Many Hands Make Light Work

Thinking about the simple wisdom of a phrase we all learned in our childhood got me to thinking about the workplace, technology, and automation.  When we automate a task, are we making it easier for us to get our work done?  I think the honest answer is "sometimes yes, sometimes no."

Automation is, at its core, an engineering concept that is applied to tasks all around us.  From washing machines to processed foods to the manufacturing of goods we purchase.  But think about the work that you do each and every day - the tasks you perform at work.  Is technology helping?  How about the tasks of organizing events or raising money for charity? 

How have we benefitted from technology and automation?  Processing of donations online?  Check!  Tracking event planning and attendance?  Check.  Communication?  Check.  Content creation?  Uh, not sure.  User experience?  Ummmm - what?  Participation?  Huh!?!

Think I'm off point?  I hope not.  Think about the promise of new technology.  Remember the introduction of desktop computing - no more need to circulate paper documents, right?  Wrong.  Desktop computing turned everybody into desktop publishers.   We killed more trees than ever!  I remember working at a commercial bank in the late 1980s (I don't want to remember this, but I do!).  Formal loan proposals used to be hand typed, so last minute edits or changes made by a loan committeed were simply handwritten onto the document, initialed, and processed.  Now enter the age of the computer.  Every nit-pick change that could be made was made.  And every change was followed by the printing of a fresh copy of the loan document.  Again and again and again.  Ugh.  Waste of time. Waste of effort.  Waste of paper.  Waste of money.  Automation was not making things better ... not yet, anyway.  It takes time for automation to lead to improvements in processes, workflows, decision making, and more.

Today, the promise of computer technology really is beginning to be fulfilled - and that fulfillment is coming from social media.  Automation is only a first step.  Collaboration and participation - that's where the real progress is made.  In the areas of fundraising and event organization, many hands make light work ... when they can work together.

Many larger organizations struggle to properly resource projects and delegate work.  Consider the anatomy of a fundraising campaign.  Marketing and communication are the keys to success.  So planning starts with the cause, messaging, stories, targeting of donors, content creation, outreach, group organization, follow up, etc.  Add to that a limited budget, overworked staff, and a short deadline.  Sounds like a typical workplace giving program, doesn't it?

Sure, the online giving technology is ready to go, but beyond processing of donations, what does it do for you?  Social media is the key ... the missing ingredient.  Chat, walls, videos, invites, teamming, surveys, contests - the tools that let people share, communicate, and participate on their own - these are the tools that let many hands make light work of your campaign.  Would you rather be sitting in a room of 50 fellow employees while the company campaign coordinator plays a three-minute United Way video before handing out pledge forms for you to sign?  Or would you prefer to watching stories from fellow employees about how they overcame adversity or helped make a difference in someone's life, streaming through your computer, allowing you to share your thoughts on a community wall, then volunteering to help out at a local school, all while also voting for a favorite charity that will be supported by your company?

Many hands make light work ... if you let them.