{"id":1221,"date":"2013-02-06T19:14:24","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T19:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/austinukgcucco0.web01.sundaramdesign.comm\/2013\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2013-02-06T19:14:24","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T19:14:24","slug":"keep-it-clean-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/keep-it-clean-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep it Clean, People."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The minute a group of people share a space there is going to be the challenge of getting every one to follow the community norms that are necessary to keep that space clean and make sharing it pleasant.\u00a0 That\u2019s just a politically correct way of saying, \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some jerk who leaves dirty dishes in the community kitchen.\u201d\u00a0 It is an ongoing theme on Cheezburger.com<\/a>\u2019s Monday Thru Friday Fails. It has been an issue ever since our ancestors first shifted from hunting and gathering to permanent settlements and it will be an issue on the first space station on Mars.<\/p>\n

Ya can\u2019t leave the dishes there, nothing draws a crowd like a crowd.\u00a0 It seems like one dirty dish is quickly joined by 6 or 7 very good friends. And they invite 2 friends and they invite 2 friends and so on and so on\u2026<\/p>\n

And cleaning up after members like some martyr mother isn\u2019t healthy for staff members\u2019 sanity or for the community culture. So what\u2019s a coworking community manager to do?<\/p>\n

In our community we\u2019ve found a way to turn the dirty dishes left in the sink issue around.\u00a0 It\u2019s not perfect. \u00a0A perfect kitchen would probably mean you had no members so we\u2019re not shooting for perfection.\u00a0 Our goal is consistent, cheerful following of community kitchen norms by most members most of the time.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a few tricks that\u00a0 we\u2019ve found effective and that can be adapted for whatever your community issue may be.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Rotate Signage<\/strong> – The familiar becomes invisible.\u00a0 If it seems like people aren\u2019t seeing your sign that is so obviously there, it may be that they\u2019ve seen it so much that they don\u2019t see it anymore.\u00a0 Our brains developed to notice novel things.\u00a0 This is how we found food and spotted danger.\u00a0 That same old sign is known to be neither edible nor dangerous and so safely ignored.\u00a0 Something new catches the attention again.\u00a0 We have a variety of signs that we rotate randomly and continue to make new ones.\u00a0 Keep it fresh.<\/li>\n
  2. Be Clear \u2013 <\/strong>In our space we are super lucky to have a dishwasher. Yet people still left dirty cups in the sink \u2013 even when there were acres of space in the dishwasher!\u00a0 Or people would put their dirty cup half filled coffee cup in with the once clean dishes.\u00a0 Arrrgghhhhhh!\u00a0 Now when the dishwasher is available for dirty dishes there is a big, impossible-to-miss sign orange sign that says, \u201cHey! I\u2019m available for dirty dishes!\u201d\u00a0 When it is washing it has a rotating silly pictures of dishes being washed that says, \u201cI\u2019m busy, please wash & put away your dish.\u201d\u00a0 Members have commented how much they appreciate the clarity.\u00a0 Confused people don\u2019t follow directions.\u00a0 Make it crystal clear.<\/li>\n
  3. Tell \u2018em what To Do<\/strong>\u00a0 – The human brain doesn\u2019t process the words, \u201cNo\u201d or \u201cDon\u2019t\u201d.\u00a0 When given concrete directions, the brain tends to conjure up the image.\u00a0 The abstract concept of \u201cDon\u2019t\u201d falls away.\u00a0 For example, when a child is told \u201cDon\u2019t hit your sister,\u201d the image of hitting his sister forms in the mind.\u00a0 Then it\u2019s harder to identify what TO do.\u00a0 In the case of \u201cDon\u2019t leave dishes here\u201d, people can now only see the image of leaving their dishes there.\u00a0 Instead try, \u201cWash your cup and put it in the drying rack.\u201d\u00a0 Wordier? Yes. And more effective with human brain wiring as well as creating a more positive community experience.\u00a0 When we changed our signs from \u201cDon\u2019t do this, Don\u2019t do that\u201d to \u201cThis is what to do\u201d several members commented that it felt more positive and friendly.<\/li>\n
  4. Have Fun! <\/strong>\u00a0You know those moments when your brain is mush and ya just need a little down time?\u00a0 Try googling dirty dishes images.\u00a0 There is some fun silly stuff that will make you laugh out loud and if it is making you laugh it\u2019ll make your members laugh too as they wash their dirty dishes.\u00a0 Or just make up your won silly stuff.\u00a0 Like the Community Karma Points Game.\u00a0 Empty the dishwasher or drying rack score infinity Community Karma Points.\u00a0 Wash and put your cup in the rack\u00a0 and the one some one else left +1,000,000 Community points.\u00a0 Wash and put away your dishes +100 points.\u00a0 Leave your dish in the sink for some one else\u00a0 minus 100,0000,0000,000,000 Community Karma Points.<\/li>\n
  5. Put a Face On It-<\/strong>When dishes are left in the sink I change the sign to one of me with a spoon hanging from my nose and a silly psychotic expression that says Stop the Insanity! Keep Lydia from losing it! Please put your stuff away instead of throwing it in the sink! The comedy balances the scold and stillgets the point across, it ain\u2019t cool do leave your mess for someone else to clean up.\u00a0 It puts a face on that someone, makes them a real person.People tend to behave better when they feel like they\u2019re being watched \u2013even when it is just a photograph. Stores use this fact as an anti theft tactic.\u00a0 They place signage of a face in high theft areas. The face may be smiling and hawking some product, but the brain\u2019s experience is I\u2019m being watched.\u00a0 Try creating fun, silly signs that include someone looking over the scene.\u00a0 We have a picture of a 1950\u2019s mom reminding members, \u201cI don\u2019t work here, wash & put away your dishes.\u201d<\/li>\n
  6. Reward the Behavior You Want to See<\/strong> \u2013 when we\u2019re on a roll with the community following the kitchen norms I throw a little thank you on our community list or put up a sign that says thank you.\u00a0 When I catch members going beyond I thank them.\u00a0 This year at our annual awards we awarded two members with \u201cThe Kitchen Community Norm Role Model\u201d.\u00a0 What is awesome is they were both 20 something guys.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Wherever a group of people share a kitchen there will be the issue of dirty dishes in the sink, however as a coworking community manager you have a great deal of influence on how it folds into your community\u2019s culture. \u00a0Is it a source of friction and contention or moments of amusement and maybe even a contender for the LOL of the day? \u00a0Laughter is not only the best medicine, it is the mortar for community.<\/p>\n

    Lydia Snider is Social Media Strategist who focuses on the art of utilizing social media to cultivate dynamic, engaged communities both on and offline. http:\/\/www.lydiasnider.com\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The minute a group of people share a space there is going to be the challenge of getting every one to follow the community norms that are necessary to keep that space clean and make sharing it pleasant.\u00a0 That\u2019s just a politically correct way of saying, \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be some jerk who leaves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[15,81,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gcuclegacysite.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}