Roundtable on Communities of Purpose (7) - Recruit and Reward

Following our white paper on the issues brands face when managing a ‘community of purpose', here are some of the conversations which didn't make it into the document ...


eModeration: Do you recruit community ambassadors, to keep the site alive and growing? If so, what should these ambassadors do and how do you recruit and reward them?


Patrick o’Keefe: I don’t know if looking to ambassadors to ‘keep the site alive and growing’ is a great idea. The site is what it is and they can help that goal, but they can’t do it all by themselves.

If I look at ambassadors like I look at my moderators, I first have guidelines for them and what is expected of them, so that everyone is on the same page before anyone is invited to join us. We can show them these guidelines when they are invited, so they can read them before they accept. This is key.

For the recruitment process itself, the person is vetted, based upon the comments of other moderators, my own experience and, perhaps most importantly, their history on the site. Their contributions and past issues play a major role in determining if they are invited. For me, it’s always an invite only thing, never something you can apply for.

I have private areas on my site for the staff and in those areas; you can plainly see how the current staff members go about their business. This is a powerful training tool. We also have documentation explaining how core responsibilities work and how to get the most of out of them.

As far as rewarding goes, that really depends. For many, the act of volunteering is a way of giving back to something that they themselves have benefited from. This is a big motivator.

It can also be beneficial to them personally or professionally, in getting their name out there. They may enjoy the idea of being part of a team, as well. I think it’s great to send gifts unannounced, if you can. Basically, random acts of kindness, like you might do for a friend.

Alison Michalk: We try to acknowledge long-term members but due to the sheer size of our membership base (180,000) this can be difficult. We reached a 10-year milestone recently and acknowledged the moderators and members who'd been with us for that time. I think this is a very important aspect of community management and it ideally it is not overlooked.

Our volunteer moderation team are community ambassadors - all have risen to the rank of moderator from member. They offer a lot of advice and input in to how we shape, structure and improve the community. Our moderators receive a small financial reward each year and attend an annual interstate conference, but the majority are not motivated by financial need. Ergo their needs have to be assessed and met in various ways; some respond to recognition, others are satisfied with their status among the community, and others again are motivated purely by the desire to give back to the community that has helped them.

Blaise Grimes-Viort: We would watch community activity and identify members whose contributions match with the task list we supply to community ambassadors before offering them the role of ambassadors. We also invite and follow up recommendations from current volunteers. We ask them to act as a welcoming committee and try to ensure all discussions have a response, as well as help out when members have questions about existing functionality.

Our thanks go to Leah Williams, Community and Social Media Manager at Breast Cancer Care; Patrick O’Keefe, owner of iFroggy Network and author of "Managing Online Forums"; Alison Michalk, Director of Quiip and ex-community manager for Essential Baby at Fairfax Digital Australia; Blaise Grimes-Viort,recently appointed Head of Social Media and engagement at WebJam, and Hearst Digital and Vanessa DiMauro, CEO of LeaderNetworks.

Look out for (the final)  Part 8) in this series: What are the best ways of encouraging people to share experiences and help each other?

And the other posts so far in this series:

Part 1) How do you engage with a community, as opposed to just informing a community?
Part 2) What is the value of that community once someone has reached their goal?
Part 3) How do you make an information-based site relevant to newbies as well as to those who’ve been using the site for a long time?
Part 4) How do you encourage experienced members to help out new members?
Part 5) How do you keep members motivated (for example in a weight loss site)?
Part 6) What are the best ways to lay out the terms of the site to make it clear to all members what the site is trying to achieve?