make it work: the #heweb13 edition

http://www.time.com/time/photoessays/10questions/0,30255,1821049,00.html

Make it work...

A primeron the clientservices approachin higher ed

Tonya Oaks Smith#heweb13 #MPD1



Shari Erwin, Aaron Rester, and Tonya Oaks Smith

So it started...

#heweb13 #MPD1

So it started…Much like any normal old day. Puttering around; doing my work. Getting it done.


When suddenly...

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When suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Well, not really unthinkable. Too often thinkable honestly. Someone came to me with an urgent project that needed to be completed yesterday. Luckily the project could be construed as vaguely strategic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/highedweb/2918248287/in/photostream



Down to business...

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So I stopped what I was doing and got busy. Frankly it was a small project. Teensy weensy. Updating the text on a brochure for one of our clinics at the law school. I already had it in my Iiles. Simple, right? Print it out, mark it up, make changes and get back to the important business at hand.

We even thought of ways to restructure the architecture on that part of the website to make it simpler for clients in the clinic -‐ many of whom have literacy issues -‐ to use.

We put a plan in place that would satisfy all the strategic demands of this clinic – bring in more clients, make them familiar with the process of mediation, help them prepare for the process, and increase their satisfaction with us.



But the best-laid plans...

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However…


#OMGWTFBBQ

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Four weeks later…Still no completed printed brochure. No web updates to match. No brilliant online application process that was so integral to the plan of bringing in more clients for our students to work with in mediation clinic.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danielpfleming/6296485331/


What had happened

was...

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What had happened?


Embarrassed much?

#heweb13 #MPD1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/greencolander/7177515

What had happened was… I failed one of the most basic tenets of being a solo practitioner in higher education communications – set expectations early and then make sure your clients live up to them. Well, and make sure you live up to expectations as well. That’s an important part of making this thing called client services work.




Make it work was birthed...

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Also, this idea about work was born. Out a sense of total frustration at my colleagues’ inability to understand how the real world works. You see, I provide a nice cushion between them and freelancers, vendors, etc.

There’s Life Beyond the Four-Year University


Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward.

- Kurt Vonnegut

#heweb13 #MPD1

They have no idea what something costs, how long it takes, and the pain that’s involved in delivering a brochure, a website, a strategic plan, a whatever.

Because those folks have never had to face the consequences, they had no idea what their inability to plan ahead was doing to my ofIice.


Mea culpa

http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscanuniversity/5833602194/#heweb13 #MPD1

In essence, it was my fault. In sheltering my coworkers from information that was essential to accomplishing their goals – and keeping me sane – I was not helping them make an informed decision and behave in a responsible manner.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscanuniversity/5833602194/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/franciscanuniversity/5833602194/


What makes it work today?


So what makes it work for all of us today? That’s one thing we’re going to talk about today -‐ some lessons from my life... and some lessons from Project Runway plots. I’ll start by introducing myself and Iinding out a little more about all y’all. Next, we’ll talk about the differences between a client services model and a cost-‐back model. Then, if you’re stuck in client services, we’ll talk about how to make the road smoother. Frankly, I hope y’all have some suggestions, cause I don’t have this down by any means.

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@marleysmom by @radiofreegeorgy

@marleysmom

@bowenlaw@higheredsolo@higheredlive@highedweb@iabcarkansas@youthhomeinc

#shoes #positivity#behuman

#heweb13 #MPD1

So let’s start. I’m Tonya Oaks Smith.

Who are you?

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Who are you?Technical or marketing/communication? Both?Main campus or specialty school?Community colleges or special schools?More to the point of this presentation – does anyone have a chargeback model in place?



And why are you here?

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Why are you here? What do you hope to learn? Well, Iirst off, I’m not going to tell you that I think the chargeback model is better for people who provide services to other parts of a campus.

Although I do think that.



Where do you work?

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I think it makes people appreciate what we do in a more concrete way. Monetizing something tends to do that. It makes people buckle down and get serious about how they’re using your time.But we can’t always decide what form our workplaces take. So this presentation is designed to help you maintain your sanity while working in an environment based on the client services model. It’s ok to be in that space, and you can survive it. But we have to work with our internal clients in order to use your and their time more wisely.





Is this making sense to you?

- Professor Julien Mirivel

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Make sense?

Client services means...

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First off, let’s Iigure out the difference between client services and chargeback models. For our purposes today, we’re going to say client services equals doing things for an internal customer. For instance, when we write copy for a website for the dean but don’t get paid for it. Or when we use a staff photographer to cover an event. You provide a service to a client, but that service is covered in your salary.



#OMGWTFBBQ redux

http://diane-mckay.livejournal.com/54670.html#heweb13 #MPD1

I call this the space where “other duties as assigned”, you know, that nebulous section in your job description, where everything goes awry.



Chargeback means...

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Then… there’s the chargeback model. The place where the dollar rules. The place where you can say, “If you want this, you have to give me more money.” It’s my happy imaginary place, and it’s Iilled with unicorns and rainbows. How many of you actually live in this happy, cheerful place where you can say, “that’ll cost more”?

I didn’t think so


Yeah, me neither.



Call me... maybe?

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So how do we make working within this paradigm more palatable? I believe that improving our communication with our clients can help out tremendously. We work for educational organizations, but we’re so obsessed with completing tasks and planning, and complaining about how others don’t appreciate our work, that we don’t take time to explain to our clients why their behavior doesn’t help us help them accomplish their goals.



Good client?

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You see, when we follow the client-‐services model of providing consultation and products, the immediate costs of not following best practices are not apparent. Our work doesn’t cost, so we have no carrot or stick to inIluence the behavior of the individuals we help.




Shari Erwin, Aaron Rester, and Tonya Oaks Smith#heweb13 #MPD1

So what can this popular, admittedly at times vapid, reality show teach us?It taught me a problem solving technique -‐ that’s what.

In the beginning...

http://www.impawards.com/tv/posters/project_runway_xlg.jpg#heweb13 #MPD1

In the beginning, Heidi and Tim come in and give the competitors a job. An assignment. A task. Very much like our clients do. The contestants aren’t getting paid. They don’t have a well-‐designed frame work to follow, and they could be lost at sea if they didn’t have a plan in mind.



Examine the problem

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They look at the problem and Iind its constraints. Is there a budgetary or fabric restriction? For us, are we working with folks who are semi-‐literate or with a limited amount of time?

Assess the assets

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You have no idea how difIicult this slide was to type out. Without cursing.

The contestants on Project Runway look at all the assets they have available. That can go beyond their fabrics and patterns and thread. Assets encompass all those things we have within us -‐ knowledge of best practices, patience, communication skills, and more. Frequently, they’re what we call soft skills, but they certainly make it easier to manage a client services environment.

Put a plan into play

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The designers put a plan into place, and then they work on executing it. With one caveat -‐ they listen to their stakeholders -‐ their clients -‐ to Heidi and Tim -‐ when the mentors come in with good suggestions.

Work it

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Finally, these designers hustle. They work it -‐ they Iinish the job and then they defend their designs.

Sometimes we have to do that with our clients -‐ we have to sell what we have come up with. I can tell you more times than one that I’ve had to sell the idea of making our sites and content more accessible for users. Sad, but true.

Stay sane... and sanitary

#heweb13 #MPD1 http://www.flickr.com/photos/bibbit/3240203131/

Let’s talk about a few things that I’ve found – when I take time to implement them – help me maintain my sanity and still deliver what my clients need.These best practices just happen to be employed with every single external vendor or consultant I use. What can we learn from these professionals and apply to our own work?



Define your process...

#heweb13 #MPD1

DeIine a process. But deIining a process – and more importantly sharing that process with your stakeholders – can help smooth the busy days somewhat. It also makes sense for many of us because we don’t have the ability with our stakeholders to monetize our work.First, it’s important, for our deans and directors and bosses to understand that our time equals money. Even if it doesn’t have a line item. Every time they miss a deadline, ignore a deadline or last-‐call for revisions, or notify us of an event at the last minute -‐ that takes us away from more strategic initiatives. It’s hard enough to be strategic, but our clients’ ignorance of proper process makes it darn near impossible.

Processes work...


It’s so, so easy to say that adhering to a process is hard, takes too much energy, takes too much time. But what happens when we really do use a process to determine our actions?I was really against deIining a process for my internal stakeholders for quite a while. I may be the anti-‐process person. I believe life and work are organic. That we should live in the moment, and embrace those things that just pop up. Process seems so formal. But that incident in my “ice breaker”? That was really real. A simple printed brochure plus updated website -‐ and four rounds of revisions that took over a month to Iinish – not to mention enormous amounts of time in and out of the ofIice as well as terrible frustration -‐ changed my mind.



We’re in the education business


I realized that if I educated my stakeholders – my clients – about how a process works with external services folks, then I could expect them to be responsible adults about dealing with me. My work becomes more valuable and quantiIiable if they know why I make the decisions I make about everything from font size on a site to why sending an email to students in all caps (so they pay attention to it) is not a smart idea.



Practice makes perfect...

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To start, you have to determine what is the best practice in your area of the business. Meaning, when you work with graphic designers, what does their contract say? When you work with a developer, at what point do you determine that a site is mistake-‐free? Do you get two rounds of revisions? When do you start paying extra for their services on a regular job? Model your process after what would be expected “in the real world.”



Oh, behave...

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However, this can bite you in the butt. It also calls for you to behave in the same way as someone who charges real money. You must deliver on-‐time and within the parameters of the client’s request. You have to prioritize those who’ve “contracted” with you to complete a job. You have to make enhancements in a timely fashion; you have to respond when a client behaves appropriately.



Put on your big girl

panties and get to work

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in short, there’s no room for passive aggressive behavior or pushing a job aside because you have another urgent need. If you have a truly “urgent need” that takes precedence over your “contracted job,” then guess what? You might do exactly what a freelancer does

#hustle

S/O @joelgoodman#heweb13 #MPD1

Hustle to get all the jobs done. It’s the way many of us work right now.



Educate your stakeholders...

http://www.papermag.com/2012/05/the_real_world_20th_anniversar.php#heweb13 #MPD1

Next, we have to educate our shareholders on what happens in the real world. For some, that means talking to a person outside who would do the same job as you – only in a charge-‐back model situation. For others, that means taking a job that got out of hand and showing your stakeholders what it would have cost if there was no you.



#fail

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Tell your clients what happens with a graphic designer if you don’t get all changes in at one round – that you pay for them one-‐by-‐one – they’d be smarter consumers of my services. You simply don’t take a sip of water from the tap when you have to pay per visit. And you don’t eke out your corrections when you have to pay each time you think a synonym should be used. Show them the money trail and remind them how expensive their crap could get if you weren’t there in a client services type role.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/gloriapalaceth/6840735638/#heweb13 #MPD1

If given a chance

In other words, people in a client services situation will tend to treat your work like you’re a buffet. Cheap food; they’re gluttons. They’re wasteful. They’ll eat until they need a wafer-‐thin mint. They don’t appreciate what you’re offering cause you come without an accurate price tag attached.



Treat yourself

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Make sure they understand what that price tag is. Be an a la carte menu. Don’t be a buffet.



Enforce the process...

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All this education and process development can’t work, however, if you’re not willing to enforce the process. This is the hardest part. It’s easy to enforce a system when you don’t have to see a person everyday. That’s why folks who are external to that system are so adept at it.



Remain cool headed...

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Key addendum to that last point? Don’t get emotional (I need to take this advice myself sometimes.) and don’t get angry. Remind your stakeholders that if they abuse your process, their project will go to the end of the line. Period.



Wrapping it up

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So, to wrap it up...

You can’t always get

what you want.

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How do we get the behavior we want?

But what do you need?

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How do you get what you need?

Value your own work.

S/O @unmarketing#heweb13 #MPD1

Value your own work.And this is how you do that.



Define the process.

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You deIine the process.

Educate your stakeholders.

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You educate your stakeholders.

Enforce the process.

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You enforce the process.

You be a human.

#communicate

S/O @plautmaayan#heweb13 #MPD1

In short, you be a human. And you demand that your stakeholders act human and treat you with respect. It’s not too much to ask.



Get with me...

Tonya Oaks [email protected]@marleysmom501.324.9896

Through the Thou, a person becomes I.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

make it work: the #heweb13 edition

Technology