Work Related Rant
2004-05-05, 4:40 p.m.

WARNING: Potentially boring work related rant to follow.

So, I�m the Director of Development and Communications. Which means I�m in charge of fund raising, marketing, advertising and PR. Or at least I�m supposed to be in charge. As a group, the management team (consisting of me, the Administrative Manager and the Exec Director) decided something. Then, today, I hear that they�ve (they being the Admin Man and the ED) told staff to take it to their respective teams to get input. WTF? Without telling me, I might add.

I found this out in the course of discussing with the Admin Man an email I got from one of our audiologists. This is the text, directly copied from the email:

The audiologists could, and are willing to, be a terrific source of input for our marketing efforts. While "marketing" is new to the audiologists, we know the most about just what it is we are trying to market. Each of us has strong feelings about maintaining our professional image as well as our positive image in the Community.

I also feel we need to look more closely at the wording as well as the patients who are targeted to receive marketing letters from us.

The audiologists feel strongly about being included in our marketing efforts since we receive the majority of the comments and "fall-out" from mailings. We really want to add to the picture, not just complain about it.

Now, alone, that doesn�t seem so bad, I understand. However, this is the first bit of information I�ve gotten directly They have complained about numerous things among themselves, to my boss, to the Admin Man. Not to me.

See, here�s the thing. CBHC is a health care provider, but we are also a nonprofit. They, however, prefer to think of us as a regular old health care provider. They don�t want to think that marketing is necessary, let alone fund raising. What they refuse to �get� is that if we don�t do something differently, people are going to have to be laid off. Not just support staff or me, but them. They are going to lose their jobs and patients are not going to be seen. That, my friends, is an absolute reality.

I know I have to be the �grown up� and educate them. T hey have been taking snippy tones with me in person and in email and I am fed up. They think that they have �veto power� and that if they don�t like something, then I won�t do it. Um, sorry, no. I know you don�t like marketing. And I know I�m still going to do it.

So tomorrow I have to come back to this office and discuss this all with the ED and Admin Man and formulate a response that is more professional and grown up that �fuck you bitches. I don�t see any experience on your resume with marketing or fund raising. Do I tell you how to treat your patients?!!! No, I don�t, so don�t try to tell me how to do my job. Oh, and while you�re at it, fuck off.� I guess I can�t say that. Tempting as it is. I have a draft of a response. I don�t know if it�s the one I�m going to use, but for better or worse, here it is:

I appreciate the willingness on the part of the audiologists to participate in the marketing efforts. Of course, as a hearing center, I want to be sure that all information goes out of here about hearing health is as accurate as possible. You are the direct link to the patients and your experiences are invaluable in marketing and fund raising.

I understand that the audiologists have had concerns that have not been shared directly with me, until your email, and I had hoped to wait and address them until I could do so in person, as a group. It would seem that is not going to be possible. I am always happy to discuss what I am doing with any one of you or with all of you. Feel free to invite me to your meetings or whatever venue you feel is appropriate for the discussion.

I respect your abilities as audiologists and I would certainly hope that you all would return the courtesy and understand that, while you may not know marketing, I do and that I would not ask us to do something that is "unprofessional" or that would be inappropriate. We may differ on what consitutes appropriate. I am perfectly willing to discuss what choices I am making, in conjunction with Dennis and Ginger, so that you all understand the logic behind any given marketing strategy.

The fact remains that we have to do our marketing differently than we have done in the past. As I do my market research, here is what I've found: those who know of CBHC think we are wonderful. It is unusual to have not found one unhappy story. In most cases, it's quite simple to find someone who isn't happy with your organization, no matter how good you are. We can all be quite proud that we are so well thought of in the community. On the other hand, there are a number of people who have never heard of us and/or don't know what we do. That has to change. In addition, many people who do know about us do not realize that we are a nonprofit. That, too, has to change. With the changes in the insurance world and, quite frankly, the economy at large, we can't rest on our laurels. We have been able to get by without fund raising and with minimal marketing and that is no longer the case.

Comparisons have been made with Bronson Hospital. That is a poor choice for comparison. We are not Bronson. Bronson has their own set of problems, totally different than ours. Bronson provides an essential service that this community absolutely can not do without. We provide an essential service that, unfortunately, is often considered dispensable. Bronson has a long history of fund raising and marketing. They do not need to concern themselves with name recognition. We have been in Kalamazoo since 1942, but there are many people who have no idea who we are. For example, I've been working in nonprofits since 1995 here in Kalamazoo and know alot of agencies, even ones with whom I have never worked. Until I interviewed for this job, I had never heard of CBHC. You may think I'm not your target market, but you'd be wrong. Not only am I a nonprofit employee, but I am a donor and I give to health related agencies, particularly those who serve the elderly and children. Sound like CBHC? So, why hadn't I heard of you?

You and I know that there is a large number of people who will be affected by hearing loss at some point in their life - either their own or a family member. It is up to us to make sure that when they do have that issue present itself that they know who to call. Right now, they don't.

For an agency who has never had to rely on fund raising and whose marketing efforts have been very low key, I think that this is a change that is uncomfortable and difficult. It is also one that needs to be made. I can appreciate that this is a difficult time for all of you as we learn to "toot our own" horn a bit more and as we begin to look at ourselves in new ways.

Once again, please feel free to direct any concerns or questions you have to the person who is able to help you with them - me. I'm happy to discuss or strategies and goals as well as share what has and has not worked.

The original email was copied to everyone and I would send this email to everyone as well. I don�t know if that�s the final draft, but it�s a start.

Mother fuckers. That�s all I got to say.