DON’T READ this blog post

Posted by accountingweb on Aug 24 2011 997 printer friendly

It never fails, every time I go to do a Yahoo search, I’m easily distracted by the headlines du jour that scroll just below the Yahoo search bar. Today the articles that took me away from my quest were “Baseball fan’s awesome catch” and “Sunken treasure sparks legal tussle”. By no means do I have Attention Deficit Disorder or anything like that, I’m just another “victim” of baseline marketing ploys.

I have a choice, I’m not forced to click – I’m being influenced into an action, however subtle it might be. We try to do the same with our end users – trying to point them in the right direction, even when they are not exactly seeking assistance. We do this by crafting our intranets to put things they need to know front and center – friendly reminders like closing out of applications at night, not saving data to their desktop and keyboard shortcuts to name a few.

If you are not using marketing tactics to get in front of your end users, consider doing just that. Nobody wants more email to read, but fortunately (or unfortunately), it is the best means of communication right now – although the Millennial generation would disagree since it is “too slow.”

Talk to your marketing department about helping with your IT communications. Consider adding a comic strip to your IT newsletter. Make it fun. If you really want someone to read your email message, use the subject line “DON’T READ” – this is sure to draw in any reader. There are different methods of delivery too – a private Twitter feed posted on your intranet with useful technology information, customized Windows text boxes that open up when users boot up in the a.m.

There are lots of ways to get in front of end users with proactive information they need to hear. Nobody likes to read an epic email – my rule of thumb is that if you have to scroll to read, it is too long. With so many methods available, there is no excuse for not keeping end users in the know.

I’m a big fan of cheesy titles by the way….our internal IT newsletter is called DigiKnowIT.

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CentsLess: Wise CPA Firm Spending

Jim Fahey is COO of Apple Growth Partners, a regional CPA firm in Ohio. His focus is on the effective and efficient use of technology within the firm by all team members. He is also in charge of talent management and retention at his firm. A background of IT and Human Resources helps Jim bridge the gap of technology complexities with end users who just want their computer to work so they can be chargeable. Being a very cheap (frugal sounds better) person himself, he is always looking for ways to save dollars at his firm. He is Director of Education for the Association for Accounting Administration and past Technology Committee member of the Ohio Society of CPA's. He often leads industry CPE events on the topics of Information Technology, CPA firm practice management and human resources/recruiting. Find out more about Jim on LinkedIn.

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