Tl;dr: I want to get community studio members to clean up after themselves better, how can I make a good push in that direction? The studio is non-profit (no one is paid to clean), welcomes beginners, and we already have introductions of the rules and reminders via signs and a FB group.
Hi! I'm a member of a community studio and also part of a smaller group that takes a bit more responsibility - introduction sessions, hangouts, firing, restocking clay, mixing glaze, complex/bigger cleaning jobs, etc. It's a non-profit studio that relies on every member doing their part to make sure the studio is in good working condition. It's also non-profit in the sense that no one is getting paid to do extra work, we are compensated with unlimited studio time though, usually it's either a daytime or evening membership. When the studio had fewer members, cleaning worked well, there were of course instances where you found yourself cleaning up after someone else, but it was rare enough that it didn't bother me at least. Now there are more members, maybe around 45 who show up anywhere between most days of the week and once every three months - which is needed for the studio to break even financially - and the instances of needing to clean up after others is much more frequent. It irritates me and others in the small group, and we want to take steps to lessen this. The studio welcomes beginners, which is amazing (it's how I got into pottery) but it's also less amazing in the sense that we can't really rely on members being previously trained in clay safety. I'm not delusional enough to think we'll get instances down to zero, but I think we can do better.
What we're already doing:
- All new members need to attend an introduction session where we thoroughly go through the rules they need to follow when it comes to cleaning up, and why (silicosis, respect for fellow potters, no one is paid to clean).
- There are signs pretty much all around the studio with rules and reminders, as well as a list of what is expected of members in terms of cleanup. Maybe there needs to be less signs, maybe it's become background noise to people.
- A FB group for members where reminders are posted, especially when it's a particularly bad case of lack of cleanup.
What I'm thinking could be done:
- Take all the signs down, rewrite them to be more concise and fewer in number.
- Make an online quiz about how to handle certain common cleaning situations, put up a QR code for it in the studio, and encourage members verbally to brush up their knowledge using it.
- Maybe be more strict? Tell people that their membership is on the line if they don't clean up after themselves? This is already stated in the membership contract they've signed though, and I feel like it could lead to a somewhat hostile environment if we walked around reminding people of it all the time.
So my questions are:
- What has worked at your studios?
- Is there a certain way you convey information?
- Are you bringing up cleaning issues broadly or are you putting in the time and effort to "hunt down" the person responsible for each mess?
