Quarries Are Among The Oldest Institutions In Many Communities, Yet They Are The Least Known Because They Have Little Direct Contact With Community Members.
By Thomas J. Roach
Spring and summer offer unique opportunities for businesses to interact with their communities. Art fairs, cleanup projects, outdoor concerts, fundraisers and other events are being planned and organized right now, and they present an excellent opportunity for building relationships with civic leaders and neighbors.
Quarries are physically isolated for obvious reasons, but they don’t have to be socially isolated as well. Quarries are among the oldest institutions in many communities, yet they are the least known because they have little direct contact with community members. While it may be problematic to invite the public to tour a quarry site, nothing keeps quarry employees and management from joining and participating in public activities on the other side of their “Keep Out” signs.
Insurance agents, salespeople, local shop owners and members of not-for-profit organizations tend to be the main participants in civic projects because other community members are their customers and business partners. While this isn’t so much the case with quarries, that doesn’t mean they have no need for community relationships.
Quarries recruit employees from the community. They contend with zoning restrictions. They respond to news stories about noise, property damage and safety. While their interaction with the community may be much less frequent than other businesses, quarries are actually more dependent on the good will of their communities.
When problems arise, even though a quarry may be the longest standing institution in the community, even though the high school teams are called the Quarrymen, and even though the municipal buildings are built with stone excavated from their facilities, quarries are treated as outsiders. Participating in community activities is a way to change that.
Integrating an organization into a community is not easily accomplished; it is a complex business initiative. Following is a list of steps to consider.
- Acting as a partner in community activities is an institution-defining characteristic; it should be included in the company mission statement.
- Good intentions are worthless if not acted upon; participation in community events needs to be written into the employee review and compensation process.
- Employees may not be aware of volunteer opportunities, so someone should be appointed to track community activities and serve as a facilitator and perhaps a coach for other employees.
- The employee who volunteers to participate in planning and producing a community event should encourage other employees to attend the event. Employees might attend as a group wearing company hats or t-shirts.
- Some quarries can host events on their campus. They might offer tours and provide a presentation that reviews the history of the quarry as a founding member the community.
- At the end of the year, an article with photographs summarizing all the events and naming the key participants can be published in an employee newspaper or newsletter, posted on the internet and company intranet, and sent to the news media.
- Finally, when raises and promotions are being considered, individual efforts to meet the community integration goal in the mission statement should be formally noted and rewarded.
One added benefit from an ongoing campaign of community integration is the impact it will have on morale. It is difficulty to feel pride about working at an institution that is only known for breaking windows, making noise, and fighting with the city attorney.
Perhaps the greatest benefit, however, is decision-makers inside the quarry will be exposed to the opinion leaders in the community. Organizations survive and prosper by adapting to change pressures from their environment.
Isolated leadership teams are unprepared to deal with unanticipated problems from legislators and NIMBY groups. An organization that maintains open channels of communication with its publics anticipates resistance and adapts without having to be coerced and manipulated in a power struggle with forces beyond its control.
Thomas J. Roach Ph.D., has 30 years experience in communication as a journalist, media coordinator, communication director and consultant. He has taught at Purdue University Northwest since 1987, and is the author of “An Interviewing Rhetoric.” He can be reached at [email protected].