Open house: Real insights or just a show

In general, the open day should offer a certain insight into the company. The day is intended to enable residents and interested parties to get an idea of ​​the processes in the company. This prevents fears of dangers associated with the operation and helps to gain understanding from the population in the event of expansions or breakdowns in the operational process.

"Safety first" at the open day

Working in the company is associated with certain dangers, this applies to a bakery as well as to the operation of a nuclear power plant. The workers are familiar with the potential dangers, the visitors - not. Get people guidance systems and information boards to guide guests safely through the establishment . The barriers clearly show where visitors shouldn't be, the boards provide information about the reason (caution is hot!; danger of falling! etc.). The explanation is important because you don't want to give the impression that you have something to hide.

Ideally, work should not rest on the open day. Think about which products are to be manufactured by which employees on that day. Try to make small gifts for the visitors. For example, if you extrude plastics, have keychains made that day. A large bakery could bake and distribute small pretzels or party buns instead of huge loaves.

Explain the processes

Select employees weeks before the event to explain the processes to visitors to the plant. Generally you have two options: a) Employees guide groups through the company and explain the individual production steps. The disadvantage is that the employees have to explain a lot of processes. If there are questions, there may be a lack of specific expertise. For this, the operator can proceed according to a fixed concept and the visitors cannot get lost.

b) The guests walk through the establishment along the guidance system without a guide . An employee is waiting at the various stations to explain the relevant production step. The disadvantage of the system is that groups of visitors arrive at different times. This makes things a bit chaotic. The employee is often asked a large number of specific questions. He needs great expertise to master this situation.

Make sure that staff are able to communicate with visitors in relatively good standard German. A skilled worker with good knowledge of the company who speaks Swabian, which many guests cannot understand, is just as unsuitable as the IT specialist who only speaks English.

Tip : The people you entrust with running the business should wear name tags that also state their function (P. Meier, master baker; P. Meier, product developer).

Dealing with trade secrets

Convey real impressions, but keep all important trade secrets . You don't have to inform anyone about the latest research or show prototypes. Introduce quality control instead of the development lab.

Keep all important documents in a safe place . An open day can also be used by competitors to gain access to your know-how. After all, things get hectic on such days and a spy can sneak into rooms that shouldn't be accessible to visitors. Lock doors to all rooms where you keep secrets. Secret files belong in lockable cupboards, preferably in a safe. If you don't have a safe place, store everything in a safe deposit box at the house bank.

Videos instead of operational management?

New media can support an event, but not replace it . Your visitors experience the processes with all their senses such as smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight. A video can only appeal to the latter two senses. If you limit yourself to video screenings, visitors wonder why you don't just show the films on the Internet and skip the open house.

Videos that show parts of the production that cannot take place during an open day are useful. A blast furnace tapping, for example, is certainly something that no guest can expect.

We hope that these tips will provide you with valuable suggestions for the next Open Day. The event should be interesting for the whole family and offer more than sausages from the grill and face painting.