[align=center]GUIDE TO STAFF MANAGEMENT
how to set up your team, manage them, and get the most our of your members[/align]
HIRING YOUR STAFF
Staff members should be willing to treat their role like a job. Yes, online occupations are usually volunteer based, but it's like making a commitment to any other activity in real life. You can't just not show up, you need to keep a positive attitude, and you need to work with others professionally.
Things to look for in staff members are as follows:
Dedication In most cases you'll be choosing staff members from current forum members. Check their activity. Are they committed and invested in the forum? If not, you really have no guarantees they will stick around.
Time You should ask people where else they are working online. If they staff four other boards they obviously aren't invested in all of them and probably aren't someone you want to hire. Also, check their real life schedule. Are they going to have time to sit online once a day and make sure their duties are taken care of?
Integrity You want staff members who can conduct themselves in a respectable and professional member. Your staff is going to be the face of your forum. You don't want people who are immature and sarcastic all the time, as this will often cause rifts in your community.
Initiative It's very common for staff members to get into their position and then claim they 'don't know what to do', especially if you run a large forum. If there are administrator written explanation topics this shouldn't be an excuse. They need to be willing to take action and do as instructed. They shouldn't hold back or fear because they aren't sure of themselves.
SETTING UP YOUR STAFF SECTION
For most forum staff teams you'll want to make a section of the board that is only viewable to staff members. In order to keep things organized you might want to consider a few sub-boards/pinned topics.
Contact Details (pinned topic) One of the make or break tools of your staff will be communication. Make sure all the teams contact details such as IM's are available to the entire team in an easy to find section/topic... AND USE THEM!
Handbooks / Guides (sub-board) It should be the job of the leaders of your team to write up 'how to' topics instructing the other staff members of how to do certain aspects of their job. If you get new staff members you want it all to be easily accessible. Examples are: how to accept members, using multi-mods, etc.
Member Problems (sub-board) A section to deal with member issues or questions regarding member behavior is a great tool. Dealing with member relations is a big part of any staff member's job.
Away Notices (pinned or sub-board depending on size of team) When people have to be gone for personal reasons they need a clear way to let people know they won't be around.
A Lounge (sub-board) A place for your staff members to kick back, chat, rant about annoying members, and just be a little less than professional. This will often bond your staffers and create friendships.
To Do Lists (pinned topic) Each month it's a good idea for the admin or staff leader to make a to do list of goals for that month. This will keep the staff team organized.
HOW STAFF MEMBERS SHOULD WORK
Every time a staff member logs online they should follow this line of action:
Go to the staff board Every time you log on you should see if there's any threads they need to reply to. Being a staff member is your first priority!
Go to the sections you moderate Think of this as your duty. These are sections that you are in charge of and you need to pay them extra attention. Index where need be, ask for corrections, etc.
Post/submit your own contributions to the site This is key, as staff members should set an example for the board. If your staff isn't posting, your members certainly aren't going to.
[align=right]
You are welcome to re-post
this on your board. Just provide
my credit and a link back to RPG-D![/align]
how to set up your team, manage them, and get the most our of your members[/align]
HIRING YOUR STAFF
Staff members should be willing to treat their role like a job. Yes, online occupations are usually volunteer based, but it's like making a commitment to any other activity in real life. You can't just not show up, you need to keep a positive attitude, and you need to work with others professionally.
Things to look for in staff members are as follows:
Dedication In most cases you'll be choosing staff members from current forum members. Check their activity. Are they committed and invested in the forum? If not, you really have no guarantees they will stick around.
Time You should ask people where else they are working online. If they staff four other boards they obviously aren't invested in all of them and probably aren't someone you want to hire. Also, check their real life schedule. Are they going to have time to sit online once a day and make sure their duties are taken care of?
Integrity You want staff members who can conduct themselves in a respectable and professional member. Your staff is going to be the face of your forum. You don't want people who are immature and sarcastic all the time, as this will often cause rifts in your community.
Initiative It's very common for staff members to get into their position and then claim they 'don't know what to do', especially if you run a large forum. If there are administrator written explanation topics this shouldn't be an excuse. They need to be willing to take action and do as instructed. They shouldn't hold back or fear because they aren't sure of themselves.
SETTING UP YOUR STAFF SECTION
For most forum staff teams you'll want to make a section of the board that is only viewable to staff members. In order to keep things organized you might want to consider a few sub-boards/pinned topics.
- Also please note, it's usually a bad idea to make this section viewable but password protected. This shows members that you have a secret place that 'they aren't invited to' and can be a bit off putting. It's not that you're being dishonest by making it entirely invisible, you're just not waving it in their faces.
Contact Details (pinned topic) One of the make or break tools of your staff will be communication. Make sure all the teams contact details such as IM's are available to the entire team in an easy to find section/topic... AND USE THEM!
Handbooks / Guides (sub-board) It should be the job of the leaders of your team to write up 'how to' topics instructing the other staff members of how to do certain aspects of their job. If you get new staff members you want it all to be easily accessible. Examples are: how to accept members, using multi-mods, etc.
Member Problems (sub-board) A section to deal with member issues or questions regarding member behavior is a great tool. Dealing with member relations is a big part of any staff member's job.
Away Notices (pinned or sub-board depending on size of team) When people have to be gone for personal reasons they need a clear way to let people know they won't be around.
A Lounge (sub-board) A place for your staff members to kick back, chat, rant about annoying members, and just be a little less than professional. This will often bond your staffers and create friendships.
To Do Lists (pinned topic) Each month it's a good idea for the admin or staff leader to make a to do list of goals for that month. This will keep the staff team organized.
HOW STAFF MEMBERS SHOULD WORK
Every time a staff member logs online they should follow this line of action:
Go to the staff board Every time you log on you should see if there's any threads they need to reply to. Being a staff member is your first priority!
- REMEMBER! When posting in staff sections you should always reply to posts even if you aren't that invested in a specific discussion. This shows the rest of your team that you support them and are invested in the well being of your board.
Go to the sections you moderate Think of this as your duty. These are sections that you are in charge of and you need to pay them extra attention. Index where need be, ask for corrections, etc.
Post/submit your own contributions to the site This is key, as staff members should set an example for the board. If your staff isn't posting, your members certainly aren't going to.
[align=right]
You are welcome to re-post
this on your board. Just provide
my credit and a link back to RPG-D![/align]
