Just like many of you Local Guides in here there is a similar trend as to how you originated into this game of humanizing the map for ourselves and other people.
As a Local Guide in my country, here are few lessons I have learnt from Google which I believe business owners and people who are in charge of other people can apply to make people work commendably for or with them.
- Let Them Understand The Need: There are people who always want to impose tasks on others without making them understand the need. With Google Maps, I understood that my contributions were helping other people to discover things that are relevant to them. I also understood that by helping to improve the map I would make life easier for travelers and people who might not get the chance to ask for directions to places. Lesson: Let people see the need and they are likely to work willingly.
- Set Goals For People: Human beings, I’ve come to learn, are goal driven organisms and so any time we have a goal or target, we tend to function effectively as compared to when there is none. That is what Google Maps uses to keep us contributing every time. **Lesson:**Set goals for yourself and also for people who work with/for you and you can be sure of great improvement.
- Show Appreciation. This is also one of the key tools I’ve seen with Google Maps they always show appreciation to Local Guides and this motivates us to contribute more. I don’t know how many of us would still be here if our efforts were not recognized or appreciated. Lesson: Show appreciation to your employees, children, spouse etc.
- Recognition and progress of work: I didn’t recognize how it was done but I found myself contributing more and more every day. This was because I always saw my progress and the impact my contributions were making statistically. Lesson: To make people willingly work with/for you, you need to make them know that their efforts are recognized.
- Small beginning: It took only a few contributions for me to move from Level 1 to Level 2. I was gingered to move to the next level and the more I move up the more the task becomes tougher. I keep on moving upwards because of some other factors listed in this post. Lesson: Don’t over burden people whom you want to perform a task for you. Start with the easier things and as they find joy in doing them, supplement gradually.
- Don’t Compromise Quality: Even though Google wants more people to contribute on the map and in the Local Guides Connect platform, quality is of great importance to them. I have added a few places on the map that have not been accepted. Even though I thought they should, I realized that Google had some doubts about them, that’s why they had not been accepted. I’ve also had some of my posts on the local guides connect platform rejected and some attached to better posts. Even though I felt bad initially, I have now, somehow, come to understand why. Lesson:Always ensure quality is delivered as much as possible.
- Reward Hard Work: Just like being appreciated and being recognized, physical rewards to people help to motivate them to do superfluous. I would love to be in California for the Connect Live 2019, and I believe you also want to be there that’s why you are doing the extra work. Lesson: Why don’t you reward your employees, children, etc. to motivate them to do more?
These are some of the lessons I have learnt from being a Local Guide for Google Maps and I hope I can get your kudos for reminding you or sharing them with you. Don’t hesitate to share your lessons in the comments box.
Thank you.