Know-How Exchange : Website Critique

If people don't want their name/image shown, then perhaps list the contact information by position (specialization or region, perhaps). The contact info could be a forwarding email (region1@company.com, for example) rather than the employee's email.

If the goal was to make the list of contact more "personal-feeling", then definitely do have images - but just make it for key staff.

Well, we have only two positions for the general staff - consultants and developers, and they do not differ by region or other thing... And they communicate only with customers, so their contact info is not that important for the website. The goal was really to make the website more personal.

The people who do NOT want to be listed on the site cannot have their cake and eat it.

To make the website more personal your people need to understand that the need is about the client, not them as employees.

If the statements say something to the effect of "BillyBob Smithers has been with XYZ Associates for XX years and is an expert in A, B, and C. He enjoys spending time with his family at their weekend cottage." there is no super secret intel being revealed.

The individuals who continue to object need to understand that you are not running a democracy, that you're running a beneficial dictatorship where sadly, not everyone gets to have their say: you are running a company in order to make a profit, which sometimes means placing the company AHEAD of personal wants and whims.

For anyone who threatens to leave if they don't get their way, tell them firmly that although you'll wish them well in whatever decision they choose to make, the needs of the company on this issue are non-negotiable.

Any notion on an employee's part that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease!" need to be managerially countered by "Indeed, that's true. And squeaky wheels that continue to squeak once they've been greased can also be replaced."

Being in charge sometimes making decisions that the people who are not in charge do not like.

List everyone.

For those who object to their image being used, simply leave a space: not a square or a silhouette, a blank space.

For those who do not want any biographical material listed (and who are then going to bitch, moan, and whine about being excluded, which, by the way, is BS), offer them a period of time to reconsider their point of view, and their position within your company. Harsh? Yes. Realistic? Yes again.

Your people need to understand that they are either part of (and playing for) the team or they're not.

Hi Gary, I am not in charge and I am only a Marketing Expert in the company, so I cannot order my colleagues what to do. Moreover, most of them are also partners in the company and have been here long before I have.

Also, as I've said, we are a consulting company (in a very specific field) and people are our best asset, we cannot afford to make them leave just because of a picture on the website.

Apologies, I was under the impression your role was in management. OK then. Do the best you can. Creat a proposal and show images of what the webpages will look like WITH and WITHOUT the details of those who choose to be included, and omit those who choose to not to. Clearly outline all this in a proposal to your CEO and let it be his or her decision. Done.

My bet is that 3 to 6 months from now, the client feedback and fall out from whatever the decision is on images and bios will be strong enough to influence people's attitudes and perceptions.

Whoops: That ought to be "Create a proposal …"

In your position I would ask them why they have an objection to being on the website. Are they working under a witness relocation program that requires they adopt a low profile?

No matter what type of consultant you are, every consultant is invariably in the marketing business. If you don't attract clients, you're not consulting. Consulting is about finding, grinding and minding - by which I mean finding prospects and turning them into clients, grinding through their project work, and (minding) keeping them happy so they give you further projects... Consultants who need to be spoon-fed clients and projects aren't consultants at all, they are a commodity grinder you can buy anywhere.

To be a successful consultant in whatever field, you need to be an object of interest. If people don't feel like they can form some kind of relationship with you, why would they want you to be their consultant?

There's another issue here: Your authority. You're creating change in this business through marketing, yet you're having to navigate the shoals of petty foibles with some of the partners. Who is in charge of this firm, and why don't you have their full authority to execute this project - consultatively - to create a better future for the firm? Talk to whomever you report to about the issue and see whether THEY can persuade these recalcitrant, shy individuals to let their light shine out.

Shyness is not an option these people can afford. Don't be browbeaten into adopting some kind of compromise solution when you know the best solution is for them all to be shown on the website.

As Alan Weiss says, if you don't blow your own trumpet, there won't be any music. Perhaps you could enrol the firm into one of his "Shameless Self Promotion" workshops (assuming you're in the USA).

Good luck.