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Paving the Way for Web Governance
The document discusses web governance in higher education, emphasizing the need for structured processes, defined roles, and community empowerment to achieve content goals. It highlights the importance of fostering transparency, building relationships, and preparing the community for change to improve web effectiveness. Ultimately, the document advocates for a strategic approach to web management to ensure longevity and success in digital engagement.
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Paving the Way for Web Governance
- 1. Georgy Cohenl ContentEd 2017l Pavingthe Way forl Web Governancel
- 2. Let’s talk aboutgovernance. (Let’s talk about you and me.)
- 3. OHO INTERACTIVE What isweb governance, anyway?
- 4. OHO INTERACTIVE What isit? Creating structure and accountability to support the achievement of your content goals. What is governance, anyway?
- 5. OHO INTERACTIVE How dowe get there? Consistent process Defined roles & responsibilities Empowerment via tools, knowledge, and community What is governance, anyway?
- 6. OHO INTERACTIVE Consistent process Definedroles & responsibilities Empowerment via tools, knowledge, and community How do we get there? What is governance, anyway?
- 7. OHO INTERACTIVE No, really.How do we get there? Promote culture change via sustained transparency, open communication, and strong relationships. What is governance, anyway?
- 8. OHO INTERACTIVE No, really.How do we get there? Then set realistic and sustainable expectations. What is governance, anyway?
- 10. OHO INTERACTIVEWhat isgovernance, anyway?
- 11. OHO INTERACTIVE Higher edis… special.
- 12. “The politics ofthe university are so intense because the stakes are so low.” – Wallace Sayre (Sayre’s Law)
- 14. OHO INTERACTIVEHigher edis… special
- 15. OHO INTERACTIVEHigher edis… special
- 16. 85% of U.S. collegeprospects cite the website as their top method of seeking information Source: OHO Interactive research
- 17. OHO INTERACTIVEHigher edis… special Factors Inhibiting a Strategic Website Politics Decentralization Silos Lack of nimble decision-making Lack of accountability Fear of change
- 18. Change is inevitable Changeain’t easy. But standing still is not an option. If our institutions don’t mature as digital organizations, we risk losing our audience and failing to achieve our goals. We can’t impose change overnight if we want it to last. By priming our community to understand and accept change, and in the process laying a groundwork for meaningful web governance, we are investing in the long-term viability of our website as a tool for strategic success. Governance is cool
- 19. OHO INTERACTIVE Change isnecessary If we don’t mature as digital organizations, we risk failure. Higher ed is... special
- 20. OHO INTERACTIVE But changecan’t come overnight We must prepare our community to understand, accept, and embrace change for the long haul. Higher ed is... special
- 21. OHO INTERACTIVE Soft powervs. hard power Education Relationships Culture Community Roles Ownership Workflow Policies Accountability Higher ed is... special
- 22.
- 24. OHO INTERACTIVE The importanceof transparency Transparency flies in the face of silos, which are endemic to higher ed. Silos seclude people from one another and disconnect people from streams of information. This creates redundancy and inefficiency, inhibits the ability to gain broad buy-in, and makes communication challenging. But when you strive to foster transparency, the walls fall away. People become humans, not just names on a list. Information becomes common knowledge, not the stuff of legend. Communication and connections become the currency by which things get done. How can you foster transparency? There are a few simple things you can do that will go a long way toward creating a more open (and more productive) work environment. Governance is cool
- 25. OHO INTERACTIVE Demystify theweb Transparency is cool
- 27. OHO INTERACTIVE These earlyconversations may be one-on-one, but they present a great opportunity to begin making one-to- many connections. As you start talking to people, begin connecting them to one another. Informally, at first. (“Oh, you send a newsletter to Relationship building
- 29. Show your work (Rememberto carry the one!)
- 30. OHO INTERACTIVE Identify &map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Education & training Begin building community structures Show your work
- 31. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Begin building community structures Education & training
- 32. OHO INTERACTIVE Strategic Plan Showyour work Map out how web explicitly supports defined priorities Understand executive priorities at each level
- 33. OHO INTERACTIVE Project alignment “Prioritizationis especially important when the amount of project requests surpass the resources available to accomplish the work. With this in mind, WEB has made it our goal to use prioritization in order to ensure all aspects of website creation and maintenance, including content, graphic design, and web development, are aligned with strategic institutional initiatives as outlined in Educating Illinois.” Show your work
- 34. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Begin building community structures Education & training
- 35. OHO INTERACTIVE Share yourstrategy & process Show your work
- 36. OHO INTERACTIVE Share yourguidelines Show your work
- 37. OHO INTERACTIVE Share yourguidelines Show your work
- 38. OHO INTERACTIVE Share projectstatus Show your work
- 39. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Begin building community structures Education & training
- 40. OHO INTERACTIVE Key areas Showyour work Awareness of brand, style, goals, audience Content decision-making & planning process/roles Content quality assurance Measurement strategy CMS pain points and workflow effectiveness
- 41. OHO INTERACTIVE Knowledge v.attitude Show your work Understands value of web as communication tool Sees full value More work to do Great opportunity! Great opportunity! Sees some value More work to do More work to do Great opportunity! Does not see full value Problematic More work to do More work to do Uninformed Partially informed Well-informed Understands needs and requirements for web
- 42. OHO INTERACTIVE Three typesof people Show your work
- 43. OHO INTERACTIVE Three typesof people Show your work
- 44. OHO INTERACTIVE Three typesof people Show your work
- 45. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Begin building community structures Education & training
- 46. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork GoalsMessages Audience
- 47. OHO INTERACTIVE It isunlikely that you single-handedly can determine what the communications goals, top audiences, and key messages are for your institution, but you can begin to consider the possibilities and create a working draft to guide subsequent Goals, audience, message
- 48. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Begin building community structures Education & training
- 49. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Content audit Competitor audit Analytics
- 50. OHO INTERACTIVE Share theoutcomes (not just the reports) Show your work
- 51. OHO INTERACTIVE User testing Showyour work ➢ One-on-one interviews ➢ Focus groups``
- 52. OHO INTERACTIVE Analyzing theresults Governance solutions Website issues (e.g. content training, access to guidelines) (e.g. inconsistent content quality) Show your work
- 53. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Begin building community structures Education & training
- 54. OHO INTERACTIVE = RACI Matrix Showyour work
- 55.
- 56.
- 57. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Begin building community structures Education & training
- 59. OHO INTERACTIVE How areweb responsibilities accounted for in the job descriptions of those for whom the web is a measurable task? Are the tasks explicitly listed? Does the individual receive reasonable time allocations to complete them? Do they get training, professional Resource audit Show your work
- 60. OHO INTERACTIVE HR isyour friend. Learn how job descriptions are written Educate up about the true scope and strategic value of web tasks Discuss opportunities to sponsor or institutionalize training sessions Resource audit Show your work
- 61. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Education & training Begin building community structures
- 62. OHO INTERACTIVE Training To sustainlong-term web effectiveness, training should be a cultural function and expectation. Show your work
- 64. OHO INTERACTIVE Share yourknowledge Show your work
- 65. “One thing Iwas struck with was watching people interacting while they were waiting. We are all trying to do more with less these days; any opportunity to get strength and support from one another is a bonus. Michelle Tarby, Le Moyne College, Syracuse, New York
- 66. OHO INTERACTIVE Pre-training Invite peoplefrom across campus to listen to webinars from industry experts, or even invite a local professional or alum in the field to come and speak. Check if your institution offers free access to Lynda.com online training, and hand-pick relevant modules to promote.
- 67. OHO INTERACTIVE Pre-training Invite peoplefrom across campus to listen to webinars from industry experts, or even invite a local professional or alum in the field to come and speak. Check if your institution offers free access to Lynda.com online training, and hand-pick relevant modules to promote.
- 68. OHO INTERACTIVEShow yourwork Identify & map to institutional objectives Share your process Gauge savvy & attitudes toward web Confirm goals, audiences, and messages Audit, analyze, test to gauge effectiveness Examine roles, permissions, and workflow Gauge support for web tasks Education & training Begin building community structures
- 69. OHO INTERACTIVE Relationship building Showyour work I have a question... Oh, tell me more...
- 70. OHO INTERACTIVE Relationship building Showyour work Hey, talk to Blue, she has the same issue that you do. Oh, thanks! I have a question... Oh, tell me more...
- 71. OHO INTERACTIVE Maintain regularmeetings and active lines of communication Model effective site governance Preview upcoming changes and get early buy-in and/or feedback Content communities Show your work
- 72. OHO INTERACTIVE Content communities Showyour work Central Web Team Department X Department Y
- 73. OHO INTERACTIVE Content communities Showyour work Central Web Team Department X Department Y
- 74. OHO INTERACTIVE xx Content communities “Asa ‘one-man’ team, I wanted the opportunity to share ideas and ‘talk shop’ with other web professionals on campus but, desiring more than just a community, I also saw an opportunity to crowdsource resources and professional development for all web professionals on campus.” Rachel Carden, University of Alabama
- 75. “While we asweb professionals can know best practices and try to add value to our colleagues’ content, we can’t be everywhere at once. Through thoughtful and intentional governance, we can add more value to more content.” Nicholas O’Brien, Bates College, Confab Higher Ed 2014
- 76.
Editor's Notes
- #5 Governance ensures you can apply your content strategy effectively by extending it to all the people charged with helping execute it, at every level in the organization.
- #7 But getting there requires significant cultural change, and you can’t achieve that overnight.
- #8 We can’t just draft well-meaning guidelines, hand them down via memo or edict, and expect everyone to embrace them with open arms.
- #9 We can’t just draft well-meaning guidelines, hand them down via memo or edict, and expect everyone to embrace them with open arms.
- #10 You know you want it. - But your organizational culture isn’t ready yet. Don’t force it. - Let’s chart a path forward.
- #11 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #14 Hard to pivot - Hard to steer the ship - where rigid hierarchies and legacy systems often still rule the roost, imposing new processes, roles, and guidelines (accompanied by new expectations and consequences) is much easier said than done.
- #15 Service v. strategy model - Traditional print-based, service-driven marketing operations ruled the roost for decades. When the web emerged—somewhat abruptly, as far as these things go—departments and FTEs sprouted up to support it. - leads to an undefined sense of ownership and accountability around the website
- #16 But without fundamentally revisiting overall communications workflow, priorities, or needs, many of these new units and employees were essentially stranded somewhere between IT and print marketing, resulting in a wild west of web.
- #17 It is 73-77% from Noel Levitz As the web has arguably become the most important marketing platform for colleges and universities...
- #18 As the web has arguably become the most important marketing platform for colleges and universities, it has also become the least strategically managed
- #19 Change ain’t easy. But standing still is not an option. If our institutions don’t mature as digital organizations, we risk losing our audience and failing to achieve our goals. We can’t impose change overnight if we want it to last. By priming our community to understand and accept change, and in the process laying a groundwork for meaningful web governance, we are investing in the long-term viability of our website as a tool for strategic success.
- #22 By the same token, there is a lot of “soft” work of education and relationship-building to be done across the organization before introducing the “hard” work of governance
- #25 Silos disconnect people from each other and from information - creates redundancy and inefficiency - inhibits the ability to gain broad buy-in - makes communication challenging. By being transparent - People become humans, not just names on a list - Information becomes common knowledge, not the stuff of legend - Communication and connections become the currency by which things get done.
- #26 I always compare it to landscaping - We understand that - we can appreciate how much effort it takes to plant flowers, mow giant lawns, etc. BUt How long does it take to update content? 5 minutes? 5 hours?
- #27 All of these tactics really boil down to just being a better, more real human. Own up to mistakes when we make them Apologizing when we offend Acknowledging when we’re wrong. Easier said than done, but not only will that vulnerability engender good will with those around us, but it will probably result in better work being done.
- #28 relationship building! - Reach out and get to know people - Create opportunities to connect - Be transparent about your intentions - Be inclusive in working toward solutions - Be vulnerable in sharing your own challenges and pain points - Ask thoughtful questions, and carefully consider the answers.
- #29 What transparency really does is cultivate trust. When you open up and share your process, people can react to a reality instead of a theory (or a fear). Then you can have far more productive conversations and constructive relationships than you would otherwise. And that’s when special things (and real progress) start to happen.
- #31 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #33 Strategic plan Even if the website is not called out as a priority within the strategic plan, map out the role the website may play in achieving the other defined priorities. Drill down to the college, school, or unit level and determine what the executive priorities are.
- #34 Let your campus community know where initiatives stand. Be as open as you can about the status of various digital projects. Illinois State has a remarkable online project status tracker, accompanied by an explanation of its project planning process, but even a simple page on your website can suffice.
- #35 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #36 In the same vein, sharing the big picture of what you’re trying to do and help people across campus better understand the communications function of the university.
- #37 For a highly political digital property (for example, your homepage), sharing your rationale and plan for what you publish there and why can both demystify your process and help people feel invested and aware. Your plan isn’t top secret, so why not share it? The University of Texas at Austin did a great job of defining and sharing the content plan [PDF] for its homepage, and Fairfield University provided some insight into what content they plan for their homepage.
- #38 For a highly political digital property (for example, your homepage), sharing your rationale and plan for what you publish there and why can both demystify your process and help people feel invested and aware. Your plan isn’t top secret, so why not share it? The University of Texas at Austin did a great job of defining and sharing the content plan [PDF] for its homepage, and Fairfield University provided some insight into what content they plan for their homepage.
- #39 Let your campus community know where initiatives stand. Be as open as you can about the status of various digital projects. Illinois State has a remarkable online project status tracker, accompanied by an explanation of its project planning process, but even a simple page on your website can suffice.
- #40 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #41 Are individuals aware of institutional brand, style, goals, audience, etc.? How are content decisions made? Who is doing the work, overseeing the work, or influencing the work? Does this work well? Is there any content planning process in place, through editorial calendars, editorial meetings, or other tactics? Is there any ongoing content quality assurance, via audits or other means? Do editors and site owners consult analytics? How are they referencing analytics data? Does measurement inform content decision-making? What are the pain points for CMS editors? Is there an effective workflow? Are roles, responsibilities, and timeframes clearly defined?
- #42 Beyond documented strategy, try to gauge general attitudes around the web. A helpful matrix may entail plotting web knowledge and web attitude:
- #43 Champions: These are the folks who get it, a/k/a your new best friends. They understand the value of the web, ask thoughtful questions, and want to help in all the right ways. While it is great to have these folks as allies, it is important to convert them into evangelists. As your relationships with champions evolve, encourage them to speak up and down the chain about their experience and perspectives in thinking about the website.
- #44 Threats: There are always going to be people who don’t get it, or for unrelated reasons will be obstacles toward achieving a more strategic, accountable website. Knowing who these people from the outset are will make it easier to figure out how to navigate the process, and come up with a game plan for how to get them on board.
- #45 Guinea pigs: These individuals may or may not overlap with champions, but you will hopefully come across an individual or unit who is willing to let their website be your living laboratory for governance. No matter how small, any digital property presents an opportunity for more effective decision-making and higher content quality. With these small wins, you can create and socialize mini case studies of how implementing web governance helps a website function more effectively as a strategic tool.
- #46 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #47 Guide stakeholders to define these fundamental building blocks of digital governance and content strategy.
- #48 More importantly, you can create frameworks for getting other people to decide upon them. Meghan Casey’s 2015 A List Apart article “Creating a Content Compass” suggests some excellent frameworks for developing these core elements.
- #49 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #51 Do more than just generate reports; train content owners to understand what the numbers mean and how to apply them to content decision-making
- #52 website usability and effectiveness. What motivates users to take action? What is the customer journey? How is the brand coming across?
- #53 Consider what elements of governance (e.g. training around institutional style or web writing, access to clear content guidelines, etc.) could help address these issues, and map it out. Draw a clear line between website issues and governance solutions.
- #54 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #55 You may even begin to be able to complete a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrix, identifying the various roles and tasks associated with the web. From here, you begin to see where there are potential gaps or vulnerabilities in the publishing workflow. This is the homework for creating a more effective governance model.
- #58 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #59 for many of the people entrusted with managing some portion of the website, these responsibilities are not an official part of their job description. - not allocated dedicated time, training, or resources to do that job effectively, not by any fault of their own.
- #60 Begin surveying how web responsibilities are accounted for in the job descriptions of those for whom the web is a task. Are they specifically called out? Do they receive a percentage allocation of time? Are those tasks supported with training and professional development opportunities or budget? Do individuals with web responsibilities have a corresponding budget?
- #61 While doing this, begin talking to human resources. Find out how job descriptions are written, get their take on how communications tasks are accounted for in job descriptions, particularly with those individuals for whom communications is a task but not a profession. Begin helping HR understand the scope of web tasks and their importance to the institutional mission. This will be an important relationships in thinking not just about potentially rewriting key job descriptions, but also future training programs and offerings.
- #62 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #64 University of Mary Washington has an outstanding training model, taking a page out of the online learning playbook by developing a suite of on-demand training modules covering CMS how-tos, basics of content strategy, web writing, and other relevant topics. Site administrators must complete a prescribed set of courses to retain website editing privileges.
- #65 As you begin to understand where knowledge gaps and pain points exist, you’ll know what sort of education people need most.
- #67 Check if your institution offers free access to Lynda.com online training, and hand-pick relevant modules to promote.
- #68 Invite people from across campus to listen to webinars from industry experts, or even invite a local professional or alum in the field to come and speak.
- #69 By doing the legwork in priming your organization and massaging your culture toward an understanding and acceptance of the value of the website (both at lower and executive levels of the organization) and fostering clearer and stronger internal communication and relationships, you can set yourself up for a greater likelihood of success.
- #70 These early conversations may be one-on-one, but they present a great opportunity to begin making one-to-many connections. As you start talking to people, begin connecting them to one another. Informally, at first. (“Oh, you send a newsletter to alumni using platform XYZ? So does Sally at the music school.”) But let people know that they are not alone in doing this work, and that others across the institution share similar challenges. If there are broader meetings or discussions they are not aware of, invite them. If there are relevant resources that they don’t know about, share the links.
- #71 All of these tips and connections help lay the groundwork for eventually creating a more formalized campus content community
- #72 Connect individuals doing web work within your institution to best practices, institutional standards, guidelines, process, and most importantly, to each other.
- #73 Especially given the limited resources of most central marcom or web teams, enabling both peer support and relationships up to the central team through regular meetings and active communications channels can help keep the governance engines humming.