At the GIS Managers Summit last week, attendees were able to submit questions for our live panel. While we had some great answers, there were dozens of questions we didn’t have time for, so we’re going to answer them here!
Our panelists will be posting, Q&A-style, over the next several weeks, so check back here regularly!
This week, @Kara_Shindle answered questions about building a proactive team:
Q: How long did your journey take before you recognized success and where there any moments (positive or negative) in your journey that stand out?
A: In terms of how long this journey has taken, I started this journey in 2019, and I'd say that I started seeing results for my various initiatives at different times. In 2020, I was able to demonstrate that we were getting more usage, and needed to update our infrastructure. In 2021, I demonstrated that we needed more resources to handle requests and more administrative oversight for project prioritization due to limited resources, & started my education campaign. In 2022, I started seeing the benefits of an education campaign, we've been seeing a steadily increasing number of requests for our services & shown areas of work where we bring more/less value than others to our organization. This journey is still going and I don't intend for it to ever end! I consider it part of the job now.
As for any moments that stand out, I'd say that having people start recognizing us as a service they could utilize was big. I did end up shifting how I reported up my chain, and that was new, as we worked out reporting & how to communicate needs between both ends of that process. I'd also say being referred to as the "dashboard queen" was a big one. Writing an article on my work and having others reach out was truly inspirational, too. My first presentation on this stands out due to the response, much like the GIS Manager's Summit did.
I've certainly had setbacks, but I just look at everything as work towards my end goals and use it to "play the long game." It may not bear fruit right away, but it helps over the long run. I've had so many more that stand out, that I cannot include them all here, because this journey has created opportunities I would have never anticipated, and I certainly would do it again.
"As for any moments that stand out, I'd say that having people start recognizing us as a service they could utilize was big."
Q: What other metrics do you capture about your program? I’m curious what’s in the other tabs of your StoryMap.
A: I capture lots of different metrics, and sometimes I will capture for only certain periods of time to accomplish certain goals or answer certain needs. Generally, I track the following:
- information on requests, their source, & how long we spend on them
- specialized requests versus daily operations to highlight need for project management or additional resources and project scheduling
- Who is using our applications and who is creating/using in AGOL
- I have a separate tracking involving PARs for funding requirements
- I also track edits on certain layers (like parcels or addresses) to meet certain project goals
- I track work we exchange between other internal departments for utilization needs and to also to provide an "audit trail" for certain reasons involving the public or inefficient communication methods
- I have also occasionally tracked communication (i.e. to show how much time I was spending as the help desk for our public applications or how much time I spent on meetings for a new process that I felt was redundant). This type of metric I usually do to prove a point or provide evidence for an issue.
Wow, writing that out seems like a lot! In reality, I have automated a significant portion of this using scripts and forms to aggregate and report so I can focus on more important things.
Q: (Asked to everyone) Where is the best place for one to start and why, for a one-person team?
A: I would say that you start by identifying what your priorities are. I think that there are some common steps that everyone can take, but knowing where you want to head can help you identify a good place to start. I suggest sitting down and identifying your priorities, their importance, their effort levels, and then planning out which ones you want to tackle first.
Q: (Asked to everyone) What have you seen that most engages customer participation in GIS device delivery or stakeholder active involvement?
A: I can talk about the awesome benefits of GIS until I'm blue in the face, but visual examples make the most impact. I often make test dashboards or concepts with dummy data to spark conversation for the actual requestors of GIS work. For stakeholders, I often try to tailor my efforts in a way that resonates with them. For example, if I'm presenting to business people, my report may take on a business report feel, and focus more on money and hours saved rather than on technology.
Q: (Asked to everyone) We talked a lot about lack of engagement of executive sponsors/departments. On the other end of the spectrum how do we manage over engagement of these people groups, when their enthusiasm manifests in micro-management of internal GIS only processes etc.?
A: I've managed micro-managers in the past by using frank communication & sitting down with them to identify what their needs are and why they feel the need to be so involved. I've found that it sometimes come down to communication differences, and it can often taper off over time once they understand or start to "trust" the GIS processes. I've also gone to them with a prepared list of tasks and said "this is what I need from you." When all else fails, I've also tracked time spent on dealing with these overzealous reporting processes 🙂 Usually, there is a reason or perspective that fuels micro-managing that I try to figure out and solve.
Q: (Asked to everyone) Could you send out a list of the resources mentioned by various folks today. Particularly the ones on executive engagement.
A: I post my resources for each presentation on my County Hub site at: https://gisportal.franklincountypa.gov/pages/presentations
I will also be posting this to the ESRI GIS Manager's Group forum.
