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Features

Published August 2008

Listen Up: A How-to Guide for Podcasting

  Kaliym Islam

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The mechanics of podcasting are easy; the skills required are minimal. So the most challenging aspect of introducing the new technology into your organization is persuading your employees to accept the new approach.

When Colin Powell retired from his position as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993, his retirement present from President Clinton was a “barely ambulatory wreck” of a 1966 Volvo. Powell is reported as saying that this gift was the best he had ever received. The reason he felt that way was because, in his spare time, Powell had taken up the hobby of fixing old Volvos. He felt that the technical work of fixing old cars was easy and relaxing. If he connected the right hoses and wires and ensured the car had the proper levels of oil, fuel and other liquids, it would eventually start and work.

“People, on the other hand,” Powell said, “were more difficult.” Just because you used a technique to inspire, motivate or persuade them on one day and it worked, using that same technique a week later might cause the opposite effect.

The story of Gen. Powell and his Volvos is similar to the dilemma companies face when they attempt to deploy new media tools such as podcasting into their organizations. The technical mechanics of creating a podcast are easy, the skills required are minimal and the hardware and software requirements are insignificant. However, it’s much more difficult to help stakeholders see the vision, understand the value proposition, buy in to the concept of podcasting as a training option and take ownership in the process.

Trainers might resist podcasting if they perceive the technology will make them less valuable. A trainer at one financial service firm openly stated: “If anyone can record this stuff, what good am I” Similarly, business partners may not see the value of creating podcasts. Their view may be that sending out a memo is sufficient. A product manager at one firm laughed when podcasts were presented to him as a solution to his business issue. His response was: “I already send this information out in my monthly newsletter.”

Also, the information technology or corporate security department may view podcasting as a security threat. Some firms block any site that has an RSS feed. As a result, this article will present some suggestions for dealing with the potential people issues surrounding the introduction of podcasting into an organization.

The People
As the Colin Powell story illustrated, the most challenging part of introducing new technology, including podcasting, is first persuading people to accept the new approach. Members of your training organization may resist using or learning how to use this “new” technology. The business units you are attempting to support may claim that they do not see or understand the benefit of podcasting. This resistance likely is not specific to podcasting, but rather a general opposition to doing things differently. Therefore, addressing the people component of podcast implementation largely is a matter of change management.

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