A Community for Community Leaders: Zencity Hall

Here are the top 3 benefits of getting involved in the Zencity Hall community, a free resource for the staff of our Zencity partner communities.

Zencity Hall is a space created exclusively for leaders in Zencity partner communities to network and learn from their peers in local government, as well as a first-stop destination for the latest updates, training, and industry news from Zencity.

But, you may be wondering, “Why would I want to be a part of a community like this?”

As you know, we’re all about community input, so we’ve compiled a list of the most beneficial aspects that we’ve heard from Zencity Hall community members — read on to learn more:

Benefit #1: Expert Network Access and Aligned Mission

When you think about an expert network, it can often create an image of exclusivity and high-cost promises that can ultimately be underwhelming. In the Zencity Hall community, the curtains are pulled back, and local government leaders can easily mingle and swap ideas with the Zencity team of experts — including former city managers and police chiefs, and strategic consulting professionals.

In addition, we know that Zencity clients have a depth and breadth of experience and knowledge from their past and current roles, and consider each community member a resource in their area of expertise. Connecting in the Zencity Hall is tapping into a community of experts and peers who all understand the value of data-driven decision-making.

“Our team loves using Zencity to let us know what people are saying/feeling in our community so we can create content around those topics. It’s a crucial part of our strategic communications process!”

When I started my career, I jumped into the world of advertising and it was a fast-paced experience being immersed in branding, marketing, and all things creativity, communications, and PR. 

Now that my career is focused on supporting local government, I can compare and contrast an obvious — but also subtle — difference when it comes to ideas and creativity. In the private sector, ideas are sacred and need to be protected. Intellectual property is the highest priority, and if someone ‘steals’ your idea, it can be detrimental to a business. 

Contrast this with local government teams who are in service roles supporting the best interest of residents, and the sharing and replication of great ideas is commonplace and celebrated. As we’ve heard repeatedly from our Zencity communities, “All ships rise,” “Let’s not reinvent the wheel,” and “Can you send me that template?”.

In the spirit of incorporating resident feedback into data-driven decision-making, you are our Zencity residents and we hear you! And so it should come as no surprise that this type of sharing energy inherently permeates the Zencity Hall Community, too! In our community platform, local government leaders and teams can easily upload playbooks, share links to previous projects, and tap into the hive mind of best practices.

“Thank you! This is a great report and directly relevant to a project that my organization is about to undertake.”

Zencity Hall community member commenting on
featured community report “The State of
Homelessness in 2021: Discourse Trends & Analysis”

Benefit #3: Growth Through Collaboration

No matter what your role in local government, it’s normal to experience a never-ending checklist of tasks. In this type of situation, it’s critical to be time-smart and use your energy efficiently. This means that it’s important to leverage collaboration to help tackle complex issues. Plus, working with others who have similar visions and experience comparable struggles can be both effective and inspiring when things start to feel stagnant.

In the Zencity Hall community, local government leaders and team members can easily reach out to their peers in the discussion forum, send private messages, and join in collaboration cohorts and workshops hosted by the Zencity team. Plus, your Customer Success Managers are available to help by offering tips and suggestions for how to best utilize the Zencity platform and who to connect with when needs arise.

In addition, the community offers a space for advanced training and education on best practices on how to utilize the Zencity platform. So, not only do you get access to the Zencity training team, live training webinars, and a library of training materials, but you can also see how other Zencity partners are investigating, taking action, and operationalizing their data from the Zencity platform and getting the most value out of the tools.

Collaboration inherently creates a 1 + 1 = 3 experience, and in the community, you can tap into this power of growth by learning new information, validating your decisions, or even uncovering blind spots you may have missed before.

 

Curious to learn more about the Zencity platform and the Zencity Hall community?
Contact us to get a conversation started!