The hardest part about getting the most out of Groupanizer, for most groups, is just getting people into the habit of using it! But some people have had clever ideas about how to attack this problem, such as:
- Seems obvious but train the members! Just bring a laptop with a wireless internet connection, and walk the members through the basics while projecting onto a big screen. If you haven't done this yet, schedule it!
- Writing a weekly blog entry (see above)
- Taking attendance right at rehearsal, using a laptop or phone with remote internet.
- Print out the Song Status report and walk it around rehearsal, asking each person if their status is accurate. Divide this task up amongst the section leaders, each with a separate sheet.
- Post things they'll want to see! Polls are a great one - everyone wants their voice to be heard, especially if the poll topics are important ones, such as music selection and other group decisions.
What has worked for you? Click on "add new comment" below and share your wisdom, or your questions. (You do have to be logged in or you wont' see the link)
Hi everyone I'm from Adelaide Sound Connection, Sweet Adelines chorus in South Australia. After a trial period, we've just gone 'live' to our members with Groupanizer. I love it, and fortunately have one other chorus member who is tech-savvy and we can bounce questions and ideas off each other. There are a number of women in our chorus who already struggle with technologically-based tasks - some even still use tape recorders to make their riser tapes!
Does anyone have any really great ideas for winning the hearts and minds of people who are reluctant or fearful? I have created a couple of 'Getting Started on Groupanizer' text files with screen dumps - which I have tried to make user-friendly. We're also thinking of doing a 'hands-on' presentation to everyone, but don't have internet access at our rehearsal hall.
Any other suggestions are very welcome! thanks Diane
Diane, Adelaide Sound Connection
This is an important and popular topic! Every group has this problem to some extent, so there have been lots of ideas generated. Here are a few - please add more!
First, it's only a matter of time. Adoption can be slow, but every group manages eventually because...
... after a while using Groupanizer is the only way people can participate fully in their hobby. Once adoption reaches a tipping point, the rest change their behavior quickly.
You can make it faster by trying these things:
First, make sure everyone who hasn't logged in receives the necessary coaching. It should be a small number of people so not a big chore. Or if there are quite a few, take the early adopters and divide and conquer - assign a few people to each user for coaching.
Next, once the hurdle of understanding is overcome, start finding ways to make the site data relevant in the real world. Some groups have had rehearsal performances where only the people who "know it" in Groupanizer are invited to sing on the risers. That gets peoples' attention really quickly. :)
Variations on this theme include things like reading out the projected attendance for an upcoming event and when people say "hey I plan to be there", you say "then why doesn't it say so on this list?"
Again it's a matter of time, and you'll get there, but it can be made to go faster if you do things right.
Any other cool ideas?
Tom
Strangely, one of the best ways we have found to get members using it is by using it at rehearsal. We are fortunate to have WiFi access at our rehearsal site and we work with members one on one or in groups. One thing that tends to turn members off is if the information is not current or meaningful. It is a lot of work, but well worth the effort.
Ed White
Mount Baker Toppers
I agree with Ed: it's all about making sure everyone sees that it's being used and making sure the data is current. Just last night we changed the location of our meeting at the last minute and realized that one person had listed themselves as a "Maybe" for that session. That meant that we needed to contact her directly, so we did. And we were also confident enough to trust that those who had not indicated that they were planning to attend had properly updated their planned attendance. Had they not and then showed up at the wrong location (with no one there to answer the door), it would have been an interesting (and worthwhile) object lesson. But we're well along the curve -- everyone is paying attention to our Groupanizer and at least updating their attendance plans.
I think the lesson we've learned is that there comes a moment in the adoption process when you have to demonstrate that you're willing to allow some people to "fail" if they don't use the system. It sounds a bit cruel, but if handled with openness and humor, an "incident" may provide that small bit of momentum that you need to turn everyone into an "adopter."
Cindy
Director, Pittsburgh Threshold Choir
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
http://ptc.groupanizer.com