The Wisdom of Collaboration

Recently I had the opportunity to attend an outstanding conference on Healthcare Internet Strategy. It's not everyday that you have the opportunity to sit next to the professionals who do exactly what you do- but for their respective organizations.

Here are some successful strategies for collaborating with your peers:

• Leave your title home.
• Attend events together and talk about it after.
• Make time to get to know your colleagues, as people.
• Ask how they handle the everyday and special issues you deal with.
• Find out what makes them successful in their organization.
• Spend quality time together.
• These are your peers, not competitors.
  
• Brainstorm on new ideas.
• Set-up a professional communications network (http://webiscope.com)
• Establish a schedule for staying in-touch.
• Promote each other's successes.
• Visit each other's Web sites.
• Blog about it...
  

Setting Priorities for the Web

Recently I had the oportunity to be a featured speaker at the US Government's Web Manager Annual Conference at the FDIC. Here are some of the key take-aways from the presentation...

Setting priorities:

• People will visit your Web site before they will visit or talk to you!
• There are expectations from both the consumer and you, the service provider
• Where these expectations meet helps determine what the TOP PRIORITIES should be on the Web

With regard to healthcare- the numbers tell the story:

• 80% of all health consumers go online prior to the point of care
• 66% will use a search engine to start
• 29% will look for a hospital/physician
• 51% will look for treatment/procedure

How priorites are categorized:

• Generating direct and indirect revenue for the organization -
  through things such as increased referrals, new appointments, program registrations, online donations, online sales, and other alternative sources of revenue.
  
• Reducing costs for the organization by streamlining operations and access -
  through things such as online pre-registration, online job applications and recruitment, online bill paying, etc.
  
• Providing intangible benefits -
  such as improved customer service, educational information, enhanced image, improved employee morale, etc.

This approach usually translates to a comprehensive Internet strategy where top projects typically will include:

• Competitive online analysis
• Site re-architecture and design that is customer-centric
• Search engine marketing
  

Developing the Organization Around the Web (Part I)

Be visible and a strategic partner

• Attend organizational meetings as a guest
• Welcome 1:1 meetings and departmental brainstorming sessions
• Take the time to listen to other ideas
• Everyone’s an expert at the Web… didn’t you get the memo?
• Offer solutions that pertain to the group you are meeting with
• Be a part of their plan, not just the action

Share the vision, own the responsibility

• Be passionate about what you do and who you are working with
• Put ideas out there that extol the benefits (keep the features for those who are really interested)
• Empower your team and resources with your collaboration-- not just delegation
• Let people know what you have delivered and how they are now benefiting
• Remember to thank them for their time, interest and input

Make time to be with owners

• In person if possible
• Value their time
• Be flexible with yours
• Try and meet when the phone's not ringing
• No more than the time agreed to
• Hold a forum to listen and learn
• And remember to thank them

Learn from the leaders

• Bring in experts to help analyze your site from an unbiased perspective
• Take the time to establish metrics and goals in partnership with your organizational leaders
• Share your outcomes and ask for feedback
• Harness industry and association data

Just be the Web expert

• Let the numbers tell the story
• Let the experts speak for you
• Speak with knowledge from the field by showing how the Web can solve problems
• Research and share how others have benefited
• Don’t assume you know their expertise, too

Foster a collaborative environment

• Make asking for ideas and ongoing support a routine
• Bring a small "to-do" list for stakeholders and departmental managers
• Bring your team to client meetings
• Hold off-site team-building activities
• Have fun… Yes, this is a requirement

Consistent message without over-promising

• Speak in organizational terms
  i.e. "Our new Web site will help us grow outpatient volumes." versus…
  "The new site will gain more hits and higher SEO ranking results."
• Put the customers ahead of the technology
• Put the timeframes based on milestones, not just due dates
• Ask for continued support when speaking

How can businesses achieve more from their website to achieve their business goals?

Lesson: Prioritizing Web site initiatives

• Work backwards - Establish business results
• Stakeholder involvement and input
• Front line salespeople involvement and input
• Sampling of customer involvement and input
• Create a wish list of deliverables for the site
• Determine based on time, scope and budget
• Assign one person to project manage
• Build measurable results into the equation
• Prototype, test and refine
• Promote and reward usage
• Measure and improve