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Take this simple communication quiz
Following is a simple but not common communication scenario. Please read it, and then submit your answer to how you would handle the situation.
All submissions will go into a drawing for a HUGE, free prize from Ragan (no kidding). You'll find out the prize at the end of this item.
Here is the scenario:
One day, you have a communication brainstorm: Why not have facilities management put up simple, open-ended 'frames' above the urinals in the men's bathrooms, and on the stall doors of the women's' bathrooms, so you can put communication materials there and take advantage of a very captive audience?
So you do it. And for a month it works beautifully.
But them some joker probably, you assume, that pervert son-of-a-bitch Harv Waverly in Sales goes around to all the men's rooms and replaces your communication piece with pictures of nude women from Playboy.
So now, as workers are standing at the urinals taking care of business, they are looking at Nudies instead of your latest advertisement for the United Way campaign.
Well, you can imagine the ensuing productivity and efficiency crisis that sweeps the company. For the first time in the company's history, there are lines to get in the men's bathrooms. And the average bathroom trip has gone from 4.3 minutes up to 12.6 minutes.
Fistfights are breaking out over which urinal people want to use. It's complete chaos.
And to make matters worse, the Gay Male Blue Collar Worker Union (GMBCWU) is furious, and threatening a major lawsuit.
The union (which in reality is made up of only two guys�a driller named Chuck and a pipe fitter named Lewellyn) is charging the company with 'extremely heteronormative' behavior.
(Note to readers: This is a real new word. According to the Chicago Sun Times: 'Jada Pinkett Smith, who, while accepting an entertainment award at Harvard University, offered a few thoughts on how relationships between men and women can be improved, has been condemned by the Harvard Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Supporters Alliance and the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relationships for subjecting her audience to remarks that were 'extremely heteronormative.'' Just so you know I'm not making this stuff up.)
Obviously, since you put the frames on the walls in the first place, you're in trouble.
What would you do? I'd like to hear your original options, but here are some to get you started:
1. Admit that you can't keep up with the perverts in the organization, and take the damn frames down.
2. Start putting nudie pictures in your other communication vehicles, to build readership.
3. Take Harv Waverly out to a long liquid lunch, so Security can search his computer files. If they find what you know they'll find, you'll have a nice little scapegoat on your hands.
4. Replace the easy-to-tamper-with frames with the glass-covered kind, under the theory that even the most diehard perverts would be embarrassed to bring tools into the bathroom just to post some porn.
What suggestions do you have for this interesting communication scenario?
And if you play, here's what you can win!!
One free(!) registration to Ragan's Employee Engagement Summit, which is being held in New York City on May 18-20. It's going to be an excellent conference�with dozens of heavy hitters speaking on the hottest topic in our field.
Note to readers: This price tag on this conference is $1,500. So when you go to your boss and tell him that you won a $1,500 conference, there will be no question but that the company will pay your expenses to attend, I would think.
And then you are in New York City! At that point, it doesn't matter if you go to the conference. You should, because it's going to be a great one. Or, you can do what I do half the time I go to a conference in New York City: Pick up the materials from the conference and put them in my suitcase . . . then criss-cross the city, hitting museums, Broadway shows, Central Park, etc. . . . until I end up stumbling around The Village, listening to live music.
Submit your entry in the Comments section. We'll run the contest for about a week.
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Feels like Total Recall. Er, Philip K Dick?
Actually, with Steve's example it's a bit scary --- standing at the urinal...
Comments (49)
Meredith:
Don't tease me. You can't play Beth on the piano. I will buy you a gallon of Cosmos if you can . . . .
Steve
Posted by steve C. | March 7, 2005 10:01 AM
Posted on March 7, 2005 10:01
Have we lost sight of the fact that I am the obvious winner of this contest? I don't like Celine Dion although I know the words to at least 75% of her songs - by virtue of the fact that I am Canadian. Personally, I could take or leave KISS. I'm clearly short on wit (and style) as compared to the other 'posters'...wouldn't I benefit the most by attending the conference? I'm thinking that SC's brain power will somehow rub off on me. We could do a before and after...
Posted by Lee-Ann | March 7, 2005 10:19 AM
Posted on March 7, 2005 10:19
OK, so i don't FREQUENT TGI Friday's, but i have been there once or twice....and to other places that post company promotional stuff and newspaper pages (mostly sports stuff) in the bathrooms. It's not offensive - and gives you something to do while you're visiting the facilities. As a customer, I say NO PROBLEM. But in an office? The bathroom, should be off limits to employee messaging, perhaps except for a poster about the United Way next to the hand towels. Aren't we asked to multi-task enough? Give me a minute of peace...and do away with the panels completely.
Hope to see you in Vegas, Steve!
- mike
Posted by Mike | March 7, 2005 10:25 AM
Posted on March 7, 2005 10:25
My original advice (from my first reply far, far, above) stands. No good can come of this.
Much as I appreciate the inventiveness of the flat panel idea, I am concerned about electricity that close to liquid (and for those wondering if that really is an issue, speaking from experience given some of the mens rooms I have been in, sadly, it is.)
Actually, the real reasons are 1. the "give me a minute of peace" aspect, and more importantly; 2. do you REALLY want your strategic messaging forever associated with what goes on in the biology break room?
Steve "I know you're lonely, and I hope you'll be all right, cause me and the boys will be playing all night" Neruda
*Bonus useless Beth trivia: Song (written by Peter Criss) was originally titled "Beck" after Peter's inamorata Becky. Gene Simmons insisted changing it to "Beth" so people didnt think he was singing about a dude.
Posted by Steve Neruda | March 7, 2005 11:02 AM
Posted on March 7, 2005 11:02
First, Lee-Annj, being Canadian gives you a huge leg up . . . because Ragan is trying to expand its "global" audience, so we need to reach out to our neighbors to the north. But second, it will be blind drawing, so I can't influence who wins. Thirds, it just occurred to me right now that after reading Mike's post, I don't have any last names. I'll have to put first names in the hat, and then announce the winner out there, with a sample of his/her posting, so we know who won.
And lastly, for those of you who say this is a bad idea to begin with, I have a story for you. I recently did some focus groups of blue collar, factory workers. Trying to get a sense of where they got their corporate informaiton.
The number one source, of course, was the grapevine. But number two was the urinal/stall posters that the company started about a year ago. People really liked them!
Now, maybe that is unique to this company, but I didn't hear one person say anything about "this is my time, leave me alone."
I mean, to paraphrase the great Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times in Ridgemont High, speaking to the immortal Mr. Hand:
"If someone is peeing in the corporate urinal, on company time, then isn't it BOTH the employee's AND the company's time?
Posted by steve C. | March 7, 2005 11:23 AM
Posted on March 7, 2005 11:23
I'M CANADIAN TOO !! French Canadian, actually (notice the name). From New Brunswick.
As such, I feel compelled to set the record straight. I'm not really a fan of Celine Dion (if she never talked and only sang, maybe I could be) -- but overwrought soft rock is a guilty pleasure.
That said, Cirque du Soleil also originated from Canada (specifically, Quebec), and that is where I will be heading should I win....
Posted by Monique | March 7, 2005 12:36 PM
Posted on March 7, 2005 12:36
Back at you, Steve...
Shouldn't the restroom be the ONE haven during the workday where you can shield yourself from messages? E-mail blasts, intranets, Web sites, cell phones, Blackberries, PalmPilots, etc....give me a break!
To paraphrase somebody who said it better...
Sometimes I like to sit and think. But sometimes I just like to sit.
- mike
Posted by Mike | March 8, 2005 12:47 PM
Posted on March 8, 2005 12:47
I also vote to take them down for reasons listed above. (association with defecation, infringement on a private moment, and problems with hygiene.)
In addition, I think these are a bad idea because we risk overloading employees with MORE and MORE information all the time. I have to wonder how much information anyone can absorb during a given day. I think our jobs are about providing MEANING by editing out the non-pressing information and helping employees focus on what really matters, and then providing it succinctly and clearly in a standard place, like a printed newsletter. When they choose to pick up a newsletter, they are ready to digest our information; it's not being pushed at them. The more signs we hang, the more we're competing for their attention and potentially overwhelming them with extraneous messages. Less is more!!
Posted by Carmen Ramson-Herzing | March 9, 2005 10:20 AM
Posted on March 9, 2005 10:20
Kristin:
Excellent!!! Well, the forum here seems to be heavily against posting ANYTHING in the bathroom. I'll probably keep this open for a few more days, and then do a drawing of names for everyone who responded. So check the blog next week to see if you won!
Carmen . . . I'll give your problem some thought, and see how other companies handle it. You're right . . . finding the stuff they care about is the hardest part.
Steve
Posted by steve C. | March 11, 2005 12:45 PM
Posted on March 11, 2005 12:45
Cathy . . . you just made it under the wire!!! And with good advice, too. I'm doing the drawing in four minutes! You are the last one under the wire!!
Steve
Posted by steve C. | March 24, 2005 12:45 PM
Posted on March 24, 2005 12:45
Turn the frames into mirrors.
Posted by Cindy | November 11, 2005 8:13 AM
Posted on November 11, 2005 08:13
DATE: 03/04/2005 08:94:7P PM
OK, Ill bite... with the caveat that the prize should be the CCC in Vegas, which I was *already* building a case to attend.
That said, and given that Harv is innocent until proven horny, option 3 is out.
Option 1 sets an ugly precedent - that the inmates can run the asylum and change policy by the simple inclusion of a couple of boobs. And if's that's all it takes, I think MOST of our existing vehicles would have already been cancelled as most have included a NUMBER of boobs for many many years.
So, from the options, I like the tamper proof frames, although with a twist. The things you post in there should be SPECIFIC to that vehicle. Don't just throw the existing newsletter in there - it aint study time. Put something in that acknowledges where the person is, and that you realize it is a an unusual channel. At a local restaurant, the advertising company that owns those frames sells the concept with the tag line "Because 'Here I sit' graffitti gets old...". Now that is memorable. I also like the sign that says "Don't eat the mints."
Come to think of it, I've changed my mind. Take em down. Bad idea to begin with. I mean really, what would work in there? "Employees are our biggest ASSet?" "I've got your Six Sigma right here"??
Giving up any possibility of winning the contest,
Yours,
Steve Neruda
Posted by Steve Neruda | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 09:01:8P PM
Measure the number of 'hits' each ad gets; assemble an academy and have an advertising awards show each year - The Bif Awards (little golden toilets)..."and the 'Biffy' for most motivating ad goes to Harv Waverly for his 'dirty old man' campaign."
Posted by Lee-Ann | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 09:85:6P PM
Okay . . . you guys are both in! And since I'm the one running the contest, I hereby declare that if you win, you can pick whatever Ragan event you want to go to. Corporate Communicator's Conference, the Engagement Summit, Mark and Jim's Advanced Writing Seminar, or whatever else you can find on the home page.
Steve
Posted by steve c. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 10:35:4P PM
Being the computer geek that I am, I'm not entering the contest for New York...though I would LOVE to go back to that wonderful city...
But I must say, Steve...fun story! My favorite part is where you made the pipefitter part of the GMBCWU...my husband, you see, is a pipefitter, and this made me laugh out loud. And if the "driller" "fitter" innuendos weren't intentional...that's hysterical, too. Thank you for that.
Options 2 & 3 are out....
I have seen these frames before. I find them fun. I definitely don't think they should contain loads of important reading information, but a quick one or two line sentiment could be very effective.
I wouldn't change a thing. Send out a company notice reminding people about sexual harassment policies, take down the porn and replace it with a nice haiku about the business. Even kids get bored when they know they are not getting attention for their actions. I guess if Harv the perv can't stop himself from replacing the info, I would think about tamper proof frames. But for pete's sake, we are all adults here, right?
Have a great weekend.
R
Posted by Rebecca, Julie's friend | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 29:61:5P PM
Rebecca,
You didn't think the whole driller/fitter thing was an accident, did you? :)
Hey, Steve. I like your ideas for what to put in there. But, since most companies seem to want to kill the morale within the employee ranks and keep them in line, wouldn't it be more appropriate if it said:
"You call that a SIX sigma? I'd say more like a FOUR Sigma, buddy."
Posted by steve c. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 33:24:7P PM
Guess what I am...
A first time poster (ever -- to any blog) and a Steve Neruda draftee (to this blog). He'll be shocked that I posted anything, because I'm a no-tech person working for a high-tech company. He told me yesterday I finally caught up to 1997.
As such, love the low-tech quality of your communication channel. Our stuff regularly receives sneers and smears, but rarely splatters. So that's my main objection -- hygiene!! The yuck factor is pretty high here.
On the other hand, we are all secret bathroom readers, n'est ce pas? It's one of the many dirty little secrets of communicators (if you're not a reader -- bathroom or otherwise -- you should get the hell out of the biz).
But still -- rip the damn thing off the wall! That's my vote!
Do I get a ticket to Vegas now? Dare I hope.... will I finally be able to see and hear Celine Dion.....
Posted by Monique | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 39:14:5P PM
Celine Dion? Speaking of crap...
(see comments from an earlier blog for me weighing in in favor of 80s Hair Bands)
Hi Monique - and welcome. About (or is that 'aboot'?) time...
SN
Posted by Steve Neruda | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 39:51:0P PM
Monique . . . welcome. I, too, am a closet Luddite. You and I are "Digital Immigrants." We have to work at this. Unlike "Digital Natives" who can instant message 95 words a minute with one hand while updating their personal web site with the other.
Hygiene . . . it's one of the overlooked things when we consider our various communication vehicles, high-tech OR low-tech. They don't teach that in communication school . . . .
No ticket to Vegas just yet . . .but you ARE in the drawing. But only if you promise to splatter Celine Dion.
Steve
Posted by steve c. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 40:42:4P PM
Not only do I promise, I insist... at the most emotive moment of "My Heart Will Go On." You know, when she scrunches her face up like she's bearing down really hard (when she should be reading what's in the frame in front of her).
Actually, guilty secret... I'm a big fan of the power ballad. 80's hair bands -- eeeeeeiuuuu. Except for Beth -- the only reason I will excuse Kiss (particularly Gene Simmons) for existing. Stand by, Steve N. is outraged....
P.S. I am a big proponent of beating new technologies with a stick.
Posted by Monique | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 41:41:4P PM
When I was younger, "Beth," by Kiss, was the first song that ever made me cry.
Now it makes me cry for an altogether different reason.
Posted by steve c. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 48:24:4P PM
Well I too am a first time poster and Steve Neruda draftee. I am also an employee of Monique (I'm the one who makes certain that her low tech ways can exist in this high tech company).
I am in favor of option 3- feeding Harv squid for lunch. Yup... some ill prepared seafood is just what is called for in this situation. After a couple hours in the bathroom he will admit it was him and... Oh wait... I read it too quickly the first time. One of the downfalls of multi-tasking. Ah... I see... Liquid lunch. Never mind. Still in favor of it but probably not as much fun.
In other pressing news... what is this Celine Dion crapola? I am being left behind for that?
Posted by Rick | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 51:23:7P PM
Rick is my enabler. Are there 12 steps for luddites... ?
Posted by Monique | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/04/2005 59:64:9P PM
No, only 2 steps for luddites.
- Pray it works.
- Find someone to help.
And outrage doesn't begin to hint at it... For the record I am also a big fan of the power ballad, but I think that term means different things to us. "Power" ballad refers to a specific genre of music, of which Ms. Dion is *not* a member. I refer you to this hilarious site: http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=4998
in which appears the quote: "Worst offender has to be Celine Dion, who actually injects the word “power” into every ballad, inspiring fear in the manner that only an overly emotive nuclear reactor might."
My apologies, Steve, for again taking the good ship Crescenzo far, far off course...
Posted by S Neruda | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 10:60:3P AM
One would think that Ragan was looking to extend its reach to people STILL IN Canada, not those who left for pastures blue-and redder some years ago, Monique.
That said, I fully approve of Cirque. Just don't bump Steve C's shooting arm when you pass him at the craps table.
SN
Posted by Steve Neruda | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 11:22:8A AM
It seems to me that the female employees got short-changed in this scenario (isn't that always the case?) since only the men in the company were getting to enjoy the "enhanced" messages.
Personally, I think I'd put up male centerfolds for the women to look at for a week - maybe even put the same ones in the men's room to make the GMBCWU happy, and then change the name of the program to "Naked News" and continue feeding everyone the corporate spin - in tamperproof frames.
As for being a luddite, I bought my first PC back in 1987, but I proudly admit that I bought my first cell phone in October 2004. Who wants to be found 24 hours a day?
Posted by Sheryl | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 02:05:1P PM
I always found the bathroom advertisements to be tasteless and, except for the opportunity to read a paragraph or two from some sports page, mostly goes unread. Rates right up there with the dispenser machines full of scents and interesting items and cut-away charts of the human anatomy that are sometimes posted in the bathroom to help you better understand how to examine yourself or how to detect some unmentionable condition.
I'd take the frames down and call it a bad idea. The tamper-proof frames are almost as bad of an admission that you can't control the asylum as removing them, so quit before throwing any more money at it.
And besides, whatever happened to NOT encouraging people to read in the bathroom? "Sorry, boss, can't talk now. I'm taking my coffee to the john to read the latest company news while I'm on my break. See ya in 20."
I can just see it.
Posted by Kevin | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 02:84:3P PM
Ha ha . . . when you put it that way, Kevin, it's hard to argue with you.
Steve
Posted by steve C. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 10:04:0P PM
Keep 'em up, make 'em tamperproof, and use them as teasers for other comms vehicles. That way, reading them won't feel like work, and you'll drive traffic to your other vehicles. Example: The company has a new John! (He's actually the new CFO.) Visit the intranet to learn more.
And fire the perv.
Posted by Shari S | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 12:82:6P PM
Very nice, Shari . . . very nice. Now I'm swaying back and forth again.
Steve
Posted by steve C. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 62:42:9A PM
Replace the frames with flat panel displays. Upload the pictures remotely. That way, no one needs to get their hands dirty, and the pictures won't be dirty either!
Posted by Jon H | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 63:01:8A PM
Excellent!! You guys are both in the drawing. Sheryl, help me with the logistics . . . I know communication pieces work above urinals, because I've seen them there, and I know how close my face is to the wall where they are hanging. Would they work in womens' stalls? Is the stall too far away? Could you actually read them? Now that I think about it, I guess the stalls in the mens room are the same distance . . . I'll do some scientific research later today. And good for you for not wanting to be available 24/7. So far, I've resisted one of those Crackberry things for that very reason.
Jon . . . so far, yours has been the most practical solution. Know any companies that have done it? It's really not all that far-fetched when you think about it!
Steve
Posted by steve C. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 63:93:5A PM
I'm with Sheryl on this one, and I'd take it a step further: a quick search of adult personals sites always (I hear) unearths nude photos of fellow employees (!). Start posting THOSE along with your United Way reminders and watch the bake sale numbers climb...
And, Steve, I can play Beth on the piano. Buy me a cosmo and I'll have you crying before the check comes.
Posted by Meredith | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 79:90:3A PM
I could see these working in a bar or restaurant, but at work wouldn't they have the same effect as the LED ticker signboard in the break room? That is also "their time", so wouldn't they be less likely to want company messages as they do their business?
Posted by Darin | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/07/2005 82:30:7A PM
The stall door is not too far away, unless you are perpetually using the handicap stall.
The family and I frequent TGI Friday's (I'm not proud of it, it's just a statement of fact) and they have advertising panels on the back of the stall door. I can read them just fine, I just wish they would change the content already!
"Beth I hear you callin', but I can't come home right now...."
Who isn't a sucker for "Beth"?!?!
And SN - the good ship Crescenzo gets lost whether you're manning the rudders or not. I think the captain prefers it that way sometimes. Hence the jug of vodka on deck.
Posted by Rebecca, Julie's friend | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/09/2005 11:90:1P PM
Steve,
What happened to the expression "S*** or get off the pot"? I want people to read communication vehicles as much as the next communicator, but this restroom idea seems a bit much! Plus, I work for a retail company and many times our store employees are using the same restrooms as our customers. That would hinder what type of messages we could actually put in this venue.
I like the flat-screen idea a bit. If you've never visited the individual restrooms in the China Grill Restaurant in Mandalay Bay, I recommend you check it out at the conference just to see this idea at work. Those of us in my dinner party kept going to the restroom all the time just to check the score of the Kings-Lakers playoff game a few years ago (rooting against the Lakers who had just beaten my Spurs). We were probably in the bathroom more than we were together at the table!
So, in light of all of this, I say take the frames down. Let's keep productivity up and communication flowing...just not in the restroom!
Posted by Sonya | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/10/2005 10:23:6P AM
Anish!!!! People from Bangladesh are a little twisted, it seems. I like that!!! Yes, hidden cameras in the bathrooms . . . interesting.
Carmen . . . You do a better job than most, I think, of filtering messages and not repeating too much stuff. So if you're worried about it, imagine what people who DON'T worry about are doing to employees.
Sonya . . . you were at the Ragan conference last year? How did I miss you? Are you going this year? You could, especially if you win the contest, for which you, Carmen, and Anish are all in the drawing now.
Steve
Posted by steve C. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/10/2005 02:53:1P PM
Steve,
Sadly, I was not at the Ragan Conference last year (I last went in Chicago May 2002---that's where I heard you speak for the first time in a panel!). The Vegas-China Grill bathroom incident I mentioned was actually two weeks later in May 2002. Funny aside, we were not the only ones interested in the ballgame and spending lots of time in the TV-enhanced restroom that evening. Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner, was there as well with a big party of people all dressed in black and he kept going back and forth to the restroom as well. We all kept bumping into him.
I would love to go this year, so I am glad I am included in the drawing! Best of luck to everyone!
Sonya
Posted by Sonya | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/10/2005 38:10:7A PM
Hi,
I am writing in from Bangalore, India.
This is indeed a great situation to be in !
Ok, here are my suggestions to put people in place and still continue with the brilliant idea !
1. Post a message saying that the 'frames' are being monitored by a hidden camera which takes pictures of employees staring at the nude images ! And you intend to print and showcase those employees 'caught in the act' !
2. Get employees involved in the posting of the communication messages - say the best entries routed though the communications manager would win them free copies of even 'saucier' photos !
3. Create a false window behind the frames and have someone reach out and scare the daylights of those ogling !
Cheers
Anish
Posted by Anish K. Verrghese | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/10/2005 42:55:6P PM
Thanks, Steve!
Yes, we are really concerned about filtering. In fact, we're re-strategizing our Intranet news, Headlines, to be "Timely News That's Worth Your Time." The "worth your time" part is the hardest -- and most critical -- to nail. Any suggestions?
Posted by Carmen Ramson-Herzing | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/10/2005 49:35:6P PM
Does anyone else associate bathroom messaging with ads for cheezy singles groups and safe sex warnings? Maybe that's just the downtown clubs and sports bars in my town.
I say focus on other down times in the employees' day, and leave em alone to do their "business." I heard about a communicator who leaves a news blurb on the employees voice mail each day, so that employees can listen while waiting for the computer to fire up. Post news near the microwave and water cooler, just about everyone spends a few moments there each day.
Re: the plexiglass, sell ad space to local businesses and use the funds to take a vacation and get away from porn-loving coworkers.
Kristin
Posted by Kristin | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/14/2005 01:22:3A PM
Steve ! I am from India. Glad my idea is in the reckoning !
Would love to be there at the Conference !
Cheers
Anish
Posted by Anish K. Verrghese | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/14/2005 09:53:1P PM
How to handle the chaos? It wasn't the communicators that got framed, but an honest attempt at reaching employees in a new way got warped by, what one can assume, to be an individual's misdeed. This is the root of what needs to be communicated.
First, go back to the company's written policies (they should be available somewhere for all to see on your Intranet) and remind employees, citing chapter and verse, that such items are not permissible in the workplace, nor is the behavior that assumed "it might be funny to do that kind of thing."
Next, remind the union it wasn't the Communications Team that posted the offending materials, but most likely an employee "peer" -- obviously not a union peer, since there's only two of 'em in the GMBCWU. Would Chuck himself want to deliberately dis Lewellyn -- or verse visa -- with such disrespectful heteronormative behavior? We'll assume not. And, without irrefutable evidence, you can't prove it was Harv, even if his subscription label was stuck to the posted Miss January. It would be gracious to apologize to the union about the offensive materials -- and to all employees -- then take steps to make the frames less accessible to the unauthorized.
But, if you have "finite resources" and the budget just can't the afford deluxe ultra-secure polished Lexan media case with keys that cannot be duplicated in the Western Hemisphere, go back to your audience and ask, in a polite and maybe even an amused way, if the effort is worth continuing: "Readers -- is there value in presenting information this way, or should we stop wasting your time while you make waste?"
Ok -- don't ask it that way, but do query your audience. Feedback is good. Let it guide you to the proper result. It might be Harv's last laugh, if the talk around the water cooler is positive to your effort. Or, if nothing more, you've helped Chuck and Lewellyn work out a misunderstanding and maybe even increased the union's paltry membership total. But don't tell HR that!
Respectfully submitted,
Dave in Detroit
Posted by Dave LaBarge | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/16/2005 81:73:8A PM
Dave:
More than respectfully accepted!! I love it . . . I'll be doing the drawing for the free conference on Friday, and you're in it!
Steve
Posted by steve C | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/22/2005 11:62:9P PM
First time blog commentor.... Stumbled across your blog a few weeks back. You've got a real winner, there.
As for the frames.... drop the "nudies," put in mirrors in the stalls and above the urinals (make sure the men's room are pointing down a little bit). That oughta get everyone back to work on time... even the GMBCWU boys.
Posted by Submariner | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/23/2005 12:25:8P PM
Submariner:
Welcome . . . love you your idea! It would certainly get me out of the bathroom in a hurry. Lee-Ann . . . I am drawing TODAY. I am right now writing down the name of everyone who posted and e-mailed, so I can put them in an empty martini glass and draw out a winner.
Steve
Posted by steve C. | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/23/2005 03:25:4P PM
I hope I am not too late for the contest---Vegas has been good to me-- i say take the frames down, install a magazine rack deal with info people can read if they are going to be in there awhile, (design it so that they can take the stuff out, but not return it- that would be yucky) and call it a day! If you need to go to frames in the bathroom stall, you just as soon start printing your newsletters on the toilet paper!
Posted by Cathy | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/23/2005 83:80:5A PM
Steve - will you be doing the draw any time soon? I'm anxious to start packing...
Lee-Ann in Canada
Posted by Lee-Ann | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30
DATE: 03/24/2005 10:35:6P PM
Cool. (It would be bad form to leave me out since I am the President of the New Orleans chapter of the Steve Crescenzo Fan Club)
Posted by Cathy | October 16, 2006 4:30 PM
Posted on October 16, 2006 16:30