In the everlasting debate about a centralized vs. decentralized hierarchy of Web management, there comes the realistic perspective that our oft-small departments can be easily overwhelmed by thousands of pages of information, not to mention a seemingly infinite power struggle to produce more interactivity and more “shiney gadgets” for our sites.  Such advancements take time and resources, both personnel- and money-wise, and eventually we end up with a network of associates and colleagues we trust.  But finding those “angels in the outfield” can be difficult.

With a Web site of over 5,000 pages, an e-newsletter, an “Ask-a-Nurse” section, and having to constantly update departmental information, how can a one- or two-person team manage the entire Web site?

One word: delegation.

That isn’t to say you completely delegate every task to someone, but rather that they are your helpers — your angels — who give you the information needed to go on the Web.  Instead of acting as an investigative reporter, it’s your job to manage the information and where and how it’s best presented on the Web site.  While you might not know a thing about craniosynostosis, a nurse or physician does.  In this case it’s much easier — and probably more accurate — to have a medically-inclined person to write the information, while you edit it for Web presentation, and implement it in the appropriate areas of your Web site.

But how do you go about finding these angels?  Oftentimes our work is induced, meaning people come to us with requests for additional information or better presentation of information.  There isn’t any shame in asking that requester if he or she has an assistant or knows of someone who has the information they need presented.  This often leads you to your angel.

Taking the craniosynostosis example, perhaps it’s a neurosurgeon or plastic surgeon who comes to you wanting more information on the Web about the procedure.  If the physician doesn’t have time to give you the information, he or she will need to direct you to someone who does — perhaps it’s their NP, another nurse, or an assistant.  That person becomes your contact point for information regarding this and any other related procedure.

Whether you want to give them editing access to your Web site is up to you and your organization.  If there is a competent editing process in place, there’s little reason not to as long as you have the capacity and resources to train these individuals.  The easiest way is through a luncheon or Webcasts given by your vendor or Web department.

So is a centralized hierarchy a fallacy?  In a sense, yes: you’ll always be calling on informed individuals for the information; it’s just the question is whether you want your technology to be decentralized.  But without a little help from our “angels in the outfield,” a small Web department can easily be overwhelmed with many requests and inaccurate information.

How does your department go about finding its angels?  How do you train them?  How do you keep them around and happy?

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 10:38 am and is filed under Thomas Ames, communications, content, information architecture, networking, project management, webmastering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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