Predictable things (regular work) Mature, consistent things (few changes) Common, standard things Assignable things NOT complex, complicated, custom
- 9. How are we doing?
- 10. Why? Benefits Efficiency Productivity Accessibility Accountability Transparency
- 11. Why Not? Considerations Visibility Responsibility Ownership Limited Options Workload Support
- 12. Closing Thoughts DIY Communication opens doors Improves productivity (more with same) Others are more involved in process Results are good enough (quicker and cheaper) – what people want Results are more consistent (less variable)
- 13. Questions What do you think? What DIY ideas or examples do you have? Anything else?
- 14. Thank You Connect or link with me I’d like your feedback
Editor's Notes
- Thanks for joining us today. I’m honored and glad to be here - happy and privileged to be speaking with you.
- Events like this are an important part of professional development and personal growth. It’s a great opportunity to learn, share ideas, and meet people. You cannot get this sort of experience from a webinar, so kudos to you for joining and participating. Speaking of participating… I’d like this to be a helpful, interactive session, so I will pause during the talk to ask for input and suggestions – plus leave time at end for questions. Feel free to volunteer or contribute when prompted, though I may cut some conversations short if we’re crunched for time (we can continue offline). Here are some of my goals for you with this talk, which I hope you take back with you: Expand your repertoire and skillset Consider options to kick start your career Motivate you to reach underserved audiences
- To help me better understand the group and tailor my talk to your needs or goals, I have a few questions. What drew you to this session? What do you expect or hope to learn today? Poll: Are you asked to do more with less or more with the same? Do you have spare time to work on interesting or high-value projects? Are you provided everything you need when others ask for your support? Would you like to offload or share a portion of your work with others? My goal for today is to provide some examples and ideas for solutions to these important challenges, based on my experience and successes that I’ve had. I hope you’ll share your own experiences and ideas as well.
- Hello, my name is Todd DeLuca. I’m active member and volunteer with STC (good portion of my service). Chapter President (Philly Metro) and more recently as Chair of STC Summit My career as a technical communicator (over 15 years) Worked as graphic artist (with Economics degree – Imagine that) Enjoy writing procedures and went to graduate school (new career) Found work in software industry (gainful employment) Worked solo for about 12 years, then became manager for last 4 Wore many hats, small shops, whatever was needed (flexible and versatile) New chapter? focused on business communications Offering DIY services in our organization has allowed me and my team to grow, expand, and shift (move into other things). Have been able to increase workload and productively with DIY service (do more with less). Has increased my exposure and reputation in organization. Can’t move somewhere else you pass work on to someone else. Did I mention that I have not personally seen anyone from my company in 2.5 years? Including never meeting my previous two bosses.
- DIY (Do it Yourself) communication is allowing others to contribute and manage their own content, increasing their responsibility while allowing some flexibility and freedom. I’ll try to demonstrate how this model works and why it can be a win-win proposition (for at least a portion of your work). Full service vs. self service (think about differences) - gas and food models Kiosk vs service desk Dine-in vs. take out Online vs. phone ordering Full service vs. counter ordering Think of it like self-serve method for preparing and producing content. You still have a responsibility to provide framework or resources and deliver the goods, but the ’customer’ has some responsibility (the effort is collaborative). Like pumping gas, there’s a reason why people prefer self-service (and full service is nearly dead). There’s less labor involved and more people can be served with same resources. It’s basically cheaper, easier, and quicker with comparable end results. Another example is kiosk ordering. Your customer can order a service, specify options, and then you deliver the final product. It can be similar to Mongolian cooking with people supplying the raw goods (content) and you doing the cooking and final preparation (plating and finishing). The results are comparable to full-service cooking, but quicker and less costly (time or effort). Very efficient process. Enabling Others to participate in process They Initiate, Select Options, and Contribute Focus on Preparation and Delivery Manage the system and process Less Service, Limited Choices Consistent Results
- Think about Internal and External 'customers' Customers know what they want Meeting their needs Helping them accomplish their goals (a deliverable) Who to offer (people who use or ask for your services) Co-workers Leads or managers Clients or customers Vendors What to offer (focus on simpler or high-volume items) Easier things Quick or short things Repetitive things (reports, reviews, drafts) Predictable things (people ask for regularly) Mature things (few changes or minimal customization) Example: reports, internal or client communications, delivery preparation or packaging (final assembly), content edits or reviews, … Think common things Think standard things Think consistent results Think assignable things How to design (not focus of this talk) Document processes and procedures Break tasks into smaller chunks Automate processes (think assembly line) Use existing tools (Website, Excel, SharePoint)
- Repetitive things (reports, reviews, drafts) Predictable things (people ask for regularly) Mature things (few changes or minimal customization) Example: reports, internal or client communications, delivery preparation or packaging (final assembly), content edits or reviews, … Think common things Think standard things Think consistent results Think assignable things How to design (not focus of this talk) Document processes and procedures Break tasks into smaller chunks Automate processes (think assembly line) Use existing tools (Website, Excel, SharePoint)
- Efficiency (time saved) Reduces small stuff Productivity (less effort, same output) Accessibility Accountability Others value and appreciate Increases visibility of work
- Increases transparency of what you or your team does (may look too ‘simple’ or easy to others). Both a Pro and Con. You’re still Responsible for Delivery Must Support and Follow Up Work may be passed on to others (administrators, off shore, etc.). That’s OK. May feel like you’re giving up ‘control’ (you are). Customization (may have to limit changes) Limited offerings (few DIY work candidates) Workload may increase (if popular) Who else can support or make changes (share the load)
- You may be thinking this sounds like it’s taking away work or control and passing it on to others. This is partially true, but I’ll argue that it’s worth considering. Here are some reasons: it allows you to accomplish more with the same or less (people or resources) If you or team are short-staffed, it makes your work life easier Your customers are more involved, engaged, and collaborative in the process (more active participants) – building Customers are happier they have flexibility and input to manage some of the work themselves (service is better, projects start and finish sooner) Time and effort are freed to work on more meaningful tasks, projects, or career-growing activities It distinguishes you from others and shows decision makers that you’re making improvements (positive difference) Systems are usually easier and less hassle to deal with or fix
- Is this session what you expected? Does the topic or suggestions resonate?
- Look me up or approach me during the event. Send me an email or connect with me via Twitter or LinkedIn. I have business cards.