Open Houses Strut Your Stuff With Pride

"Out of sight, out of mind" is a dangerous place for an in-plant to be. Let your organization know what you do by holding an open house.

I love open houses. The term itself evokes the ambiance of free food and fun, and I'm a strong proponent of both.

I was attending an in-plant publishing department's open house a few years back, and a colleague who prepared the event was telling me that one of the benefits of having an in-house position was that he didn't have to worry about "selling."

Trying to believe what I was hearing, I glanced over the richly decorated refreshment table to notice the bindery operator finishing the shop tour, obviously taking pride in the perfect-binding job she was showing. Soft music was playing as the pressroom manager called out the last three door prizes. One was picked up by a member of the executive administration, one by a client and one by a vendor.

"It's a good thing you don't like selling, Ray," I said, tongue-in-cheek. "You wouldn't be very good at it."

As in-house managers we all have a serious responsibility to sell our product. Whether it be by hitting the pavement and knocking on doors, visiting clients or holding open houses, we must acknowledge that we do not have a "captive" customer base. Whether you're buried in the bowels of the basement, relegated to a remote site or smack in the middle of campus, it is essential that your customer base know what you do and know that you take pride in doing it. "Out of sight, out of mind" is a very dangerous place to be.

I have been employed by the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for almost 20 years, and, quite frankly, I was not driven by all the "good reasons" to hold an open house. Instead, my department sort of fell into it.

Back in the early '80s, we were a production staff that had been brought up in a Christian culture, working for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. We missed celebrating Christmas during the yuletide and decided we would hold our own little private celebration.

Way back in the bindery area of our 12-member shop, we put up a small tree and did a little decorating. Someone brought lights, someone else the ornaments, and by the time Christmas Eve came around we had some egg nog, a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers (with a little pepperoni), some cookies and the obligatory pollyanna.

The next year we discreetly invited some of our colleagues who wouldn't be offended by our approach. Soon, an increasing guest list encouraged us to learn that meat and cheese didn't work together for what became the majority of our attendees. We had to learn quickly some basic rules of "kashrut" (keeping kosher).

Powerful Sales Tool

In short order, we also learned how powerful a sales tool this gathering had become. Everyone asked what we did for a living, and how we did it; so we took the opportunity to show them, demonstrating our equipment. This little Christmas party was destined to develop into one of the best attended and most anticipated events of the year in the entire organization. The invite list began to include the top brass of the organization, as well as external clients, and soon included vendors and a growing list of prospective clients.

We ran shop tours in the early afternoon and finished with a gala reception from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m.

Throughout this development from small private party to a larger open house the "spirit" remained the same. The event was still home-spun; food was prepared by our own staff members and their spouses. Our staff's partners and children attended and became our co-hosts. The kids would color decorations and be on hand to provide name tags or greet guests at the door with a give-away. Our guests could sense immediately that this was a family affair, and that perception will often forgive sins and certainly warms up the entire event.

Our experience has demonstrated the power of the open house. Revenues have grown. Clients feel connected, often asking about the family and asking about the next event. They feel a closer relationship with—and more respect for—the "folks down in the basement." The education provided during the tours empowers our clients to better understand how to plan their jobs with more confidence.

Each year we are challenged to do more. Planning begins about three months prior to the scheduled date. At this all-staff meeting, the first order of business is to discuss potential themes. We review scores of possibilities and methods to connect the theme to the invitations, promotions, music, food and decorations. Over the years these themes have included Benjamin Franklin's birthday, a Hawaiian luau, Italian night, the Wizard of Oz, a '60s party, winter wonderland, under the sea, south of the border, and my personal favorite: Star Trek.

Once the theme is selected, we brainstorm and try to tie things together, binding all promotions to the theme. An inexpensive but creative invitation is designed, final decisions on music are made, and concepts for decorations are tested. A reminder card, sometimes accompanied by a puzzle, a thematic quiz/fact sheet, or some other device to solicit entries for a special door prize is also designed.

We produce signage for shop equipment. Vendors are solicited for giveaways and/or door prizes. The menu is finalized, and signage for the dishes to be served are printed.

The day before the event, we decorate, purchase and cook, all in terrific anticipation of "our" party. We have a ball.

A Few Pointers

• Involve your entire staff, and to the greatest extent possible, your staff's partners and children.

• Plan your date carefully, avoiding large corporate meetings and holiday weekends; a slow Friday is perfect, allowing the light schedule of top brass to attend. The possibility of inclement weather can also be a factor (we had to postpone Ben Franklin's affair twice in January when two consecutive ice storms virtually shut down the city of Philadelphia).

• Keep the affair a home-spun one. Avoid catered foods when possible. Don't rent props and decorations; make them yourself.

• Lighting can be very important. After the tours are completed, turn off the fluorescent lights and use incandescents. A few strings of white "Christmas" lights and a dozen inexpensive glass candle holders have given us many years of ambient lighting, undoubtedly improving the taste of the food.

• Food, food, food! Put it out and people will come. Keep it simple, but experiment by inviting staff to prepare a small dish of something they are particularly proud of making.

• Do not worry about having enough food or enough room. You can stock up on a few extra bags of snacks and sodas, if you're concerned, but remember this: if your place is packed and you're running low on food, most people will say to themselves, "wow, what an event...I'll make sure I come earlier next year."

• Be creative, but not extravagant; people will respect you for not throwing away company dollars. Make sure every job demonstrated on your equipment during tours is a real job; again, you will be respected for not blowing a whole day's production schedule to throw a party.

• Music sets the mood and should be tied to the theme. Have someone responsible for adjusting the volume constantly, as the crowd density will fluctuate and dictate what is appropriate.

• The open house is a terrific tool, and you are the host. You will be distracted with concerns throughout the day, but remember to be somewhat present to all of your guests. Try to say hello to everyone present. However, this is not the time to spend 30 minutes with one prospective client. There will be time later to further develop a business relationship. Remember you are the host; no one will hold that against you.

• Weeks in advance, follow up your invitation with a personal note to the executive staff. It is very important that they attend, demonstrating support. Involve them, if you can. Have them make a brief announcement of the procurement of a new piece of equipment if possible, or simply ask them to draw a business card from the hat for a door prize.

• Stay away from a formal program. People have enough of that every day, and after the tours are finished, it's time for fun, not speeches.

• If you are a successful manager, you don't underestimate the value of your vendors. They can be especially helpful here by providing door-prizes and give-aways. A success for you will be seen as a success for them as well.

• Tours: break into manageable groups, and keep on schedule. We ask for reservations for the tours, but no RSVP is required for the reception. Have as many tour guides as necessary to keep things moving through each production area. Don't be tempted to separate your groups by type; try instead to mix executive staff, clients, prospects and administrative staff together. It usually provides a more dynamic interchange.

• Don't get too technical in your tour. You can wow them simply by showing what you do. Using technical terms only confuses. Keep it in simple language and people will remember.

• Provide each of your staff with business cards, and be sure to have a table near the door with any promotional materials you have describing your department. Printed samples should be displayed throughout the entire facility—not just for the open house, but year-round.

• Hold a post-mortem the very next business day to review attendance, positives, negatives, etc. It's important that your staff debriefs while everyone's memories are fresh. Take notes and start up a new file folder for the next open house.

• Most of all remember that this is supposed to be fun. Show others you are having fun with it, and they'll immediately unwind and do the same.

The open house provides a dynamic opportunity for exposure and helps to develop respect and understanding of your department's talents. For my department, it has been a morale booster.

I think this year, after our next open house, we'll set up a small tree in the bindery, get some cookies and egg nog and...

--by Domenic Vallone

Domenic Vallone has been manager of Print & Mail Services for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for the past 19 years. You can contact him at:

dvallone@philafederation.org

.

Open House Recollections

Purdue University Printing Services has held open houses in the past and hopes to organize more in the future. Here are some observations and recollections from Director Sandy Komasinski:

"We picked one day in the middle of the week, and a 1:00-3:30 time frame—1:00 so folks could get us on their way back from lunch; 3:30 since our primary production shift ends at 4:00.

"We made sure we pointed out where parking was available and which entrances to our building worked best. We had folks sign in so we could later follow up with them.

"The guides had a route to follow, and we tried to limit group size to six, so everyone could hear what was being said. The route through the operation followed how work would flow. In the warehouse, we had some refreshments.

"The production manager scheduled jobs that worked through most of the equipment. There were demos set up at equipment that wasn't being used that particular day.

"It's important to have good signage, whether it is to get folks into the building or to share statistics about a piece of equipment. The more quick readables the better. Some signs with statistics—like 'We produce an average of 5 million black impressions a month on the quick copy equipment'—give folks a feel for the magnitude of work at your location.

"Name tags for the staff build a pride factor. The press operator will be addressed by name if someone is asking a question.

"Will we do an open house again? We have new Xerox equipment to show off, so when we are comfortable with that production effort, we will do something. This time we will send out cards, and e-mail all sorts of folks. The e-mail publicized events can more easily be shared across departments."