You Talk, We Listen: Digital Upgrade

Posted on April 14, 2017


We’re currently collecting your feedback on what ELGL is doing right, and what we need to do less of, as part of our digital services upgrade. Don’t forget to fill out the survey if you haven’t already; it’s a great way to communicate your preferences to us as we align our goals and mission with our communications tools. In the first week working on this project, the project team figured out how often we’re going to meet, the tech tools we’re using to communicate, and started pulling together the guiding document that overviews the work we do (so we have something to align our digital resources to).

We also wanted to share the early survey results with you (we’re still collecting responses, so please respond). To date, here’s what we’ve heard from you:

Why did you join ELGL?

  • For the job announcements
  • I was referred by a friend. I am new to municipal government and have an early passion. I wanted to connect with others who would be a resource professionally but also, people who loved local government like I do.
  • Innovative ideas, fun people, I wanted to be in the “in” crowd.
  • To be as awesome as everyone else in ELGL!
  • for the love of government
  • Opportunity to write and for more engaging professional development/learning.
  • It’s awesome!
  • Relevant and engaging info about local gov profession.
  • I was told about it by a member during an ICMA event It was free for students! Stayed on afterwards.
  • Twitter involvement got my attention, then expanding my universe of young government professionals
  • Loved the vibe of my first Elgl event. Wanted more fresh ideas and personal development
  • To check it out
  • To connect with fellow local government professionals!
  • to be part of the future development of the profession and after 42 yrs of service /membership possibly offer some advice and insight
  • To connect with other local government professionals and hear how other cities and communities address common problems or issues.
  • For networking and growth in all areas of local gov knowledge.
  • Other organizations seemed stale, ELGL actually asks for input and has a way to be meaningfully involved.
  • I love the energy and passion that ELGL has for local government and I am proud to be part of the organization.
  • innovative people
  • I was suckered by Kirsten. Just kidding, it was the promise of being able to network with others outside of a conference environment.
  • Networking, opportunity to learn more
  • I joined ELGL for three reasons. First, I appreciated the way in which its leaders are innovating services to connect and educate local government leaders – and sometimes even entice them out of their comfort zones. Second, membership makes it easier to watch for potential opportunities for win/win partnering with federal civil servants who are focused on similar issues. Third, although no one’s asked me, I would be willing to support members who have a public service ethos by helping them connect with people or resources that will help them expand further.
  • Recently joined the localgov workforce and wanted a professional group that was not niche specific, but rather interdepartmental.
  • To connect with young people interested in taking on the challenges of serving communities large and small
  • To network and learn.

As a member, what do you get out of ELGL?

  • Information, new ideas, networking
  • Job announcements
  • All the things mentioned above. I have gone to our local supper clubs, which have been great. I love the ELGL website for daily updates and happenings.
  • A group of like-minded professionals, new ideas, inspiration
  • I am enjoying the new ways to connect with other like-minded folks who want to think outside the box and make local government more personable.
  • makes things interesting
  • Network of like-minded individuals trying to make government work for people better.
  • I love the dialogue about how to do local government better! And different.
  • ELGL makes me excited about my career and about serving my community in a way no other professional organization ever has. I get resources, ideas, best practices, support, professional development.
  • Networking, fresh ideas for a more technologically advance cohort. ie twitter savvy, and all the various online platforms utilized.
  • Great perspective from my colleagues across the country about what they are doing and changing, but small enough of a community to get most of the jokes.
  • Social events, exposure to what other orgs are doing which helps me understand other depts in my own org
  • Great networking, conference in Detroit near me, super fun/engaging updates on social media.
    interaction with broad spectrum of ICMA members and variety of municipal governments
  • I feel part of a larger local government community, and I have enjoyed the conferences in the past.
  • So much learning, new connections and support.
  • Job Board, Opportunity to volunteer and work on projects I don’t get exposure to at work, social media know how, inspiring web content.
  • I received valuable information and I was introduced to ELGL through the outstanding podcast series.
  • articles, passion, good ideas, fun and excellent social media examples
  • Access to local government professionals across the country and their knowledge.
  • Insight from multiple viewpoints; information on topics I didn’t know I needed information on; entertainment; news;
  • Aside from pure enjoyment, being an ELGL member informs me about issues & memes that matter to constructive young and midcareer public servants. Sometimes it shows me someone who’s interested in the same things I am, whom I could reach out to and get to know better. I love that potential, and I follow up on it as I’m able to.
  • Up to date on trends in localgov, ideas that I can steal and apply to my municipality, camaraderie, networking,
  • It’s a little early to say, but in reading stuff on the website I’ve been able to learn about different approaches to several different problems in several different cities.
  • Meet good people, get to read articles that help me be better at public service.

What do you want more of from ELGL?

  • Ability to connect… webinars maybe?
  • Come to Kansas for a pop-up conference!
  • Clearer job postings on the website. I love the gifs and meme but this is the one section of the website where I think less could be more.
  • Downloadable tools, content that I can use with my staff, ideas for staff engagement
  • I would definitely like to see more local get togethers and pop up on the fly to brainstorm or work through challenges. Our City does not have dedicated staff to communicate and engage the public, so the brainstorming would be very helpful.
  • conferences in detroit
  • Conferences deeper in the southeast.
  • More fun and quirky!
  • Strengthen the resources, best practices, case studies available online. Even a directory of colleagues sorted by cool projects they have managed, not necessarily a full out report/narrative of each.
  • Streamlined mailing lists? Lots of fluff in the daily emails.
  • More of the same…?
  • Regular social gatherings
  • The pop up conferences are not ideal….they are too far away and there doesn’t seem to be an in-person network established with opportunities to meet actual people somewhat locally. There seems to be some online clicks forming.
  • I like having access to the facebook groups for members
  • nothing at the present time.
  • When ELGL first started there were lunch & learns locally with City managers. As an emerging professional at the time, those were so helpful to network and explore the profession. I wonder if there’s a way to sponsor those somehow again regionally. I also enjoy the deep dive into difficult topics- like the #13percent conversation. I wonder if there’s a way to explore more issues similar to this- topics that may not have a platform elsewhere. More job postings and/or profiles for specific titles – like what does it mean to be an assistant to in this city vs. deputy or assistant city manager.
  • Interviews/govlove podcasts with members on what makes them successful in their job. We all win when we learn from others’ successes and failures.
  • Data on topics like #13percent, parental leave, bias interrupters. Presentations on these topics at other conferences and events, put these topics on decision makers radar. More defined value for member organizations, my organization may join but don’t know if they will commit to “buying in”.
    Keep the podcast coming and I have found them very helpful.
  • I just started listening to podcasts and love them. I would like to see more information about titling and describing positions that help attract young people to government.
  • More group conversation with members elsewhere. It wouldn’t always have to be around an issue; it could sometimes be to drink coffee or hoist a beer together after work or on a Saturday. I’ve begun hosting more video conversation this year via Zoom and would love to hang out with McCready, Kittleson, Yager, Wyatts, etc. etc. – any ELGL’er who likes people when they’re near as well as when they’re far (“the public”), has a sense of humor, and does the work.
  • facilitated conversations between membership, i.e. twitter chats. Consistency (for example some jobs get their own posts, while others are bundled together? and Why is California it’s own region?)
    DC area stuff (I’d even be willing to help organize), and more stuff about bringing social media more into the mainstream with governments (in part because that’s my job, but also because i see that as an unmet need basically nationwide)
  • Articles on professional development.

What do you want less of from ELGL?

  • Nothing
  • Gifs and memes on the JOB part of the site only!!! The rest of it is great.
  • multiple posts (across platforms) promoting the same content
  • The podcasts are great, but I barely have time to get through them. Maybe if they were a little shorter so I can get through them quicker.
  • getting tagged in tweets for reasons i dont understand
  • Keep it all coming!
  • Less time in between face-to-face events : )
  • The daily emails. Maybe once a week or twice a week. Like a midweek round up?
  • Less crazy chaos on the website. Sometimes I have a hard time reading and navigating the content or knowing what the topic is.
  • Less of the sales pitches disguised as useful information. Too often I read blog posts written by someone at a company on a topic and it barely scratches the surface of knowledge and ends up being a sales pitch at the end. I know they help pay the bills but it’s becoming annoying that they don’t really give good info with the pitch.
  • More series of posts that I can look forward to and follow along, sometimes things start and then disappear.
  • I cannot think of anything at this time.
  • Less obvious beating on the 13% drum. I think there is a way to get the message across without sounding like whiny women. Yes, I am female.
  • Fewer posts that have today’s date as the subject line. If my inbox is full, which is most of the time, I tend to delete them without opening the message.
  • The posts are so wordy! Could definitely use some word limits. Also the internal posts linking to other ELGL content is fairly redundant, without value added from guest bloggers.
  • Blatant Tar Heel homerism (but really I don’t have an actual answer because I don’t think I have enough experience with local government or ELGL to make that call)
  • Job postings in the main feed? Fine if I’m in the minority on this.

Anything else you want to get off your chest?

  • Nope, I am good
  • There seems to be a lot of push to create blog-type content–this is great but it becomes scattered–too wide a range, too shallow a view. Maybe slow down a little bit?
  • I am really looking forward to getting more involved with the organization, thanks! ELGL sets the bar for what networking is really about. It is very beneficial for the organization to have a paid Executive Director!
  • oh yeah – i can never get into password protected areas. dont remember. should be able to click onto info when it is a link from a communication sent to members
  • Thank you!!!!
  • I’m wondering how ELGL is going to coexist with the so many various groups. In CA there are so many groups, it’s difficult to prioritize ELGL over ICMA CALIMCA MMANC and MMASC. It seems these groups have a really close relationship to each other and plan their events around each other.
  • Website can be hard to navigate
  • Talking about more controversial issues is great but make sure to allow both sides an opportunity.
  • So glad to be part of ELGL!
  • constant focus on soft /people skills within the millennial portion of our member and how do we attract and invigorate the younger generations toward a career in public service
  • Thanks for asking!
  • Love that the org. is affordable for anyone to pay on their own even if their own org. won’t. Keep the focus on making local gov better. It’s working!
  • Keep the good work and I value my membership with ELGL.
  • thanks to leadership for all you do for ELGL!
  • You all are doing a great, great service to the country through your labors. It’s innovative enough that not everyone has caught on yet, but more will. Try not to stop innovating or turn into jerks when you’re famous — resist the usual trajectory. I hope you keep the big tent approach. Good luck in all your endeavors.
  • GovLove is awesome! It would be great if there was a way to introduce some of the content from those interviews into web copy (a la NPR style, or maybe a top 10 moments from this weeks episodes) This may help others take the podcast plunge, use it as a teaser!
  • Looking forward to Detroit!
  • This Trump guy. Wow.
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