Continuing to learn thanks to the MakerClass

You're never too much of an expert to learn. That's pretty much the mindset of all MakerLabbers. Senior business designer, Liline Arends, joined MakerLab a little over two years ago - right in the midst of the pandemic - and was looking for a way to connect by bringing knowledge and inspiration from the outside in.

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And so the MakerClass was born, an in-house program of workshops on a variety of topics relevant to the daily work of Makerlabbers; from growth hacking and Google Analytics to ChatGPT. So back to school, but with cool topics you definitely don't want to miss.

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Compliments for the name MakerClass.

Liline: 'Ha! Not a masterclass but a MakerClass.'

It's really your idea.

Liline: 'I sensed in myself the need to become better informed and inspired beyond my own network. I also heard this from colleagues who, for instance, were conducting an experiment with Google Analytics and felt like they were missing some context.'

Where did you start?

Liline: "I  approached Elevator, an online marketing agency and sister company within MakerStreet, with the question: 'Guys, you are the experts in the field of SEO and SEA. Could you explain to us what you do so that we can translate it to our field and understand how we can utilize this in an experiment?''"

Was everyone excited?

Liline: "Yes, it was a really fun and educational session. Colleagues immediately came to me with new ideas and topics for a next MakerClass. By now I have organized about six of them.'

Is there also a social aspect to it?

Liline: "Certainly. We often work on our individual projects. That's why we always schedule it on a Thursday afternoon, so we can combine it with a drink.'

What does such a MakerClass look like?

Liline: "Depending on the theme, it can be either a workshop or a presentation. We recently had an interesting session on ChatGPT, artificial intelligence. It was very interactive, with us getting hands-on experience working on a marketing concept created by ChatGPT.'

Do you store all that knowledge somewhere?

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Liline: 'I record all sessions to build a knowledge base. This includes the presentation, reference materials, and exercises - so that the knowledge remains accessible to everyone.'

How often do you organize a MakerClass?

Liline: "I send out a survey once every six months, asking what people need in terms of knowledge. It would be nice if we could organize such a MakerClass every month or month and a half or so.'

Not everyone is at the same level of knowledge, either.

Liline: 'So far it's going well, but people get to decide for themselves if they attend, if a workshop is relevant to them. Nine times out of 10, it is.'

And the next step?

Liline: 'Next, I want to professionalize a bit more. I also want to invite experts outside our own network, and MakerLab is happily willing to allocate a budget for this.'

What is the upcoming MakerClass about?

Liline: 'It's about Google Tag Manager. What I consider important, is that you can develop not only the hard skills, like Google Tag Manager, within MakerLab, but also personal skills and personal leadership.'

Can you explain that a little more?

Liline: "I look for ways to align a MakerClass with the individual development paths that all MakerLab employees go through. This leads to questions about those soft skills, such as: what drives you? How can you perform at your best? What leadership qualities do you still want to develop? I'm talking to a party that hopefully can facilitate that.'

Is this the best way to gain knowledge?

Liline: 'I believe that within an agency, you can draw knowledge from various sources: 1) by learning from and listening to peers; 2) by being on an assignment with a client and gaining experience there, and 3) by continually developing yourself through inspiring and informing each other with topics you propose yourself or that are suggested by colleagues. My colleague Hunter explained this beautifully in her interview about the skills you need as a makerlabber.

MakerLab is actually one big knowledge base.

Liline: 'All that knowledge we collect and share with each other is also valuable for our customers. When there is something I don't know, I send out a Slack message to see who does know and who can help me as quickly as possible.'

Hire one MakerLabber, and you hire them all.

Liline: "Exactly. Behind the scenes it really is.'

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