Best attraction in Albany? The state Capitol ALBANY — Imagine a job where your work performance is rated, ranked and reviewed on a daily basis in an online forum. Now imagine doing such stellar work that a wildly popular travel website recognizes your workplace with an award. That’s exactly what happened to the state Office of General Services’ Capitol Tours Office when travel website TripAdvisor recognized the tours with a Certificate of Excellence for being the top Albany attraction based on visitor feedback. While tours of the iconic, historic state Capitol facilities have always been popular, a CSEA member’s initiative to raise the tours’ social media profile has led to more public awareness of the free tours. Matthew Hamm, a visitor assistant whose job includes leading tours, spearheaded the office’s social media efforts shortly after starting work there in 2012. “I felt it was really important to try to get the word out to the public,” he said. “Some people didn’t realize the Capitol was open to tours; that the tours are free. I felt we were losing out by not doing it.” With approval from his supervisor, Hamm researched what information was available online about the tours. He noticed there were few online results and some of them, such as the Google+ page, were either lacking information or contained erroneous information. Hamm took control of the Google+ page and updated the information. He also set up a Facebook page, a Twitter account and eventually created an Instagram account. Hamm’s frequent posts include photos from around the Capitol and historical references. Hamm noticed that TripAdvisor consistently popped up in the top of the results page, though information about tour times, tour types and hours was lacking. “I worked to control the page and that allowed Matthew Hamm leads a tour through the Capitol. me to update the information and respond to reviews,” said Hamm. There’s also a Q&A page that allows Hamm to respond to tour queries posted to the office’s page on the TripAdvisor site. “Awesome,” Hamm said, after reading an email from TripAdvisor notifying him of the recognition. “That was the whole point of doing this to get the word out about the tours. This award is a great way for the public to hear about us and learn what we do.” In addition to the Capitol tours that take place Monday through Friday, the six-person office stays busy staffing the observation deck and gift shop as well as seasonal tours of the Empire State Plaza and Governor’s Mansion. The programs have proven so popular that earlier this year, the governor expanded the Capitol tours program to also include the second Saturday of each month. A state news release recently noted that about 32,302 visitors are expected to take a Capitol tour in 2015, a jump of nearly 8,000 visitors since the tour office began boosting its social media efforts. The Capitol tours, which last about 45 minutes, are among the many affordable public recreation activities that have become increasingly popular with the state’s citizens. The dedication and expertise of Hamm and his co-workers play no small part in the tours’ success. Visitor assistants receive initial training during which they are given a basic script that is personalized and continually tweaked to maximize interest. Tour content is also tailored to tour participants, including children, local residents or tourists from other states or countries. Hamm said that whenever staff members discover an interesting anecdote or historical fact, they share it with their co-workers. Many of these knowledge nuggets come from George McCroy, a visitor assistant who has been walking the Capitol for 17 years. McCroy, a historian and published author of a book on the Capitol, is a wealth of knowledge and important player in the tour office. Despite his many years of experience, there’s at least one tour highlight that makes McCroy’s day. “It’s always a thrill to be on a tour and have the governor come out and talk to the tour group,” McCroy said. “That’s happened to me seven times.” — Therese Assalian Want to learn more about taking a New York State Capitol tour? Here are plenty of web and social media links to get you started: OGS/Empire State Plaza information: http://ogs.ny.gov/plaza/CT/Tours/Capitol.asp Website: www.hallofgovernors.ny.gov/generic/VisitTheCapitol Facebook: www.facebook.com/NYSCapitolTours Twitter: @NYSCapitolTours Instagram: nyscapitoltours More on TripAdvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g29786-d282090- Reviews-New_York_State_Capitol-Albany_New_York.html (search New York State Capitol) 14 The Work Force October 2015
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